Apple’s large fall occasion simply wrapped up, and we rushed out of the Steve Jobs Theater to get our palms on the most recent iPhones. Right here’s a take a look at the new iPhone 17, Apple’s base mannequin this yr, which is joined by the thinner iPhone Air and beefier iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max — there’s no Plus this time round.
The primary place to begin is the rear digital camera. Not as a result of lots has modified right here, however quite as a result of it hasn’t: whereas the iPhone 17 Professional and Air have each adopted new horizontal digital camera “plateaus,” the common 17 has the identical two vertically stacked lenses as final yr. Which means that is the one iPhone 17 that truly seems to be just like the iPhone 16 range — which may very well be a superb or a nasty factor, relying in your perspective.
The twin rear cameras look the identical, however there’s been a giant change. Each lenses now use 48-megapixel sensors — a giant improve for the ultrawide, which was beforehand 12 megapixels. Apple claims that the primary digital camera will double as a 2x telephoto, whereas the ultrawide handles macro duties, however don’t count on a digital camera as versatile as these on the Professionals — nonetheless, it’s higher than the only lens on the Air. The selfie digital camera has been upgraded too, with an 18-megapixel sensor supported by Middle Stage for automated framing and even orientation adjustment.
The common iPhone is at all times the final to get no matter shiny new options Apple rolls out to the Professionals, nevertheless it seems to be particularly left behind this yr with the Air within the combine and a brand new design for the Professional. However the selfie digital camera enhancements might be appreciated right here by anybody upgrading to the bottom mannequin, and the colours are pleasantly saturated in particular person.
You’ll get 5 shade choices with the bottom iPhone 17: lavender, mist blue, black, white, and sage. They’re all on the subdued, pastel finish of the spectrum although — bizarrely, you’ll must go for the 17 Professional’s vibrant orange to get a very punchy end this yr.
That’s to not say that nothing has modified. The iPhone 17 has adopted within the footsteps of final yr’s 16 Pro models by shrinking its bezel for a barely bigger show, leaping from 6.1 inches within the iPhone 16 to six.3 inches now. Which means it has the identical measurement show because the iPhone 17 Professional, supplying you with one much less purpose to improve.
Dimension isn’t the one improve, both. That is the primary yr that the bottom iPhone has included help for as much as 120Hz refresh charges, lastly matching a characteristic you will discover on $200 Android telephones. That ought to imply smoother scrolling and extra fluid animations, helped alongside by the upgraded A19 chip — it’s a change that’s typically laborious to note at first, however is instantly obvious while you return to a 60Hz display screen. It’s additionally a brighter display screen than earlier than, with a peak out of doors brightness of three,000 nits, and is protected by the brand new, harder Ceramic Protect 2.
Throw in additional energy because of the up to date A19 chipset, longer battery life, and help for quicker 25W MagSafe charging, and the iPhone 17 is a much bigger replace than many people anticipated.
The iPhone 17 begins at $799, the identical value because the 16, however you get double the storage at 256GB. It’ll be obtainable to order from this Friday, with gadgets hitting retailer cabinets on September nineteenth.