It’s fair to say that both the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 are very much at home on our list of the best smartphones for photographers.
Apple has been making phones that are excellent for photography for some time now – but considering there are several models in the line-up, it begs the question, do you really need the most expensive, high-end iPhone, or will the “base” model do the job?
Price-wise, the iPhone 17 is much more affordable than its “Pro” sibling while giving you many of the same or similar specifications. Some of the things you’ll be losing out on if you pay the extra for the iPhone 17 Pro, you might find you don’t really need, but here I’ll take a closer look at how the two match up to give you a better idea of how they compare.
I’ve been using both models at the same time to see how they stack up in different scenarios – and to try and determine whether you actually need to spend that additional cash.
iPhone 17 Pro vs iPhone 17: Specs
Have a look at the table below. Here I’ve outlined some of the major specifications, particularly those that are likely to be of interest from a photography standpoint.
You’ll see that, actually, the two models have a reasonably similar spec sheet. The main difference highlighted here is the lack of a telephoto lens – with the iPhone 17 Pro, you’ll enjoy a 4x optical zoom lens, which also gives you 8x “optical quality” zoom.
Not everybody will be bothered about having a zoom, though – if you own an older model which has a zoom lens, ask yourself how often you use it. My personal experience tells me I could live without it, especially if my budget were tight.
| iPhone 17 Pro | iPhone 17 |
| 48MP f/1.78 main camera, OIS, 24MP output, 24mm | 48MP f/1.6 main camera, OIS, 24MP output,26mm |
| 48MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera, 24MP output, 13mm | 48MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera, 24MP output, 13mm |
| 48MP f/2.8 4x telephoto camera, 100mm, 8x “optical quality” crop | N/A |
| 18MP f/1.9 selfie camera with square sensor | 18MP f/1.9 selfie camera with square sensor |
| HEIF, JPEG, raw (DNG) stills | HEIF, JPEG stills |
| 4K 120fps video | 4K 60fps video |
| 6.3-inch XDR OLED Super Retina 2622 x 1206 pixels, 3000 nits max brightness, 120Hz Ceramic Shield 2 front and back | 6.3-inch XDR OLED Super Retina 2622 x 1206 pixels, 3000 nits max brightness, 120Hz Ceramic Shield 2 front only |
| IP68 splash, water and dust resistant | IP68 splash, water and dust resistant |
| Apple Intelligence, A19 Pro Processor | Apple Intelligence, A19 processor |
| 31 hour battery life, wireless and fast charging (40W) available | 30 hour battery life, wireless and fast charging (40W) available |
| 256GB/512GB/1TB storage | 256GB/512GBstorage |
| 150 x 71.9 x 8.75mm, 204g | 149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95mm, 177g |
Another difference is the ability to shoot in the more flexible “raw” format. This gives you scope to adjust your images after you’ve shot them in a bit more fine grain detail than you can with an ordinary HEIF or JPEG file. But again, I pretty much never shoot in raw on my phone – so could I live without it? Absolutely.
There’s a slight difference in the main lens – the iPhone 17 Pro has a 24mm equivalent focal length, while the iPhone 17 has a 26mm. In most scenarios, this is largely unnoticeable.
Both models offer 4K video recording, but the 17 Pro has far more advanced features. It can shoot at 120fps (compared to 60fps for the iPhone 17), and also offers ProRes video recording, Genlock support and Apple Log 2. Most average users will never need to use these tools, but if you’re a content creator, you may find them to be very useful.
Elsewhere there are some other differences, such as a slightly better battery life for the iPhone 17 Pro, a better processor (which affects the speed of the phone’s operation – something which is really only likely to be in any way noticeable if you’re doing high-intensity tasks such as gaming or editing 4K video), and the ability to buy the iPhone 17 Pro in a 1TB option.
There are some design differences, too. The iPhone 17 Pro has the new camera “plateau”, while the iPhone 17 sticks to a more straightforward, classic design. There are different colours available for the two models – personally, I prefer those you get with the iPhone 17, but the iPhone 17 Pro’s vivid orange certainly is striking.
Both phones have the same 6.3-inch screen, and the same specifications – the same brightness, refresh rate and “always on” capability. Both have a Ceramic Shield front, but only the 17 Pro has it on the back, too. They’re very similar in size to each other, but the 17 is a little lighter.
It’s worth noting that you can get the iPhone 17 Pro in the “Max” version, giving you a 6.9” screen. There’s no “Plus” option for the iPhone 17 as there has been in previous years, so if you want a big phone, then you’re out of luck if you also want it to be cheap.
The iPhone 17 Pro has the faster A19 Pro processor, while the iPhone 17 has the still-new, but not quite as fast, A19 processor. This will likely make little difference to most ordinary users – but anyone doing a lot of power-intensive tasks, such as gaming or shooting/editing 4K video, may find some benefit to having the faster option.
Battery life between the two isn’t dramatically different, with Apple quoting only one hour less of video playback for the iPhone 17.
iPhone 17 Pro vs iPhone 17: Image Quality
I used both phones to take photos in several situations so I could directly compare both models. In the examples below, the image taken with the iPhone 17 Pro is always on the left, the iPhone 17 is always on the right.
GENERAL-1X LENS
Here we can see that both models produce fairly similar results, with excellent colour rendition and detail. The 1x lens for the iPhone 17 has a slightly narrower field of view (26mm) compared to the iPhone 17 Pro (24mm). Personally, I prefer 24mm, but it’s unlikely to make a huge amount of difference in most situations.
ULTRAWIDE
Again, the two pictures here are almost identical, which is exactly what I’d expect. Detail and colour rendition are great from both.
2x
The 2x option from both models uses the central portion of the 1x sensor.
4x
Here is where we see the iPhone 17 Pro pulling ahead of the iPhone 17 a lot more clearly. The result from the 17 Pro is crisp and full of detail, which is what we’d expect from a zoom lens rather than a digital zoom. The 17’s 4x option is just about usable if you’re only looking at it at small sizes, but if you’re at all interested in zoom, this may not be the phone for you.
8x / 10x
Again, there’s a much clearer divide here. The iPhone 17 Pro’s 8x “optical quality” image is very good, showing a decent amount of detail, and it’s certainly very usable. Meanwhile, the Pro 17 image is a bit of a blurry mess at this point.
MACRO
The close-up images from both devices look remarkably similar. Both use the ultrawide lens, which is the same on both models, so that’s hardly a surprise. I can see no difference here, so if macro is your thing, then these two phones are evenly matched.
LOW LIGHT PERFORMANCE
The low-light performance from both phones is pretty strong. If we look at images taken by the 1x lens, it’s hard to spot much of a difference. There’s a touch more detail seen in the ultrawide of the 17 Pro, but it’s only if you’re really examining it closely that it’s obvious. There’s also more detail from the “2x” option of the 17 Pro, too.
PORTRAIT
Although the sitter has moved in between shots (toddlers are like that), I can see that the portraits produced are pretty similar – including the types of outlines. The blurring of the background is pretty good for both, and they’ve both coped reasonably well with somewhat fussy outlines.
SELFIE
As I’d expect, the selfies are pretty much identical – that makes sense considering the selfie cameras on both models are the same.
iPhone 17 Pro vs iPhone 17: Value for Money
Starting at $799/£799 for the 256GB model, the iPhone 17 is one of the more affordable ways to get Apple’s latest technology. For many users, 256GB of storage will be more than enough.
While it’s still expensive compared with some competing Android phones, it’s a compelling option if you’re invested in the Apple ecosystem or simply prefer iOS. It also gives you access to Apple’s latest hardware and software features without stepping up to the more expensive Pro models.
For many people, the iPhone 17 is likely the better choice – you get a lot of similarities without the added flashiness (and cost) of the 17 Pro.
But what do you get for the extra £300? Well, you get an extra lens, a faster processor, a better battery life, and – arguably – a more interesting design (although personally I much prefer the colours available for the 17). There’s also some other stuff like advanced video options and the ability to shoot in raw format.
I reckon I could live without the zoom lens – it’s fairly rare that I use it – and the other stuff, while nice to have, wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me. I could definitely live without the video and photo features that I never use, but everyone’s different.
Overall, I’d say the iPhone 17 is the better-value choice for most buyers. The iPhone 17 Pro’s extra features are impressive, but they’re unlikely to justify the additional £300 for everyone. If you’ll genuinely benefit from them, however, the upgrade can be worth the extra cost.
Verdict
If you’re asking yourself should I buy an iPhone 17 Pro or an iPhone 17, what you need to do is consider what use you’d get out of the extra features that the extra $300/£300 the Pro model will get you.
The Pro is undoubtedly a better phone, with some worthy additional features that may – or may not – be of use to you depending on the type of phone user that you are.
Most of the time, the 17 and the 17 Pro take very similar pictures. The 1x and the ultrawide lenses on both are pretty evenly matched. As I’d expect, the zoom is much better on the iPhone 17 Pro model, but if you’re anything like me, it’s used fairly infrequently (you might be nothing like me and use it all the time – no judgement).
On the whole, I’d say most people should probably opt for the iPhone 17 if you just want a well-rounded phone that takes nice pictures. Of course, if you need its advanced features and the telephoto lens, then paying an extra $300/£300 to get it is probably worth it.
Which one would you opt for?
Related reading:
- iPhone 17 Pro vs 16 Pro: Which takes the best photos, and should photographers upgrade?
- iPhone 17 Pro review: Apple’s best camera, but is it worth upgrading?
- iPhone 17 review: is this the iPhone you should buy?
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