The iPhone 18 Pro is better than my iPhone 17 Pro.
Better cameras. Better battery life. More performance. Some genuinely nice new colours.
But after looking at everything Apple has changed this year, I’ve reached a fairly simple conclusion:
I’m keeping my iPhone 17 Pro.
That doesn’t mean I think the iPhone 18 Pro is a bad phone. Far from it.
The problem is that almost everything Apple has improved falls into the same category for me:
Nice to have — but not enough to make me upgrade.
Watch my iPhone 18 Pro video on YouTube
My iPhone upgrade cycle
I’ve followed roughly the same iPhone upgrade cycle for around 15 years.
Every two years.
So realistically, I wasn’t expecting to replace my iPhone 17 Pro this year anyway.
But I’m not completely tied to that cycle. If Apple announced something genuinely exciting, I’d consider upgrading early.
For that to happen, I think I’d need some combination of three things:
- A refreshed design
- A genuinely jaw-dropping new feature
- A price that makes the upgrade feel worthwhile
I don’t necessarily know what that killer new feature would be. That’s partly the point — I want Apple to show me something that makes me think, “I want that.”
The iPhone 18 Pro hasn’t done that.
The camera is better — but my 17 Pro is already excellent
As a content creator, the cameras are naturally one of the first things I look at when Apple announces a new iPhone.
The iPhone is already an incredibly capable video camera, and Apple has improved things again with the iPhone 18 Pro.
The new variable aperture is interesting. There are more manual-style controls, and Apple continues to push what creators can achieve using an iPhone.
I’d happily have all of those things.
But there’s another question that matters more:
Would they actually change the content I create?
Probably not.
My iPhone 17 Pro already gives me an excellent video camera that I can comfortably use for content.
Would moving to the 18 Pro suddenly make my videos noticeably better?
Again, probably not.
So while I appreciate the camera improvements, they stay firmly in the nice-to-have category.
I’ll always take better battery life
It’s a similar story with battery life.
I’ll never complain about Apple giving me more battery. There are certainly days when I’m away from home or my desk when every additional hour would be useful.
But my everyday usage is slightly different.
My iPhone spends quite a lot of the working day sitting on a MagSafe charger on my desk.
That means battery life usually isn’t a major problem I need solving.
Would I like better battery life?
Absolutely.
Would I spend £1,199 upgrading a year early to get it?
No.
I really like the new colours
I will give Apple this: some of the iPhone 18 Pro colours look great.
I can see the black version being incredibly popular, while Burgundy would probably be my other choice.
If I were buying an 18 Pro, deciding between those two might genuinely be one of the harder decisions.
Unfortunately, liking a colour isn’t enough to make me replace an otherwise perfectly good phone.
Especially when we get to the price.
£1,199 changes the conversation
The iPhone 18 Pro starts at £1,199 in the UK.
More broadly, we’ve seen prices creeping upwards across the iPhone range.
I’ve been following my two-year upgrade cycle for so long that I don’t think higher prices alone will suddenly make me start keeping an iPhone for three or four years.
Usually, the decision for me comes down to whether I buy my next iPhone outright or get it through a contract.
But once we’re comfortably beyond £1,000, I need to be able to justify spending that money.
Right now, my 17 Pro still does everything I need.
The iPhone 18 Pro is better.
I just don’t think it’s £1,199 worth of better for me.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t upgrade
There’s an important distinction here.
I’m not saying:
Don’t buy an iPhone 18 Pro.
I’m saying:
I’m not upgrading from my iPhone 17 Pro.
Those are very different things.
If you’re using something like an iPhone 15 Pro and you’re beginning to notice its performance declining, an upgrade becomes much easier to justify.
If the 18 Pro would genuinely improve your experience and you can comfortably afford it, I can absolutely see why you’d upgrade.
You’re getting a better phone.
I’m simply starting from a device that’s already doing everything I need it to do.
But Apple has tempted me with another iPhone…
This is where my decision gets a little more interesting.
Because Apple has announced an iPhone this year that’s made me think about breaking my normal two-year cycle.
It isn’t the iPhone 18 Pro.
It’s the iPhone Duo.
Apple’s first foldable gives me something the 18 Pro doesn’t: a potentially different experience from the iPhone I already own.
And somehow, a £1,999 foldable has got me thinking about upgrading more than the £1,199 iPhone 18 Pro.
I’ve already gone much deeper into why in my iPhone Duo video.
Watch my iPhone Duo first thoughts
I’m keeping my iPhone 17 Pro
Unless something changes when I eventually get to spend some time with the iPhone 18 Pro, my decision is made.
I’m keeping my 17 Pro.
I’d happily take the better camera.
I’d happily take the additional battery life.
I really like some of the new colours.
But none of those improvements gives me a compelling reason to spend £1,199 and upgrade a year earlier than I normally would.
And maybe that’s actually a compliment to the iPhone 17 Pro as much as anything else.
Not every new phone needs to make the previous generation obsolete.
For someone upgrading from an older iPhone, the 18 Pro could make a lot of sense.
For me, though?
Nice to have isn’t enough.
What about you? Are you upgrading to the iPhone 18 Pro, or are you sticking with your current iPhone for another year?
You can also read the original version of this article on Medium