CONNECT WITH US
Tech

Tech

I 'downgraded' my iPhone 15 Pro Max to a regular iPhone 17 — and I have zero regrets

Tom's Guide logo

Published on

Add as a preferred source on Google
I 'downgraded' my iPhone 15 Pro Max to a regular iPhone 17 — and I have zero regrets

Every few years, I get trapped in the classic Apple upgrade loop. Three years ago, I jumped up from an iPhone 12 Pro Max to a 512GB iPhone 15 Pro Max for its big screen and flagship camera specs. This year I was ready to do the same for the iPhone 18 Pro Max — until I saw the insane prices, even with trade-in values added in.

Making things urgent, my trusty iPhone was aging. Despite my best efforts, the battery health steadily declined over the years and a minor issue with the USB-C port popped up when charging it one day.

Thinking about having to pay nearly $600 for out-of-warranty repairs, $100 for a new battery, or dropping $1,000 for the latest iPhone 18 Pro Max, I decided to do something I’ve never done before: give up on the iPhone’s Pro tier altogether.

I traded in my 15 Pro Max and bought a base 256GB iPhone 17 instead. Sure, I might have given up storage space, camera features, and the screen might be smaller, but moving to a standard iPhone didn't feel like a downgrade from an older iPhone Pro model. Here’s why it was a relief to me, and my wallet.

Times are tough, and with the cost of living going up in NYC, the biggest factor in my decision was the iPhone pricing. With Apple’s trade-in values, I get a lot for my old iPhone Pro model when trading it in for a base-tier iPhone 17. It almost felt like a steal.


Source link

Disclaimer

We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We TheMorningPulse.fyi want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It's possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.