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Apple Debuts iPhone 17

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Re: Apple Debuts iPhone 17

#151
post #138

I'm actually considering buying myself an iPhone for the first time. I have basically two priorities when buying an phone: 1. Freedom. I should be able to build and run apps on it without the platform holder having a barrier on it. 2. Privacy. The phone shouldn't be an object to track me for better ad sales or any other purpose. Of course, priority 1 has until recently always led to Android while priority 2 has alway…

Well said! I share those two priorities, and am now moving in the inverse direction, but I plan to use GrapheneOS.

Re: Apple Debuts iPhone 17

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I've started thinking about phones like cars. I'd never consider buying a brand new car, and I generally wouldn't buy a brand new phone either (although they're not quite as expensive as cars). I've found that year-old models are typically around half the price of new ones.

Not iPhones anyway, that's for sure. Not even used. Maybe if it's dodgy.

1 year old sure unlikely 50% cheap but 2 years old for sure can get for 50%. I don't see much difference between iphone 15 pro and iphone 17 pro. Honestly I'm still having iphone 13 mini and don't see much reason to upgrade but if decide to upgrade I will most likely buy 2nd hand iphone 15 pro.

Re: Apple Debuts iPhone 17

#153
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue with the camera in newer iphones is that it uses an Ai engine to smooth things and add details that aren’t there. If you want reference tier photos for documenting family history, modern mirrorless is better. DSLR from 10-15 years ago is also still great in all but the most challenging light conditions, where you could simply use a flash.

Especially on babies, the smoothing or noise reduction is weird. A newborn has a very specific skin with an enormous amount of details/speckles/marks. It’s very hard to capture for some reason. Couldn’t do it with my phone, only with a proper camera and shooting in raw.

Hard agree. As a new parent, I bought a modern mirrorless camera before my kid was born, and the difference is noticeable. Especially, as you say, around skin details like milia (white spots on a newborn's skin) which often get wiped out on my Pixel (I'm sure by the AI processing).

If you are considering an expensive phone upgrade based off of the camera alone, consider buying a dedicated camera first, I say. I know the best camera is the one you have on you, etc...

Re: Apple Debuts iPhone 17

#154

I always have a hard time swallowing the price of modern smart phones. Having something so ridiculously expensive and fragile as an everyday carry seems absurd to me. For reference, you can buy two Steam Deck LCDs for the price of one iPhone 17.

The first iPhone (2007) was priced at $800 in 2025 dollars, and iPhone 17 has a heck of a lot more in it.

For a phone similar to the feature set of the original iPhone, you can get a Jelly Pro today for $100.

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Re: Apple Debuts iPhone 17

#155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As we raise our first child, having a quality camera is definitely important to us. A phone camera isn't really a camera, it's a digitally-airbrushed impression of reality. There just isn't enough light hitting the tiny sensor through the tiny lens. I have 20 year old 5MP DLSR portrait photos that are still better than what a 120MP phone can produce, because it's the lens that counts.

My ancient Canon Rebel camera, I think a T3i, takes stunningly detailed photos against even my iPhone 15 Pro. But, I never have my Canon and it's too bulky to carry around everyday. I do carry my iPhone everywhere I go. And so, the capabilities of my iPhone camera are more important. I imagine this is the same for the overwhelming majority of people.

Having said that you also have the midway option with large sensor compact cameras. A ricoh GR III/IV with an APS-C sensor is heavier than a smartphone but not overly so and more compact as it actually fit a pocket. A Canon G9X is even lighter with a 1" sensor.

Re: Apple Debuts iPhone 17

#156

I always have a hard time swallowing the price of modern smart phones. Having something so ridiculously expensive and fragile as an everyday carry seems absurd to me. For reference, you can buy two Steam Deck LCDs for the price of one iPhone 17.

I’ve always bought the cheapest model in the range however I’m inclined to spend more next time because I get so much utility from it.

It will be another three or four years yet though as my SE is only three years old.

Re: Apple Debuts iPhone 17

#158
post #138

I'm actually considering buying myself an iPhone for the first time. I have basically two priorities when buying an phone: 1. Freedom. I should be able to build and run apps on it without the platform holder having a barrier on it. 2. Privacy. The phone shouldn't be an object to track me for better ad sales or any other purpose. Of course, priority 1 has until recently always led to Android while priority 2 has alway…

It seems you are searching for Librem 5 (my daily driver). It runs PureOS (a Debian derivative) and turns into a desktop when connected to a screen and keyboard.

Re: Apple Debuts iPhone 17

#159
post #138

I'm actually considering buying myself an iPhone for the first time. I have basically two priorities when buying an phone: 1. Freedom. I should be able to build and run apps on it without the platform holder having a barrier on it. 2. Privacy. The phone shouldn't be an object to track me for better ad sales or any other purpose. Of course, priority 1 has until recently always led to Android while priority 2 has alway…

It seems you are searching for Librem 5 (my daily driver). It runs PureOS (a Debian derivative) and turns into a desktop when connected to a screen and keyboard.

It doesn't run my banks' apps so it can't be more than a secondary device for playing around.

Re: Apple Debuts iPhone 17

#160

Camera lens angles of the 17 Pro seem strange to me. Either too wide (1x) or too narrow (4x), as seen in the live stream video, which was recorded with the iPhone 17 Pro. I am currently on the 13 Pro, I find the 3x mode ideal for portrait photos and videos. Is it only me with this impression? Could someone help me to jump back into Apple's reality distortion field?

The 17 Pro has a much higher resolution camera than the 13 Pro, so even if you center crop of a photo taken with the 2x optical zoom to get you what you'd see with a 3x, it will still be higher resolution than the same photo taken with the 13 Pro.

That said, I too like a 70 mm lens, but I long ago got used to just moving closer to or further away from subjects to take photos with dedicated cameras depending on what lens I had on.

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