Pro or Standard iPhone: Do You Really Need That Telephoto Lens

What a Pro has that a standard model does not

The difference between a standard model and a Pro of the same generation usually comes down to a handful of points. A third camera is added, the telephoto lens. The screen switches to a higher refresh rate, which makes movement look smoother. The housing is of a different material, which mainly changes weight and feel. There are recording formats for anyone who works on further in an editing programme. And the battery is usually somewhat larger and there are more storage variants. That is an honest list, but it is also a list in which at most two points are noticeable day to day.

Just as important is what a Pro does not change. The software is the same and the updates arrive at the same moment, so you do not get features earlier. The device does not become faster at what you do with it every day: messages, maps, banking and watching video feel identical on a standard model. In recent generations the main camera of a standard model has crept close to that of the Pro, and that happens to be the lens you take most of your photos with. So the difference lies in a few specific situations, not in ordinary use, and that is precisely why you should go through your own photo album before you decide.

What a telephoto lens does in practice

A telephoto lens gives you a real optical zoom instead of a crop from a larger image. You see that difference as soon as you view a photo larger than on your own screen. With portraits it helps too: a longer focal length distorts faces less and separates the person from the background more neatly. What it is less good at is rarely mentioned. A telephoto lens lets in less light than the main camera, and in dusk or indoors the device therefore often switches quietly back to the main camera with a digital crop. You press the zoom button, but you do not always get the lens you paid for.

The test you can do yourself

Open your photo library and look at the last few hundred photos. Not at the best ones, at all of them. With each photo, ask yourself which zoom level you were on. With most people the vast majority are on the standard lens, with the occasional wide angle for a building or a group photo. If you barely see any zoomed-in images in that album, there is little chance that an extra lens will change your habits. If you mainly see children on a football pitch, a stage in the distance or animals, then that is the clearest argument for a Pro there is.

Who it is worth it for

• You regularly photograph sport, performances or animals, always from too far away.
• You take portraits and you see the difference between good and mediocre background separation.
• You use your device for your work: property, building sites, documenting repairs, products for a webshop.
• You edit video and you want the recording formats that you can still adjust in the edit.
• You really do notice a smoother screen and you scroll all day.

Who it is not for

• Your photos are mainly messages, screenshots, receipts and moments indoors.
• You photograph in the evening, where the main camera almost always gives the best result.
• You want a lighter device that you forget about in your pocket all day.
• You would rather have more storage or a fresh battery than a third lens.

The comparison you should actually be making

The interesting choice is almost never Pro or standard within the same generation. For the money of a Pro that is a few years old there is often a standard model one or two generations newer. That newer device usually has a more modern main camera, a more efficient chip, and it gets software updates for longer. That last factor weighs more heavily than any lens, because it determines how long you can safely keep using the device. An older Pro gives you an extra lens and takes away a year or two of support. For most people that is the wrong side of the trade.

Look at size and weight too

A Pro Max is a large device. On paper that is an advantage, because a larger screen and more battery. In the hand it is, for many people, the point at which they have to hold the device with two hands and it starts to be a nuisance in a trouser pocket. If you mainly read, watch films or review long documents on your phone, that size is pleasant. If you use your device constantly with one hand while doing something else, a standard model or even a smaller device is the choice you will be happy with after two weeks.

How we choose it at the counter

1. Set your upper limit. That is fixed, and the rest of the choice happens below it.
2. Choose the generation first, then the version. Newer and standard comes before older and Pro, unless you have a clear reason for the telephoto lens.
3. Then choose storage. Too little storage will irritate you daily, a third lens will not.
4. You no longer have to think about appearance. Every device is given a new screen and a new housing with us, so there are no signs of use and no cheaper version with scratches.

Whatever comes out of that order, every device goes through 32 checkpoints in our workshop in Zarren, the battery is at least at 85% or it has been replaced, and you have 24 months of warranty and 30 days to change your mind. If you are torn between two devices, compare them side by side in the overview and look above all at generation and storage, not at the word Pro.