It’s time for a professional showdown, pitting the iPhone 17 Professional vs. the iPhone 16 Professional.
The iPhone 17 Professional brings the most important leap to iPhones we’ve seen in years, shaking up a lineup that’s typically felt too acquainted. When you personal an iPhone 16 Professional, that raises a urgent query: Is the improve value it? In any case, Apple lastly appears to be delivering the form of adjustments followers have been asking for.
There’s higher battery life, an improved digital camera and much more Professional options. So, time to ditch the iPhone 16 Professional for the iPhone 17 Professional? Discover out in our comparability.
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iPhone 17 Professional vs. iPhone 16 Professional
There’s loads to love in regards to the iPhone 17 Professional: a brighter and fewer reflective show, higher cooling, a sooner chip with extra RAM, and longer battery life. Collectively, these upgrades make for a noticeably higher day-to-day expertise. Nonetheless, the arrival of a brand new iPhone doesn’t abruptly make final 12 months’s mannequin any much less succesful. iPhone 16 Professional stays a robust, dependable gadget that can proceed to serve most customers extraordinarily properly.
In case you are eager about upgrading from the iPhone 16 Professional to the iPhone 17 Professional, our breakdown beneath ought to assist you determine.
Desk of contents: iPhone 17 Professional vs. iPhone 16 Professional comparability
Design: Again to aluminium
iPhone 17 Professional is available in daring new colours.
Picture: Apple
iPhone 17 Professional: 150 mm x 71.9 mm x 8.75 mm; 206 grams; IP68, Aluminum unibody, Ceramic Defend 2 entrance, Ceramic Defend again, Motion button, Digital camera Management
iPhone 16 Professional: 149.6mm x 71.5mm x 8.25mm; 199 grams; IP68, aerospace-grade titanium with matte glass again, 2nd gen Ceramic Defend (entrance), Motion button, Digital camera Management
In the identical 12 months Apple unveiled the ultra-slim iPhone Air, it went in the wrong way with the Professional lineup. It made them thicker and heavier.
The iPhone 17 Professional is o.5mm thicker and seven grams thicker than its predecessor. That may not look like an enormous deal — and most energy customers gained’t thoughts the added thickness or bulk — however the change is noticeable in on a regular basis use, particularly when paired with a case.
One other main change on the iPhone 17 Professional: a swap to an aluminum chassis. Apple gave up on the titanium Professional body after two years, returning to aluminum for its superior thermal capabilities.
In comparison with the iPhone 16 Professional, the brand new iPhone makes use of Ceramic Defend 2 for higher frontal safety. Plus, for the primary time, Apple is even utilizing Ceramic Defend on the again for added safety.
Nevertheless, these are simply technical tweaks. The largest distinction between the 2 Professional iPhones lies of their design. The iPhone 17 Professional debuts a redesigned rear with a raised plateau. It accommodates the triple-camera system, LiDAR sensor and True Tone flash. It’s the most important design change Apple has made to the iPhone’s rear design in years.
The rear additionally sports activities a two-tone look, with the glass beneath the plateau completed in matte. Apple pairs this with a daring new coloration palette, which incorporates silver, cosmic orange, and deep blue.
iPhone 17 Professional vs. iPhone 16 Professional shows: An antireflective leap
iPhone 17 Professional: 6.3-inch Tremendous Retina XDR show, 2,622 x 1,206 pixels, 120Hz ProMotion, Haptic Contact, True Tone, At all times-On Show, Dynamic Island, HDR10, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, 1,000 nits typical brightness, 3,000 nits peak brightness, 1 nit minimal brightness, Ceramic Defend 2 cowl glass
iPhone 16 Professional: 6.3-inch Tremendous Retina XDR show, 2,622 x 1,206 pixels, 120Hz ProMotion, Haptic Contact, True Tone, At all times-On Show, Dynamic Island, HDR10, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, 1,000 nits, 2,000 nits peak brightness, 1 nit minimal brightness, Ceramic Defend entrance
On paper, the iPhone 16 Professional and iPhone 17 Professional’s shows might sound the identical. And they’re, however the brand new Professional iPhone packs two main upgrades. It might probably attain the next peak brightness of three,000 nits — 1,000 nits greater than the iPhone 16 Professional. And the brand new Ceramic Defend 2 cowl glass options an antireflective coating to cut back glare, bettering the show viewing expertise.
Chipset: A19 Professional units the file, once more
Apple’s new Professional chip brings a serious increase in CPU and GPU efficiency.
Picture: Apple
iPhone 17 Professional: A19 Professional, 6-core CPU with 2 efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores, 6-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, 16-core Neural Engine, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, as much as 1TB storage (as much as 2TB on iPhone 17 Professional Max)
iPhone 16 Professional: A18 Professional, 3nm fab, 6-core CPU, 6-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, as much as 1TB storage
Yearly, Apple raises the benchmark with its A-series chip, and the A19 Professional contained in the iPhone 17 Professional is not any completely different. Plus, this time the chip’s efficiency is aided by a superior vapor chamber cooling answer.
This enables the iPhone 17 Professional and iPhone 17 Professional Max to ship “as much as 40% higher sustained efficiency than the earlier era,” in accordance with Apple. So, you need to use heavy apps or video games for longer with out the cellphone overheating.
Moreover, the 6-core CPU contained in the A19 Professional is”the quickest CPU in any smartphone” — as soon as once more elevating the bar for smartphone efficiency. In comparison with the iPhone 15 Professional, Apple says the A19 Professional’s 6-core CPU is 20% sooner.
The 6-core GPU delivers a good larger efficiency acquire, that includes Neural Accelerators in every core. Mixed with a big cache and reminiscence, the brand new GPU is an enormous step up over the iPhone 16 Professional’s A18 Professional.
Apple even claims that the GPU can now work concurrently with the 16-core Neural Engine for operating AI fashions and AAA video games for a smoother gameplay expertise.
Extra importantly, the iPhone 17 Professional lineup ships with 50% extra RAM — 12GB vs. 8GB on the iPhone 16 Professional. This could translate into higher multitasking efficiency and assist with operating AI duties.
None of this implies the iPhone 16 Professional’s A18 Professional chip is sluggish or outdated. It’s nonetheless among the many quickest cellular SoCs round. And simply because the iPhone 17 Professional has launched doesn’t imply you might want to improve; the 16 Professional nonetheless delivers greater than sufficient efficiency.
iPhone 17 Professional vs. iPhone 16 Professional cameras: An even bigger telephoto sensor
iPhone 16 Professional’s cameras have aged decently.
Picture: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
iPhone 17 Professional: Rear: 48MP f/1.78 Fusion digital camera, second-gen sensor-shift stabilization, 48MP f/2.8 telephoto digital camera, 0.5x to 8x optical zoom; 48MP f/2.2 Extremely Vast, macro pictures; LiDAR Scanner, Sensible HDR 5, Adaptive True Tone flash, Cinematic mode (4K HDR@30fps), Motion mode, ProRAW and ProRes help, 4K 120fps Dolby Imaginative and prescient video recording, spatial video recording, wind noise discount, Audio Combine. Entrance: 18MP Heart Stage digital camera, ultra-stabilized video, Twin Seize
iPhone 16 Professional: Rear: 48MP f/1.78 Fusion digital camera with a bigger sensor, second-gen sensor-shift stabilization, 12MP f/2.8 telephoto digital camera, 5x optical zoom; 48MP f/2.2 Extremely Vast, macro pictures; LiDAR Scanner, Sensible HDR 5, Adaptive True Tone flash, Cinematic mode (4K HDR@30fps), Motion mode, ProRAW and ProRes help, Log video recording, spatial video recording, wind noise discount, Audio Combine; Entrance: 12MP digital camera with f/1.9 aperture, autofocus
The first and Extremely Vast cameras stay the identical on the iPhone 16 Professional and iPhone 17 Professional. It’s the telephoto that will get an enormous improve, with Apple switching to a 56% larger 48MP f/2.8 shooter. The digital camera has a 100mm focal size and might take optical high quality pictures at as much as 8x zoom. That’s a serious leap from the iPhone 16 Professional’s 12MP telephoto with a 120mm (5x zoom) focal size.
Up entrance, the iPhone 17 Professional additionally takes the lead. It options an upgraded 18MP Heart Stage digital camera for higher selfies, with ultra-stabilized video and Twin Seize. Once more, a serious step up from the iPhone 16 Professional’s 12MP f/1.9 entrance digital camera.
With Heart Stage help, the iPhone 17 Professional’s entrance digital camera will at all times hold you in body. And with Twin Seize help, you may file movies concurrently utilizing the entrance and rear cameras.
General, when it comes to {hardware}, the most important upgrades on the iPhone 17 Professional over the iPhone 16 Professional come from the telephoto and selfie cameras. The enhancements aren’t groundbreaking, however they add significant flexibility and make the digital camera system extra versatile.
Nevertheless, this is just one a part of the development. Apple has added a number of new Professional options to the iPhone 17 Professional, akin to the flexibility to shoot movies in ProRes RAW and genlock help. Until you understand what these options do, you gained’t profit from them.
Connectivity: N1 steals the present
Apple’s N1 chip debuts on the iPhone 17 Professional to deal with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS connectivity.
Picture: Apple/Cult of Mac
iPhone 17 Professional: 5G (sub-6GHz and mmWave), Emergency SOS by way of satellite tv for pc, Roadside Help by way of satellite tv for pc, Thread networking, excessive dynamic vary gyro, Crash Detection, twin eSIM slots, N1 chip, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, precision dual-frequency GPS, USB-C (as much as 10Gbps), second-gen Extremely Wideband chip
iPhone 16 Professional: 5G (sub-6GHz and mmWave), Emergency SOS by way of satellite tv for pc, Roadside Help by way of satellite tv for pc, Thread networking, excessive dynamic vary gyro, Crash Detection, twin eSIM slots, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, precision dual-frequency GPS, USB-C (as much as 10Gbps)
At first look, the iPhone 17 Professional doesn’t seem to supply main connectivity upgrades over the iPhone 16 Professional. The one notable change is help for the newer Bluetooth 6.0 normal. And that’s true. However internally, the brand new iPhone packs an enormous change. It makes use of Apple’s in-house N1 networking chip to deal with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Thread connectivity.
Apple says this helps in bettering “the general efficiency and reliability of options like Private Hotspot and AirDrop.”
Whereas not talked about, the iPhone 17 Professional will seemingly use Qualcomm’s latest baseband, supporting even increased cellular information speeds. And if it issues, Apple will promote the eSIM-only iPhone 17 Professional variant in additional international locations, together with Canada, Hong Kong and Qatar. Extra importantly, it would include an even bigger battery for longer runtime.
iPhone 17 Professional vs. iPhone 16 Professional battery life: Large leap
iPhone 17 Professional upgrades nearly each side of the gadget.
Picture: Apple
iPhone 17 Professional: As much as 33 hours of video playback; 50% quick cost in 20 minutes with 40W adapter; 25W MagSafe and Qi2 wi-fi charging help
iPhone 16 Professional: As much as 27 hours of video playback, 50% quick charging in half-hour with 30W adapter; 25W MagSafe and Qi2 wi-fi charging help
Apple closely targeted on thermal efficiency and battery life with the iPhone 17 Professional lineup this 12 months, and it exhibits. The iPhone 17 Professional offers an extra six hours of video playback over the iPhone 16 Professional.
Admittedly, which may not be a helpful metric to evaluate the battery life increase. However should you thought the iPhone 16 Professional’s battery life held up properly, the iPhone 17 Professional ought to surpass your expectations.
Even higher, Apple has lastly improved the charging speeds of its new iPhones.
With a 40W energy adapter, the iPhone 17 Professional can refill its battery from zero to 50% in 20 minutes. That’s 10 minutes sooner than the iPhone 16 Professional. And whereas this won’t look like a lot, it could actually make an enormous distinction in every day use.
Value: Increased base value
iPhone 17 Professional: Begins at $1,099 for 256GB storage, with a $200 bump for the 512GB variant; Professional Max begins at $1,199
iPhone 16 Professional: Began at $999 for 128GB storage; $1,199 for the Professional Max
The iPhone 17 Professional begins at $100 greater than the iPhone 16 Professional, however Apple dropped the 128GB base mannequin. So the brand new entry level is $1,099 — precisely what Apple charged for a 256GB mannequin final 12 months. Like earlier than, rising the storage to 512GB or 1TB will value you an extra $200 and $400, respectively.
The iPhone 17 Professional Max prices the identical as its predecessor, with a beginning value of $1,199. It now additionally is available in a 2TB variant, which prices a whopping $1,999.
iPhone 17 Professional vs. iPhone 16 Professional conclusion: A tempting improve
Given all of the upgrades, the iPhone 17 Professional is an undeniably tempting step up, even should you’re coming from final 12 months’s iPhone 16 Professional. The longer battery life means you’ll get extra display screen time with out scrambling for a charger.
The brighter, antireflective show makes it simpler to make use of outside and in harsh lighting, whereas the improved telephoto digital camera brings sharper zoom pictures with extra element. Add within the sooner chip and higher cooling, and the iPhone 17 Professional looks like a extra refined, future-proof gadget that ought to maintain up properly for years.
Nonetheless, I’d advocate sticking to your iPhone 16 Professional for an additional 12 months. With the primary foldable iPhone because of launch in 2026, you might need an even bigger motive to improve then.
Purchase now
iPhone 17 Professional: Apple or Greatest Purchase
Extra professional than ever
iPhone 17 Professional (256GB mannequin)
Apple’s strongest iPhone will get a redesign and spectacular new capabilities. The iPhone 17 Professional’s aluminum unibody design seems completely different for certain, with a wider digital camera plateau. However the huge adjustments are inside: the highly effective A19 Professional chip and a vapor chamber to chill it off for optimum efficiency.
Professionals:
Base mannequin jumps to 256GB of storage.48MP rear cameras, with 8x optical zoom.18MP Heart Stage entrance digital camera for higher selfies.Helps ProRes RAW for studio-quality video.
Cons:
Solely three colours: silver, deep blue and cosmic orange.
