iPhone 17 evaluation: Nearer to Professional

For years, the “common” iPhone obtained hand-me-downs from the Professional fashions. This was much less so with the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, however the trickle-down philosophy was nonetheless there to a level. For 2025 and the iPhone 17 ($799) is now not the compromise that the bottom mannequin was. Apple lastly blessed it with a 120Hz show and this yr’s most enjoyable digital camera function, Heart Stage.

Whereas it could seem to be Apple is now not forcing iPhone customers to compromise, or a minimum of to not the diploma it used to, there’s nonetheless one huge factor to contemplate. With the introduction of the iPhone Air, the corporate has shaken up the display sizes throughout the iPhone 17 lineup. As an alternative of the earlier 6.1-inch iPhone and 6.7-inch Plus mannequin, Apple is splitting the distinction with the iPhone 17’s 6.3-inch display. That additionally aligns it size-wise with the iPhone 17 Professional, whereas the Air sits in the midst of the sequence at 6.5 inches.

I assume I’m a big-phone man now, as a result of it’s been a tough week transitioning from the 16 Plus to the iPhone 17. At instances I really feel like my telephone is a toy, and at others it’s like I stepped again in time. I don’t significantly like both sensation.

Placing my display measurement preferences apart, the iPhone 17 stays the most effective iPhone for most individuals. Since Apple introduced its greatest new options to this common mannequin this yr, you don’t must really feel such as you’re ready for the thrilling instruments from the Air or Professional to make it to a extra inexpensive iPhone mannequin in 12 months. The upgraded show and new entrance digital camera are definitely the highlights, however the iPhone 17 stays a solidly constructed gadget with reliable all-day battery life and succesful efficiency.

Lastly, a 120Hz show

A giant change on the iPhone 17 is the 6.3-inch ProMotion 120Hz show. Not solely is it barely larger than the 6.1-inch iPhone 16, however it lastly refreshes quicker now. The upper refresh price was one of many final remaining objects Apple had but to convey down from its Professional fashions, and this one makes an enormous distinction to the general expertise. Swiping round iOS 26 feels lots smoother. Apps like Instagram and Safari the place I beforehand encountered some jitters now transfer effortlessly. When it’s time to enterprise exterior, you’ll be glad that Apple boosted the height brightness to three,000 nits — a 1,000-nit improve from the iPhone 16. It’s a welcome improve for the instances you want to use your telephone in direct daylight.

The corporate additionally outfitted the iPhone 17 with an always-on show, which is beneficial for updates at a look if you happen to’ve missed a notification. And naturally, Dynamic Island remains to be there, offering ongoing information for progress on issues like dwell sports activities, music playback, navigation, journey sharing and extra.

You received’t actually discover the show improve till you begin utilizing the telephone, so a fast look received’t reveal any apparent {hardware} adjustments. Except you do a side-by-side with the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, the place the dimensions variation can be obvious, you received’t detect any distinction. Flip over to the again although and there’s an nearly totally new shade palette. Black and white stay, however Lavender, Sage and Mist Blue have changed final yr’s Ultramarine, Teal and Pink choices. I want this yr’s hues, as they aren’t as pastel-y because the 2024 lineup, and that Sage inexperienced appears to be like actually sharp in individual.

Enterprise again to the entrance and there’s one other necessary replace that isn’t seen. Apple upgraded the scratch resistance with Ceramic Defend 2, which the corporate says offers thrice higher safety than on the iPhone 16. I wanted to maintain my iPhone 17 pristine for images throughout my evaluation, so I haven’t put it in conditions with the potential for harm simply but. My mischievous cocker spaniel did come up with it for a couple of minutes, however there are not any seen enamel marks or scratches from that harrowing (for me) incident.

Digital camera updates take Heart Stage

For a lot of, digital camera efficiency is essentially the most important side of an iPhone, and this yr’s mannequin acquired a major improve there. The most important change is the brand new 18MP Heart Stage entrance digital camera that replaces the 12MP TrueDepth digital camera. This new model has a sq. sensor that allows the iPhone 17 to routinely change from portrait to panorama when extra folks enter the body for a selfie.

After utilizing Heart Stage for a few week, it’s simply the most effective new digital camera function Apple has launched in years. I can concede that the addition of macro mode and Photographic Kinds in earlier iPhones have been additionally wonderful, however Heart Stage appears like magic. I’m not even an enormous selfie taker, however after I do must snap one on a household outing, this 41 yr previous now not appears like a Boomer holding his telephone sideways. The changes occur shortly so that you’re not left ready, and if you happen to don’t prefer it, you’ll be able to disable the auto rotation, auto zoom or each.

Heart Stage additionally works with video calls to maintain you within the body. That is significantly useful if you happen to’re strolling or in any other case transferring round whereas making an attempt to have a chat. It does take a second for the system to make its adjustment after you progress from the middle of the body, however it’s clean and received’t be a distraction to anybody on the decision.

One other replace to the front-facing digital camera is a brand new Twin Seize mode. This concurrently information footage with the entrance and rear cameras for issues like response movies. Because the guardian of two youngsters in youth sports activities, I can see the utility for issues like championship video games, and even milestone moments at college. I believe lots of people may also movie themselves singing alongside at concert events, however I’m not one among them.

The one challenge I’ve with Twin Seize is that it’s a problem to maintain each the motion and your self in body. You’ll be able to’t look in two locations directly, so if you wish to preserve a centered response shot or ongoing commentary, you’ll have to determine a option to juggle the photographs. I’ve but to grasp it myself and also you’ll doubtless wrestle if you happen to want your selfie clips shot from a downward angle.

The front-facing digital camera isn’t the one photography-centric improve on the iPhone 17. Round again, there are actually two 48MP Fusion cameras. On the iPhone 16, solely the principle was a Fusion digital camera whereas the ultra-wide has a 12MP sensor. You’ll get the identical 0.5x, 1x and 2x zoom choices as earlier than, computerized macro mode, True Tone flash and the remainder of the helpful options from the iPhone 16 — like Portrait Lighting. If you happen to’re into Apple’s Photographic Kinds, there’s a brand new one referred to as Shiny that enhances pores and skin tones and makes the remainder of the picture extra vibrant. My colleague Cherlynn Low in contrast it to the now-retired Oslo filter on Instagram, and I believe that’s an apt comparability.

By default, the principle digital camera delivers photographs in 24MP decision for a steadiness of element and brightness. On the whole, the images I took with the iPhone 17 gave the impression to be barely sharper than these I captured with my iPhone 16 Plus, particularly in particulars like texture (as evidenced by the images of pumpkins and my canine Biscuit). There isn’t an enormous leap in rear digital camera efficiency right here, however I seen a slight enchancment.

In lower-light settings, like in my footage beneath the awning of my native produce stand and inside a neighborhood bar, colours remained correct and crisp. Macro pictures have been simply as sharp and detailed as earlier than, judging from my close-up of a sunflower which you’ll be able to see right here. Night time time pics nonetheless produce correct colours, particularly when rendering the heat or coolness of avenue lights, and people parts aren’t missing in readability both. Swap your digital camera settings to 48MP and also you’ll discover enhanced element in pictures that include landscapes, as one instance. Simply understand that these max-res images are restricted to 1x zoom and any Night time mode or flash photographs will all the time be saved at 12MP.

Moreover the truth that it makes use of the non-Professional A19 processor, the cameras are the principle space the iPhone 17 lags behind the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. They’ve a 3rd digital camera round again — a 48MP Fusion telephoto — that’s outfitted with 3D sensor-shift optical picture stabilization. That three-camera array additionally offers further zoom choices at 4x and 8x. Additionally they unlock ProRAW for stills and each ProRes and ProRes Uncooked for video, and include a four-microphone setup for “studio-quality” audio seize. If you happen to want the head of Apple’s photographic prowess (at present, anyway), the iPhone 17 Professional begins at $1,099 — $300 greater than the iPhone 17.

Efficiency

Whereas Apple outfitted the iPhone 17 with its newest A19 chip, there’s nonetheless a six-core CPU and five-core GPU — identical because the iPhone 16. The distinction right here is that the GPU now has Neural Accelerators on every core, which Apple says will enhance peak computing energy for AI duties. Except you’re coming from an older iPhone, you most likely received’t discover an excessive amount of of an enchancment year-to-year. Apple explains that the CPU efficiency within the iPhone 17 is as much as 50 p.c quicker than the iPhone 13, however that telephone is from 4 years in the past — principally an eternity. Clearly, you’d anticipate to see a significant uptick in pace when evaluating the flashy new mannequin to such an getting older gadget.

That stated, the iPhone 17 speedily dealt with any job I threw at it. Throughout my on a regular basis use, I didn’t encounter a single time the telephone stuttered or struggled to finish the job. The one time I needed to await something was for Apple Intelligence and ChatGPT to generate my newest immediate or make a Genmoji in Picture Playground (I don’t advocate asking for “a scorching canine thunderstorm,” by the way in which). What’s extra, I by no means seen the iPhone 17 getting heat when utilizing these AI instruments on their very own, however it did begin to warmth up after I concurrently began multitasking (taking part in music, and so forth.). The iPhone 17 by no means acquired greater than noticeably heat to the contact, although.

I’m not an avid cellular gamer, however I did play some Future: Rising (a advice from the Engadget employees) on the iPhone 17 for my due diligence. The mix of the A19 chip and the 120Hz show offered silky clean motion for the first-person shooter, even in chaotic skirmishes. Plus, the iPhone 17 did not get scorching throughout my gaming periods, regardless of not having the vapor chamber that the Professionals do. This most likely led me to play lots longer than I ought to at instances, because the gadget by no means acquired heat sufficient to remind me of how a lot time had handed. The iPhone 17 Professional, Professional Max and Air all have the extra highly effective A19 Professional chip, however the common iPhone this yr is a succesful cellular gaming gadget too.

The arrival of iOS 26

My colleague Mat Smith lined all the new features of iOS 26 intimately, so I’ll refer you to his information for the nitty gritty on the replace. I’ll supply some fast ideas on the brand new software program total, beginning with Liquid Glass. After every week with the newest design, I’m nonetheless not a fan. In some areas the refresh is beneficial: I significantly just like the adjustments to CarPlay, the telephone app and Messages. I’m additionally beginning to get onboard with the tweaks to the Digital camera app. However for each one replace that’s useful, I discover 5 extra I hate. I don’t like the brand new menu in Apple Music that generally requires an additional faucet to disclose the choices, which is one among my largest annoyances.

I do love the mixture of the iPhone 17’s always-on show and iOS 26’s Precedence Notifications. It’s immensely useful to look over at my telephone and see if there’s something I want to deal with instantly. This pairing can also be helpful when it exhibits me issues after I may’ve missed a notification because it first popped up. It’s solely been every week, so I’m more likely to discover different parts I can put to good use as I spend extra time with the brand new OS. And since iOS 26 is a much bigger visible overhaul than Apple’s typical annual refresh, the iPhone 17 appears like much more of an improve.

Since I’ve additionally been utilizing the AirPods Pro 3 for the final a number of days, two options I’ve examined lots are the earbuds’ heart-rate monitoring and Reside Translation. It’s good to not must postpone a exercise if my Apple Watch is charging, since I now know the AirPods Professional 3 will monitor my motion and correctly credit score my Exercise Rings. I can also’t wait to journey overseas with Reside Translation, because the checks I’ve performed at residence have already produced surprisingly useful outcomes.

Battery life

As soon as once more, Apple guarantees “all day” battery life on the iPhone 17. In fact, the corporate doesn’t quantify that phrase, aside from a dedication to 30 hours of video playback or 27 hours of streaming time. My colleague Sam Rutherford acquired practically 25 hours whereas streaming a video as a comparability for his review of the iPhone Air. Throughout a day of what I’d think about “common” use — checking e mail, responding to Slack messages, listening to music, calls, texting, scrolling Instagram and watching just a few episodes of The Bear — I nonetheless had 16 p.c battery left by mattress time. That’s after a day that began at 7AM and ended at 12AM, and I had the always-on show energetic the whole time.

Apple barely elevated the MagSafe wi-fi charging wattage on the iPhone 17. It’s now as much as 25W (with a 30W adapter), which matches the iPhone 16 Plus, and is a 3W improve from the iPhone 16. If you happen to don’t thoughts cables, you’ll be able to anticipate to recharge to 50 p.c in 20 minutes with a 40W (or greater) adapter and to get midway with a 30W charging accent in half an hour. That charging-to-50-percent time on the iPhone 17 is quicker than what you get on the 16 and 16 Plus by 10 and quarter-hour respectively.

The competitors

If you happen to’re on the lookout for a non-Apple different, Google’s Pixel 10 is your greatest wager. It has improved efficiency in comparison with its predecessor together with an upgraded telephoto digital camera with 5x zoom. There’s assist for Google’s tackle MagSafe (Pixelsnap) and the Gemini-powered Magic Cue function is surprisingly helpful. Plus, the Pixel 10 begins at $799, similar to the iPhone 17.

Samsung’s newest entry-level flagship, the Galaxy S25, is much less of an apparent alternative. Because the sequence has lengthy been a rival of Apple’s iPhone, it deserves inclusion right here. The S25’s show and cameras haven’t been upgraded over the S24’s, however it has a strong new processor and wonderful battery life. Gemini works higher on the S25 than it did up to now and there’s the strong construct high quality that Samsung all the time presents at this value vary. Talking of value, the S25 additionally prices the identical because the iPhone 17.

Wrap-up

With essentially the most vital replace in years, the iPhone 17 is a straightforward alternative for an improve for most individuals. Even if you happen to’re coming from the iPhone 16, you’ll reap the advantages of the overhauled show and improved cameras. I don’t say any of that frivolously as I’m not an individual who recommends getting a brand new telephone yearly. More often than not, there merely aren’t compelling sufficient adjustments to warrant it. That’s not the case this yr, and if you happen to’re coming from an iPhone that’s just a few years previous, you’ll doubtless really feel as if you happen to’ve stepped into the longer term.

I went into this evaluation anticipating to be wanting to return to my iPhone 16 Plus after I was by way of testing. And whereas I do want the bigger gadget after utilizing it for a yr, the updates Apple has amassed on the iPhone 17 — particularly the Heart Stage digital camera — have appeased that want… for now. I don’t have a lot use for the efficiency boosts that the iPhone 17 Professional or Professional Max present, and I can’t justify splurging only for a much bigger show. So, I can confidently say that though there’s one much less choice within the common iPhone lineup than there was a yr in the past, the iPhone 17 remains to be the most effective iPhone for many of us.