Choosing between the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro is a big decision, but these are sufficiently different handsets that it hopefully won’t be too tough to make up your mind. They both achieved 4.5 stars in our reviews, so they’re both superb phones. But they’re in many ways aimed at different people, thanks to the gulf in their pricing, camera capabilities, and more.
So below, you’ll find a full comparison of the key specs and features of these phones, along with a look at their prices, to hopefully help you come to a decision. The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro were both announced on September 9, 2025, and both shipped on September 19.
They’re also both similarly widely available around the world, so you shouldn’t have much trouble finding either of them. One of them is significantly more affordable than the other though, with the iPhone 17 being the cheapest of course, at a starting price of $799 / £799 / AU$1,399. That gets you a model with 256GB of storage, or you can pay $999 / £999 / AU$1,799 for 512GB.
The iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,999, again with 256GB of storage. So that makes its starting price $300 / £300 / AU$400 higher than the iPhone 17’s. You can also get a 512GB model for $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$2,399 or if you’re feeling really flush there’s a 1TB version for $1,499 / £1,499 / AU$2,799.
Usually two iPhones with the same number in the name will have quite a similar design, but not so with the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro, because while the iPhone 17 looks quite a lot like the iPhone 16, the iPhone 17 Pro has a new design. Specifically, the Pro has a much larger camera block, running across the width of the phone. That camera block and the frame are aluminum, but it also has a glass section on the back.
The iPhone 17 meanwhile has a completely glass rear, along with an aluminum frame and a much smaller camera block, which this time runs vertically. From the front, there’s less that’s different, with both phones having a flat screen and a Dynamic Island cut-out, and both also have curvy corners, the same selection of buttons (including a Camera Control and an Action button), and an IP68 rating (meaning they’re water-resistant to depths of six meters for up to 30 minutes, and dust-proof).
Their screens are also both protected by Ceramic Shield 2, keeping them safer from scratches than many phones, but their weights and dimensions differ, with the iPhone 17 being 149.6 x 71.5 x 8mm and 177g, while the iPhone 17 Pro is 150 x 71.9 x 8.8mm and 206g. So the Pro is slightly taller, wider, thicker, and heavier. Finally, the colors differ too, with the iPhone 17 being sold in Black, White, Mist Blue, Sage, and Lavender shades, while the iPhone 17 Pro is available in Silver, Cosmic Orange, and Deep Blue.