I think it gives the phone a bolder look, which I quite like. It’s all a matter of opinion and personal taste when it comes to the appearance, though.
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iPhone 17 Pro Can’t believe Apple released an iPhone Pro that feels this cheap.
- Thread starter Ravox
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And your phone is about to scratch and ding much more than mine. And if that’s fine with you, then so be it.
But it’s not for me.
Scandium is not an option for Apple due to the high cost and scarcity.
Apple did this to themselves and surely saw this debate coming. That’s what happens after you spend many millions of dollars educating consumers via marketing that the alloy used in the finishing of their phone is a differentiating factor between premium and non-premium devices, as Apple has done for many generations of iPhone and iPhone Pro. Hell, the 15 pro marketing campaign was literally just the word TITANIUM.
Stainless and then titanium were huge selling points for me personally of the iPhone 4 and iPhone Pros because I saw first hand how much durability (not in scratch resistance but in resistance to deformation/denting) it added vs aluminum. And, I do not push the thermal boundaries of these devices so I have literally zero use for a marginal increase in conductivity offered by aluminum. I don’t remember ever once having a thermal throttling issue with any iPhone I’ve owned.
But, the iPhone family is differentiating this year. If you want jewelry-level materials and hand feel, you don’t buy the construction worker’s hand tools. And if you’re a professional photographer, gamer, or videographer, you probably want to maximize thermal performance over perceived luxuriousness of the build of your device.
Stainless and then titanium were huge selling points for me personally of the iPhone 4 and iPhone Pros because I saw first hand how much durability (not in scratch resistance but in resistance to deformation/denting) it added vs aluminum. And, I do not push the thermal boundaries of these devices so I have literally zero use for a marginal increase in conductivity offered by aluminum. I don’t remember ever once having a thermal throttling issue with any iPhone I’ve owned.
But, the iPhone family is differentiating this year. If you want jewelry-level materials and hand feel, you don’t buy the construction worker’s hand tools. And if you’re a professional photographer, gamer, or videographer, you probably want to maximize thermal performance over perceived luxuriousness of the build of your device.
If you watched the keynote on the 17 launch, and I am not assuming that you didn't, Apple talked about why they chose to go with an aluminum unibody design. Outside of it being lighter and better at dissipating heat, a unibody structure makes the phone more durable. Because it is one piece and not several. Apple stated that this design approach yielded a much stronger exterior for its design. This obviously could not have been accomplished with titanium since that would have required additional materials, such as aluminum on the inside of the phone and composite glass on the exterior. Apple feels that the unibody element, with the Ceramic Shield on the back, instead of a traditional glass composite works best. So far it would appear they are correct when it comes to the iPhone 17 being able to absorb and then dissipate the energy from a sudden shock, such as a drop.
You keep talking about how titanium is this great premium material that made the iPhone 15 such a premium device. You obviously realize a tiny portion of titanium was used in the design of that iPhone. It's not like the entire iPhone is made of titanium - just the frame. I am not going to argue whether titanium is a premium material, you can believe it is or it is not, but it was small element of the previous iterations of the iPhone.
The fact is that the last two iPhone models. the 15 Pro and 16 Pro did not perform so well when they were dropped, especially when they were dropped on their face or back - from a moderate height. You can see evidence of this all over the internet and Youtube. Lots of people who have dropped previous iPhones have seen their screen shatter and severely crack making the phone largely unusable for many people.
You may not care about durability, but many people do; especially those people spending this kind of money, who would feel devastated if dropping their iPhone onto the ground caused the screen to severely crack or shatter.
Apple has set out to try and address that. Yes it appears that anodization process on the new iPhone 17 Pro appears to be susceptible to some degree of paint chipping and some other minor superficial cosmetic blemishes. We can argue all day how much that diminishes the "premiumness" of the iPhone 17 Pro. I would argue, as I am sure many who have dropped their Pro iPhone's in the past - only to see the screen and back glass composite shatter - particularly those who did not have AppleCare protection, that this is a more than acceptable tradeoff - cosmetic blemishes versus a shattered iPhone.
It's also worth noting that the titanium frame or border around the previous Pro models also suffered from the same cosmetic blemishes when the frame was the first part to hit the ground. The titanium frame is still going to scuff. Either way you are getting some superficial damage to your iPhone.
If you believe that holding an iPhone with a small amount of titanium around the border of the phone makes it feel premium, you are certainly entitled to that opinion. The point I was making is that the vast majority of iPhone users put their iPhone in a case. Does Apple know this? Of course they do? Did they take that into consideration when they designed this iPhone? Yes I am sure that they did. Does that mean that they cut corners to save money? Perhaps. I have no idea. I try to take companies at their word until there is enough evidence to say otherwise.
I am not, despite what you might think, an apologist for Apple. I often criticize them, and I will say that I wished they had done a better job with anodization process. But I do believe, that even though they chose to use a "lesser material" this year with aluminum, that they nonetheless have improved the durability of the iPhone in several key areas.
Also you mentioned earlier that the previous iPhone Pro's were not susceptible to getting too hot and that Apple seemed to make up a problem with the previous iPhone getting to hot, to justify switching to aluminum and vapor cooling chamber. While You may not have experienced your iPhone 15 Pro getting too hot, that was a widely reported problem for many users. So again it was something that Apple had a right to address.
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Apple has specifically said those things you consider cheap are there to address heat. And this processor is more powerful than what is in my 16 Pro Max. Read the review I posted a while back in this thread.
Apple obviously thought it was enough of an issue for them to put a cooling system that is new to them in the device. It wasn't done to cheap out on you.
Yes I am. Why? Want to mention that I have a financial conviction so you can play 'gotcha'? That all happened almost a quarter century ago although the conviction came later. I was responsible. I owned it. I received a just sentence, and I've done a whole lot to the good since, including by the way being one of the few people in this country who after a conviction went on to carry a badge.
Stick to the topic.
I read somewhere (not my personal opinion) that the case plastic is gonna keep all the heat there despite the vapor chamber...
Hmm, an aluminum unibody on a phone is considered cheap. But, an aluminum unibody on a MacBook Pro is considered best in class. Gotta love some of these internet engineers. Sometime this place is better than watching stand up comedy.
I upgrade my iphones every 2-3 years. I currently have the 16 Pro Max, so I won’t be upgrading this year. Even tho I am not going to buy the 17 Pro Max, I did check it out while in the Apple store today and it feels & looks totally fine to me. So i dunno why some are saying it doesn’t look “Pro”. First of all, that is just their opinion & to me, it kinda reeks of negative group think. Why? Just because it’s aluminum & not Titanium? Who cares! Especially if it dissipates heat better than last years titanium. Or perhaps they bent out of shape about the camera plateau? Really? It looks fine to me. No less “Pro” looking(whatever that means) to me than last years. Lastly, about the 17 Pro being easily scratched? I didn’t see any glaring scratches while at the Apple Store. Until i see it with my own eyes, I’ll take this as an overblown criticism as well.
You are regurgitating reasoning that was given to you by apple, the seller of these phones lol. I am not reading this novel in its entirety but Yes, a phone constructed of two pieces of glass held together by a titanium frame trumps a “unibody aluminum” body as far as premium goes.
It’s technically stronger and feels better to touch.
What’s the purpose of the ceramic glass pane on the back of the phone? Did apple explain that to you during the keynote?
I’m still laughing out loud at “unibody”.
Personally? I'd take the iPhone 4 and X-13 Pro stainless steel chassis with whatever compromises that brings over titanium or aluminum. I loved the feel of those phones in hand and the durability of them.
What do you mean what's the purpose? I just explained the purpose. It is to help prevent shattering and cracking of the back of the phone. The same thing the Ceramic Shield does on the front of the iPhone, to enhance the strength of the screen and prevent shattering in the case of a drop.
Didn't you say you purchased the iPhone Air. The same process at play there. I said earlier I will accept Apple's explanation until there is some reason to call BS.
Oh now you want to stick to the topic. That’s rich.
Had a very similar feeling/experience when I held the 17 Pro iPhones at the Apple Store today.
I've consistently stuck to the topic, which is that the phone element called cheap is there to help the phone run properly.
yea makes perfect sense to compare the materials and build quality of a product that is 5-8x larger than the other with a completely different form 🤦🏻♂️
The topic is that many people perceive aluminum as feeling cheap compared to materials used in previous models. We are not discussing the reasons behind the change, as that is irrelevant. It’s not even that great of a reason considering (at least) the 16 Pro doesn’t suffer from overheating, as you suggest. I promise you my titanium 16 Pro runs properly, as do millions of other 16 Pros.
This is just going in circles now.
I think you should get used to it
apple is going to extract the most amount of value out of pro sales by exactly creating this tension where they offer the highest 2 or 3 requests from consumers, the camera and battery life, and then deprioritize via cost reduction the bottom 2-3 requests from each line. in effect, they understand that 100% of pro users or pro targeted buyers value having the best camera tech and battery tech apple has to offer that using aluminum will have 0 impact on sales to those users.
I would expect the air to be the only glass-titanium-glass phone moving forward because its probably going to be the highest profit margin phone line moving forward, so it gives apple the capability to spend more on materials for the phone.
apple is going to extract the most amount of value out of pro sales by exactly creating this tension where they offer the highest 2 or 3 requests from consumers, the camera and battery life, and then deprioritize via cost reduction the bottom 2-3 requests from each line. in effect, they understand that 100% of pro users or pro targeted buyers value having the best camera tech and battery tech apple has to offer that using aluminum will have 0 impact on sales to those users.
I would expect the air to be the only glass-titanium-glass phone moving forward because its probably going to be the highest profit margin phone line moving forward, so it gives apple the capability to spend more on materials for the phone.
I see. So you just want to whine. Got it.
I have a 16 Pro Max. I know how it runs.
I honestly love the design, it seems light, modern and (well except for color choices) its snappy! I am happy!!!
Why not compare them? You're the one that is making the argument that titanium is more premium because of how it feels in your hand. The size of the device shouldn't really matter.
Heck the iPad Pro might as well join the party also. I doubt anyone that purchased an iPad Pro feels that it is a "cheap device" when they hold it.
MBP and iPad Pro may not = the form factor of an iPhone, but they are moved about the world all the same. There ability to hold up from frequent placing and picking up and the occasional drop, are worth considering just as much as the iPhone.