Nearly a thousand pounds, no discount
Let's be clear upfront: there is no deal here in the traditional sense. No slash price, no lightning offer. What we have is a brand-new iPhone 17 Pro at £989, which is simply the going rate. So why cover it at all? Because at this price, the question isn't "is it on sale" but "is it worth it at full price" and that's a harder, more useful question.
What this phone actually replaces
The honest answer depends almost entirely on what you're upgrading from. If you're on an iPhone 12 or 13, the 17 Pro represents roughly four generations of camera hardware, a much faster chip, and a display that makes the old one look like frosted glass. Amortised over three years, you're looking at about £27 a month. For a device you use daily, that's defensible.
Coming from a 15 Pro? Genuinely difficult. The improvements are iterative at best.
The segment's real weakness
Here's the thing nobody says loudly enough: premium smartphones as a category have a repairability problem. Screen cracks, battery degrades, and at this price point you expect longevity. Apple's repair costs remain eye-watering, and battery replacement - which you'll likely need around year two - sits at £85 through Apple. Factor that in before you get too comfortable with the headline price.
Cosmic Orange and the 256 GB question
The colour is subtle in practice, more muted than the name suggests. On storage, 256 GB is the sensible entry point for most people unless you shoot a lot of ProRes video, in which case you'll fill it faster than you'd expect. Worth considering the 512 GB if that's your use case, though the price jumps accordingly.
