iPhone 17 Pro Review: Cooler Design, Epic Camera Upgrades

I’ve gotta confess, for this iPhone 17 Pro write-up, I kinda turned into a total gamer junkie overnight.

Not talking about those big blockbuster ones, you know, like Destiny: Rising or Genshin Impact, or even stuff in the middle range such as Inside or Vampire Survivors – which, by the way, I absolutely love. Nope, I’m hooked on Snake Clash from YouTube Games. It’s that dumb little distraction you fire up while half-watching some nature 15 Pro show on the couch, or yeah, during those long bathroom breaks where you’re just zoning out.

So why all the Snake Clash marathons? Well, after a full year with my iPhone 16 Pro, I realized these endless sessions make the thing heat up like crazy in my palm. Sure, other games might do the same, but hey, that’s my vibe. (And honestly, Inside and Vampire Survivors never got mine toasty at all.)

I pushed the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max pretty hard during testing, trying to make them overheat, since one cool new thing this time around is the vapor chamber setup. That, plus the fresh aluminum body, the trio of 48-megapixel back cameras – those stand out as some of the best tweaks in this batch. Add the beefy A19 Pro processor (tucked into that “plateau” area now), a smart new Center Stage front camera, claims of better battery stamina, and this striking fresh color option, and man, these latest Pros feel like a real step up.

In putting this together, I zeroed in on how they handle speed, cooling, photos, and how long they last on a charge for both the 17 Pro and Pro Max. I’m lumping them in one bucket because, beyond the display size, battery guts, and cost, they’re basically twins. Oh, and I poked around Apple Intelligence and iOS 26 stuff too, but that’s not just for these – check our separate iOS 26 rundown if you want the full scoop.

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max pack serious punch as phones, with a clever front-facing setup, flexible back cameras, and a tough outer shell that holds up well.

That aluminum shell – fresh yet kinda nostalgic

Grabbing the iPhone 17 Pro for the first time at Apple Park, it hit different compared to my year-old 16 Pro (or the 15 Pro before it). But after running my fingers along those flat, matte sides on the loaner unit, it started feeling familiar in a good way. Reminded me of the old iPhone 8, which makes sense – that one had steel inside with aluminum around the edges. Both use Apple’s special 7000-series metal mix. Obviously, the 17 Pro and Pro Max aren’t nearly as slim as that ancient one, but the soft matte texture? Feels awesome in hand.

About two weeks pre-launch, my 16 Pro took a dive right out of my grip onto a nasty public restroom floor. Landed weird on the side and shattered big time. Most damage was down low, with these fine cracks spiderwebbing up toward the cameras in an oddly artistic mess. Didn’t slice my skin or anything, but it made me crave something tougher next time.

Thanks to the aluminum wrapping the sides and back, the 17 Pro seems way less likely to bust like that. Up front, Ceramic Shield 2 guards the screen, so a face-plant drop should be fine. The back’s a tad exposed with the cameras sticking out a bit from the plateau, but they’re shielded by the usual sapphire stuff. In all my clumsy years, I’ve never wrecked an iPhone lens yet.

This setup gives me confidence in the 17 Pro’s toughness, though I didn’t go out of my way to ding it up. Kept it in the Finewoven case Apple sent over for the first bit to keep it spotless for pics. Once bare, I tossed both the Pro and Pro Max in a bag alongside my 16 Pro and a Pixel 10 Pro for photo outings – super easy to pick out the new ones just by feel. For ages, I’ve watched Androids, especially Samsung’s, start mimicking iPhones more, so ditching the slick glass back? Refreshing change.

And get this: no scratches showed up on either, even after rattling around naked in bags or pockets with keys, other phones, or those badge clips that hook everything. Fair point, my 16 Pro held up scratch-free too until its epic fail.

Another standout? That bold orange shade, echoing the Action Button on Apple Watch Ultras. Kinda like a fancy traffic cone, but with a metallic sheen. Since these are built to take a beating without marks, why not skip the case and flaunt it? I snapped a ton of shots of the orange 17 Pro Max under different lights so you can see how it really pops. Have fun checking them out.

Oh, after posting this, I spotted our gallery labels calling the 17 Pro silver, but I swore it was white. Started griping to the crew, only to learn – duh – it’s silver. Heads up: the back looks white where the aluminum meets the Ceramic Shield.

Quicker smarts and a cooler grip overall

Beyond the materials and camera bump, the redesign aimed big at handling heat and extending runtime. Like I said up top, my 16 Pro warms up sometimes, more so lately. Couldn’t wait to test if the vapor chamber kept these new ones chill under pressure.

Mostly, the 17 Pro stayed nice and cool – case on or off, from day one. After 25 minutes of Snake Clash, a subtle warmth built around the camera area. Set it on a fuzzy blanket, switched to the 16 Pro, and bam – that one matched the heat in five minutes, then felt scorching after ten, making me shift my hold. Meanwhile, the 17 Pro cooled off quick, even on something insulating.

Don’t get me wrong, it did get warm in spots during tests. Stuff like whipping up images in Image Playground or custom Genmoji would fry my 16 Pro fast. On the 17 Pro, it took longer to hit that point, but yeah, it got hot enough I’d warn someone before handing it over. The metal bits felt hottest, which tracks with how heat works and how we feel it on skin.

Props to Apple for speeding up Image Playground and Genmoji. Used to drag forever, especially with pics from my library, but now I crank out options back-to-back before any lag. ChatGPT‘s realistic modes still take time, but overall? Way snappier. Those neural bits in the A19 Pro’s six-core graphics setup are earning their keep.

Worth mentioning: in that 25-minute game stretch, the 17 Pro dipped about 10% battery. The 16 Pro went from 90 to 79 in similar time, so efficiency feels close there.

How the cameras stack up

The three 48MP shooters on the 17 Pro and Pro Max? Super flexible. They’re crisp, packed with pixels for tons of detail and lively colors, and they multitask for extra zoom steps. On the 17 Pro, the app offers quick jumps to 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x, and 8x – a tweak from the 16 Pro’s 0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 5x.

Since most folks won’t upgrade from something as fresh as a 16 Pro, I’ll note: if you’re coming from a 14 Pro or earlier, this camera jump is huge. From a 15 Pro? Depends if you have the Max and crave more reach.

I pitted the 17 Pro against the 16 Pro for gains, and the Pixel 10 Pro as my top camera pick so far this year. Turns out, the 17 Pro hangs tough with Google’s in most scenes. Often edges it out on shadow details in tricky light mixes.

Like recent iPhones, Apple’s shots lean warmer and punchier; Google’s can look duller, more washed out. Personal taste, though – won’t matter unless you’re toting both daily.

Zooming in deep

Comparing zooms across these gets messy with their varied maxes and tech. But at 1x, the iPhones match close, no shock since hardware’s similar. 2x is neck-and-neck too, with differences kicking in farther out.

The 17 Pro’s 8x nailed clean, bright images without much fuzz or noise. Pushing to 40x digital (vs. 16 Pro’s 25x) was fun for snapping geese across a river.

Pixel 10 Pro jumps at 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x, with Pro Res Zoom to 100x if you let AI help (I’d skip that for now, given the odd results). Or stick to Super Res Zoom up to 20x for straight-up smart photo tricks, no gen stuff.

Beyond 8x on iPhone or 10x on Pixel, pics aren’t stellar. But for shots of that “Water’s Soul” statue from Jersey City’s waterfront, Pixel’s were sharper, cleaner. No wild AI glitches for me yet, though one building close-up turned an indoor white spot into what looked like bird mess.

Random thought: made me curious about the real close-up on Hoboken Terminal’s clock letters – Pixel made “Lackawanna” look dotted or bulbed.

Bottom line: Pixel gets you closer with crisper results, but watch for AI quirks. iPhone 17 Pro nails quality at 8x and offers more options than before.

Portraits stepped up

Apple’s narrowing Google’s lead on portraits with fake blur backgrounds, thanks to a refreshed system. Gains show in overall quality at 2x (my go-to for iPhone portraits), plus better handling of flyaway hairs or fur across modes.

In tests with a pal and a fuzzy-tailed dog statue, big improvements at 2x – 16 Pro mushed stray bits into the blur, but 17 Pro kept them sharp where needed.

Vs. Pixel 10 Pro, it’s tight. Pixel nailed edges by temples better, but iPhone mimicked real lens fade nicer, like on a blonde hair tuft the Pixel fully smeared while iPhone kept partial focus.

That said, I dig Google’s portrait flow more: swipe in, point, shoot – no waiting for the UI to greenlight. iPhones make you pause in portrait mode until it activates (though regular mode auto-blurs on faces or pets).

Folks might like Apple’s skin tones better than Pixel’s, true-to-life or not. Edit later anyway, and styles play in.

Shoutout to Apple’s Photographic Styles – depth-based filters that rock. New Bright one amps things up nicely, reminds me of an old fave Instagram filter that’s gone now.

That square Center Stage sensor for selfies in any orientation

Apple’s front camera revamp? Pure smart move. I get it sounds over-the-top, and trust me, I was skeptical at first. But right after thinking “who needs this?”, I flipped horizontal to fit an extra person in a group selfie with podcast folks Karissa Bell and Allison Johnson from The Verge. Nothing humbles you faster.

Sold even more when using a timer or remote, plopping the 17 Pro Max on a table for a group of seven friends – it auto-switched to landscape as we crowded in. Pops up useful in surprise spots.

If you’re like me, always pinching out on front cam, that disables Center Stage temporarily. Relaunch the app, it’s back. Or toggle off via the top-right button – pick zoom, orientation, or both.

Sharper too, with the 24MP square sensor spitting out 18MP selfies vs. old 12MP. Face ID’s unchanged, so my setup glitches were probably user error, not hardware.

Not big on ultra-sharp selfies usually – freckles pop more in sun – but overall, not a huge shift.

It shines in FaceTime too, keeping you centered like on iPad or Mac, but tuned for handheld walks or unstable spots. Wish my partner had it during a chaotic NYC night call.

Testing with a coworker in a big room, pacing around, the framing adjusted to keep my face in view – obvious when holding still and moving my head. Now I crave it for hands-held calls, like quick chats, to focus on talking, not angling.

Recording from both cameras at once

You know how your selfie pose differs from regular shots? Mine’s arm out farther, maybe higher, tilted down – more flattering. Rear cam? Just eye-level, closer in.

So, a lot of my dual-cam videos felt off: optimize for selfie, rear suffers; focus rear, get forehead city. I’d zone on my face in the PIP window, even swivel to show backgrounds, forgetting the main cam’s already got it.

Probably not tons of everyday uses for shareable dual vids, but it’s optional, not intrusive. Handy for proving you’re at a spot while showing it off. Did like one of me by the Hudson, wind in hair.

Stretched-out battery

My main test goal: could the 17 Pro or Max go charge-free through my routine? With redesign freeing battery space and efficiency boosts, I hoped for a big win – maybe too optimistically.

Nah, smaller Pro didn’t quite hit it; Pro Max came close. Normally, the big one lasts two days in my mix of photo tests, texts, games. I use the small one more for banking, emails, social scrolls/posts, so that two-day mark factors in lighter use – yours might not match.

Still, 17 Pro Max stretched from Thursday 8:54AM at 95% to Saturday end at 20%. The regular Pro sails 7AM to 11PM easy, ending around 25% – I top off overnight anyway, hate starting under 50. Matches my 16 Pro so far, but need more days to spot diffs.

iOS 26 tweaks and other ups

Can’t skip screen sizes: 6.3 inches on Pro, 6.9 on Max. ProMotion’s 120Hz smoothness makes Reddit flies by, and better anti-glare? Tough to pinpoint changes.

Bigger refresh is iOS 26, out now. Pals are split on the glassy look – one buddy killed transparency right away.

Could rave on bigger system buttons, fresh lock screens. Adjusted to screenshots needing extra swipe to close – annoying. Photos, Camera, Phone apps? Okay, don’t mind ’em; like Phone’s setup.

Feels like a solid overhaul that vibes with the new hardware, especially Air. But since it hits older models too, doesn’t sway judging these Pros.

Pro over Air or plain 17?

This year, iPhone Air screams “look at me” for folks chasing flashy gear. Super slim, same A19 Pro chip, can’t stop showing it off for touches. Replaces Plus for now, 6.5-inch screen might suit lots. And per my buddy Sam Rutherford, battery holds up decent despite thinness.

If slim or that mid-size is non-negotiable, grab Air. But me? Ultrawide and far-off wildlife close-ups demand multiple lenses. If that’s you, go Pro. Max if you dig bigger (6.9-inch easier on eyes, I’ll admit).

Fat wallet? Snag both – nice life.

Or split with family: photo nut gets Pro, bulk-hater takes Air. Both solid, Pro edges on dependability for extra cash and space.

Don’t sleep on regular iPhone 17 either. ProMotion display, dual 48MP backs, Center Stage front (with dual vid like Pros) – great deal cheaper. Same portraits as Pros; Air has single-cam auto-depth trick.

Video pros: Air’s USB-C is slow USB 2 (480Mbps), no video out. Regular 17 is USB 2 but does video out; Pros hit USB 3 (10Gbps) with it.

Closing thoughts

This lineup’s got me rethinking what “Pro” means. Fancy looks or tough build that skips style points? Online chatter says 17 Pro/Max look less posh, Air steals the premium shine. Yeah, Air’s glitzier, but for my world, Pro wins.

Wish Apple skipped the dilemma, but physics rules. I want reliable, tough, all-day power, killer shots from anywhere, no pocket meltdown. Wallet might sting at $1,099 – not for everyone – but gets you lasting peace.

These 17 Pros mark a real shift from past ones, and I’m more pumped about a new iPhone batch than I have been in forever.