iPhone 17 Air vs iPhone 17 pro Full Review: Design, Camera, and Performance Tested

Apple’s thinnest iPhone Air brings with it a high price, and the redesigned iPhone 17 Pro features a telephoto camera that can zoom up to 8X.

The iPhone Plus is officially gone, replaced by the sleek new iPhone Air. Rounding out the family are the iPhone 17 Air and  17 Pro. Not sure which model fits your needs? I’ve broken down the key specs and features to help you choose the right one.

APPLE has largely  stuck with the same iPhone design since the iPhone 11 debuted in 2019, but change is afoot in Cupertino. While the iPhone 17 may resemble iPhones of the past few years, there’s an entirely new camera layout for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Also, there’s a brand-new iPhone! The iPhone Air replaces what was supposed to be the iPhone 17 Plus. It, too, features a new look, and it’s the thinnest iPhone Apple has ever made.

The iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro both models look impressive,but they are made for different kinds of users of this era.

Here’s our full review.

iPhone 17 Air & iPhone pro lineup’s design and display changes, camera compared

iPhone Air: Thinner, single-camera. The new, thin model takes the place of the iPhone 16 Plus as the larger non-Pro model, but it offers only a single main rear camera.

 iPhone 17Air is the star in terms of slimness and probability. At just 5.6mm thick. It’s the thinnest iPhone Apple has ever made. It feels feather-light and crafted with the titanium frame for a premium touch.

Despite that, the iPhone Air has a 6.5-inch OLED display (slightly smaller than the 6.7-inch display on last year’s iPhone 16 Plus).

However, engineering such thin devices presents challenges: higher production costs and reduced battery space, though Apple claims 24-hour battery life for the iPhone 17 Air when fully charged.

iPhone 17 Pro,on the other hand,is slightly bulkier at 8.75mm but for good reason. It packs in a bigger camera system, more advanced cooling and longer bigger life. The Pro is all about durability and functionality.

Verdict: If you value sleek design and comfort in hand the Air Wins, but for rugged build Pro-level features, the Pro edges ahead.

Battery & life Charging  

Such thin devices present challenges: higher production costs and reduced battery space, though Apple claims 24-hour battery life for the iPhone 17 Air when fully charged.

So what about charging? The iPhone 17 Pro supports 40W charging, which can get you to 50% in just 20 minutes. But the iPhone Air can only do that in 30 minutes with a 20W adapter.

Similarly, the iPhone 17 Pro offers faster wireless charging at 25W, compared to 20W for the iPhone Air.

 iPhone 17 Pro is for you, but if you want the longest battery life, a whopping 2TB of storage option for all of your content, and a big 6.9 inch screen, then go with the iPhone 17 Pro. 

Verdict The pro clearly leads in endurance and speed,perfect for heavy users.

 iPhone 17 Pro The displays on these three phones are pretty similar otherwise. All of them feature OLED panels with always-on display functionality and ProMotion refresh rates that go from 1 to 120Hz. And all three displays get up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness. The biggest difference is really size.

Iphone 17 Air camera equipped with a 45MP main camera,it captures crisp and vibrant photos. It lacks Ultra-wide telephoto lenses that offer up to 8 x optical quality zoom, plus proRaw , macro, and advanced video recording modes.

Iphone 17 Pro The three returning iPhone 17 Pro models have had redesigns of their rear camera bumps. In place of the diagonal arrangement in last year’s model, the standard iPhone 17 Air’s  one camera has been vertically aligned in a raised oval bump. The iPhone 17 Pro keeps their triangular triple-camera alignment, but the camera bump has been extended from a square to a rectangle that takes up the width of the phones.

 iPhones’ front-facing shooters have been upgraded to 18-megapixel cameras, up from 12 megapixels on last year’s Apple phones. They also get the Center Stage feature, which first debuted on the iPad Pro M-series models. This feature automatically keeps the focus centered on whoever’s holding the phone, even as they move around. 

 Verdict: If you are in professional photography or videography the  Pro is a no-brainer. For casual shooters who mostly use the main camera . The Air is more than  enough. 

Apple iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro Features

Final Verdict

 Choose the iPhone 17 Pro if you’re a content creator, gamer, or someone who needs the absolute best in photography, performance, and battery life.

 Choose the iPhone 17 Air if you want a **slimmer, lighter phone** that still packs flagship performance but don’t need the extra pro‑level camera and cooling features.

Both devices are excellent — it just comes down to whether you prioritize **design and portability** (Air) or power and versatility ( pro)