The iPhone 17 is a big upgrade on the iPhone 16, packing some long wished for features like a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes interacting with the screen on this base model feel smoother than ever.
The 1206 x 2622 Super Retina XDR OLED display is also bigger this year at 6.3 inches, yet still retains a roughly 460 pixels per inch pixel density. And it also supports always-on display, which is new for the base model.
Big upgrades have come to the cameras too, with the iPhone 17 having a new 48MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree field of view. That’s up from just 12MP on the iPhone 16, so you can take far more detailed ultra-wide shots, and it’s also capable of macro photos.
That’s joined by a 48MP f/1.6 wide snapper, which can also take optical quality 2x zoom photos, and around the front there’s a new 18MP f/1.9 selfie camera, up from 12MP last year.
The chipset has of course also been upgraded, so now you’re getting an enormously powerful A19 chipset, which is a generation on from the iPhone 16’s A18, and Apple has ditched the 128GB capacity, so all iPhone 17 models come with at least 256GB of storage.
Battery life has seen huge improvements too, with Apple promising the iPhone 17 can last for up to 30 hours of video playback, compared to just 22 hours with the iPhone 16 – and it also charges faster, reaching 50% in around 20 minutes with a 40W charger.
You also once again get a customizable Action button, a handy Camera Control key, giving you quick access to the camera and its settings, and an IP68 rating, meaning the iPhone 17 can survive being submerged up to 6 metres deep in water for up to 30 minutes.
Those things aren’t new, but the Ceramic Shield 2 protection on its screen is, and this offers three times better scratch resistance than the iPhone 16 can manage.
The iPhone 17 also has Face ID for security, runs iOS 26, so it’s on the latest software, and has a sleek, stylish design – which you can get in a choice of five attractive colours.
