Is It Price Upgrading to the iPhone 17? Specs, Worth, and Characteristic Comparability

The shiny new iPhone 17 is right here, which suggests your completely good older iPhone might be beginning to look a bit of historic. It is that point of 12 months once more: the annual debate over whether or not you need to lastly pull the set off on an improve.

So, is the iPhone 17 price it? The brand new mannequin begins at $829, however this is the kicker: Apple lastly did away with the measly 128GB base storage. The brand new entry-level mannequin now begins at a way more cheap 256GB, which is a long-overdue bump which may simply make the improve a no brainer.

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A number of noteworthy updates to the iPhone 17 make it really feel like a tempting selection, even over the pricier iPhone 17 Professional fashions. In the end, Apple has prolonged a 1-120Hz show throughout its whole lineup, so you’ll be able to have smoother scrolling and an always-on show with out spending upwards of $1,100 on a Professional mannequin. An anti-reflective coating and better 3,000-nit peak brightness make the display barely simpler to see open air. And digital camera upgrades assist to stage up pictures and selfies. 

This is how the iPhone 17 compares to older iPhones, starting from final 12 months’s iPhone 16 to 2020’s iPhone 12.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 16

Look-wise, the iPhone 17 has lots in frequent with the iPhone 16. However beneath the floor, there are some key variations. 

The show goes from a meager 60Hz on the iPhone 16 to 120Hz on the iPhone 17 (in the end). Which means the iPhone 17 lastly helps an always-on show, so you’ll be able to look on the time and your notifications with out waking the display and luxuriate in smoother scrolling. A brand new anti-reflective coating helps scale back glare, particularly within the vibrant outside circumstances. 

The iPhone 17 has a bigger 6.3-inch show, versus the iPhone 16’s 6.1-inch display, because of slimmer bezels. That may make viewing content material barely extra immersive, although it will not be a vastly noticeable distinction. And a brand new Ceramic Defend 2 cowl on the iPhone 17 affords 3 times higher scratch resistance, in line with Apple, so you’ll be able to fear rather less about etching into your telephone’s display (however perhaps nonetheless get a display protector to be protected).

The iPhone 16 and 17 have a 48-megapixel wide-angle digital camera, however the iPhone 17 bumps the ultrawide digital camera from 12 megapixels to 48 megapixels. The front-facing digital camera additionally will get upgraded from 12 megapixels (on the iPhone 16) to 18 megapixels on the iPhone 17. Each telephones have a Digital camera Management button for shortly launching the digital camera and snapping pictures.

A brand new Middle Stage characteristic can routinely regulate selfie pictures from portrait orientation to panorama to make sure everyone seems to be within the shot, so you do not have to manually rotate your telephone to its facet anymore. Twin Seize enables you to concurrently document in your back and front cameras. These upgrades are particularly catered to the newest iPhone lineup, in order that they will not be coming to older fashions just like the iPhone 16, even with an iOS 26 replace.

Battery life is a bit of longer on the iPhone 17. Apple says the iPhone 17 helps as much as 8 hours extra of video playback than the iPhone 16. This modification aligns with enhancements CNET observed in our battery exams. In a 3-hour streaming take a look at, for instance, the iPhone 17’s battery dropped from 100% to 89%, whereas the iPhone 16 hit 86%. It is an incremental replace, however even a bit of extra battery life is a welcome change. The iPhone 17 additionally helps as much as 40-watt charging, which is a lift over the 25 watts you get with the iPhone 16, serving to you prime off your battery a bit of quicker.

The underside line: Whereas the updates to the iPhone 17 assist it stand out as an all-around stable system, the adjustments over final 12 months’s iPhone 16 are incremental sufficient that there is not a lot motive to improve — except you are actually enthusiastic about that smoother show and quicker charging. However for most individuals, delicate variations imply you need to most likely simply maintain onto your iPhone 16. 

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 15

The iPhone 15 has lots in frequent with the iPhone 16, together with a 48-megapixel wide-angle digital camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide digital camera and a 6.1-inch show. The 6.3-inch show on the iPhone 17 has slimmer bezels to develop that actual property a bit, and the 48-megapixel ultrawide digital camera can result in barely sharper photographs.

The baseline iPhone 15 would not have an Motion button that you would be able to customise to launch varied apps and features, and as an alternative has the extra conventional ring/silent change. The iPhone 17 has an Motion button and a Digital camera Management button.

Each telephones have a Dynamic Island cutout on the prime of the show for displaying alerts and Stay Actions, such because the time your DoorDash order is arriving, flight updates and what track is at the moment taking part in.

With every era, Apple touts longer battery life, so you’ll be able to count on to get a pair extra hours of video playback with the iPhone 17 than you’d with the 15.

Maybe essentially the most important distinction between the iPhone 15 and 17 is that the iPhone 15 would not have Apple Intelligence; these AI options solely arrived on that 12 months’s Professional fashions. In the event you improve to the iPhone 17, you will have entry to writing and picture modifying instruments, in addition to newer options like Stay Translation for calls and messages. 

The underside line: Just like the iPhone 16, there aren’t many drastic variations between the iPhone 15 and 17, although upgrading will notably grant you entry to Apple Intelligence. However the different {hardware} and software-related updates are comparatively minimal, so that you’re most likely good conserving your iPhone 15 for a minimum of one other 12 months.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 14

The iPhone 14 was the final Apple telephone with a Lightning port and that is one among most important variations between it and the iPhone 17, which has a USB-C port. Upgrading to the iPhone 17 means you will not need to depend on an outdated and limited-use charging cable anymore, and may as an alternative use one which works with most of your different units. 

The baseline iPhone 14 additionally would not have a Dynamic Island cutout within the show, as that characteristic launched with simply the Professional fashions that 12 months. Upgrading to the iPhone 17 will allow you to shortly faucet into actions like your rideshare journey or flight data.

The iPhone 14 has a 12-megapixel extensive and ultrawide-angle digital camera on the again, whereas the iPhone 17 bumps that to 48 megapixels throughout the board. The iPhone 17 additionally will increase the front-facing digital camera’s decision from 12 megapixels to 18 megapixels, whereas including a brand new Middle Stage selfie characteristic to routinely regulate between portrait and panorama photographs with out you having to rotate your telephone. 

However the two telephones additionally some key similarities, like having eSIM and satellite tv for pc connectivity on board.

The underside line: The iPhone 14 has essentially the most noticeable variations with the iPhone 17. Upgrading might supply some recent options like an Motion button and, finally, a USB-C port, in addition to Dynamic Island and an upgraded digital camera. However if you wish to avoid wasting cash and maintain your present telephone, you will not be lacking out on something too drastic.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 13

The iPhone 13 has an identical A15 Bionic chip because the iPhone 14, and shares the identical twin 12-megapixel digital camera system. However not like the iPhone 14, the iPhone 13 would not have crash detection or satellite tv for pc connectivity, or digital camera options like Motion mode for extra secure movies. 

At this level, your iPhone 13 could also be displaying its age. Upgrading to the iPhone 17 will provide you with entry to newer options like Apple Intelligence, Dynamic Island, USB-C charging and the Digital camera Management and Motion buttons. You may also discover quicker speeds by switching to the iPhone 17, now that it has been just a few years because the iPhone 13 got here out.

The underside line: It could be time to improve to the iPhone 17 in case you have an iPhone 13. It is doable your telephone is beginning to present its age, and switching to Apple’s newest baseline will get you a longer-lasting battery, an upgraded digital camera, AI options and a handful of recent {hardware} and software program capabilities. 

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 12

Like the following couple of iPhones after it, the iPhone 12 has a twin 12-megapixel digital camera system, in addition to a 6.1-inch show. Upgrading to the iPhone 17 will get you a barely extra immersive 6.3-inch show with thinner bezels, together with a 48-megapixel twin digital camera system. 

The iPhone 12 lacks options like crash detection, satellite tv for pc connectivity, Dynamic Island and USB-C charging. It additionally would not assist the Apple Intelligence suite of AI options for writing, picture modifying, language translation and extra. 

It is doable your iPhone 12 has change into sluggish and your battery is not holding up prefer it used to. Taking age out of the equation, at launch, the iPhone 12 boasted as much as 17 hours of video playback, whereas Apple says the iPhone 17 helps as much as 30 hours. So there’s more likely to be a noticeable distinction between how lengthy every telephone can maintain up.

The underside line: Swapping your iPhone 12 for the iPhone 17 could possibly be a wise transfer. There have been noticeable adjustments over the past a number of years, from the addition of the Motion and Digital camera Management buttons to the introduction of Apple Intelligence. The swap to USB-C and expanded battery capability may also make the latest iPhone extra tempting; you will not need to cling to your now-outdated Lightning cable. And you will probably discover quicker speeds and better efficiency throughout the board when switching from a 5-year-old system to the newest era.