I’ve been an iPhone user since Apple launched the iPhone 5 in 2012, then upgraded to the 6s in 2015. I’ve typically waited three or four years to upgrade to a newer model, so my next Apple handset was the iPhone X, which was followed by the iPhone 13 Pro.

Each new phone was a revelation to use, given the improved performance after a few generations but, despite that, they didn’t really change the fundamentals of how I used my phone. In fact, I’d been so happy with the 13 Pro that I wasn’t planning on upgrading to the iPhone 17 series – but I’m so glad that I did.

As such, I was expecting much the same when I upgraded to the iPhone 17 Pro last September – so I was quite surprised when it bucked the trend established by its predecessors. Four generations after the iPhone 13 Pro, I obviously expected the performance of the iPhone 17 Pro to be superior, but what I didn’t expect it to do was increase my screen time.

I’ve used my phone for work for years, but the speed and battery life improvements on the 17 Pro exceeded my expectations by a mile and then some, changing how I use the iPhone recreationally. Four months since I started using it, my weekly screentime reports show I’ve nearly doubled the time I spend on my phone – and yet I charge it only once every two (sometimes three) days. And that’s something I never thought I’d say about any phone!

An Apple Arcade addiction

I’ll ‘fess up: I’m no gamer and, although I’ve had an Apple One subscription for about a year now, I never made use of the included Apple Arcade games subscription on my iPhone 13 Pro. The only game I regularly indulged in was Two Dots – and it’s not on Apple Arcade.

I’d been tempted to try Monument Valley, but given the time I spent playing Two Dots and how quickly it would drain my iPhone 13 Pro’s battery, I didn’t bother.

Now that I have the iPhone 17 Pro, not only am I fueling my Two Dots addiction, but I’m playing Monument Valley and Hidden Folks as well. If you haven’t tried the latter, I highly recommend it, but I digress.

Load times of apps are quicker and the additional gaming time on the phone doesn’t make a huge dent on the battery life either. While I still don’t consider myself much of a gamer (mobile or otherwise), the 17 Pro has undeniably encouraged my gaming habit and I’m far more interested in trying new games than I’ve previously been.

Snapping it up like never before

This might sound strange, but I’ve never really liked using my phone for photography. Call me old-school or weird, but I’ve always carried my DSLR or mirrorless camera with me on any significant outing – whether that was to a concert, a sporting event, a day out with friends, a weekend road trip or a longer holiday. I’ve used my previous phones only on rare occasions when I had no other choice and needed to take a picture.

Well, that’s changed with the iPhone 17 Pro. I went to a James Blunt concert (I’m not a fan, but who says no to a free ticket?) in October 2025 armed only with the phone – it was the first time I left my Nikon Z8 at home when attending a concert.

I’m not fully sold on Apple’s 8x zoom, as I found the image quality in low light disappointing, but the results were markedly better than what I’d get from my iPhone 13 Pro. Nighttime or low-light images don’t produce as much noise as I’ve had with my older phone and the results don’t look over-processed either.

In fact, I’ve left my kit at home for most of my weekend outings since then, relying on the iPhone 17 Pro as my only camera and not regretting it once. Using the iPhone’s hidden burst shooting mode – slide the shutter button to the left for that – means I can even indulge in wildlife and sports photography. While the results are good in some cases, finding the exact focus point on a touchscreen is a lot more difficult than a user-chosen point on an actual camera.

And it just carries on

The one thing I still don’t do on my phone is stream videos – the small screen just doesn’t appeal to me. However, I’m doomscrolling on Apple News more (which is also included in my Apple One subscription) and using a few other apps on the iPhone 17 Pro than I didn’t on the 13 Pro, but it’s the camera and the gaming that’s made a significant impact on my screen time, which went from just over two hours a day to nearly four!

Is that a good thing? Well, maybe not, because the internet tells me that two hours of recreational screen time is what’s recommended for adults, but this isn’t my phone use, it’s about how impressive the iPhone 17 Pro is that I’m doing so much more on it than on any previous handset I’ve owned.

To me, the best thing about it is its improved battery life, which has undoubtedly played a large part in fueling my increased use – just knowing I don’t need to charge it (and I’ve not needed to use Low Power Mode yet) has made me more inclined to reach for it than before.

Do I have gripes? Well, as impressed as I am with the phone, I’m not a big fan of Liquid Glass – despite the added option for better contrast that rolled out with iOS 26.1, I find it takes my eyes a second to focus on the app icons and widgets on my home screen. I’m also a bit miffed that Apple delivered a powerful phone without keeping its AI and Siri upgrade promises.

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