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The final verdict on iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.
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🛡️Shop OrigArmor on US Amazon: https://amzn.to/3VZbeal
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🇬🇧UK: http://amzn.to/4mxnvhb
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TechTranscript
00:00On the face of it, the iPhone 17 Pros are really strange.
00:03Like, these phones have 12 gigabytes of RAM,
00:0550% more than the previous Pro iPhones,
00:07which is a big deal,
00:08but there was almost zero mention of it at all.
00:11Why?
00:11The biggest improvement to the new A19 Pro chip
00:14is neural accelerators,
00:15but Apple didn't demo a single tangible use case.
00:18Apple suddenly, randomly, for like the first time ever,
00:21couldn't stop talking about thermal performance,
00:23even going as far as to ditch their favorite material ever,
00:26titanium,
00:27completely changed the look of the phone
00:28to get as much heat-conductive metal
00:30into the design as possible
00:31and to create and fit this whole new vapor chamber on the inside,
00:35but with no features to accompany these hardware changes.
00:39Everyone assumed, oh, they're improving cooling,
00:41they're increasing the battery size,
00:42they're offering more storage.
00:43That's obviously because, you know,
00:44these new phones are gonna record video in 8K.
00:48Nope.
00:48So what the hell is going on?
00:50Here's what I think.
00:51I think that the main benefit of the Pro iPhones this year
00:54doesn't actually exist yet.
00:56It looks, on the face of it,
00:58like a bit of a collection of somewhat random upgrades right now,
01:01but there is a bigger reason why these are the way they are.
01:05We should talk about it.
01:05So the cameras are actually amazing.
01:07It's the buildup of many smaller image processing changes
01:11that make this phone feel unbelievably reliable.
01:14No individual component here is special,
01:16but it's just a combination of three 48-megapixel sensors
01:19that are just smarter.
01:20So even compared to the 16 Pro phones,
01:22these give you even more of that feeling of,
01:25I can take any shot in almost any lighting condition,
01:27day or night.
01:28I know that the portrait mode shots are gonna look extra crisp,
01:30even if I use some digital zoom.
01:32And this new front camera is the biggest example of this.
01:35I really like how wide it goes.
01:37I think it's so cool that they've done that
01:39without losing any detail if you still want to shoot close.
01:42This camera is the difference between
01:43actually being able to fit two people
01:45on your side of a FaceTime call,
01:47as opposed to having to flick backwards and forwards between you,
01:49like I've been doing for the last 10 years.
01:51And also, if you are an uber nerd like me,
01:54then the fact that you can record video in ProRes RAW
01:56is insane.
01:58Because like, this is video coming out
01:59of a normal default camera app,
02:01but this is what you can get if you shoot in ProRes RAW.
02:03And it's not even higher resolution,
02:05it's just the purest form of video file
02:07that gives you unlimited ability to tinker with it
02:10with practically zero quality loss.
02:12And also, if you then decide that a scene you've shot
02:14looks horrible and warm,
02:15then you can just flip the white balance completely.
02:18It's really impressive.
02:19But pretty much every upgrade for these new iPhones
02:21has some sort of asterisk.
02:24And the one for cameras is that
02:25the actual headline camera feature,
02:28you know, this new 48 megapixel 4x telephoto lens,
02:31it makes very little difference.
02:32It can't focus on objects that are up close,
02:34so it keeps switching you over to the main 1x camera,
02:37even when you're zoomed in.
02:38And when you're trying to go all the way to max zoom,
02:40well, I'd say sometimes you really can notice the improvement,
02:43but in many situations you also can't.
02:45Makes me think this is more of a software improvement
02:47than it is a hardware one.
02:48Plus, it does just feel like such an obvious gap
02:51that the phones can't shoot 8K video,
02:53and that they still haven't fixed those annoying flares you get
02:55when you're looking at light sources.
02:59Same thing for battery.
03:00Like, I was sitting down yesterday at 3pm
03:02with almost 80% left on my Pro Max,
03:04thinking, what do I do with all of this?
03:06Which is a great position to be in
03:07when you're spending way north of $1,000,
03:09and you want your phone to be future-proof.
03:11Plus, it feels kind of strange to have a set of iPhones
03:13with decently fast charging.
03:15Like, just throwing them into my MacBook Power Brick,
03:17these are both very close to full
03:18after one hour of charging.
03:20Far from the fastest on the market,
03:21but faster than last gen,
03:22even though they are bigger-sized batteries too.
03:25But, asterisk,
03:26as we've seen from our battery test,
03:28how big of an upgrade the 17 Pros actually are
03:30compared to the 16 Pros
03:32depends largely on
03:33whether you'll get the eSIM-only version,
03:35which you'll get in countries like the US,
03:37and if you do,
03:37that one's looking like a very healthy
03:3912% to 15% improvement,
03:41or you're going to get the physical SIM version
03:43in Europe and India,
03:45which is looking like a much smaller
03:466% or so improvement.
03:48You'll be fine either way,
03:49but that extra 7% to 8% difference
03:52between the two
03:52will probably be the difference over time
03:55of your battery feeling
03:56a full year newer than it is.
03:58Thankfully, iOS 26
03:59has not been the battery nuke
04:02that I was expecting it to be
04:03with all these lighting effects,
04:05but,
04:05and I don't want to talk about this too much
04:07because you can get this software on any iPhone,
04:09and I have been a little surprised
04:11that even on these smartphones
04:13designed around iOS 26,
04:15it still feels really unpolished.
04:18It's beautiful from a distance.
04:19I think the animations
04:20and the icons
04:21and the lock screen
04:21and the ability to turn any wallpaper
04:23into this spatial scene,
04:25they're all improvements,
04:26but it's just up close.
04:27There are so many repeatable glitches
04:29and animation breakers
04:31and things that suddenly
04:32aren't very readable
04:33that it clearly needs
04:35more time in the oven.
04:35Thankfully,
04:36the physical design of the phone
04:37does feel a lot more refined.
04:40I've seen so many people
04:41saying these things look atrocious,
04:42and I feel like special mention
04:44to this orange color
04:45for becoming
04:45probably the most controversial
04:47pro iPhone finish ever.
04:49I get it,
04:49but they really work for me.
04:51They feel really smooth
04:52in your hands
04:52with how the metal
04:53wraps around the sides,
04:55and yeah,
04:55they're not as minimalist as before,
04:57but honestly,
04:57having a phone that looks unique,
04:59and you know that
05:00the reason it looks unique
05:01is because that allows it
05:03to perform better
05:04and have better signal
05:05because of the extra antenna bands
05:06around the camera plateau,
05:07which I have noticed
05:08in all kinds of places,
05:10I don't really have
05:10any beef with that.
05:11It's like choosing an SUV
05:13over a sports car,
05:14knowing that you're going
05:14to get more trunk space
05:16and head height
05:17because of it.
05:17It's also a little bit
05:18more balanced on a table
05:19than the last iPhones,
05:20thanks to this plateau
05:21somewhat evening out
05:22the elevation of the phone.
05:24The asterisk,
05:25the fairly substantial asterisk,
05:27and you might have realized
05:27this already
05:28if you've seen this photo
05:29that's been floating around
05:30from our unboxing video,
05:31is that these new phones
05:32are easier to scratch.
05:34I specifically tested this
05:35once I first noted a couple
05:37popping up on the back
05:37of my phone,
05:38and yeah,
05:39compared to the Titanium 16 Pro,
05:41which I actually couldn't get
05:42a permanent mark on
05:43using a key,
05:44the 17 Pro's aluminium body
05:45didn't put up
05:46a whole lot of resistance.
05:48But two things.
05:49One, you'll notice this
05:50quite a bit less
05:51on the more natural silver color,
05:53which is why that's the one
05:54I would actually recommend.
05:55Two, you can also just slip
05:56on the TORAS Q3 air case,
05:58our sponsor.
05:58The thing's built
05:59like an absolute tank
06:00with real airbags.
06:01It's engineered around people
06:02who like to capture their lives
06:03with this rotating magnetic stand
06:05that lets you hold the thing
06:06basically anywhere
06:07to get your shots.
06:08And it's designed
06:08to resemble air sneakers,
06:10which just looks kind of sick.
06:12But the third thing
06:12about this design is
06:14I would say screen durability
06:15is actually way more important
06:17than body durability
06:18because a lot less people
06:20use screen protectors
06:21compared to cases.
06:22And you have to look
06:23at the screen all the time.
06:24So when those scratches
06:26start to set in over time,
06:27there's no escaping,
06:28which means it's great
06:29that Apple has finally improved
06:30scratch-resistant
06:31by three times, right?
06:33Hmm.
06:34Consider me very skeptical.
06:36I first took basically
06:37every type of metal object
06:38I had to the previous
06:39iPhone 16 Pro screen.
06:41And it's actually kind of amazing
06:42just how much I had
06:44to torture the thing
06:44with screws and keys and knives
06:46until eventually cracking open
06:48the professional hardness picks
06:49and just going at it
06:50for 10 minutes straight
06:51to get this little mark
06:52in the corner.
06:53So then I took
06:53the same hardness pick
06:55to the 17 Pro.
06:56And honestly,
06:56within about 10 seconds,
06:58I've made a mark
06:58that's actually more noticeable.
07:00So we're never really
07:01going to know
07:01how Apple's come up
07:02with this three times
07:03scratch-resistance number.
07:04Just bear in mind
07:05that it will be
07:05for very specific situations
07:07and it will have trade-offs.
07:09This is not some magic formula
07:11that suddenly means
07:12your screen is going
07:12to stay pristine over time.
07:14The only other weird thing
07:15is the speaker
07:16that used to be here
07:17and the microphone
07:17that used to be here
07:18have now swapped positions.
07:20So the upside
07:21is that you're now
07:22less likely to block your mic
07:23when you're on a call
07:24and you're holding
07:24a phone like this.
07:25The downside
07:26is you're more likely
07:27to block your speaker
07:28when you're watching videos
07:29like this.
07:30Bit of a strange change.
07:31On the bright side,
07:33it's really cool
07:34to have a phone
07:34that is this high performance.
07:36The asterisk is,
07:37just bear in mind
07:38that you're only really
07:39going to notice it
07:40in fringe cases.
07:41I'm getting to
07:41how that might change,
07:42but right now,
07:43nothing about the
07:44day-to-day experience
07:45feels any faster.
07:46And actually,
07:47if anything,
07:47the animations
07:48are a little slower
07:49in iOS 26.
07:50But to be fair,
07:51if you are going
07:52to properly play games,
07:53I'm talking big 3D games
07:55like Destiny,
07:56games that you want
07:56to run at a full 120 frames
07:58per second,
07:59then it is pretty mind-blowing
08:00what these phones
08:01can already do.
08:02Just slightly surreal
08:03how smoothly you can glide
08:04into games
08:05that look like this.
08:06And they do run cooler too.
08:08And just as I think
08:08this is so interesting,
08:09here's what it looks like
08:10under a thermal camera.
08:11So left is the new phone,
08:13right is the previous one.
08:14And can you see
08:14how the old one
08:15gets really white-hot
08:16in this one area?
08:17That's the logic board.
08:18That's where the main
08:19processing is being done.
08:20Whereas the 17 Pro
08:21just gets mildly warm
08:23all around.
08:24And you can kind of see
08:24how the heat is now able
08:25to spread all across the back,
08:27especially into this now
08:28metal camera plateau area.
08:30And this is such a good perk.
08:32It's good for short-term longevity,
08:34you know,
08:34keeping your game running smooth,
08:36keeping the phone comfy to hold,
08:37keeping the screen looking bright,
08:38but also the long-term longevity,
08:40keeping the battery
08:41and the chip healthy.
08:42These are such good
08:43mainstream phones for gaming.
08:46You get the highly optimized
08:47iOS apps,
08:48and the screen is so good.
08:50You won't notice it all the time,
08:51but if you're like I am right now,
08:53sitting outdoors
08:53and you've got some really
08:54brightly lit objects
08:55reflecting off of it,
08:57you will feel the fact
08:58that it's quite a bit brighter
08:59and it also has this
09:00anti-reflective coating
09:02that reduces the glare.
09:03But to be fair,
09:04Taurus can give you this
09:04on any iPhone
09:05with their Orange Armor
09:06screen protector.
09:07You just drop your phone
09:08into this insane-looking
09:09contraption they give you.
09:10This is the 16 Pro Max
09:11and it applies the protector
09:12in the most idiot-proof way
09:14I've ever seen.
09:14And now,
09:15have a look at the difference
09:16in glare on the screen.
09:17And it'll be even more
09:18on a 17 Pro,
09:19which is such a cool side perk
09:21for a screen protector to have.
09:22Link below to grab one now.
09:23So,
09:24this random collection of upgrades
09:25that we've had to the 17 Pro
09:27this time around.
09:28What's it all about?
09:29Well,
09:30I think that everything
09:31about the way these phones
09:32are configured
09:33implies that they are
09:34primarily designed
09:35for heavy next-gen
09:37Apple intelligence features
09:38on device.
09:39It's just that
09:39Apple hasn't announced them yet.
09:41Because of all the delays
09:42to Apple's AI,
09:43I think the company's
09:43in a situation
09:44where their hardware development
09:45is actually ahead
09:47of their software development.
09:48So most likely next year
09:49when Apple does a big revamp
09:51of Siri and its AI in general,
09:53I think the 17 Pro's
09:54will become the poster child
09:55for those features,
09:56the best way
09:56to experience it all.
09:58But until that day,
09:59do these various upgrades
10:00make these phones
10:01significantly better
10:02than the last iPhones?
10:03Yeah,
10:04kind of.
10:05I'd say they're good enough.
10:06I do love it
10:07when battery life improves.
10:08I think the camera experience
10:09is more reassuring
10:10and you can't argue
10:11with the performance on these.
10:13I also wouldn't be
10:13in a rush to upgrade.
10:14The base iPhone 17,
10:16which also now has
10:16the same 256 gigs of storage
10:18and almost all the features
10:20really of the Pro's
10:21is a full $300 cheaper
10:23than them this year,
10:23which is Apple's way
10:24of protecting their sales volume
10:26to make sure that people
10:27aren't leaving the Apple ecosystem.
10:29It's just the downside
10:30of making that phone so good
10:31is that it makes these Pro's
10:33very much the optional upgrade
10:35just for power users.
10:37I mean, there's a reason
10:37Apple's now offering
10:38two terabytes of storage
10:40on the Pro Max
10:40and pricing it at $2,000.
10:43They know they're going to sell
10:44proportionally less
10:45of these top-end phones,
10:46but also that anyone
10:47who is considering them this time
10:49is someone who would be willing
10:50to pay a lot more
10:51for that extra 5%.
10:53So high margin features
10:55like extreme storage
10:56are a bit of a no-brainer.
10:57And so the situations
10:58in which I see the iPhone 17 Pro's
11:01being worth it are
11:02one, you really want
11:03a plus-sized iPhone
11:04for the screen and the battery,
11:05in which case,
11:06now that the plus is gone,
11:07the only way to get that
11:08is to go all out
11:10for the Pro Max,
11:10especially if you're
11:11in an eSIM-only country
11:12where you're going
11:13to get that battery in spades.
11:14Also, definitely not an accident
11:16that the plus has been swapped
11:17for the Air,
11:18because the Air is less likely
11:19to steal people
11:20from the pros.
11:22Or two,
11:23the company does reveal
11:24some actually amazing
11:25Apple intelligence features
11:26next year,
11:26but they're super demanding,
11:27in which case the extra RAM,
11:29the thermals,
11:30the new chip here
11:30will become key
11:31to running them at their best.
Recommended
11:28
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