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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The iPhone 17 received main upgrades beneath the hood.
- On the $799 worth level, customers are getting Professional-level options.
- The iPhone 17 is offered for buy in-store beginning Friday.
Sometimes, base mannequin iPhones are sometimes neglected. Apple’s launch of the iPhone 17 lineup made that much more the case, with the ultra-thin iPhone Air and the Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro stealing all the eye. Nonetheless, a while with the iPhone 17 and a have a look at the specs make it evident that it is the largest win of the product season for many customers.
Whereas at a look it might look the identical as final 12 months, in numerous, dare I say, cuter pastel colours, after utilizing it for a few minutes, you’ll inform that it packs main upgrades beneath the hood. One of the best half is that, regardless of the upgrades, it retails for a similar worth as final 12 months’s mannequin, with the identical storage at $799.
Additionally: T-Mobile will give you a free iPhone 17 Pro – here’s how to qualify
That will help you resolve if a visit to the Apple retailer on Friday is value it, I’m sharing the iPhone 17’s largest standouts (and upgrades), which I seen after spending 24 hours with the cellphone.
The newest base-model iPhone options upgrades in significant methods, from the show refresh charge to storage to cameras.
1. The show improve we have been ready for
With the iPhone 17, Apple lastly made the 120Hz ProMotion show, which was sometimes restricted to Professional customers, uniform throughout the complete lineup, even the bottom mannequin. In case you are coming from a earlier iPhone base mannequin and usually are not accustomed to increased refresh charge shows, you’re in for a deal with. Belief me, whereas delicate, you’ll discover the distinction. In the meantime, if you’re coming from the Professional fashions, you will not discover a distinction, with the identical buttery easy expertise.
Additionally: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: I compared both, and here’s who wins
As somebody who has at all times bought the Professional lineup, I had forgotten how spoiled I used to be by the 120Hz refresh charge till I examined the iPhone 16e and needed to readjust to a 60Hz refresh charge, which was noticeably extra stuttery and laggy. I’m certain customers who use the iPhone 17 and take a look at to return to prior fashions may have an identical expertise.
Along with the refresh charge, the cellphone now consists of thinner borders with a barely bigger 6.3-inch show, which additionally occurs to have 3,000 nits peak outside brightness, the best ever on the bottom mannequin. In my restricted time utilizing it, I did not must pressure whereas taking a look at my cellphone in direct daylight. A show improve that’s more durable to identify or check is Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple claims provides it thrice higher scratch resistance.
2. A selfie digicam you can’t go mistaken with
The iPhone 17 has an 18MP Center Stage entrance digicam, an improve from the prior 12 months’s 12MP. Whereas this immediately interprets to better-quality selfies, the actual magic pertains to its wider area of view. Now, you may swap from panorama to portrait mode with out rotating the cellphone, as seen within the photograph above. I’m holding my cellphone vertically whereas taking a horizontal photograph.
Additionally: I’m a long-time iPhone Pro user, but I’m seriously considering the Air for these reasons
You may manually toggle the orientation, or, utilizing AI, the digicam can mechanically widen the shot when it detects a gaggle of individuals and rotate from panorama to vertical to get everybody within the body. Utilizing it for the primary time feels a bit like magic, and whereas not the flashiest characteristic, it’s wildly handy. The rear cameras received a slight enhance, too, with a 48MP Fusion fundamental and a 48MP Fusion extremely large changing the 12MP extremely large discovered on the iPhone 16.
3. Higher worth than you anticipate
Sometimes, Apple has always offered a 128GB tier of storage, however this 12 months it’s beginning all of its telephones at 256GB. So, whereas at face worth it might appear to be the iPhone 17 is $100 dearer than the iPhone 16, retailing at $799, it’s really the identical worth because the iPhone 16 with 256GB. For somebody like me who likes to take images of completely all the things, having a minimal of 256GB has at all times been a requirement, and within the age of digital hoarding, I feel most customers will be capable of reap the advantages, too.
That is particularly a deal with contemplating that, along with the upgrades talked about above, the iPhone 17 additionally has an A19 chipset and a greater battery with as much as 30 hours of video playback. Not solely is that this deal, however the cellphone’s specs make it seemingly the very best cellphone for many customers, particularly now that the hole between the bottom and Professional fashions has closed even additional.
Additionally: Verizon will give you an iPhone 17 Pro for free right now – how to qualify for the deal
At this level, I would say shelling out the additional $300 for the iPhone 17 Pro is almost definitely solely value it if you’re an avid photographer or an absolute energy person who wants the facility enhance from a much bigger battery, vapor chamber, and A19 Professional chip.
