For years, the regular iPhone 17 has been the “fine, I’ll take this one” option — missing ProMotion and making you wonder if Apple wanted you to nudge you into biting the bullet and ponying up for the Pro.
That changes in 2025 with Apple carving out two distinct roles: the 17 for everyday users who want a full-fat iPhone, and the Pro for people who treat their phone like production gear. The iPhone 17 now feels flagship-ready for most people, without the Pro’s extra zoom or pro-video tricks. Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max double down on creators with cinema-grade features like ProRes RAW, 8× zoom, and even a vapour chamber for sustained video-recording performance.
For the first time in a long while, the lineup doesn’t feel like one is a consolation prize and the other an upsell.
Everyday iPhone, but finally ‘pro’ enough
The 6.3-inch 17 finally gets a Super Retina XDR display with 120 Hz ProMotion. It also gets all-48 MP rear cameras — the main Wide Angle (with 2x digital simulated telephoto crop) and an Ultra Wide that can actually shoot macro, so you don’t instantly regret not buying the Pro. Even the front camera gets a glow-up: an 18 MP Centre Stage unit with a square sensor that’s wide enough to make group selfies less like a sardine tin, and is flexible enough to shoot both vertical and landscape while automatically adjusting to accommodate newcomers who enter the frame.
The iPhone 17 also gets a Ceramic Shield 2 glass on the front, and Apple swears it’s 3 times more scratch-resistant and less reflective outdoors. But as with all things glass, we’ll believe it when the first set of keys meets it (while buying protective glass protection anyway). Also notable is the fact that there is no longer a Plus model, as the new Air will take over that role.
Specs snapshot (iPhone 17)
Display: 6.3″, 120 Hz ProMotion, Always-On, 3000 nits
Cameras: 48 MP Fusion Main (2× Tele crop), 48 MP Fusion Ultra Wide (macro), 18 MP Centre Stage selfie
Chip: A19 (6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, Neural Accelerators)
Battery: up to 30 hrs video playback, Adaptive Power Mode
Storage: 256 GB / 512 GB
Price: From SGD 1,299
Colours: Black, Lavender, Mist Blue, Sage, White
Bottom line: The iPhone 17 is no longer the ‘cheap seat.’ It’s good enough that most people can choose the regular iPhone without wondering ‘what if?’
Pro models: Apple’s new cinema gear that just happens to be a phone
Then there’s the Pro and Pro Max, which feel like Apple raided a film set and crammed it all into an aluminium housing. While the headline cameras aren’t groundbreaking — 4x optical-quality zoom at 100mm (digital crop takes it to 8x or 200mm equivalent) — it is still the longest ever on an iPhone.
The switch from titanium to aluminium feels like a downgrade if you consider premium materials an integral part of the remit. However, Apple clearly wants to prioritise heat dissipation by coupling the new housing (aluminium is at least 10 times more efficient than titanium) with a new laser-welded vapour chamber inside the unibody. This keeps the A19 Pro chip cool for a longer sustained period, so you can run AAA games or ProRes RAW video without your hands turning into hotplates.
And speaking of RAW: the Pro is now the first smartphone to shoot ProRes RAW and Log 2 with genlock support — yes, the system used to sync multiple cinema cameras.
Specs snapshot (iPhone 17 Pro / Pro Max)
Display: 6.3″ (Pro) / 6.9″ (Pro Max), 120 Hz ProMotion, Always-On, 3000 nits
Chip: A19 Pro with vapour chamber, 6-core CPU, 6-core GPU with ray tracing, 16-core Neural Engine
Cameras: Three 48 MP Fusion lenses — Main, Ultra Wide, Tele (100 mm 4×, 200 mm 8× zoom)
Video: 4K120 HDR, ProRes RAW, Log 2, Dolby Vision, genlock
Battery: Up to 33 hours video playback for Pro and up to 39 hours video playback for Pro Max; both hit 50% in 20 min with 40 W adapter
Storage: Up to 1 TB (Pro), 2 TB (Pro Max)
Colours: Deep Blue, Cosmic Orange, Silver
Prices: Starts from SGD 1,749 (Pro), SGD 1,899 (Pro Max)
With its new video capabilities, Apple is also offering up to 2TB storage for the first time, pushing its most expensive model to an eye-watering SGD 3,0099.
Regular vs Pro: different audiences, finally clear
For once, the base iPhone doesn’t feel like a compromise. The iPhone 17 now feels like a genuinely solid flagship for normal humans — and about time, given how competitive Android phones are. Nobody needs to feel punished or have FOMO for not buying the Pro. At a starting price of SGD 1,299, the iPhone 17 is the obvious pick for most people.
For those who want a lot more out of their cameras, Apple has leaned into its traditional strength — video — and turned the Pro and Pro Max into creator rigs masquerading as phones: cinema-grade ProRes RAW and Log 2 tools and genlock support, vapour-chamber cooling and 33/39 hours of video playback for all-day shoot, edit, and streams.
Pre-Now available for pre-order, with availability in Singapore on 19 September.
