iPhone 17 Pro: Three reasons you might want to upgrade from iPhone 16 Pro

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This fall Apple will launch four new iPhones, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. Based on rumors around what’s new this year, here are three reasons you might want to upgrade to an iPhone 17 Pro—even if you already own an iPhone 16 Pro.

#1: Camera upgrades

One thing you can always bank on with iPhone updates is that the camera system will get better.

This year, rumors indicate at least three camera changes are coming.

24MP TrueDepth camera
48MP Telephoto lens
Camera app gains multi-cam recording

The iPhone’s selfie camera hasn’t improved much in years, but all iPhone 17 models are getting a big upgrade. Apple’s ‘TrueDepth’ front-facing camera will now be 24MP, up from the 12MP in the iPhone 16 Pro.

With the rear camera system, the Telephoto camera on iPhone 17 Pro will be 48MP—making all rear cameras now 48MP. On the iPhone 16 Pro, the Telephoto lens is currently 12MP.

One rumor indicates the Camera app will add support for multi-cam recording, and it could be exclusive to iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. This feature is available in third-party apps already, so it’s unclear why Apple might require its latest Pro models to enable multi-cam.

#2: Faster performance: A19 Pro, 12GB RAM, more

Last year’s iPhone 16 Pro is no slouch when it comes to performance. But Apple has several spec improvements coming to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max that will make them even more powerful.

The A19 Pro chip will be a key performance upgrade. We don’t yet know how much more powerful the chip will be over last year’s A18 Pro. But with the growing importance of on-device AI, expect a noticeable boost.

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are also getting a bump to 12GB of RAM.

This is a 50% improvement over the iPhone 16 Pro’s 8GB, and no doubt is motivated by AI needs.

Finally, cooling upgrades are also coming to the new iPhone 17 models. This should enable more consistent performance even with intensive tasks.

#3: New design

New designs can often be a motivator of early iPhone upgrades. When not much changes about an iPhone’s look, it’s easier to wait another year to upgrade.

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are set to get a new design in several ways:

the new camera bar
aluminum rather than titanium
and new colors

Over the years, the iPhone’s rear camera bump has steadily grown. And this year, it’s officially graduating from a bump to a full-width island. This ‘camera bar’ design will offer a distinct new look after years of minimal changes.

Apple is also making a surprise change in design materials. Though titanium just debuted on the iPhone two years ago, rumors indicate it’s being dropped from the 17 Pro models in favor of aluminum.

There are always color changes with new iPhones, but those may be more substantial than usual this year for the iPhone 17 Pro. Perhaps the shift away from titanium is the reason why.

Do you plan to upgrade to an iPhone 17 Pro or Pro Max? What are the biggest motivators for you? Let us know in the comments.