iPhone 17 vs iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: Which iPhone deserves your cash?

Every year when a new iPhone drops, I get the same question from people: Should they buy the latest one or just grab last year’s Pro? And almost every time, my answer has been the same: go for the older Pro.

But this year, Apple has flipped the script with the iPhone 17.

For the first time in years, the base iPhone feels like a true flagship, and not just because of the 120Hz display.

So we put it head-to-head with the 16 Pro, and even threw in the 15 Pro to see how a 2-year-old flagship holds up...

And yeah, we were surprised!

iPhone 17 vs iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: How do the designs compare?

Let’s start with the design. All three phones have that flagship, glass-sandwich build, and they feel just as premium as you’d hope.

The iPhone 17 gets a space-grade aluminium frame, while the 16 Pro and 15 Pro get grade-5 titanium.

And honestly, I really can’t tell them apart just by touch.

So, all three feel great in the hand. I particularly like the 16 Pro, mainly because of its weight, 199 grams vs the 15 Pro’s 187 grams and the 17’s 177 grams.

Now, the 15 Pro and 16 Pro get Ceramic Shield on the front and regular glass with a matte finish.

Both of these phones have been used as daily drivers, and they’ve held up pretty well considering the beating they have taken.

The iPhone 17 really steps things up. On the back, we have regular Ceramic Shield, but on the front, it’s using Ceramic Shield 2, which is 2X tougher than your regular Ceramic Shield.

With the iPhone 17, you also get some pretty cool colour choices to pick from. With the 16 Pro, you are limited to a very limited, albeit premium-looking shades.

For protection, all three get IP68 certification, so dust and splashes aren’t a worry. Technically, they can survive 6 metres underwater for 30 minutes; just don’t go testing that.

Ports and buttons are mostly the same across the board, except that the 15 Pro doesn’t get the camera control button.

How do the cameras of the iPhone 17, iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro fare?

The biggest design difference shows up on the back. The iPhone 17 has its dual cameras stacked vertically in a neat little pill-shaped bump, while the Pros stick to that familiar triangular triple-camera layout in a square island.

Hardware-wise, the 17 runs a 48MP main and 48MP ultrawide. The 16 Pro adds a 12MP 5x periscope telephoto, and the 15 Pro has a 48MP main, 12MP 3x telephoto, and 12MP ultrawide.

The main cameras on all three are excellent. The 17 and 16 Pro edge slightly ahead with sharper detail and cleaner colour tuning. White balance, highlights, and shadows are nearly identical between all three.

Ultrawide is almost a dead heat between the 17 and 16 Pro. You only notice differences in really low light. The 15 Pro does fine but lacks detail because of its 12MP sensor.

Portraits are again very close between the 17 and 16 Pro at the same focal lengths, but the 16 Pro’s telephoto gives you more flexibility and flattering compression.

Zoom is where the 16 Pro pulls ahead. It's true 5x optical and 25x max zoom give it an edge, even at 5x and 10x.

Video is solid across all three at 4K 60fps, but the 16 Pro unlocks 4K 120fps. On the other hand, the 17 gets dual video recording.

Both the Pro iPhones also get some pro features in photos and videos like ProRAW and ProRES.

Selfies are where the 17 takes it: Its 18MP Centre Stage sensor delivers more natural colour and better stabilisation than the other two, which only get 12MP sensors.

So, unless you’re planning on shooting proper, feature-type movies, the iPhone 17 is the one to get

Does the iPhone 17’s display hold up against the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro?

Now, let’s talk about the display. You now get a 6.3-inch panel on the iPhone 17, the same as the 16 Pro. The 15 Pro comes in at 6.1 inches. But now, the 17 has a 120Hz ProMotion display, which means animations, scrolling through webpages, everything is as smooth as any Pro iPhone.

In everyday use, the 17’s display performs exactly like the one on the 16 Pro and the 15 Pro; detail, colours, shadows, everything just pops. Content on Netflix and YouTube just comes to life. All three also support Dolby Vision.

Where the iPhone 17 wins is in brightness. It hits 3,000 nits of peak brightness versus 2,000 nits on both Pros.

So when you’re out in the sun, the iPhone 17 is literally outshining the Pro models.

How do the iPhone 17, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro compare in performance?

Now, a quick look at the performance. The iPhone 17 has the A19, the 16 Pro has the A18 Pro, and the 15 Pro uses the A17 Pro.

All three get 8GB RAM, but the 17 starts at 256GB storage, which is a big win over the 128GB base on the others. So keep that in mind if you’re looking to buy the base variants.

In day-to-day use, all three feel fast; app switching is instant, scrolling through social media is smooth, and everything just works.

Benchmarks, though, show the A19 flexing hard. In Antutu, the 17 easily outruns the 16 Pro and completely smokes the 15 Pro.

Geekbench’s CPU scores put the 16 Pro somewhat closer to the 17, but then, 3D Mark’s GPU tests see the 17 pull way ahead.

I also gamed on all three, and the 17 stayed noticeably cooler.

All three run iOS 26 and feel identical; smooth, clean, and reliable. Although I'm personally not the biggest fan of Liquid Glass, nor do I overly love the app customisation options. I usually stick with the default one.

You should also get 6–7 years of updates from the day the devices were launched, so the 17 will last just a little longer.

Now, for AI, you do have features like AI writing tools, Visual Intelligence and Image Playground, but they feel half-baked, and there’s still no AI-powered Siri. If AI tools matter, Android is the way to go.

Which has the better battery life and charging, the iPhone 17, the iPhone 16 Pro or the iPhone 15 Pro?

The iPhone 17 has the biggest battery here, 3,692mAh versus 3,582mAh on the 16 Pro and 3,274mAh on the 15 Pro.

The first couple of days with the 17 were a bit unpredictable, but after a week, I’m easily getting through a full day and sometimes even a day and a half.

I could rarely do that on the 16 Pro or 15 Pro, even when they were brand new.

Charging is faster, too. The 17 supports 40W wired charging and hits 50% in about 20 minutes. The 16 Pro and 15 Pro are limited to 25W and take about 30 minutes. All three also come with 25W MagSafe charging.

Between the iPhone 17, iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro which one should you pick?

So, the verdict. I will keep it simple: if you’re spending over 75K, get the iPhone 17. It’s faster, lasts longer, and the display is better than last year’s Pro. And for most people, including content creators, the cameras are more than enough.

The 16 Pro only makes sense if you truly need that 5x telephoto and ProRes and ProRaw features. And then too, If it drops to 65–70K, go for it, otherwise, skip it.

And the 15 Pro? Ours has taken a beating and still holds up. It’s showing its age, but we’re not replacing it anytime soon. If you own one, you’re fine to keep it.