Even though the new iPhone 17 Pros and iPhone Air are the more premium devices and get more attention as a result, I’m really glad that the iPhone 17 has received the biggest upgrade to the entry-level iPhone in years. While this year’s addition of the iPhone 16e still makes that model the cheapest iPhone you can buy, there’s still incentive to get the iPhone 17.
Beyond that, there’s still a lot of other best phone contenders that aim to steal the iPhone 17’s thunder. For example, there’s still the Galaxy S25 that set the benchmark for all base flagship models this year with its incredible package of features and AI tools — with the Pixel 10 only raising it more with its release.
In my iPhone 17 review, I’ll tell you what kind of value Apple's new phone offers over its direct rivals and even how its camera performance compares to other best camera phone contenders.
Apple iPhone 17 review: Specifications
iPhone 17 |
|
Starting price |
$799 / £799 / AU$1,399 |
Display |
6.3 inches |
CPU |
A19 |
Storage |
256GB, 512GB |
Rear cameras |
48MP main (f/1.78), 48MP ultrawide (f/2.2) |
Front camera |
18MP (f/1.9) |
Charging Speed |
35W wired, 25W wireless (MagSafe) |
Colors |
Lavender, Sage, Mist Blue, White, Black |
Size |
5.89 x 2.81 x 0.31-inches (149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95mm) |
Weight |
6.24 ounces (177 grams) |
Apple iPhone 17 review: Price and availability
Those price hike rumors ahead of the iPhone 17 launch had me a bit worried there, but thankfully none of them came to fruition. This makes it six straight generations with a $799 starting cost, stretching back to the iPhone 12 in 2020. Just like last year’s model, the iPhone 17 starts at that just-right price of $799.
However, there’s one upgrade with this year’s model because it now comes with 256GB of storage — double the amount on board the iPhone 16 for the same cost. That’s music to my ears because local storage doesn’t come cheap. If you need more, the only other option you have is a 512GB iPhone 17 for $999.
You can snag yourself a preorder before the iPhone 17's general retail availability on September 19. Depending on where you look, you might not even have to pay much thanks to all the best iPhone 17 deals going on right now.
Apple iPhone 17 review: Design
Plain and simple, the iPhone 17 design doesn’t have a dramatic change over the previous model — but there are a couple of changes that aren’t as apparent as the iPhone 17 Pro's redesign. I’ve always loved the base model's size and construction, which still feels good in the hand with its aluminum frame and ever so contoured edges.
What’s important here is that despite increasing the size of the display, the iPhone 17 doesn’t feel any larger or heavier than its predecessor. It’s almost imperceptible.
Meanwhile, Apple protected the iPhone on the front and back with sturdier Ceramic Shield, which the company claims to be 3x more scratch resistant. So far it’s held up nicely taking in and out of my pocket.
The only downside with the iPhone 17’s design is that I don’t like the subdued tones of the new color options. My Lavender review unit has a very subtle shade of purple to it, which is in contrast to the richer, bolder color tones we saw with the iPhone 16.
Apple iPhone 17 review: Display
Apple’s able to squeeze in a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display by making the bezels even skinnier, resulting in something that's closer to a true edge-to-edge display. Not surprisingly, the iPhone 17 screen looks fantastic as there’s an incredible amount of pixels squeezed into it — while the rich color tones of the OLED panel complement the visuals.
iPhone 17 |
iPhone 16 |
Galaxy S25 |
Pixel 10 |
|
Display size |
6.3-inch OLED |
6.1-inch OLED |
6.2-inch AMOLED |
6.3-inch OLED |
sRGB (%) |
111.3% |
112.2% |
152.7% (Vivid) / 129.4% (Natural) |
125.7% (Adaptive) / 106.6% (Natural) |
DCI-P3 (%) |
80.2% |
79.5% |
108.2% (Vivid) / 91.7% (Natural) |
89% (Adaptive), 76.9% (Natural) |
Delta-E |
0.20 |
0.27 |
0.25 (Vivid) / 0.31 (Natural) |
0.29 (Adaptive) / 0.30 (Natural) |
Peak Brightness |
1,505 nits |
1,348 nits |
1,789 nits |
2,333 nits |
The Ceramic Shield 2 cover definitely reduces glare. I put the iPhone 17 side-by-side to the iPhone 16 and the reflections are a lot more subtle. Plus, it helps that the display brightness is much improved at 1,505 nits — an improvement over the iPhone 16’s peak mark of 1,348 nits. While that makes the iPhone 17 screen visible outdoors with the sun out, it still trails its rivals in the Galaxy S25 and Pixel 10.
But the best part about the display is its long overdue 120Hz refresh rate. Honestly, it makes a big difference as everything on the iPhone 17 panel has this fluid look to it. Scrolling across the home screen and in Safari is accompanied with a tighter response, so I’m thrilled that Apple has finally jumped on the bandwagon.
Apple iPhone 17 review: Cameras
On the back, there’s the familiar dual-camera arrangement found on previous iPhones, with lenses stacked right on top of one another to give the iPhone 17 the ability to record Spatial Video. While the 48MP main camera doesn’t seem different from the one last year, Apple’s gone ahead to upgrade the ultrawide shooter to a beefier 48MP sensor.
This supposedly will give the iPhone 17 a better macro performance than before in addition to more detail capture. However, all zooming for the iPhone 17 is done with the main camera with a bit of help from sensor cropping and newer image processing algorithms.
Even though it’s a formidable setup I’d be comfortable shooting with, the Pixel 10’s triple camera system offers the more compelling arrangement due to its optically backed telephoto camera.
In addition, another big upgrade for the iPhone 17 is the new Center Stage camera — an 18MP front camera that allows you to use the entire sensor to capture selfies. The nice thing about it is that I have access to the full length of the sensor because of the way it crops the image. I also like how I can set it to auto zoom and rotate, so that it’ll dynamically change the framing to fit all the people in the scene.
These are some awesome upgrades, but what matters most to me is performance. Here’s how the iPhone 17 stacks up against some of its rivals when it comes to capturing images.
I’m not surprised that there are a lot of similarities between the main camera of the iPhone 17 and iPhone 16 with the shots above. There’s plenty of crisp details captured by them, like the textures of the wooden fence on the right side — along with the shingles on the roof on the left. Furthermore, they both handle dark and light areas identically.
Apple’s color science skews more to the saturated side this year, evident in the shot of the produce section above that I captured inside of Whole Foods.
The Galaxy S25 also flaunts saturated tones with its shot, but the difference is that the iPhone 17 has a more balanced color profile. For example, the green peppers are better exposed, while the red peppers don’t suffer from the color bleeding of the Galaxy S25.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, there’s way more framing options with the iPhone 17’s new 18MP Center Stage front camera, which you can see in the gallery above. Since it’s a square sensor, I can shoot in any orientation and get the same framing.
When it comes to performance, the iPhone 17 matches the iPhone 16’s detail capture with the few freckles on my nose and fabric material of my collared shirt. But the important thing here is that the iPhone 17 has a wider field of view, which is able to get the same level of details and definition because of its larger 18MP sensor.
Apple is still king when it comes to low light performance. Against the Galaxy S25, the iPhone 17's 48MP main camera delivers a much brighter picture of the tree. The shadowed areas, in particular, are better exposed to reveal those areas in shadow within the branches.
In order to test out the iPhone 17's zoom performance, I had to pit it against the Pixel 10 because Google's phone sets the bar for every $799 handset out there with its 10.8MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom. Again, the iPhone 17’s relies on sensor cropping to achieve "optical-quality" at 2x zoom.
At 10x zoom, the iPhone 17 struggles against the Pixel 10 at detailing the words on the sign. They’re blurry like no other, whereas I can actually make out words and prices with the Pixel 10’s shot.
The results are no different with the 10x zoom photos of the building above. Not only is the picture out of the Pixel 10 sharper, but it also does a much better job at capturing the brickwork.
Next up, I pointed both phones at this person sitting on a chair at Bryant Park. Just as before, the Pixel 10’s image comes out sharper with more detail — whereas the iPhone 17’s shot at 10x zoom looks fuzzy.
Finally, I wanted to test out zoom performance with something a lot closer. That’s why I pointed both the iPhone and the Pixel at this flower in a bush, which was roughly 10 feet away from me. Yet again, the 5x optical zoom camera of the Pixel 10 does a significantly better job at capturing all of the pink flower’s details.
I can definitely see myself taking photos confidently with the iPhone 17. The main camera and upgraded ultrawide are fantastic at what they do, along with the new Center Stage camera that takes gorgeous selfies, but the only area where the iPhone 17 falls flat is in the zoom department, especially in comparison to similarly priced phones with dedicated telephoto cameras.
Apple iPhone 17 review: Video Recording
When it comes to recording video, the iPhone 17 is a pretty robust phone with support for up to 4K Dolby Vision at 60 fps. It also has the same slo‑mo video support up to 1080p at 240 fps, just like the iPhone 16 before it. Other video modes it carries over include Action Mode, Cinematic Mode, and Spatial Video.
The one new video recording introduced with the iPhone 17 is Dual Capture, a feature that lets you record video simultaneously with the front camera and any of the rear cameras. Honestly, it’s long overdue because many of the best Android phones have offered this feature.
You can check out the sample I shot above to see what it’s like, which can be recorded in up to 4K at 30fps. It certainly offers a different perspective to shooting video, but there’s no way to switch up the framing because it’s locked and can’t be switched to anything else — like having a true split, side-by-side shot. Instead, most of the video shows the rear camera and a small window for the front camera.
I also tested out its 4K 30fps video capture against the Pixel 10. Both phones do a nice job of adjusting the exposure as I switch from dark to lighter areas, but the only difference I can tell is the warmer color temperature of the iPhone 17, which makes it slightly more inviting.
Apple iPhone 17 review: Performance
The Apple A19 chip powering the iPhone 17 is built on a new third-generation 3-nanometer process that consists of a 6-core CPU and the 5-core GPU. Clearly, it looks and feels faster than the previous iPhone 16, but I have to contribute the snappier response to the phone's upgraded 120Hz refresh rate. I’d even say that its performance with basic tasks is on par to what I see out of the iPhone 17 Pro.
iPhone 17 |
iPhone 16 |
Galaxy S25 |
Pixel 10 |
|
Processor |
A19 |
A18 |
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
Tensor G5 |
Geekbench (single core/multicore) |
3,701 / 9,460 |
3,301 / 8,033 |
2,916 / 9,886 |
2,345 / 6,581 |
WildLife Original Unlimited (fps) |
130.97 |
98.23 |
158.02 |
80.58 |
Adobe Premiere Rush (mins:secs) |
0:22 |
0:22 |
0:53 |
2:22 |
Benchmark tests also reveal the A19’s improved performance, reaching Geekbench 6 single and multi-core average scores of 3,701 and 9,460 respectively. They’re better than the iPhone 16, but I wouldn’t go far to say it’s a leap in performance.
What I’m impressed more with is its GPU performance, where the A19 averages 130.97 fps with 3DMark’s WildLife Original Unlimited test. This is an improvement over the iPhone 16’s frame rate of 98.23 fps, with only the Galaxy S25 operating slightly faster. I loaded up Diablo Immortal on the iPhone 17 and it handled all of the lighting and ray tracing effects of the game with ease, while keeping the frame rate relatively smooth.
Apple iPhone 17 review: Battery and charging
With a larger screen comes a larger battery, right? Well, Apple never discloses the exact size of its battery in the iPhone 17, but the company does claim that it offers an additional 8-plus hours of video playback compared to the previous mode. Running the calculations, that should translate to a 36% boost in battery life.
Our battery drain test reveals an improvement, albeit a small one. It reaches a time of 12 hours and 47 minutes, an improvement of 34 minutes over the iPhone 16. That might not sound like a whole lot, but it's worth remembering that the iPhone 17 has a larger 6.3-inch display this time.
I can affirm that I’m getting all-day battery life with a full charge. Roughly speaking, I’m seeing 15% battery life right before bed time. Most of my time was spent on checking emails, watching a few videos on my break at work, and looking through all of my social feeds.
iPhone 17 |
iPhone 16 |
Samsung Galaxy S25 |
Pixel 10 |
|
Battery size |
N/A |
N/A |
4,000 mAh |
4,970 mAh |
Battery life (Hrs:Mins) |
12:47 |
12:13 |
15:43 |
13:13 |
Wired Charging |
35W |
20W |
25W |
30W |
Recharge percentage (15 mins) |
39% |
29% |
28% |
26% |
Recharge percentage (30 mins) |
71% |
57% |
57% |
52% |
It’s undoubtedly nowhere as close to offering the endurance I’ve been having with my iPhone 16 Pro Max for just about the last year, but most people will suffice getting through a work day. Power users, though, may find the need to top off at a certain point.
I’m excited to report that Apple also upgrades the iPhone 17’s charging speeds, with its 35W wired charging getting its battery to 39% in 15 minutes — and then to 71% in 30 minutes. That’s a marked improvement over the iPhone 16, but Apple didn’t stop there as it also adds 25W Qi 2.2 charging support.
Apple iPhone 17 review: Software and AI
I’ve spent quite a bit of time testing out iOS 26, both in beta and subsequently in its final release. Apple’s latest software focuses a lot on the visuals, evident in the slick looking animations of its Liquid Glass design language. It’s a big change, but shows the visual upgrade of the platform with its glass see-through elements.
Other apps in iOS 26 also get makeovers, like the redesigned Camera and Phone apps, which certainly take some time getting acquainted with. And while there aren’t as many forward-facing features in iOS 26 compared to previous versions, there’s still a fair amount to mention.
I don’t want to rehash everything new with it, as our iOS 26 review details all the big highlights of the software, but I will quickly detail some of my favorite stuff below.
- Lock screen makeover: The lock screen’s bolder and more dynamic, as the clock will stretch out to best match your wallpaper. Meanwhile, the option to enable spatial scenes gives the lockscreen a 3D-like effect.
- Call Screening: This is one of my favorite iOS 26 features because it practically will screen a phone call for you to determine if it’s spam or not. I like how Call Screen asks callers to state their reason for calling, which shows up on the phone for me to look over. It’s helpful and all, but it’s still lagging behind the intelligence of the Pixel 10’s call screen feature.
- Hold Assist: Tired of being put on hold to speak to a person? Hold Assist fixes that as it monitors my phone call when I’m holding it, which then sends me a notification when someone is on the line.
- Live Translation: I tested out iOS 26 Live Translation against Samsung’s version with Galaxy AI, and Apple impressed me with its ability to accurately translate while on a call. Plus, I prefer how iOS 26 translates the conversation in real time — in comparison to how Galaxy AI waits until the other person is done speaking before it starts to translate.
- CarPlay with iOS 26: Apple finally addresses my biggest issue with CarPlay with its slight redesign that now offers widget support with the CarPlay homescreen. If that’s not enough, there’s also now access to Apple Intelligence.
With the iPhone 17’s release, Apple didn’t announce any other exclusive software features for its new phones, but the biggest shortcoming is the lack of any new Apple Intelligence capabilities. The ones that are introduced alongside iOS 26 are more or less minor upgrades — like how the Shortcuts app has AI-powered automations that include Writing Tools and Image Playground. Speaking of Image Playground, Apple also upgrades it with more realistic generations, but I still find Google’s Pixel Studio better.
There’s also a new feature with Visual Intelligence — it’s now integrated with screen shots to perform Google Image searches, run translations, and ask ChatGPT for more details about something. These are all good additions, but Apple Intelligence’s weak showing with iOS 26 puts it at a disadvantage over what Google offers with the Pixel 10 or what you can do with a Galaxy S25.
Despite this, you can count on the iPhone 17 continuing to get updates for a long while based on past models. Apple doesn’t directly say how long it’ll support the iPhone 17, but you can expect between 5 to 7 years.
Apple iPhone 17 review: Verdict
I’ve always been a staunch supporter of the base iPhone model, and this year’s no different as the iPhone 17 offers one of the best bang-for-the-buck deals in recent memory. That’s due to an assortment of things, like how it offers double the storage capacity at 256GB, a smoother 120Hz display refresh rate, faster 30W wired charging speeds and a larger display. You get all of that at the same $799 cost as last year’s model, which I think is a big deal.
The only downside is that the iPhone 17 lacks new Apple Intelligence features to keep pace with its rivals, which is hard to overlook given how the Pixel 10 showcases its robust AI features. And while the iPhone 17's camera performance is good, the Pixel 10 exposes the iPhone 17’s weak telephoto performance.
Despite that, the iPhone 17 is a very robust phone that strikes a balance between performance and price — and it’s easily worth getting over the cheaper iPhone 16e.
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