iPhone 18 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro: The biggest differences explained

Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro lineup is here, bringing two new generation models, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. However, this year the new iPhones were introduced with a massive price hike, leaving buyers in a tough spot over whether to spend more for the latest models. 

On the other hand, the iPhone 17 Pro models are available at an attractive price as they did not experience a price hike, and are available at discount on e-commerce platform. Therefore, which iPhone model should you buy this year, iPhone 17 Pro or the new iPhone 18 Pro. 

Must read: iPhone 18 Pro effectively around ₹70,000: Here's how you get discounts

iPhone 18 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro: Biggest upgrades

Design and display: In several ways, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro share similar design features in terms of 6.3-inch display sizes, same dimensions and camera layout. However, there are few noticeable differences as Dynamic Island 25% smaller on the iPhone 18 Pro. However, The iPhone 18 Pro is heavier at 211 grams than the 204 grams of the iPhone 17 Pro. 

The new model also comes in new Glacier and Burgundy colours. However, the iPhone 17 Pro’s Cosmic Orange was said to be the iconic colour, with many saying orange is the new black.

Camera: The iPhone 18 Pro comes with an upgraded main camera as it features a physical variable aperture with four selectable stops and an upgraded 5x optical zoom telephoto lens. Whereas the iPhone 17 Pro features a fixed sensor and a 4x optical zoom telephoto lens.

Must read: iPhone 17 Pro at ₹69,990: Croma offers exchange value plus ₹12,000 bonus on 256GB model

Apple has also introduced upgrades to videography as users can now apply cinematic effects to videos shot at up to 60 fps. In Time-lapse mode, users can now record videos in 4K and Dolby Vision HDR

Performance and battery: The iPhone 17 Pro is powered by a 3nm A19 Pro processor, whereas the iPhone 18 Pro is powered by 2nm A20 Pro chip, making it faster and refined. Apple says that it offers 50% more memory bandwidth and its up to 40 percent faster. The iPhone 18 Pro also comes with a new thermal management system that is said to offer up to 40% performance gain.

According to Apple’s website, the iPhone 17 Pro offers up to 37 hours video playback time, whereas the iPhone 18 Pro claims to offer up to 43 hours video playback time.

Price: The iPhone 17 Pro was launched at Rs 1,34,900 for the 256GB storage variant, whereas the iPhone 18 Pro comes at a starting price of Rs 1,64,900 for the base 256GB variant.