iPhone 17 Pro Reddit Verdict: Camera Beast, Value Question

I upgraded from 12 Pro max to 17 Pro max and definitely notice the difference in everything.

I have an iPhone 17 Pro Max and I love it but you simply can't compare it to any of my real cameras including something like a Ricoh GRIII. You simply do not get the benefit of PHYSICS, even if you shoot in RAW. The way a real camera can show depth, shadows. My hope is that now that the plateau is big like this it'll allow them to make the sensors actually BIGGER.

Great summary of why I've never been able to go to iPhone. Really admire the hardware but can't stand the software.

No back button really is a no go for me. Phone looks beautiful though.

People with $5,000 cameras are gonna be mad and dismiss you, but the shots you post look as good or better than most stuff that's posted here, so good on you.

I came from a 13 pro max and thought the 17 pro max would be too heavy/big but the weight is so much better distributed than the 13PM. The whole phone, in every way, is fucking great.

ProRes log footage out of the iphone is actually quite flexible. You can deliver at 4K, especially if your exposure is on point. I've shot/graded and edited footage from an iPhone for multiple clients with great results. The limitation of the iPhone is the sensor size more than anything.

I went from 12 pro to 17 pro and am astounded by the battery life improvement.

Every other review I've seen plus the battery capacity show significantly superior battery so I'd expect something somehow went awry with GSMA's methodology.

iPhone 17 Pro: basically a DSLR that also makes phone calls.

Other things that I hate about using iPhone: the keyboard is horrible, there's no dedicated comma key and third party keyboards don't fix the issue. No option for side loading apps, I need my YouTube reVanced. Lack of overall customizability.

I have been an Android user for close to 15 years. Then I switched over to Apple with the 15 Pro Max, just to experience what it's like. After 2 years, I honestly feel that I am more comfortable with Android and its wide range of user friendly features, from having dedicated volume controls, clipboards when copying texts, file management.

This year I've decided to move strictly to shooting my short films on iPhone. Apple Log 2 is great and I also picked up a 58mm telephoto lens from Sand Marc.

The battery is actually unreal. I'm easily getting 10 hours of screen on time. Nearly double what my 15 pro max was getting and it stays ice cold. I keep thinking it's turned off when it's out of my pocket.

I find this amazing battery exaggerated. I upgraded from the 12 pro to the 17 pro and the battery life is obviously better but not game changing. I use my phone throughout the day with regular use and I'm not getting more than 6ish hours of screen on time. And that ice cold that people are describing is also exaggerated. It still gets warm and sometimes even quite hot when I'm doing something more intense like video editing.

Android is better in many many areas. I keep coming back to iPhone for FaceID and app quality. My biggest dislike with iPhone is the scroll/touch speed. Feels much faster and snappier on android. And the keyboard…

Happy with my 17PM since October this year.

Got the 17 Pro, and the battery life is insane. Spent roughly 90 minutes on the phone with my carrier on Thursday and my battery only dropped 5%. Very happy with this phone, and just wish they could have made it evenly thick instead of 3 levels of thickness with the so called camera plateau.

I'm willing to bet it is shoddy optimization in iOS 26. There were so many reports of it just draining tons of battery, trying to draw all the cool light refractions etc.

You can debate how accurate it is to market this as 'optical-quality zoom'. Regardless of the picture quality I don't think it's a debate at all. Calling it 8x optical is a flat out lie.

I do like the camera, but I'm underwhelmed by the battery. I feel like compared to my 4 year old 13 PM (with the original battery still) my new 17 PM doesn't last quite as long. Maybe 15-20% less? It's hard to quantify, and maybe it's because of the new AI features, and maybe it's because my 13PM was on ios 18, but it's annoying.

I've gone from a 13 pro max to a 17 pro max. I always use a case so the feel of the phone doesn't bother me plus the new aluminium frame helps with heat/throttling. I think the screen is way brighter, battery lasts me nearly two days, the camera is better but it's not obvious and there are many settings within the camera settings menu to adjust to get it right. Front camera is noticeably better. The phone definitely feels snappier.

From 13 Pro to 17 Pro is a big upgrade. Screen is much brighter. You definitely will notice specially on sunlight. 13 Pro is ok but with iOS 26 is a little bit slow for me. 17 Pro is very fast even with iOS 26. Double the RAM — no constant refreshing when moving between apps. Cameras are huge upgrade in quality compared to pictures on a big screen.

Quite common Android to iOS regret... hardware is great, but iOS control is tight. Limited data settings, rigid notifications, keyboard annoyances, app restrictions, and lack of flexible gestures make it feel constraining. Android's openness, customisation, and app flexibility win if you value control over polish, even if iPhone hardware is tempting.

I returned a 17 Pro Max and I am keeping my 13 Pro. An iPhone is an iPhone is an iPhone at this point. I felt like I paid a lot of money for the exact same experience with better battery life and a camera upgrade.

I made the exact same switch 2 months ago but from a Pixel 8 Pro to an iPhone 17 Pro and honestly what it taught me is that the OS makes way less difference to me than I thought it would. I much prefer the notification handling on iPhone. I have the stuff I don't like disabled and notifications actually arrive on time on this phone, on my pixel they were always delayed.

The 17 Pro is damn good. I would have no issue reaching for it for commercial work. Shoot ProRes 4K and AppleLog2 only. Don't bother with ProRes RAW, the difference is tiny and actually there must be some processing going on with ProRes because it looks better.

From 16 Pro Max the difference for video will be very minimal. Not worth the extra cash. It's already an insanely good device. I'll wait for next year to see what they come up with and enjoy my 16 Pro Max for another year.

Also discovered the Blackmagic camera app now supports Open Gate on Apple Log using 16 Pro! Really only difference now is Apple Raw and the upgraded Telephoto camera which isn't worth the price tag at the moment. I'm very happy with 16 Pro already and will be keeping it.

Huge difference from my 14P, and no more overheating either.

Went from 13 pro to 17 pro. I don't have a use for the camera action button or the Dynamic Island. It feels kinda the same in my hand. The battery is definitely noticeable and better. The 8x zoom is insane but with normal pictures I can't tell a difference really.

Coming from someone who has had every pro model since the 14, the 17 pro is the best feeling model since. The aluminum unibody feels like a joy to hold. Function over form this time around anyway, and I'm here for it.

Long time happy Apple customer and this phone is the biggest piece of shit I've ever owned.

Siri fucking sucks now, she doesn't know anything and keeps trying to ask chatgpt. Apps sometimes randomly won't respond to touch unless I lock the phone and unlock it again. Even worse battery life than my 14PM since 26.3. Action button and camera control suck.

My wife and I traded in our iPhones for the iPhone 17 Pro last month, and we're very disappointed. They have a lot of software issues, but they didn't start until after the 30-day return period.

For most people, the base 17 is going to be better value. The key benefits of the Pro are the telephoto camera, thermal system, slightly bigger battery, more RAM, and the exclusive camera software features. Much less of a difference than in previous years, now that the screen and ultrawide camera are the same as are the build materials.

I would just get the 17. It's a cracking device and not much difference in battery life either. The pro is probably the worst value device and the 17 the best. 300 extra will get you more zoom, slightly better battery life and slightly better performance if you're a gamer.

I was in the same situation. I decided to get the 17 pro, had it for a week and exchanged it for the base. I couldn't justify the price and weight. I only take travel pictures maybe 2-3 times a year and listen to podcasts, doomscroll, and texting. The 17 pro felt so much heavier that it was really uncomfortable for me.

I went to Best Buy to test drive phones and didn't really notice a difference between the pro and 17. When I went to Apple to buy, the sales woman said if you're not really taking pictures for social media/influencing then the pro wasn't worth it. Pretty happy with my regular 17.

Do you take a bunch of pictures? Then the 17 pro is for you. I got my 17 pro max for the battery, and so far it doesn't disappoint.

Battery is amazing. Was at 51% at this time on my 15 pro now 84% with the same usage.

This tracks with my experience upgrading from a 15 to a 17 Pro Max. The battery life is incredible, according to my history in the settings app I've only used more than 50% of my battery one day this week — I don't think I've once hit low power mode (20%) since getting it, and I only charge it to 90% full.