Apple’s iPhone 17 has achieved equivalence with the Pro variants in almost every significant way for users. Its camera closely matches that of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. Battery performance is exceptional, and the display is notably smoother and more enjoyable, thanks to Apple’s 120Hz ProMotion technology.
It’s the iPhone that is most practical for the majority.
So, why am I not thrilled?
In spite of these considerable enhancements, Apple continues to present a challenging decision between the iPhone 17 and the new iPhone Air, which undeniably has its appeal, a term seldom associated with smartphones. Indeed, the Air has a shorter battery life and is missing an ultra-wide camera, but it is more fashionable, trendier, and sleeker, while the iPhone 17 appears almost indistinguishable from the previous year’s iPhone 16.
Apple iPhone 17: Pricing and specifications
Two cameras! Take that, iPhone Air! Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
Apple’s base iPhone often seems like a collection of compromises to prevent overshadowing the more premium Pro models.
This year, it’s the reverse: Apple seems to have chosen to furnish the iPhone 17 with most of the features that are important to everyday users. Outside of the telephoto camera, the remainder of the iPhone 17 Pro’s exclusive features are relatively specialized, like a vapor chamber cooling system and RAW video capabilities. In this regard, it’s the most enticing standard iPhone in recent years.
Here are the essential specifications for the iPhone 17:
– Display: 6.3-inch, Super Retina XDR display with 120Hz refresh rate
– Design: Aluminum frame equipped with Ceramic Shield on front
– Rear cameras: 48-megapixel dual rear camera system with wide and ultra-wide lenses
– Front camera: 18-megapixel selfie camera featuring Center Stage
– Processor: Apple A19 chip containing a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine
– Storage: 256GB or 512GB options
– Battery life: Up to 30 hours of video playback
– Software: iOS 26
Apple iPhone 17: Design and display
The display is nearly as impressive as that on the Pro models. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
This review will frequently reference the iPhone Air, as evaluating the $799 iPhone 17 is incomplete without taking the iPhone Air into account. Yes, the iPhone Air is priced two hundred dollars higher than the iPhone 17, but it remains much closer in price to it than the iPhone 17 Pro, which costs $400 more.
Starting with the design, not much can be said about the iPhone 17, as it resembles the iPhone 16. It sports an aluminum body, a 6.3-inch OLED display with a Dynamic Island at the top, two cameras on the back, a standard button layout (including the relatively new Camera Control button) on the sides, and a USB-C port on the bottom. Available colors include black, lavender, mist blue, sage, and white; Apple provided a plain white review unit.
In technical terms, the iPhone 17 is slightly less advanced compared to the Pro and Air models. For instance, it’s the only model without a Ceramic Shield on the rear. However, the most crucial element, the display, is very similar across all three versions. The iPhone 17 features a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display that is remarkably bright and gratifyingly smooth due to Apple’s ProMotion technology. The introduction of ProMotion also brought in some features previously exclusive to Pro models, such as Always On display and StandBy mode, which I found myself missing the most on the iPhone 16e.
Apple iPhone 17: Performance and AI
Two cameras and a dedicated Camera Control button on the side. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
I can’t genuinely perceive any difference in performance among the new iPhones. They are all extraordinarily fast, end of story.
The chips powering them are not exactly identical; the iPhone 17 is equipped with the A19 chip, while the Pro and Air models utilize the A19 Pro, the main distinction being 5 versus 6 GPU cores. Apple does not disclose the RAM specifications for these devices, but teardowns indicate that the iPhone 17 is equipped with 8GB of RAM compared to 12GB on the other new models. None of the disparities are apparent during everyday usage.
Perhaps more importantly, all three devices now begin with 256GB of storage; the iPhone 17 can also be obtained with double that capacity, though the additional storage will require an extra $200.
Regarding AI, which Apple affectionately labels “Apple Intelligence,” users can expect a few interesting features like AI image recognition, intelligent note rewriting, and basic image generation. Frankly, Apple’s approach to AI appears notably insufficient where