Hannah Schwob for NYT WirecutterTop pickThe iPhone 17 now comes with features once reserved for Apple’s Pro models, including a bigger and brighter display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, a higher-resolution front-facing camera that takes better selfies, and long-lasting battery life.Apple continues to make its affordable flagship the best value in the iPhone lineup, as the Apple iPhone 17 comes with upgrades across the board. Pro-level features, such as a 6.3-inch ProMotion screen that supports an adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate as well as an always-on display for viewing notifications and widgets at a glance, no longer require you to pay a Pro price. The cameras have also been upgraded: The dual-lens camera setup on the back now has a 48-megapixel ultrawide sensor for higher-quality photos, while the front camera has been upgraded to 18 megapixels with support for Center Stage and Dual Capture video mode (more on those later). The iPhone 17 also runs on Apple’s new A19 chip, which delivers smooth performance and excellent battery life. This model is not a necessary upgrade if you’re coming from the iPhone 16, but if you have an older iPhone, you’re likely to appreciate the new features.It has a bigger, brighter display with a higher refresh rate. The iPhone 17 has a 6.3-inch OLED display, the same size as that of the iPhone 17 Pro. It’s an increase from the iPhone 16’s 6.1-inch screen; though that isn’t a major difference, we’ve always thought the standard iPhone model was a little too cramped in this era of giant phones. With a peak outdoor brightness of 3,000 nits, the iPhone 17’s screen is also brighter, up from 2,000 nits on its predecessor. This makes it easier to see even in direct sunlight. The iPhone 17 has a bigger, 6.3-inch screen with support for a 120 Hz refresh rate and always-on display mode. Hannah Schwob for NYT WirecutterApple’s base-model iPhone 17 also offers a lot of the same features that Apple previously reserved for the Pro iPhones. With ProMotion, the display’s maximum refresh rate has increased from 60 Hz to 120 Hz for smoother scrolling and graphics. It’s adaptive, which means it’ll kick in when you’re using the phone and then dip to 1 Hz when the phone is idle. The iPhone 17 also has an always-on display, so you can easily glance at the time, notifications, or widgets on your lock screen without having to tap to wake the phone each time.It has an upgraded front-facing camera with some useful selfie features. Apple has upgraded the front camera on the iPhone 17 from a 12-megapixel sensor to an 18-megapixel one, which results in higher-resolution images. In our tests, compared with images from previous models, selfies came out even more crisp — we could make out every detail (breakouts included) even in low-light images. The sensor is also now square and has a wider field of view.With the Center Stage feature, found in the newest iPads and now built into the iPhone 17 line, the front-facing camera’s field of view expands automatically to fit more people in the frame while you’re holding the phone vertically. This means you don’t have to manually rotate your phone for wider group shots using the front-facing camera. The feature works as advertised, too: I used it during a birthday party, where many selfies were taken, and whenever someone else stepped into the shot, it would quickly zoom out to fit them in. However, the muscle memory that people have built after years of rotating their phones to snap selfies with friends may take some time to fade.Center Stage also kicks in on video calls to keep you in frame while you’re moving around. I found this feature helpful while I was FaceTiming a friend from my desk, as I was able to move between using the iPhone and typing on my MacBook without having to manually adjust the phone each time.The iPhone 17 also introduces the Dual Capture video mode, which allows you to use the front and rear cameras simultaneously to capture more footage at once. This is a feature we’ve been waiting on from Apple for a while — it’s been available on Samsung Galaxy phones for years now — and before the iPhone 17, we would use a third-party app such as Instagram or Snapchat to flip back and forth between the front and rear cameras to capture dual points of view. Using Dual Capture on the iPhone 17 was both fun and simple in our tests. Once you enable the feature, the front camera’s video is in picture-in-picture mode, and the center of the screen shows what the rear camera records.The iPhone 17 comes with Apple’s Dual Fusion camera system, which includes a 48-megapixel main sensor and a 48-megapixel ultrawide sensor. Hannah Schwob for NYT WirecutterThe iPhone 17 has the same IP68 dust- and water-resistance rating as the more expensive models in the lineup. Hannah Schwob for NYT WirecutterWe experienced a full two days of battery life with the iPhone 17. Hannah Schwob for NYT WirecutterThe iPhone 17 comes with Apple’s Dual Fusion camera system, which includes a 48-megapixel main sensor and a 48-megapixel ultrawide sensor. Hannah Schwob for NYT WirecutterIt has a better ultrawide camera than the iPhone 16. The iPhone 17 has Apple’s new Dual Fusion cameras. The name refers to the 48-megapixel main camera’s ability to double as a 12-megapixel telephoto camera, plus the 48-megapixel ultrawide camera’s ability to double as a 12-megapixel macro lens. The main sensor continues to deliver vibrant, sharp photos with strong dynamic range and little to no visible noise. But the iPhone 16 also has a 48-megapixel main sensor — the upgrade here is to the ultrawide lens. We compared the two and found a few differences: In our tests, the iPhone 17 consistently delivered colors that were more subdued and natural, with lower contrast, delivering more evenly lit, true-to-life images. It also proved to have better distortion control. The iPhone 16’s images, on the other hand, looked more saturated and appeared slightly more warped.Like last year’s version, the iPhone 17 uses a combination of software and hardware to shoot 2x optical-quality zoom, but it still delivered strong results that looked almost identical to what we got from the iPhone 17 Pro. It also has support for up to 10x digital zoom, but in this regard its images weren’t as sharp or clean as those from the Pro model; although the photos were somewhat usable, they exhibited a noticeable loss of details and blurriness.You also have the option to take full-resolution 24-megapixel images (the default) or to switch to 12 megapixels; the camera system switches to the latter when you’re taking photos with night mode, macro flash, or Portrait Lighting. The 24-megapixel option is better for capturing the most detail, while the 12-megapixel mode is ideal for capturing low-light images. Note, however, that images captured with the 24-megapixel option will occupy more space, so if you plan on using the iPhone 17 to take a lot of images, we recommend upgrading to the higher storage configuration.The A19 chip is faster and more efficient. The iPhone 17 uses Apple’s latest chip, the A19, which includes a 16-core neural engine, a six-core CPU, and a five-core GPU. The A19 is designed to power features such as ProMotion, the always-on display, and Apple Intelligence more smoothly. During our time with the iPhone 17, its performance was great. Though we didn’t notice a huge difference coming from the iPhone 16, opening apps and switching between them did feel snappier. The higher refresh rate also allowed for a much smoother experience while we scrolled through social media and played a few rounds of Alto’s Odyssey.The iPhone 17 is more durable than past iPhone models. Apple introduced Ceramic Shield 2 with the iPhone 17 lineup. It’s the latest version of Apple’s proprietary glass, which the company claims has three times better scratch resistance than the previous version. Unlike the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, the iPhone 17 doesn’t have the Ceramic Shield coating on the back. But it retains the same IP68 dust- and water-resistance rating as Apple’s more expensive phones.It has longer battery life than the iPhone 16. Apple claims that the iPhone 17 offers eight more hours of video playback in comparison with the iPhone 16, for a total of up to 30 hours. In our testing, the iPhone 17 lasted for longer than a day and a half of heavy usage on one charge. The extra battery life can be attributed to the addition of both ProMotion, which has an adaptive refresh rate that swaps between 120 Hz and 1 Hz, and the A19 chip, which is designed to be more power-efficient. And Apple claims that the iPhone 17 can charge up to 50% in 20 minutes on its 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max. Using the Dynamic Power Adapter, we charged the iPhone 17 from 9% to 53% in about 25 minutes.The base model has more storage. Having officially dropped 128 GB storage configurations, Apple now starts the base iPhone 17 model at 256 GB of storage (without raising the starting price, as it did on the iPhone 17 Pro). If that’s not enough, you can choose 512 GB for an additional $100.Flaws but not dealbreakersThe design is a bit stale. In comparison with the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the iPhone 17 seems uninspired these days. It would’ve been nice to see some more substantive changes, such as a redesigned camera module similar to that of the iPhone Air.It lacks a triple-camera system. While the triple cameras are typically reserved for the iPhone Pro models, it’s tough not to criticize Apple for including only two cameras on the iPhone 17, especially considering the base models of both the Google Pixel 10 and the Samsung Galaxy S26. Those Android flagships both come with a main sensor, an ultrawide sensor, and a dedicated telephoto sensor. At this point, Apple seems to be falling behind the standard set by its competition.Center Stage selfies aren’t the perfect solution. Although it’s a nice feature to have on hand, taking selfies with Center Stage looks and feels awkward. Since it zooms out to capture everyone in the frame, it produces an ultrawide selfie that made our arms and torsos look really long. We preferred sticking to the standard method of rotating our phone and snapping a more cropped-in shot.
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