Head to head
Apple iPhone 17vsApple iPhone 16 Pro
The short answer
Choose the iPhone 17 for peak brightness and more base storage. The iPhone 16 Pro wins no row by a gap you’d notice. Apple publishes no date for either; its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036 for the iPhone 17 and 2031–2035 for the iPhone 16 Pro, our estimate, not Apple’s.
- Released
- 2025-09-19endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £799Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Released
- 2024-09-20endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19
2 wins for iPhone 170 wins for iPhone 16 Pro6 gaps borderline2 differences you won’t notice
Verdict: iPhone 17 ahead on 2 rows, iPhone 16 Pro on none
On the makers’ published figures, the iPhone 17 wins on peak brightness (3,000 nits against 2,000 nits) and storage (base) (256 GB against 128 GB). 6 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: weight (177 g against 199 g) for the iPhone 17, HDR peak brightness (1,600 nits against 1,200 nits) for the iPhone 16 Pro, battery per charge (41 h against 37 h) for the iPhone 17, claimed video playback (30 h against 27 h) for the iPhone 17, fast charging (40 W against 20 W) for the iPhone 17 and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (4,715 against 4,248, both from 3DMark) for the iPhone 17. The differences in battery capacity and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) are below the thresholds you would notice. Both state the same display size, refresh rate, typical brightness, RAM, battery lifespan and wireless charging. The other 33 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
True to scale
Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.
Body
Display
Platform
Memory
Camera
Battery
Connectivity
Benchmarks
2 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for
Google Mobile Services · AnTuTu benchmark. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.
Questions
Is the iPhone 17 better than the iPhone 16 Pro?
On the figures, the iPhone 17 is ahead wherever there is a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 2,000 nits (Apple Support UK) and storage (base), 256 GB (Apple UK) against 128 GB (Apple Support UK). The iPhone 16 Pro wins no row by such a gap. That is a count of rows, not an overall score.
Which has the better battery?
The iPhone 17 is ahead, narrowly: battery per charge, 41 h against 37 h (both EU energy label), a borderline gap most people would not notice. The iPhone 17 is ahead, narrowly: claimed video playback, 30 h against 27 h (both Apple UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice. The iPhone 17 is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 3,692 mAh against 3,582 mAh (both GSMArena).
Which is lighter?
The iPhone 17 is lighter, narrowly: weight, 177 g (Apple UK) against 199 g (Apple Support UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.
Which has the brighter screen?
The iPhone 17, by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 2,000 nits (Apple Support UK). Both state 1,000 nits for typical brightness (Apple UK and Apple Support UK). The iPhone 16 Pro is brighter, narrowly: HDR peak brightness, 1,600 nits against 1,200 nits (both Apple UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.
Which gets updates for longer?
Apple publishes no date for either; its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036 for the iPhone 17 and 2031–2035 for the iPhone 16 Pro, our estimate, not Apple’s. Sources: Apple’s record from endoflife.date and Apple security releases.
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.