Never Mind the iPhone Pro: The iPhone 17 Is Probably All You Need

For the previous couple of weeks, I have been carrying two telephones: the iPhone 17 and the iPhone Air. And whereas the latter has drummed up extra fanfare amongst my curious pals and colleagues, it is the iPhone 17 that strikes me because the extra all-encompassing machine, ticking the important thing packing containers with out costing a fortune — a minimum of in contrast with the remainder of Apple’s new lineup.

It is easy to miss the iPhone 17, particularly in a 12 months when the ultra-slim iPhone Air and vivid orange iPhone 17 Pro have stolen the highlight. However advancements in the iPhone 17’s display, cameras and battery have helped this entry-level machine really feel prefer it’s narrowing the chasm separating it from its expensive Professional counterparts. These refined upgrades add as much as notable enhancements that make the baseline mannequin properly price your consideration. 

Watch this: iPhone Air Assessment: A Pleasure to Maintain, at a Value

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The iPhone 17 begins at $829 (or $799 in the event you activate with a provider), which implies there hasn’t been a worth enhance over final 12 months’s mannequin. The truth is, you are technically getting extra bang on your buck with the iPhone 17 because it begins with the next 256GB storage possibility, changing the 128GB place to begin on the iPhone 16. 

Here is how the iPhone 17 held up over a number of days of my scrolling, snapping and yapping (I am getting that trademarked). The cellphone is available to buy now, and you too can take a look at my in-depth review of the $999 iPhone Air. 

iPhone 17 (lastly) will get huge show upgrades

The design updates this 12 months are (as soon as once more) minimal. Regardless of the same look of the iPhone 17 and 16, the newer mannequin has a barely bigger body and a 6.3-inch show, in contrast with the 6.1-inch show on final 12 months’s cellphone. The bezels are impressively skinny, particularly in comparison with a cellphone just like the Google Pixel 10, which helps content material viewing really feel extra immersive. 

I’ve by no means been extra excited concerning the arrival of a 1-120Hz show, however I audibly exclaimed “Sure, lastly!” when Apple introduced it is extending that performance to its non-Professional telephones. In the end, I can allow the always-on display on a baseline iPhone and peer on the time and my notifications with out waking the display screen. It is a function I often use to test on my arriving DoorDash orders or Uber rides, and to shortly see if I’ve missed any calls or texts. Higher late than by no means, I suppose. 

The iPhone 17 additionally will get the next 3,000-nit peak brightness and an anti-reflective coating that makes it simpler to see within the brilliant open air. I did not have any points my display screen even within the obvious daylight.  

Altogether, these show upgrades assist the iPhone 17 really feel much less like a step down from the top-of-the-line iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max and convey it on par with its baseline counterparts which have lengthy featured that adaptive refresh price, just like the Google Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S25.

iPhone 17 is extra sturdy — and colourful

The iPhone 17’s aluminum body has a satisfying matte texture. It carries over the colour on the cellphone’s again glass all alongside the perimeters for a cohesive look. I’ve the iPhone 17 in lavender, which can be one in every of my favourite hues of any cellphone I’ve used. It is a mild shade that is straightforward on the eyes, with a cloudy-white delicate undertone. I checked out the opposite colours — black, white, sage and mist blue — at Apple Park through the fall iPhone event, and every was simply as pleasing to the attention.

A Ceramic Defend 2 show provides thrice higher scratch resistance, in response to Apple. That is welcome information for me, as I by some means generally tend to etch into my telephones’ shows. Thus far, although, I am pleased to report no scuffs or scratches, even and not using a case or display screen protector.

One key benefit the iPhone 17 has over the pricier iPhone Air is its dual-speaker system, which delivers extra balanced sound. The Air, in contrast, has only a single prime speaker, which might make for a considerably lopsided listening expertise. It is a technique the baseline mannequin outshines the flashier Air, and one motive why I favor reaching for the iPhone 17 after I need to watch one thing, regardless of the marginally smaller show.

However, as per traditional, the iPhone 17 packs a much less highly effective processor than its counterparts: an A19 chip, fairly than the A19 Professional on the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Professional and iPhone 17 Professional Max. In my expertise, that hasn’t led to any noticeable variations in how movies or video games look on the baseline 17 versus the iPhone Air. 

Benchmark exams for the CPU in Geekbench 6 place the iPhone 17 above the iPhone 16 Professional Max, in addition to the complete iPhone 15 lineup. In a graphics take a look at utilizing 3DMark’s Wild Life Excessive, the iPhone 17 exceeded the efficiency of the complete iPhone 16 sequence, however was topped by the Galaxy S25 lineup. 

Try the graphs beneath for extra specifics. (It is price noting that these scores are largely indicative of future efficiency and longevity.) 

iOS 26 brings extra customization

The iPhone 17 comes with iOS 26 on board, which incorporates the brand new Liquid Glass design. After a little bit of adjustment, I’ve grown keen on how clear the interface seems. The extra translucent controls allow you to see extra content material throughout the display screen. You possibly can go all-in on the brand new look and make your app icons clear as properly, however that is a step too far for me.

Group texts get an improve with the choice so as to add enjoyable backgrounds, and you may conduct polls to simplify planning hangouts. Outdated habits die arduous, although, and it could take a while for me and all my pals to recollect there’s a better solution to determine the place to seize dinner. 

It is a minor element, however I am having fun with the choice to develop the peak of the time on the lock display screen and watch it squish as notifications roll in. The Spatial Scene setting provides your wallpaper a three-dimensional impact as you progress your cellphone — so my Hogwarts lock display screen seems just a little extra alive.

I do not typically discover myself on calls or textual content threads with individuals who do not communicate languages I do know, but when the necessity arises, particularly throughout travels, Dwell Translation will robotically translate what somebody is saying over voice calling, FaceTime and iMessage. There is a slight lag after I use the automated voice translation on calls, and it may be a bit awkward to listen to it communicate over the individual on the opposite line, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a neat functionality. The function is not fairly as superior as an identical functionality on the Pixel 10, which makes use of AI to imitate the speaker’s voice.

And whereas I am nonetheless bummed Google’s Circle to Search has but to reach on iPhones, an replace to Apple’s Visible Intelligence function introduces an identical functionality. Whenever you take a screenshot, now you can ask ChatGPT for extra details about what’s in your display screen, or you’ll be able to squiggle on one thing to see related hyperlinks and extra info from platforms akin to Google, Etsy and Poshmark. 

I am glad there is a function on the iPhone that is considerably harking back to Circle to Search, nevertheless it’s nonetheless not as intuitive. It appears odd to should take a screenshot to study extra about one thing in a social media submit, fairly than merely holding down the house button to set off Circle to Search. Plus, there are one too many steps to save lots of a screenshot, now that iOS 26 defaults to additionally having you tick a field in a brand new preview display screen so as to add one thing to your Pictures. (I took the freedom of going into Settings > Common > Display Seize and turning off Full-Display Previews, so I can return to the previous methods of saving screenshots instantaneously.)  

iPhone 17 digital camera will get sharper

Not like the iPhone Air’s solo rear digital camera, the iPhone 17 packs two rear cameras: a 48-megapixel wide-angle digital camera and a 48-megapixel ultrawide. That is an improve over the 12-megapixel ultrawide digital camera on the iPhone 16. It is attention-grabbing to have extra photo-taking flexibility on a cheaper iPhone mannequin, for the reason that iPhone Air cannot take 0.5x pictures or Cinematic mode movies. It is one other means this baseline machine makes a case for itself. 

The shortage of a telephoto digital camera on the baseline iPhone is to be anticipated, although Google including one to the entry-level Pixel 10 now has me including that to my “dream huge” iPhone want record. (Something’s doable, proper?) 

The digital camera defaults to 24-megapixel photos, and I do not actually really feel the necessity to modify to the complete 48 megapixels, for the reason that variations appear fairly minimal (and I might fairly save on cupboard space). However bumping to 48 megapixels does add a bit extra texture and brightness. 

Like the remainder of the iPhone 17 lineup, the entry-level mannequin consists of an 18-megapixel selfie digital camera with Center Stage, which robotically — or manually, in the event you favor — shifts your shot from portrait to panorama as extra individuals enter the body, so you do not have to rotate your cellphone. As an added perk, everybody’s gaze may also look extra centered as a result of the digital camera is not to this point off to the facet. You possibly can set this to work robotically, however since it may be just a little hit-or-miss, I often simply faucet the devoted button above the shutter as an alternative.

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An iOS 26 function referred to as Adaptive Power Mode is designed to assist prolong battery life much more by robotically adjusting your iPhone’s efficiency primarily based on the way you’re utilizing it at that second. That may imply reducing your show’s brightness, scaling again on CPU speeds and turning off some background actions. It might additionally activate low power mode. It takes a few week for Adaptive Energy Mode to study your habits and kick in, and despite the fact that that timeframe has handed, I’ve but to set off it. Nevertheless it’s good to know it is there, and I hope it does are available in clutch after I want just a little additional juice.

Remaining ideas: Do you have to purchase the iPhone 17?

The baseline iPhone is rarely actually meant to show heads when stacked in opposition to the remainder of Apple’s lineup. However a handful of notable upgrades on the iPhone 17 make it a worthy contender in the event you’re available in the market for a brand new machine that ticks the fundamentals. Enhancements to the show and digital camera assist the iPhone 17 really feel prefer it’s actually price that $829 worth, and may make it an attractive possibility in the event you do not need to spend upwards of $1,100 on a Professional mannequin. The twin rear digital camera system additionally makes it really feel like extra of a sensible possibility in the event you take a variety of pictures and movies than the iPhone Air, which has just one rear digital camera. (Not like the Air, the iPhone 17 additionally helps Cinematic Movies, which I take advantage of fairly closely.)

Lots of the latest options, akin to Middle Stage and Twin Seize, can be found throughout Apple’s newest lineup — you will not should cough up additional cash and improve to the iPhone 17 Professional or Professional Max to faucet into them. Whereas Apple tends to debut new options like Dynamic Island, the Motion button and the Digital camera Management button on Professional fashions earlier than extending them to the baseline units, the variations between the iPhone 17 and its Professional counterparts really feel rather less obvious this 12 months.

When you have an iPhone 14 machine or a non-Professional iPhone 15, leaping to the iPhone 17 may be a worthwhile improve, since you’ll faucet into Apple Intelligence and newer {hardware} options such because the Digital camera Management button, together with the newest batch of options like Middle Stage and Twin Seize. However in the event you’re utilizing an iPhone 16, you’ll be able to in all probability dangle tight to that just a little longer.

How we take a look at telephones

Every phone CNET’s reviews team tests is utilized in the actual world. We take a look at a cellphone’s options, play video games and take pictures. We look at the show to see if it is brilliant, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and construct to see how it’s to carry and whether or not it has an IP score for water resistance. We push the processor’s efficiency to the extremes utilizing standardized benchmark instruments like GeekBench and 3DMark, together with our personal anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution movies and taking part in graphically intense video games at excessive refresh charges.

All of the cameras are examined in a wide range of situations, from brilliant daylight to darkish indoor scenes. We check out particular options like evening mode and portrait mode and evaluate our findings in opposition to equally priced competing telephones. We additionally take a look at the battery life through the use of it day by day, in addition to operating a sequence of battery drain exams.

We take note of further options like help for 5G, satellite tv for pc connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus help, quick charging speeds and foldable shows, amongst others that may be helpful. We steadiness all of this in opposition to the worth to provide the verdict on whether or not that cellphone, no matter its worth, really represents good worth. Whereas these exams could not at all times be mirrored in CNET’s preliminary evaluation, we conduct follow-up and long-term testing in most circumstances.