Are you thinking of upgrading your phone this holiday season? Apple is giving you a little hint. The iPhone maker has announced its holiday season sales, offering discounts on its product line-up, including the premium iPhone 17 Pro. The phone is already one of the most talked-about premium smartphones of 2025, and if you’re looking to buy it, the ongoing deals make it the perfect time. Saving money is never a bad idea, right?

But is the iPhone 17 Pro the right iPhone for you? As far as performance is concerned, the iPhone 17 Pro definitely offers a complete package and in fact, it is one of the most premium and powerful flagships you can buy in the market right now. Here at India Today Tech, we have already reviewed its bigger brother, the iPhone 17 Pro Max, you can read it here: iPhone 17 Pro Max review: Exceptionally good.

Now this deep dive will give you a much clearer picture of what to expect from the regular 17 Pro. This is because both the phones are almost similar in performance, camera quality, features and overall experience. The only real differences come in screen size, battery life, weight, and the Pro Max-exclusive 2TB storage option. In all other respects, the iPhone 17 Pro brings the same aluminum unibody design, the same A19 Pro chipset, the same triple 48-megapixel Fusion camera setup, and the same level of refinement that defined this year’s Pro series.

But if you want to see more clearly why the iPhone 17 Pro is worth your money, we’ll tell you the exact reasons. But first, let’s detail the discounts currently available.

Apple is offering big discount on iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone 17 Pro is available at a starting price of Rs 1,34,900. Right now, Apple is offering Rs 5,000 instant cashback on iPhone 17 Pro when purchased using eligible American Express, Axis Bank or ICICI Bank cards. Retailers like Vijay Sales are also offering similar discounts on select bank cards.

For a device whose price starts above a lakh, and which has just been launched, such an early discount makes it a slightly better buy, especially considering that Apple usually keeps flagship pricing stable for quite some time.

Apart from cashback, Apple is also offering trade-in benefit, where you can get up to Rs 64,000 off by exchanging your old iPhone. The trade-in value depends on the model and condition of your device.

Additionally, Apple is bundling Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade at no additional cost for three months, which is useful if you haven’t tried these services before and want to explore the ecosystem in more depth.

Good discounts and additional benefits are always welcome, so with that settled, what really makes the iPhone 17 Pro the top choice? Here are five reasons why the iPhone 17 Pro is the right choice, and one reason you might want to skip it.

Reason 1: Stronger, more practical construction

This year Apple has pivoted the Pro series away from the shine of stainless steel and the exotic feel of titanium to an aluminum unibody. This change is not only more utilitarian but also more durable in day-to-day use. Aluminum offers better thermal conductivity, helping the phone stay cool, and contributing to better heat management during long periods of gaming and video capture.

The phone also gets Ceramic Shield 2 protection on the front and a ceramic layer below the rear camera module, making it tougher and scratch-resistant than earlier Pro models. It also has a refreshed camera island design that cleverly hides a wider antenna line for better network strength, giving you a phone built for reliability as well as aesthetics.

Reason 2: Great performance

The iPhone 17 Pro features a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR 120Hz OLED display, which strikes a sweet spot between compact utility and immersive content viewing. Apple added an anti-reflective coating this year, which makes outdoor visibility much better.

Color accuracy, brightness levels and HDR performance are top tier, and the smooth 120Hz ProMotion scrolling gives the iPhone 17 Pro a distinctly premium feel even in everyday use.

Reason 3: A19 Pro at its best

And of course, the best part: power. Apple’s new A19 Pro chipset is not only fast, but also highly efficient. Benchmarks aside, the real triumph this year is how the phone handles sustained workloads thanks to the combination of its aluminum construction and a new vapor chamber. The iPhone 17 Pro runs cooler than its predecessor.

Whether you’re editing video on the device, gaming at 120Hz, shooting high-resolution images, or running AI workloads, the 17 Pro remains quiet and powerful. And since Apple’s performance remains the same across generations, this phone is practically guaranteed to remain fast for four to five years.

Reason 4: Flagship cameras

Like the Pro Max, the iPhone 17 Pro gets three 48-megapixel sensors across the main, ultra-wide and telephoto cameras. The telephoto lens returns to 4X optical zoom, but the real highlight is the new 8X optical-quality zoom, which performs much better than last year’s 5X system.

The camera experience is consistent, color-accurate and highly reliable across lighting conditions. The main sensor shines, telephoto is vastly improved, and the ultra-wide remains excellent in daylight. For content creators and video lovers, iPhone 17 Pro offers Apple’s industry-leading video recording, complete with ProRes RAW support and lossless autofocus, making it a serious tool for creators.

On the front, you have an 18-megapixel camera powered by a new square sensor and actually the best selfie shooter Apple has ever produced. The camera delivers sharp selfies and also allows landscape framing while holding the phone vertically.

Reason 5: Noticeable Battery Improvement

While the Pro Max offers the best battery life in the line-up, the iPhone 17 Pro also benefits from a larger battery this year and Apple’s increased efficiency. With support for 40W fast charging and 25W Qi2 wireless charging, you can expect almost a full day of regular use. It’s not Android-level fast, but it’s certainly faster than older iPhones.

Reason for leaving? Limited color options and Pro Max temptation

For a premium device, the iPhone 17 Pro plays it safe with the colors. You only get Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue, and Silver, which feels restrictive compared to the vanilla iPhone 17’s more playful palette. If aesthetics matter to you, the options may seem weak. More money, less color, why?

And yes, if you are already crossing the one lakh mark, why not go up to Pro Max? The Pro Max is also available with similar discounts, and if you can stretch your budget a bit, you’ll get:

– 6.9 inch large display
-Better battery life
– Slightly higher value for creators and gamers

Unless you really like compact phones, the Pro Max seems to be a better long-term investment.

So, should you buy the iPhone 17 Pro?

Well, the final answer is yours. The iPhone 17 Pro is definitely a premium flagship worth buying right now, and it becomes an even stronger buy thanks to the cashback offers and trade-in deals currently available. With powerful performance, excellent thermal management, a great display, and one of the most versatile camera systems on any phone today, it offers almost everything the Pro Max has, just in a more compact package.

If you like a manageable size, want top-tier performance, and appreciate low-impact pricing this holiday season, the iPhone 17 Pro is an easy recommendation.