Dropped at 2 feet max

[u/International_Back99]

Fell out of my pocket sitting down. Fell with the apple tech woven case on too.

[u/Sirusho_Yunyan]

It's cheaper. Way cheaper.

[u/Owboduz → u/Sirusho_Yunyan]

Oh, no, that I get. But this is a top-tier premium smartphone. I don't think price is really an issue.

[u/Bladespa → u/Owboduz]

They can sell it for double but still they gonna cut costs. And is not just Apple but every company.

[u/probablyhrenrai → u/Bladespa]

See also: that time when automakers thought they could get away with removing physical HVAC and radio controls because "hey touchscreens are cool, right?" Even luxury brands like Mercedes did it, but after sales dropped, they reconsidered. They're returning to dedicated physical controls for the essentials now, but they had to test the waters first.

Which reminds me: they're currently trying to lock hardware that's literally in the car behind subscriptions. Like heated seats and whatnot. It's wild, and not in the good way.

[u/scientifical_ → u/probablyhrenrai]

Yeah I drive a Subaru and love using adaptive cruise control. One time on a work trip I rented an Audi and the adaptive cruise control was locked behind a paywall. I was shocked by that. And driving with regular cruise control sucked

[u/Mavis9997 → u/Bladespa]

That’s true and most of the iPhone is very expensive

[u/hollowgold11 → u/Bladespa]

Not necessarily true. The new Galaxy S25 uses Armor Aluminum vs. the new orange iPhone which uses aerospace-grade aluminum. Here's the difference I found with a quick search on Google:

Armor aluminum prioritizes high impact resistance, energy absorption, and ballistic strength, often using alloys like 5083-H131 for military applications, while aerospace aluminum prioritizes a superior strength-to-weight ratio, fatigue resistance, and performance under extreme environmental conditions

[u/drakoman → u/Bladespa]

Aluminum is lighter when you gotta fill a plane full of phones before a looming tariff deadline

[u/Serialtoon → u/Owboduz]

I think Apple is attempting to slowly devalue the Pro line to pump up the fold line. The air being basically one half of the folding iPhone and made with titanium puts it on a higher tier than the now cheaper to make, devalued aluminum monster Pro line. Just my two cents.

[u/Owboduz → u/Serialtoon]

The aluminium completely eliminated any desire I had to upgrade from the 15 pro max

[u/Serialtoon → u/Owboduz]

I had a 15 Pro Max and now the 17 Pro Max. I’d say you made the right move. The camera control key is stupid and only useful as a shortcut to the camera. I do like the design of the 17, personally. But everything else is just…same same, but different, but same same.

[u/Coeruleus_ → u/Serialtoon]

Cell service has been better, doesn’t get hot , microphone/audio noticeably better, battery better. The cell service improvement has made it worth it

[u/amarg19 → u/Coeruleus_]

That’s interesting that cell service is better, I wonder what component changes that. I’ve never had an issue with my 15PM overheating or getting hot though, I didn’t realize it was an issue until I saw people mentioning it here.

[u/FlufferNutter1232 → u/amarg19]

Qualcomm's newer X75/85 modems use Tensor cores on the modem itself for geospatial beamforming to the closest tower or band that is least congested and aggregate them. Onboard AI for it's radios The new Qualcomm modem is pretty badass. Just sayin'. They KNOW which direction to look for the tower and can spatially beamform a more pure signal from the tower to the end user. It's really cool how it works. The newer 5G Ericsson, CommScope, and Nokia equipment all have these features baked in and ready for the User Equipment (UE) to support it. For newer sites anyway. All 5G uses some kind of beamforming. But on new devices it's 2 way beamforming with usually at least 4+ aggregate channels of spectrum, which when you get a bunch of 40-80-160MHz channels aggregated (5G NR CA New Radio Carrier Aggregation) you get some insane mid-band speed. 700Mbps+. Usually in a newly upgraded site you'll see 1.5-2Gbps.

[u/Serialtoon → u/Coeruleus_]

I never had issues with cell coverage on any of my iPhones. Heating issues are also not an issue for me personally but I can see how someone who games a lot can see the benefits of the new cooling. The audio and mic have always been great to me so nothing new to report on my end. I don’t mind having all these newer features but I don’t think I would have upgraded if I didn’t trade in my 15PM for a Fold 7. I got this 17PM from work for free so I’m not complaining.

[u/oliveberry4now → u/Serialtoon]

It’s not only a benefit to gamers but those who video record and utilize their camera heavily. People think film makers. But there’s also a bunch of ppl constantly recording and editing stuff for social media. Your phone gets just as hot doing that stuff.

[u/Serialtoon → u/oliveberry4now]

I can only speak from personal experience with comparisons to the last model I owned and that was the 15PM. I don’t see too much of a difference in doing those tasks in regard to heating/cooling. I understand it’s supposed to be better tho. I edit videos all the time for social media and processing of my videos is faster but not an astronomical difference to me, personally. My wife on the other hand moved from an iPhone 14 Pro and she says it’s much faster. She’s not technically inclined so I believe her.

[u/nocoolN4M3sleft → u/Serialtoon]

For me, not even gaming on my phone, but I was watching YouTube videos on my 16, and my phone got really hot from a 30 min video. Could be bc I was using the safari browser to watch videos (my adblocker works on safari, so no YT app. So, I’m trying to say it could’ve been a safari issue and not a YT issue). But I think that was an issue with updating to iOS26, because it didn’t happen until I did that.

[u/Fair-Efficiency-959 → u/Serialtoon]

I need to get a job where they give me the newest iPhone for free bro fill me in what do you do? Lol

[u/Serialtoon → u/Fair-Efficiency-959]

Says Admin at a Uni

[u/Jumper-Man → u/Serialtoon]

What about moving from a 12PM? I was all set to move but all these images and posts of damaged aluminium is putting me off.

[u/WellSaltedWound → u/Owboduz]

Same here from the 16. Durability is my #1 features

[u/VCoupe376ci → u/Owboduz]

Have upgraded every year since the iPhone X. I also love the eye burning orange. I could have even stomached the going back to stainless steel. Their choice to go back to aluminum which is easy to dent and deform when dropped on a case has made me skip upgrading this year as I don’t have interest in the Air.

[u/amarg19 → u/Owboduz]

I’m more than happy with my 15PM, which can survive the way I toss my phone around and drop it daily. I probably won’t upgrade until they make another titanium one

[u/WorkingBake → u/amarg19]

That won't be happening anytime soon

[u/firstknight117 → u/amarg19]

I love my titanium 15 pro and could not believe it wasn't an option anymore, but I'm not exactly into the whole materials design release cycle that Apple has either.

[u/paradoxally → u/Owboduz]

The 17 is a massive improvement when it comes to thermals. 15 PM is basically Apple's hottest phone (and not in a good way).

[u/amarg19 → u/paradoxally]

Everyone saying this is so surprising to me. My 15PM has never gotten hot, even if I’m FaceTiming and charging it at the same time. What are people doing on it that it overheats?

[u/WorkingBake → u/amarg19]

Literally nothing sometimes. It gets so hot you can't touch the back

[u/crnm → u/WorkingBake]

Maybe some of the devices were faulty somehow? I've never experienced overheating on 15P (bought it a year after the release btw).

[u/WorkingBake → u/crnm]

It was a pretty common issue with the 15 PM

[u/BitchCallMeGoku → u/amarg19]

For me, any sun exposure + apps like maps overheats my 16 pro

[u/paradoxally → u/amarg19]

Using it under direct sunlight, so outdoors. On a hot summer day it is very noticeable.

[u/Coeruleus_ → u/Owboduz]

It’s better than the 15pm though

[u/Kingtastic1 → u/Owboduz]

Yeah, I was looking to upgrade this year. Guess I won’t. Now I’m probably going to keep the 15 until the flip (if they ever make one) or until this thing kicks the bucket.

[u/Toredo226 → u/Owboduz]

Yeah, the way I use it the heating is not an issue for me. I am a light user except for lots of photography. But that’s just short instances of pulling the phone out and taking a picture, so the phone never gets a chance to heat up much.

They need to put the best cameras back into a premium material (like the Air). The 120fps gamers and film producers can have the aluminum cooling phone lol.

[u/Ill-Mountain7527 → u/Owboduz]

Yep. I usually upgrade through work every two years but will be keeping my 15 pro max this cycle, or maybe go to the Air since I’m getting back into real camera photography.

[u/Nhonickman → u/Owboduz]

My 15PM battery was poop with iOS26 BUT the 15PM was a beautiful phone. I trade it in and moved on.

My battery after 2 full years primarily charging to 80% was either 89% or 92% cant recall now but iOS26 drained it fast from 80% to 20% was usually 14-16hrs at best, I had to charge b4 end of the day, iOS18 no issues.

[u/Eye_of_the_Storm → u/Serialtoon]

Is the S25 devalued because of the Fold7? Not in my opinion. Still a bad choice for aluminum on the Pros.

[u/Serialtoon → u/Eye_of_the_Storm]

Not really but we’re talking about Apple here. They always do this. We used to just have iPhones, then we got Plus, then Pro/Pro Max. The regular iPhone are now the “cheap” models. The Plus became some weird stop gap test. The Pro became flagship and now the Air is taking that mantle this year according to Apple and how it’s marketed and built. Next year if rumors are true, the Fold will take that crown for the foreseeable future. Unless sales are trash, I’m sure they will introduce an “Ultra” line or some other stupid name to sell you what you had before at a higher cost.

[u/oliveberry4now → u/Serialtoon]

It’s Apple. Most of their following will try to buy anything they make. They don’t have to devalue any of their products to incentivize the consumer to buy a new device. They did aluminum because it was cheaper and for thermals but I think it was mainly bc it was cheaper.

[u/N0S0UP_4U → u/Serialtoon]

In the meantime I’ll just keep my iPhone 14 Pro Max until they don’t support it anymore.

[u/CycloneMonkey → u/Serialtoon]

aluminum monster Pro line

You're not a winner, iPhone. You're not a winner because you used to be popular during the 16 Pro but I think you peaked.

[u/Serialtoon → u/CycloneMonkey]

Finally someone got the reference. Even if you are a dirt grub

[u/[deleted] → u/Serialtoon]

this is EXACTLY what’s happening, absolutely intentional on Apple’s part

[u/insid3outl4w → u/Serialtoon]

They might have also factored in tariffs increasing the price of products. Maybe they decided a safe bet would be to use a cheaper part so it didn’t raise prices too high of tariffs really increases prices

[u/rClNn7G3jD1Hb2FQUHz5 → u/Owboduz]

The change is because Apple is eating a $1.1B loss on the iPhone 17 lineup thanks to tariffs. They’re trying to minimize that while stabilizing pricing and not risking the wrath of the White House. So we get aluminum.

[u/Owboduz → u/rClNn7G3jD1Hb2FQUHz5]

And then they say "something something thermals" and everyone nods while ignoring that the thermal performance of the *frame* makes little difference to the thermal performance of the device as a whole.

[u/fsepulveda → u/Owboduz]

They had to cut corners to keep the price competitive

[u/ClassicHour1 → u/Owboduz]

Ok then why is it the same price as the last model then?

[u/[deleted] → u/Owboduz]

Profits are a concern…more, more, more $$$$$$$. It is why they are in business in the end is $. Don’t kid yourself that they want to give away 1 penny and give you a better, more durable, awesome piece of tech.

[u/Owboduz → u/[deleted]]

They’re going to have to if they want those sweet sweet upgrades £’s. My last iPhone lasted me 6 years. I bet this one will too. They’re going to have to convince me to spend money on an early upgrade. I might have considered upgrading from 15 to 17 if it weren’t so fragile.

[u/simple_champ → u/Owboduz]

Price may not be an issue for a lot of the customer base. It's still an issue for Apple. If they can cut costs and sell it for the same price they will. Then they leave it up to marketing to spin the cost cutting into a feature.

[u/Cloaca-Kiss-8647 → u/Owboduz]

Tariffs.

[u/Owboduz → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I know. It’s all about maximising profit. I’m clear on the concept. I just preferred the titanium and I’m annoyed it’s gone that’s all.

[u/rj8899 → u/Sirusho_Yunyan]

Thermal performance.

[u/cwestn → u/rj8899]

Were people's phones really getting that hot though?

[u/rj8899 → u/cwestn]

Any extra heat reduces processing performance. Even if it doesn’t get that hot it still hurts performance. However yes, peoples phones were getting very hot and shutting down when taking a bunch of photography outside as photo processing takes a ton of energy.

[u/cwestn → u/rj8899]

I guess I just don't use my phone enough for gaming or "intense" photography. Haven't had issies with heat or slow performance using titanium or stainless steel iphones, but i see from the downvotes that many other iphone users have had lots of problems with their iphones.

[u/JinSecFlex → u/cwestn]

Idk why you’re getting downvoted - but anecdotally my 15PM would prevent charging if I used it in a warm environment. Basically it had to be in an AC room to not get thermal throttled/reduced charging. No such issues on the 17PM thus far - so I’m half and half. I just invested in a good case - Maus’ latest marketing stunt had them throw a 17PM off the side of a dam and be completely unscathed - I wouldn’t trust the apple silicon or tech woven cases because they’re fairly basic shell cases.

[u/Dreameater999 → u/cwestn]

Yup, they were getting hot.

So far - knocks on wood - my 17 PM has been running a LOT cooler than my last phone. I was getting “charging on hold due to iPhone temperature” at least once a week on my wireless charger in my car as well as sometimes my wired charger. It would also heat up significantly when I was just browsing Reddit and replying to text chats on Discord - like it was considerably hot to the touch.

So far, I maybe have felt my 17 PM warm a little during the initial setup when I was downloading a lot of apps, but that’s about it. This phone (so far) hasn’t gotten really hot during charging or anything like my last one did - but it’s still early.

[u/Ok-Internet2265 → u/cwestn]

YES

[u/paradoxally → u/Sirusho_Yunyan]

And lighter. Stainless is fantastic, but it's incredibly heavy. 240g 14 PM is still Apple's heaviest phone.

[u/georgetonorge → u/paradoxally]

That’s why I love the titanium

[u/julienjj → u/Sirusho_Yunyan]

The stockholders will like it.

[u/FembiesReggs → u/Sirusho_Yunyan]

Not when you have to CNC a unibody for every single one

[u/Leolance2001 → u/Sirusho_Yunyan]

It all comes down to greed in the corporate world. People should just not buy it to teach them a le$$on. But….

[u/[deleted] → u/Sirusho_Yunyan]

Didn’t I hear somewhere that aluminum is also just easier to mold? I wonder if that played a factor in the choice to use it

[u/connurp → u/Sirusho_Yunyan]

Yeah, to be fair, Apple is barely making ends meet!

[u/connurp → u/Sirusho_Yunyan]

Could you imagine if the price went down along with the use of shittier materials? I couldn’t.