iPhone 17
Apple's2025flagshipiPhone.
The iPhone 17 is Apple's most affordable flagship iPhone, featuring a 6.3-inch display, A19 chip, ProMotion, an upgraded front camera, and more.
New Features
- Larger 6.3-inch display
- Apple-designed N1 networking chip
- Better scratch resistance
- ProMotion 120Hz display technology
- Improved outdoor brightness
- 18-megapixel selfie camera
- Longer battery life
ShouldYouBuyandiPhone 17?
Introduced in September 2025, the the iPhone 17 is Apple's most affordable flagship iPhone, sold alongside the higher-end iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Since the iPhone 17 was just released, now is a good time to buy.The iPhone 17 has an A19 chip that supports Apple Intelligence, an excellent OLED display with a 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate and Always-On functionality, a dual-lens camera system with two 48-megapixel lenses, an Apple-designed networking chip, more scratch-resistant front glass, a Camera Control for quick camera access, and a customizable Action button.Pricing starts at $799, and the iPhone 17 offers a good balance between functionality and price. If you're looking for a step up, Apple has the iPhone 17 Pro models with upgraded A19 Pro chip, an improved thermal design, and a triple-lens camera system.For those who want a more affordable device, Apple also offers the $599 iPhone 16e, and the prior-generation iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus with prices starting at $699.Choosing an iPhone is a major decision, so we have some buyer's guides that walk you through choosing the best device for you, and you'll also want to check out our iPhone deals post to get the best prices
The 2025 iPhone 17
Contents
- The 2025 iPhone 17
- How to Buy
- Reviews
- Design
- Water and Dust Resistance
- Action Button
- Camera Control
- Display
- Dynamic Island
- TrueDepth Camera and Face ID
- Front-Facing Camera
- A19 Chip
- Memory
- Storage Space
- Dual-Lens Rear Camera
- Dual Capture
- Video Capabilities
- Audio Mix
- Other Camera Features
- Battery Life
- Charging
- 5G Connectivity
- 5G Bands
- LTE Bands
- Emergency SOS via Satellite
- Crash Detection
The iPhone 17 is Apple's most affordable flagship iPhone at $799, and it is being sold alongside the thin and light iPhone Air that's priced at $999, and the higher-end iPhone 17 Pro and 6.9-inch iPhone 17 Pro Max that are priced starting at $1,099This year's lineup eliminates the "Plus" iPhone and replaces it with the iPhone Air. The iPhone 17 family includes the 6.3-inch iPhone 17, the 6.5-inch iPhone Air, the 6.3-inch iPhone 17 Pro, and the 6.9-inch iPhone 17 Pro Max.With its lower price point, high-end camera, upgraded display technology, and A19 chip, the iPhone 17 is the ideal phone for most people. Apple's most cutting edge features are reserved for the iPhone 17 Pro models to make the extra cost worth it to consumers, and the iPhone 17 isn't as thin as the iPhone Air, but it is still a powerful smartphone that will last for many years to come.Apple upgraded the display size of the iPhone 17, and it now has a 6.3-inch display, up from 6.1 inches, making it the same size as the iPhone 17 Pro. The larger display size means the iPhone 17 is alittlebittaller,thicker,andheavier than the iPhone 16, but some of the improvement is from a reduction in bezels.Aside from the slight size increase, the iPhone 17 is identical in design to the iPhone 16, featuring an aluminum frame, a frosted glass back, a vertical dual-lens camera bump, and the Dynamic Island. The Dynamic Island houses the front-facing TrueDepth camera and other sensors for Face ID biometric authentication.The iPhone 17'sSuperRetinaXDROLEDdisplay is protected by Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says offers 3× better scratch resistance. This year, Apple brought the ProMotion display to the base-model iPhone, and it now supports adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz. 120Hz refresh rates offer smoother scrolling and other benefits, with the upgraded display also enabling Always-On display technology. Apple improved the display's peakoutdoorbrightness, and it now reaches 3,000 nits, up from 2,000 nits. Typical brightness is still 1,000 nits, and HDR brightness peaks at 1,600 nits.The iPhone 17 has the same Action button and CamerControl that were available on the iPhone 16, and there continues to be a dual-lens rear camera with a 48-megapixel "Fusion" Wide-Angle lens and a 48-megapixel Ultra Wide-angle lens that's an upgrade over the prior 12-megapixel Ultra Wide lens.The Fusion lens supports2×optical zoom, so there are 0.5×, 1×, and 2× zoom options available. The Ultra-Wide lens offers improved low-light performance and it supports macro images.An upgraded 18-megapixelfront-facing camera improves selfies and video calls. A square sensor allows for capturing portrait and landscape photos without rotating your iPhone, and it supports Center Stage for wider views when capturing images and taking video calls. Updatedstabilization ensures your front-facing videos are shake free. Apple added Dual Capture, a feature that lets you record up to 4K Dolby Vision video with the front and back cameras at the same time, so you can film reaction-style videos that show you along with what you're filming.You can get the iPhone 17 in five colors, including Lavender, Mist Blue, Sage, Black, and White. The bottom of the iPhone features a USB-C port for charging, and it supports USB2 transfer speedsThe iPhone 17 is equipped with an A19 chip built on Apple's third-generation 3-nanometer node. It includes a 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU, but each GPU core has a Neural Accelerator that Apple says improves on-device generative AI and other system-intensive tasks. There's an upgraded 16-core Neural Engine, 8GB RAM, an updated display engine, and a new image signal processor. Apple didn't change the thermal design of the iPhone 17 like it did with the iPhone 17 Pro models, but it still benefits from thermal improvements made last year to improve heat dissipation.With the new A19 chip and an Apple-designed N1 networking chip, the iPhone 17 is more efficient than ever for improved battery life. The iPhone 17 battery lasts for up to 30 hours when watching videos, or up to 27 hours when streaming videos. That's 6+ hours better battery life than the iPhone 16.Charging speeds have also been improved, and the iPhone 17 can fast charge to 50 percent in 20 minutes with a 40W or better power adapter. It can charge to 50 percent in 30 minutes with a MagSafe charger, and it supports both MagSafe and Qi2 charging at 25W. An Adaptive Power mode in iOS 26 intelligently manages battery consumption to extend the iPhone 17's battery even further.A Qualcomm modem chip brings improved 5G connectivity, and the N1 includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread networking technology. There's still a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, plus NFC support, dual-frequency GPS, and safety features like Emergency SOS via satellite, Messages via satellite, and Crash Detection.In the U.S. and several other countries, the iPhone 17 is available without a physical SIM card, with Apple instead using eSIM technology.sh Detection
How to Buy
Pricing on the iPhone 17 starts at $799 for the base model with 256GB of storage, but there is also a 512GB option for $999. Pre-orders began on Friday, September 12, at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time, with a launch following on Friday, September 19.
Reviews
Reviewers seem to be in agreement that the iPhone 17 offers the best value at its price point. It has an upgraded A19 chip with many of the same benefits as the A19 Pro, and it features an upgraded display with Always-On and ProMotion technology with a 120Hz refresh rate. ProMotion and Always-On have previously been limited to the "Pro" iPhone models, so there are now fewer features that set the iPhone 17 apart from the iPhone 17 Pro.The iPhone 17 design hasn't changed compared to the iPhone 16, but it has a larger 6.3-inch display with slimmer bezels, plus it uses Ceramic Shield 2 so it is more resistant to scratches. Reviewers liked the dual-lens camera system, which features an upgraded 48-megapixel Ultra Wide lens alongside the 48-megapixel Wide lens.The 18-megapixel front-facing camera has also received praise, thanks to the higher-quality images it produces and the new feature that allows users to take landscape images without having to rotate their phones.Compared to the iPhone Air, the iPhone 17 is thicker, but there are few other downsides. Compared to the iPhone 17 Pro, it lacks the Telephoto lens, the A19 Pro chip, and the vapor chamber cooling system, plus it has 8GB RAM instead of 12GB. At the same time, it is $300 less expensive than the entry-level $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro, which is going to make it worth it for most people.You can read iPhone 17 reviews in our review roundup.
Design
The iPhone 17 is identical in design to the iPhone 16, but it is slightly larger. Instead of a 6.1-inch display, the iPhone 17 has a 6.3-inch display, making it the same size as the iPhone 17 ProAside from the size upgrade, there are no other design changes. The iPhone 17 measures in at 5.89 inches tall (149.6 mm), 2.81 inches wide (71.5 mm), and 0.31 inches deep (7.95mm). It weighs 177 grams. Compared to the iPhone 16, the iPhone 17 is a little thicker and it is seven grams heavier.The iPhone 17 models have an all-glass front and a colorful matte glass back framed by a color-matched aluminum frame. Colors this year include Black, White, Mist Blue, Sage, and Lavender.The Dynamic Island near the top of the display houses a front-facing camera and TrueDepth camera system for Face ID. Antenna bands are located on the top, left, and right sides of the phone, with a power button and Camera Control on the right side and volume buttons and the Action button on the left side.Speaker holes, a microphone, and a USB-C charging port are located at the bottom of the iPhone 16 models. In some countries, there is a SIM slot on the left side, but the physical SIM has not been included in U.S. iPhones for several years noThere is a camera bump at the back of the iPhone 17, and it continues to use the same pill-shaped vertical design as the iPhone 16. Apple did not change the camera design even though the other iPhone 17 models have an updated camera plateau.
Water and Dust Resistance
The iPhone 17 has an IP68 rating for resistance to water and dust intrusion. The smartphones are able to withstand a depth of up to six meters (19.7 feet) for up to 30 minutes.
In the IP68 number, the 6 refers to dust resistance (and means the iPhone 17 can hold up to dirt, dust, and other particulates), while the 8 pertains to water resistance. IP6X is the highest dust resistance rating that exists. With the IP68 rating, the iPhone 17 can withstand splashes, rain, and accidental water exposure, but intentional water exposure should be avoided.
Water and dust resistance are not permanent conditions, according to Apple, and can deteriorate over time as a result of normal wear. Apple's standard warranty does not cover liquid damage, which means it's best to use caution when it comes to liquid exposure.
Action Button
The Action button on the left side of the iPhone is customizable, and it can be set to perform one of several different actions in the Settings app.
- Focus: Activate or deactivate a Focus mode (Do Not Disturb is the default).
- Camera: Take a photo (the default), a selfie, video, portrait, or portrait selfie.
- Flashlight: Turn the flashlight on or off.
- Voice Memos: Start or stop recording a voice memo with the Voice Memos app.
- Magnifier: Activate the Magnifier app to use the iPhone's camera as a magnifying glass to zoom in on small text or objects.
- Shortcuts: Open your favorite app, or run a shortcut created in or downloaded from the Shortcuts app, such as sending a message, playing a playlist, or controlling smart home devices.
- Control Center: Several Control Center controls can be assigned to the Action button.
- Accessibility: Access to various Vision settings (Classic Invert, Color Filters, Detection Mode, Increase Contrast, Reduce Motion, Reduce Transparency, Reduce White Point, Smart Invert, VoiceOver, Zoom) Motor settings (Switch Control, Voice Control, Full Keyboard Access,
- AssistiveTouch, Apple Watch Mirroring, Control Nearby Devices)
- Hearing settings (Background Sounds, Left/Right Balance, Live Captions) and General settings (Guided Access, Live Speech).
- No Action.Activating the Action button is done with a long press, which limits it from being hit accidentally.
Camera Control
The iPhone 17 has a Camera Control on the right side that's designed for capturing images. The multi-function button has a force sensor and a touch sensor for gesture support, and Apple designed it to work in either portrait or landscape mode.
There's a sapphire crystal covering with a smooth texture covering the Camera Control, and it is surrounded by stainless steel trim. It is inset into the iPhone's frame just a bit, and the force sensor has haptic feedback to make it feel like a DSLR camera shutter.Camera Control can be used to take a photo with two quick clicks, but there are many more capabilities.
- Single click - Open up the Camera app (or a third-party app).
- Single click, Camera open - Take a photo.
- Click and hold - Open Camera app, start a video recording.
- Light press - Open up controls like zoom or lock focus and exposure for reframing shots without losing focus.
- Double light press - Bring up the camera preview menu to choose different controls like exposure or depth of field.
- Swipe - Swap through available adjustment options, and also change parameters like zoom, exposure, or depth of field when a control is selected.
The button has software support, so you can also swap between Camera Control functions without having to adjust settings in the Camera app.
- Adjust zoom
- Adjust exposure
- Adjust depth of field
- Swipe through different stylistic options
- Third-party developers can take advantage of the Camera8Control for their apps for adjusting settings, and it works in social media apps like Snapchat.
- Adjust zoom
- Adjust exposure
- Adjust depth of field
- Swipe through different stylistic options
- Third-party developers can take advantage of the Camera8Control for their apps for adjusting settings, and it works in social media apps like Snapchat.
Camera Control can be used to activate Visual Intelligence when long pressing on the button.
Comments