Is It Worth Upgrading to the iPhone 17? Specs, Price, and Feature Comparison

The shiny new iPhone 17 is right here, which implies your completely good older iPhone might be beginning to look somewhat historical. It is that point of 12 months once more: the annual debate over whether or not it’s best to lastly pull the set off on an improve.

So, is the iPhone 17 value it? The brand new mannequin begins at $829, however here 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 affordable 256GB, which is a long-overdue bump that 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 Pro fashions. In the end, Apple has prolonged a 1-120Hz show throughout its complete lineup, so you’ll be able to have smoother scrolling and an always-on display 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 outdoor. And digital camera upgrades assist to stage up photographs and selfies. 

Here 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 so much 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). Meaning 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 revel in smoother scrolling. A brand new anti-reflective coating helps scale back glare, particularly within the shiny out of doors situations. 

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 gives 3 times higher scratch resistance, in keeping with Apple, so you’ll be able to fear rather less about etching into your cellphone’s display (however possibly 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 Camera Control button for shortly launching the digital camera and snapping photographs.

A brand new Center Stage function can mechanically modify selfie photographs from portrait orientation to panorama to make sure everyone seems to be within the shot, so you do not have to manually rotate your cellphone to its aspect anymore. Dual Capture helps you to concurrently document in your back and front cameras. These upgrades are particularly catered to the most recent 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 somewhat 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 transformation aligns with enhancements CNET seen in our battery assessments. In a 3-hour streaming check, 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 somewhat 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 somewhat sooner.

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

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 15

The iPhone 15 has so much 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 pictures.

The baseline iPhone 15 would not have an Action button you could customise to launch numerous apps and capabilities, and as an alternative has the extra conventional ring/silent change. The iPhone 17 has an Motion button and a Digicam 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 music is at present taking part in.

With every technology, 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 probably 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. For those who improve to the iPhone 17, you may 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 protecting your iPhone 15 for no less than one other 12 months.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 14

The iPhone 14 was the final Apple cellphone with a Lightning port and that is one in every of most vital 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 might 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 function 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 info.

The iPhone 14 has a 12-megapixel huge 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 function to mechanically modify between portrait and panorama photographs with out you having to rotate your cellphone. 

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 probably the most noticeable variations with the iPhone 17. Upgrading might supply some contemporary options like an Motion button and, ultimately, 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 cellphone, you will not be lacking out on something too drastic.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 13

The iPhone 13 has the same 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 steady 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 Digicam Management and Motion buttons. You may also discover sooner speeds by switching to the iPhone 17, now that it has been a number of years because the iPhone 13 got here out.

The underside line: It might be time to improve to the iPhone 17 if in case you have an iPhone 13. It is potential your cellphone 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 latest {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, photograph modifying, language translation and extra. 

It is potential your iPhone 12 has grow to be 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 prone to be a noticeable distinction between how lengthy every cellphone can maintain up.

The underside line: Swapping your iPhone 12 for the iPhone 17 may very well be a sensible transfer. There have been noticeable adjustments over the past a number of years, from the addition of the Motion and Digicam Management buttons to the introduction of Apple Intelligence. The swap to USB-C and expanded battery capability also can make the most recent iPhone extra tempting; you will not need to cling to your now-outdated Lightning cable. And you will probably discover sooner speeds and better efficiency throughout the board when switching from a 5-year-old machine to the most recent technology.