Apple iPhone 17 Professional and iPhone 17 Professional Max evaluate

It’s a difficult 12 months to evaluate the iPhone Professional. It’s lengthy been the go-to selection for anybody who needs an iPhone with the nicest display, longest battery, and nice cameras. However the show is now not distinctive to the Professional, cameras have largely gotten “ok” on most telephones, and Apple has a brand new mannequin, the Air, which is likely to be much more compelling.

That is the primary time the iPhone Professional feels prefer it’s really focused at creators — individuals who want the longest battery life and the most effective cameras to report video and pictures. I’m not a creator, however I’ve at all times purchased the Professional Max for its larger, higher-refresh-rate display as a lot as for its beefy battery. However now I don’t need to for the previous, and neither do you, as a result of, additionally for the primary time, the common iPhone 17 has the identical shiny, easy, always-on display because the Professional (and Air). And it begins at $799, in comparison with the $1,099 beginning value of the iPhone 17 Professional and $1,199 for the iPhone 17 Professional Max.

The iPhone 17 is the brand new iPhone for most individuals, and the iPhone Air is essentially the most thrilling new iPhone, a minimum of given its completely new ultra-thin design. So the iPhone 17 Professional is for individuals who actually need extra digicam choices, even longer battery life, barely sooner charging, and… orange.

I like the brand new look of the iPhone 17 Professional. It has rounded edges once more, which we haven’t seen because the iPhone 11 Professional. I desire them to the sharp sides on the opposite fashions. And I dig the distinction between the lighter orange of the ceramic-and-glass sq. panel and the darker orange of the aluminum physique. The colour distinction can also be a little bit of a information. It screams “That is the place the equipment go,” as if to inform the consumer, “Plop the MagSafe charger right here.” Or “Stick the magnetic pockets on me.” (The pockets covers the rectangle completely on the iPhone 17 Professional.) The orange is daring, arguably extra so than every other colour Apple has launched on a Professional cellphone. I adore it, however there are navy or white variations for people who don’t. (Maybe coincidentally, navy blue and orange are the colours of Auburn College, the place Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner went for undergrad.)

The digicam bar (or “plateau,” as Apple calls it) replaces the small digicam island on the sooner Professional fashions. It homes the three 48-megapixel cameras: foremost, wide-angle, and telephoto, the final of which is an improve from the 12-megapixel sensor in final 12 months’s telephones. The cameras sit above Apple’s new “Ceramic Defend” again, which is extra proof against cracks in case you drop the cellphone. The entrance glass can also be extra scratch-resistant.

Fast anecdote: The iPhone 17 Professional Max fell out of my pocket and face down onto a rocky path throughout a tenting journey with my son and was tremendous. My 16 Professional Max most likely would have been, too. And to not belabor the orange, but it surely was straightforward to identify on the bottom. Throughout a hike, I couldn’t see a giant distinction within the new max peak brightness in comparison with my iPhone 16 Professional Max. No large shock there; we’re rapidly approaching the darker days of autumn, and that top brightness is reserved for the brightest of days. Regardless, most cellphone screens look OK in direct daylight now, until the brightness is being throttled from overheating when you’re on the seashore.

I don’t like that the Professional Max is barely heavier, at 8.2 ounces, proper between the 8-ounce titanium iPhone 16 Professional Max and the 8.4-ounce aluminum iPhone 14 Professional Max. After touting titanium’s energy for 2 years, Apple reverted to an aluminum physique for the Professional, paired with the brand new vapor chamber, to assist hold it cooler throughout processor-intensive duties, like rendering movies or gaming.

That appears to have paid off. The cellphone was heat after I loaded up Future: Rising and after I performed about 45 minutes of Warfare Thunder, however didn’t really feel sizzly proper over the processor, an space that may get uncomfortably sizzling on my iPhone 16 Professional Max after I’m enjoying video games or operating any type of native AI.

Talking of power-intensive duties, let’s discuss concerning the battery. Apple hollowed out a block of aluminum to suit the most important battery doable contained in the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max — promising as much as 39 hours of battery life on the bigger mannequin versus 33 for the iPhone 16 Professional Max whereas watching video. Video playback time is a weird battery stat for a cellphone, but it surely’s one Apple sticks to.

On my first full day with the 17 Professional Max, the cellphone went a full day of normal use, not video playback, from 7:23AM to midnight, and nonetheless had 16 % battery left. That was a lightweight day of use, with solely 5 hours and quarter-hour of screen-on time, although it might have nonetheless been syncing all of my saved information to the evaluate unit.

Battery life improved by the second full day. I took it off the charger at 7:32AM and hit 50 % battery at 8:43PM, with 5 hours and 11 minutes of screen-on time. I’d primarily used it for my common stuff: Slack, textual content messages, Safari, looking Amazon, taking pictures, and chatting with buddies. I often cost my iPhone 16 Professional Max round 8PM, however I nonetheless had half a battery left on the 17 Professional Max. It looks like a major enchancment to this point. Your mileage goes to range relying on what you do, and it’s too early to render an general verdict.

The Professional Max has the most important battery you’re going to get from any iPhone this 12 months. There are additionally some upgrades to assist it cost sooner. The Professional fashions, just like the Air, help 40-watt wired charging, which juices the battery to 50 % in 20 minutes. And MagSafe charging is barely sooner, too. You probably have a 30-watt charger, the Professional 17, just like the common iPhone 17, can juice with MagSafe as much as 50 % in half-hour versus 35 minutes on final 12 months’s cellphone (the Air can do the identical with a 20-watt charger, however has a smaller battery).

The cameras are the explanation many individuals purchase Apple’s iPhone Execs. They’re the telephones that supply telephoto lenses, have higher picture stabilization, report sharper video, and embody ProRes help. This 12 months, Apple added a number of extra “Professional” options, like Genlock help, which lets videographers sync up timecodes throughout a number of cameras, and help for ProRes RAW recording — although you’ll want an exterior drive for that one.

Professional stuff apart, Middle Stage is the most effective new digicam function, and it’s accessible on all iPhone 17 fashions. You’ve most likely heard of it. On Macs and iPads, it permits the digicam to comply with your head — or your entire physique — as you discuss to somebody on a video name. That’s on the iPhone now within the 18-megapixel selfie digicam, the place it goes one step additional, because of a brand new sq. sensor. Middle Stage can routinely detect if there are extra folks inside a body and broaden to a panorama picture to suit everybody in (you too can swap to panorama mode manually). Which means you don’t need to juggle your cellphone and attempt to flip it sideways for a panorama picture; you’ll be able to simply maintain it in portrait mode. It’s superior, it really works properly, and it’s a novel answer to an issue I’d by no means actually considered.

The front-facing cameras on all iPhone 17 fashions permit you to seize from the back and front cameras on the identical time whereas recording, which is neat if you wish to report a video of your self exhibiting any person the place you might be, or do one thing, although it’s not a function I see myself utilizing.

Now to the primary cameras. All three rear sensors are actually 48 megapixels, together with the telephoto. Apple has mentioned that is like having eight completely different lenses. My colleague Antonio already took challenge with the phrasing. On a purely floor stage, although, I dig the choices, and it’s one motive why I’d perhaps select this over the iPhone Air or iPhone 17, which don’t provide you with as many selections. The ultrawide, 1x, and 4x allow you to shoot in full 48-megapixel decision with RAW or HEIC, whereas the others seize 12-megapixel photos. Antonio did a greater breakdown of how this works, but it surely’s a mix of selling, cropping, and computational images.

The telephoto digicam obtained a decision bump, but it surely additionally downshifted from a 5x zoom on the 16 Professional fashions to 4x, making it a 100mm-equivalent lens, in comparison with roughly 120mm on the earlier fashions. The 5x lens usually felt barely too lengthy for head-and-shoulders portraits; 100mm feels excellent. And with the higher-resolution sensor, there’s now a 2x crop zoom mode accessible to the telephoto lens for an 8x zoom (200mm equal). That’s simply lengthy sufficient to make sure that your picture of Alcatraz taken from the Marina Inexperienced in San Francisco doesn’t appear like an unrecognizable speck, and the standard is greater than sufficient for a social media publish.

The shift to 48 megapixels additionally improves digital zoom high quality; you’ll be able to even get barely extra detailed 5x digital zoom pictures from the 17 Professional in comparison with the optical 5x on the 16 Professional, since extra pixels will usually do this if all else is equal. Altogether a sensible replace for this 12 months’s telephoto.

That 2x crop zoom on the primary digicam stays a dependable possibility for environmental portraits and just a bit further attain whenever you want it. This 12 months, Apple up to date a few of its processing on the 2x mode to deliver out higher element in issues like material; it’s refined, however you’ll be able to see the distinction in a few side-by-side photographs seen at 100%. It’s not a giant factor, however 2x photographs are just a bit cleaner — form of a pleasant bonus function.

There’s one factor I nonetheless can’t actually get off my thoughts, although, and that’s simply how far behind Apple is in generative AI. Not way back, after I talked to folks about devices or tech, everybody wished to know what was new with Apple. Now, everybody simply needs to speak about AI and the way I’m utilizing it or the way it’s going to switch or not substitute jobs. And it’s being baked into each different piece of {hardware} available on the market from each different massive participant, like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Whereas Apple has launched among the Apple Intelligence options it introduced final 12 months, we nonetheless don’t have a totally upgraded Siri that you may discuss to love Google Gemini. And, certain, you’ll be able to load the Gemini or ChatGPT apps, or make Siri pull from ChatGPT on the iPhone, however that’s not what I’m speaking about. I not too long ago purchased a Pixel 10 Professional — it’s a superb cellphone — and I like the way in which it integrates AI at a system stage. Google’s Magic Cue, which runs on-device, can scan your inbox and calendar and immediate you to insert vital dates and locations proper into your textual content messages when it sees you speaking a few particular matter. Pixel Screenshots, which launched final 12 months, can remind you of music or books you’ve saved whenever you open Spotify. And Gemini, which you’ll be able to pull up by voice or by holding the ability button, is simply infinitely smarter and extra helpful than Siri.

I don’t suppose individuals are shopping for telephones for these options but, however the trade is transferring awfully quick, and hundreds of thousands of individuals are utilizing AI on daily basis. It ought to be a spotlight function on the iPhone, entrance and middle, however it’s relegated to the background for issues like translation and pictures, and somewhere else the place Google additionally makes use of it. It simply seems like a large void.

The iPhone 17 Professional and iPhone 17 Professional Max provide a number of compelling options. Regardless of a redesign which may in any other case recommend a substantial improve, a lot of the adjustments are modest. The iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max are the greatest iPhones in case you’re after the longest battery life, greatest cameras, and essentially the most energy from Apple’s 2025 lineup. They’re additionally the highest choices if you would like orange. Nonetheless, most individuals ought to think about the extra inexpensive iPhone 17. It options the identical display and can do every part most individuals want. Or, take a look at the Air if, like me, you’re simply curious what it’s like to make use of a really skinny iPhone. Worst-case situation: return it and get the Professional. In orange.