In the world of consumer products, general logic would dictate that across a range of devices, from expensive flagship units to reasonably priced products, the latter can be expected to sell better than the former.
More expensive products are generally seen as aspirational and attention-grabbing, serving more to entice people to buy into the range rather than snap up the premium model. Take carmaker Porsche, for example: the 911 is its signature sports car, but in 2024 the brand has sold more of its cheaper Cayenne and Macan models. Same for Tesla: its Model Y sells much more than its flagship Model S.
It’s strange, because even though we have these models on our list of best phones, I think the TechRadar Phones team and I would probably recommend the cheaper models as the best phones for both people. However, the sales figures do not seem to confirm this.
And I suspect it will be the same this year, because when I conducted a reader poll on which iPhone 17 model was actually purchased, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max cumulatively garnered 50% of the vote, with an even split between them.
This isn’t very surprising, because anecdotally speaking, I see more people with an iPhone Pro than their standard peers, although these people don’t seem to be creative professionals who need a trio of rear cameras for content production, or mobile gamers who want the power of the Pro-grade A-series chip; I could generalize here, but I’ve been writing about phones for years, so have an instinct for this.
This may be because once one spends, say, more than $700/£700 on a smartphone, it’s not too painful to push a little more to get a full-featured flagship model. Or that Apple and Samsung have done such a good job of showcasing their high-end phones that people not only aspire to get them, but actually buy them. After all, a phone is probably one of the most used devices you own these days, so it might make sense to get the best you can afford.
But I want more context, so use the poll above to tell me what is the most important aspect of an iPhone Pro that makes you choose it over standard models. And if I missed anything here, let me know in the comments below.
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