iPhone 17 Pro vs iPhone 16 Pro: Why we think the next iPhone flagship is worth the wait | Mint

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max have been available for a few months now and, for the most part, offer a refined experience, building on what the iPhone 15 Pro models already offered. That was a solid and reliable construction, with titanium as the core material, in addition to a powerful chipset in the form of an efficient 3nm chipset. The phones also introduce several pro features, including the ability to shoot in ProRes Log and allowing users to delve into AAA gaming, with titles like Resident Evil 4 and more.

As 2025 rolls around, rumors and leaks about the next generation of professional iPhones, the iPhone 17 Pro, are starting to surface. Let us tell you what we expect from the iPhone 17 Pro when it launches, what we think of it and how it will compare to the current flagship iPhone 16 Pro models.

A major redesign could change things

The iPhone 17 Pro could finally offer a major new design. If you think about it, the iPhone 16 Pro looks exactly like the iPhone 15 Pro, and if you ignore the titanium switch, it also looks like the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro, and even the iPhone 12 Pro . In fact, all of these phones look almost identical since the iPhone 11 Pro, with the same triangular camera setup in the top left corner of the phone. Screen sizes have increased significantly in recent generations, but if you were to compare two phones from a distance, such as an iPhone 13 Pro and an iPhone 15 Pro in white, you would no longer be able to tell them apart.

This is where the iPhone 17 Pro series could come into play. Recent leaks, including those from tipsters like Majin Bu, suggest that the iPhone 17 Pro could see a major redesign, with a Pixel 9-like camera bar on the top half of the camera. phone, just as it is ranked on the Pixel line.

Several leaks have hinted that this could become a reality, but it remains to be seen whether it will make it into production cycle. It would make sense for Apple to revamp the design since it's been a while since it used the same design language for its phones.

The iPhone 12 marked the move to flat sides, away from curved edges, but there have only been incremental upgrades since then. So compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, the iPhone 17 Pro could offer a completely new experience, and we think customers will likely prefer the newer models. We also believe that they would certainly sell quite well, thanks to the expected redesign.

More power comes in

In terms of power, the iPhone 16 Pro currently offers the Apple A18 Pro 3nm chipset, which is comparable to that of the Snapdragon 8 Elite and the MediaTek Dimensity 9400. This time, after several generations, the Snapdragon processor has managed to better outperform Apple's latest chipset, especially in multi-core benchmarks. While both processors go back and forth, some reports suggest that the Snapdragon 8 Elite comes out on top in certain results. It would make sense for Apple to focus on the A19 Pro to maintain its leadership position in providing the best and fastest mobile experiences.

That said, only Apple phones can play AAA games these days, with titles like Resident Evil 4 and Death Stranding. So Apple will likely look to leverage this strength and offer even more power with the iPhone 17 Pro series compared to what's available on the iPhone 16 Pro.

iPhone 17 Pro should improve the camera experience

On the camera side, the iPhone 16 Pro offers more or less the same experience as the iPhone 15 Pro, with the same wide-angle camera, a similar telephoto shooter, and the same LiDAR sensor, but updated with a new ultra-wide-angle lens. If the iPhone 17 Pro comes equipped with a brand new shooter, it could deliver an updated camera experience and potentially turn the tide in Apple's favor.

Currently, the general consensus is that top Chinese flagships such as the Vivo X200 and the Oppo Find X6 Pro, as well as the iPhone 16 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, outperform Apple when it comes to image quality. While Apple has an advantage in video, it's certainly not at the top of the spectrum in photography.