Comply with ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
Apple simply introduced the brand new iPhone 17 Professional at its Awe Dropping reside occasion, and it comes with some pretty substantial upgrades each by way of design and capabilities. We’re speaking longer battery life, extra onboard reminiscence, an even bigger and brighter display screen, and an improved digicam system.
In the event you’ve received an iPhone 15 Professional, your system is already two years outdated. It might appear like a great time to spring for the brand new telephone, however how massive of an improve is the 17 Professional, actually?
Additionally: Apple iPhone 17 event recap: iPhone Air preorders, Apple Watch 11, AirPods Pro 3, more
Take the software program, for instance: Each telephones run Apple’s newest working system, iOS 26, with most of the similar Apple Intelligence options. Moreover, the iPhone 15 Professional is smaller and lighter. So is it price upgrading? Let’s break down the variations between the iPhone 15 Professional and the brand new iPhone 17 Professional.
Specs
iPhone 17 Professional | iPhone 15 Professional | |
Show | 6.9-inch AMOLED with 120Hz, 3,000 nits peak | 6.1-inch OLED 120Hz, 2,000 nits peak |
Weight | 206 grams (7.27 ounces) | 187 grams (6.60 ounces) |
Processor | Apple A19 Professional | Apple A17 Professional |
RAM/Storage | 12GB of RAM, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 8GB of RAM, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
Battery | 33 hours of video playback | 23 hours of video playback |
Digicam | 48MP Fusion, 48MP Fusion ultrawide, 48MP Fusion telephoto, 18MP entrance | 48MP large, 12MP ultrawide, 12MP telephoto, 12MP entrance |
Colours | Silver, Cosmic Orange, and Deep Blue | Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, Pure Titanium |
Value | $1,099 | $679 refurbished (on sale) |
You can purchase the iPhone 17 Professional if…
1. You need the upgraded digicam
The digicam system within the iPhone 17 Professional is a major step up from the 15 Professional, with a 48MP Fusion, ultrawide, and telephoto, together with an 18MP Middle Stage selfie digicam. That is one of the best front-facing digicam you will discover on any iPhone.
What’s extra, the optical zoom has been upgraded to 8x, which successfully doubles the zoom from the earlier mannequin and is among the highest on the market proper now. That is all the results of a 56% bigger digicam sensor, which can produce sharper, better-quality photos, particularly in low mild.
Additionally: I hope iPhone 17 adopts these 7 features from Google, OpenAI, and others
The upgraded Digicam app additionally has some new options — like the power to vary the orientation of the photograph via the software program, as a substitute of bodily rotating the telephone. You additionally get Twin Seize, which helps you to report from the front- and rear-facing cameras concurrently. Merely put, the digicam on the 17 Professional is one of the best iPhone digicam to this point. If you wish to shoot DSLR-quality pictures, it is definitely worth the improve.
2. You need one of the best efficiency
The iPhone 17 Professional comes with the A19 Professional processor, a chip that Apple referred to as “MacBook degree energy in an iPhone” throughout the reside occasion. This is not an exaggeration. Apple says the A19 Professional delivers as much as 40% higher efficiency in comparison with the iPhone 16 Professional, with close to half-as-fast efficiency in comparison with the 15 Professional.
Mixed with extra base RAM (12GB as a substitute of 8GB), you are getting a telephone that is quick and responsive, particularly whereas multitasking, like browsing the net, listening to music, or enjoying YouTube within the background concurrently, all duties the 17 Professional is made to do with out skipping a beat. In the event you’re a cellular gamer, the GPU within the 17 Professional is twice as quick because the earlier iPhone.
Additionally: Apple’s tariff costs and iPhone sales are soaring – how long until device prices are too?
The processor on the 15 Professional is not any slouch — the A17 Professional makes use of a 3nm node with plenty of energy for no matter you need to do — however the elevated energy on the 17 Professional is paired with an upgraded cooling system, using a vapor chamber to push the capabilities of the A19 to larger ranges. Paired with the 120Hz refresh price, the 17 Professional offers a quick, easy consumer expertise.
3. You need an all-day battery
Apple would not launch actual metrics for its batteries besides by way of hours for video playback. It says the iPhone 15 Professional can rise up to 23 hours, whereas the bigger battery within the 17 Professional can obtain 33 hours. We’ll should go hands-on and take a look at this ourselves, however that 10-hour improve signifies a reasonably vital bump up in battery capability.
Additionally: 5 Apple products you should avoid buying this week (and 7 safe picks to get instead)
When you’ve got an iPhone 15 Professional or an older telephone and are beginning to see battery life degradation, upgrading offers you entry to probably the most highly effective battery in an iPhone but.
Moreover, regardless of the elevated capability, the iPhone 17 Professional’s battery is extra environment friendly. Apple says the iPhone 17 Professional fees to 50% in simply 20 minutes, 10 minutes quicker than it takes the 15 Professional to get to the identical proportion.
You can purchase the iPhone 15 Professional if…
1. You simply need the newest software program
In the event you’re stoked in regards to the newest options in iOS 26, each the iPhone 15 Professional and 17 Professional have entry to the identical options. That goes for Apple Intelligence options like real-time translation, Shortcuts, and Visible Intelligence. In truth, there aren’t actually any particular Apple Intelligence options distinctive to the 17 Professional.
Additionally: The iPhone 17 series could be Apple’s boldest move in years – here’s why
The 17 Professional is definitely quicker, with a extra highly effective chip, however the 15 Professional’s A17 Professional processor continues to be well-equipped to deal with on-device AI, because the earliest iPhone with sufficient processing energy to take action. If you have already got the 15 Professional and also you’re eager on leaping into all iOS 26 has to supply, you are not lacking out by not upgrading.
2. You do not need an even bigger telephone
Though this won’t be a giant deal for some, it is essential to notice that the iPhone 17 Professional is sort of a bit chunkier than the 15 Professional. All that highly effective {hardware} is larger, requires a extra highly effective battery, and weighs extra — 206 grams (7.27 ounces) in comparison with the iPhone 15 Professional’s 187 grams (6.6 ounces).
Additionally: iPhone Air vs. Samsung S25 Edge: I compared both thin phones, and there’s a clear winner
The 17 Professional can also be longer: 5.91 inches vs. 5.77 inches on the 15 Professional, barely wider, and barely thicker. All of those measurements add as much as a telephone that’ll positively really feel heavier within the hand.
Moreover, the 17 Professional’s digicam system is a brand new design for iPhones, that includes a raised “plateau” that stretches all the size of the telephone, just like the Google Pixel 10 — however even larger. In the event you do not fancy an even bigger telephone, you won’t need to improve.
