- RATING
The iPhone 17 is slick and powerful device that will attract customers looking for design, performance, features, camera and overall value. The iPhone 17 ticks all these boxes and is a standout in Apple’s new line-up.
Apple’s new iPhone 17 is probably the pick of the entire line-up because it delivers on design, performance, camera, features and value.
The iPhone 17 has inherited many of the Pro features including the Super Retina XDR ProMotion display with 120 Hz variable refresh rate and an improved camera system.
On the design side, the iPhone 17 has maintained a fresh look with an anodized aluminium frame and bright new colours.
The display is now 6.3-inches after picking up some extra space after Apple reduced the width of the bezels on each side.
The result is a larger screen in a device that’s relatively the same size as the previous model.
The iPhone 17 display is also protected by Ceramic Shield 2 which gives it three times better scratch resistance.
The iPhone 17 is powered by the A19 chip which includes a 5-core GPU so you’re getting near flagship performance throughout the system and while playing games.
It also comes with more memory in the entry level model – 256GB up from 128GB.
Traditionally the new entry level iPhone lacks many of the features of the Pro model and while there are still obvious differences between the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro this year, they have a lot more in common.
This includes the display, Apple Intelligence and the new 18-megapixel Centre Stage front camera which, thanks to the new square sensor, allows users to take portrait and landscape selfies without the need to change their grip on the device.
The iPhone 17 has a dual camera system made up of two 48-megapixel Fusion cameras – a main camera and an ultra-wide.
The device can also shoot 4K video at 60fps with Dolby Vision.
The iPhone 17 has a much better camera than that found on the new iPhone Air.
And while it doesn’t have the triple camera setup of the iPhone 17 Pro models, the iPhone 17’s dual camera system is still quite capable and will meet the photographic needs of most customers.
If you are more Pro level user and demand more from your device and the cameras and want to include it into a professional production workflow then obviously the iPhone 17 Pro models are more suited to your requirements.
But we know many customers have purchased the Pro models to get the better and bigger screen and the more premium design.
This time out the iPhone 17 is made of anodized aluminium – just like the iPhone 17 Pro models – and it has the same screen and same front camera. And it’s $700 cheaper.
Purchase decisions for the iPhone are heavily influenced by the cameras.
Users don’t buy an iPhone because of the quality of the phone calls or text messages – it’s the camera and screen size that are the determining factors for the purchase.
With the iPhone 17, the customer is surely the winner because the flagship features that were the highlights of the Pro models in the past have now filtered down to this level.
The iPhone 17 has a 3692mAh battery – that’s slightly bigger than the battery on the iPhone 16 which had a smaller 6.1 inch display.
We found the iPhone 17 to be impressively power efficient and sailed through the day with plenty of battery left in the tank even late in the evening.
The iPhone 17 is available now in five colours – lavender, sage, mist blue, white and black – and is priced from $1,399 for 256GB capacity and $1,799 for 512GB.
VERDICT
The iPhone 17 is slick and powerful device that will attract customers looking for design, performance, features, camera and overall value. The iPhone 17 ticks all these boxes and is a standout in Apple’s new line-up.
