The iPhone 17 lineup is Apple's most significant release in years, setting the stage for a major shift in design. Here, we'll be talking about the base iPhone 17 model, if you're interested in the other models from the series, check here:
The main improvement this year to the iPhone 17 is the 120 Hz ProMotion screen. It was finally time for Apple to bring smoother scrolling and fluidity to the base model in the series. Until now, only the Pro iPhones got the ProMotion display, but this year, the regular version gets it too.
The iPhone 17 rolls out with some design updates, pretty slim bezels, a bright and bigger display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Apart from that, its design remains pretty much familiar to iPhone fans, unlike the Pro models and the new Air model.
Apple's 2025 iPhone arrives with pretty respectable cameras on board (especially for video). A welcome tweak is the upgraded Center Stage front-facing camera, an improvement from the 12 MP camera found on previous generations. Meanwhile, we have a new 48MP ultra-wide camera and Cermic Shield 2.
The iPhone 17 was officially announced on September 9, 2025, during the Apple Event in Steve Jobs Theater. There is a brief pre-order phase now, and the phone will be hitting the shelves on September 19.
Device family
Announcement
Market release
Apple iPhone 17
September 9, 2025
September 19, 2025
Apple iPhone 16
September 9, 2024
September 20, 2024
Apple iPhone 15
Sept 12, 2023
Sept 22, 2023
Apple iPhone 14
Sept 7, 2022
Sept 16, 2022
* - probable dates
iPhone 17 price
Despite earlier expectations about a price hike on the iPhone 17, Apple has decided to keep prices the same for the entry-level iPhone 17 model. So, just like the iPhone 16 last year, the iPhone 17 starts at $799. Luckily, this time around, the base iPhone starts at 256GB of storage.
Apple iPhone model
Starting price, regardless of storage
iPhone 17
$799
iPhone 16 (and iPhone 15)
$799
* - anticipated prices
iPhone 17 deals to expect:
Apple: Don't expect the Cupertino giant to suddenly put the kibosh on its iPhone Upgrade program. This is how you can get a new iPhone every 12 months (with AppleCare+ coverage) by simply making 12 payments to Apple and trading in your existing iPhone for the next model. For example, prices historically have started at $39.50/mo for a 128 GB iPhone. You can either sign up online, in the Apple Store app, or in any Apple Store.
Verizon: If nothing changes (but don't rely on prices staying the same), the standard iPhone 17 model is anticipated to be potentially available for free with select Unlimited plans and a trade-in of any phone, regardless of its condition, which is a great offer, hands down.
T-Mobile: Similarly, T-Mobile customers may receive discounts in the $600-$700 range off any iPhone 17 model when choosing the Magenta MAX plan, if that's a thing in 2025. Additionally, given that the telco's strategy doesn't change, a buy-one-get-one (BOGO) deal could allow you to get up to $700 off a second iPhone 17 when adding a line to almost any T-Mobile plan.
AT&T: AT&T is likely to offer a range of attractive deals for the iPhone 17. Similar to previous offers, the standard iPhone 17 could be free when paired with an eligible AT&T plan and a trade-in of a phone in any condition.
It's important to note that these are just predictions and possibilities, so there's no guarantee that these offers will become reality.
iPhone 17 camera
There's a new 48MP ultra-wide camera. | Image Credit - Apple
Even though some Android flagships have outstanding cameras, iPhones are also superb at taking photos and videos as well.
iPhone 17 camera: 48 MP main, new 48 MP ultra-wide, 18 MP Center Stage selfie
New 48 MP ultra-wide
There's a new 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera on the iPhone 17. According to Apple, it caputres up to 4x the resolution compared to the previous generation.
Selfie camera upgrade
The iPhone 17's new Center Stage selife camera. | Image Credit - Apple
The iPhone 17's selfie camera has gotten an upgraded 18 MP Center Stage camera. Its sensor is now square, so you can take both landscape and portrait images without having to rotate your iPhone, which is excellent.
The front camera hasn't changed much since the iPhone 11 back in 2019, so this update is a big deal. With this new sensor, selfies will look much clearer, and pictures will keep their quality even when zoomed or cropped, giving users more room to edit later.
Vertical camera alignment
The same vertical camera alignment as on the iPhone 16 is also present here for the iPhone 17. This is mainly because of Apple’s Vision Pro headset. Diagonally positioned cameras like the ones on previous iPhone cameras can't record spatial video, while vertical cameras can.
iPhone 17 storage
iPhone 17 storage:
256 GB
512 GB
The iPhone 17 comes with 8GB of RAM. However, Apple has now eliminated the starting storage of 128GB, replacing it with 256GB, all without raising the price, which is simply put, awesome.
iPhone 17 design
The iPhone 17 in Sage. | Image Credit - Apple
The base iPhone 17 is the only iPhone from the lineup that has kept the old design, with the Pro and Pro Max, as well as the Air, now featuring new designs. However, don't think that the Cupertino company has left you without an improvement on that front.
Quite the contrary. The iPhone 17 now has thinner bezels and a new display with ProMotion. For durability, the iPhone 17 features Ceramic Shield 2 with a new custom-made coating that offers 3x better scratch resistance.
Camera Control button
The Camera Control button that debuted on the iPhone 16 series is once again present on the iPhone 17.
It does more than just the usual "click". It offers zoom and focus controls as well. This button is not just a standard mechanical one; it’s touch-sensitive as well. Users can swipe to adjust zoom levels, with a half-press focusing the shot.
While a light press handles focusing and brings up several dedicated-camera-like functionalities, a firm press captures the image or starts recording.
Bezels getting thinner
The iPhone 17 is inheriting the super-thin bezels that debuted on the 2024 iPhones and taking them to the next level, so they're almost unnoticeable.
That's thanks to the so-called BRS (Border Reduction Structure) technology to minimize the display bezels. The iPhone 16 Pro Max arrived with impressive, ultra-thin 1.15mm bezels.
Reducing the size of the top and side bezels is more or less easily achievable, but the bottom bezel surely got some Apple engineers to scratch their heads longer than what's generally accepted. That's because the bottom bezel poses a challenge due to heat generation issues. The new BRS technology addresses this by allowing the bottom bezel to be as thin as possible. It achieves this by rolling the copper wires at the bottom upward.
Colors to pick from
Apple is introducing a new color option called Light Purple for the base model iPhone 17 – a soft, true purple shade that many users have been hoping for since the iPhone 12. Unlike past versions of purple that didn't quite meet expectations, this new hue is matching more closely what most people imagine when they hear the word "purple", offering a more appealing and accurate color choice.
There's also a new Sage option, which is a gorgeous soft-green color.
All iPhone 17 models – yes, even the "vanilla" flagship – feature Samsung's M14 OLED panels, a significant upgrade from previous models. The M14 panel, used in the iPhone 16 Pro, offers 30% higher brightness, better lifespan, and lower power consumption compared to the M13.
Samsung Display's M14 panel isn't just visually impressive, but it also boasts remarkable brightness. Capable of reaching 3,000 nits, it sets a new record for iPhone displays. However, the iPhone 17 is unlikely to hit that peak, as the same panel was used in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max without reaching such brightness levels. You also get 2x better outdoor contrast, according to Apple.
There’s also improved durability with the new Cermic Shield 2 and the new Apple-designed coating with improved scratch reistance and anti-relfection capabilities.
Apart from that, the vanilla iPhone 17 has grown slightly in size with its 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display. On the 16 series, it was a 6.12-inch one (as on the iPhone 15).
Higher refresh rate (finally!)
ProMotion, previously exclusive to the Pro models, is now extended across the entire iPhone 17 lineup. The iPhone 17 gets the adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, a.k.a. ProMotion. This enhances the display's responsiveness, making scrolling feel fluid and animations appear smoother. You can now enjoy the Always-On capabilities and see the time, widgets, and LIve Activities at a glance. When not in use, the display would adjust down to 1Hz.
iPhone 17 battery
Apple, as usual, is secretive with the exact mAh battery size of the new iPhones. However, thanks to the new A19 chip, the iPhone 17 is now getting up to 30 hours of video playback, according to the Cupertino company. This would be eight more hours than the iPhone 16, as Apple says. Also, there's the new Adaptive Power Mode that gets to know your typical battery consumption and intelligently conserves power.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 now has fast charging that allows you to get up to 50% of charge in 20 minutes. Of course, you'd need Apple's new 40W Dynamic Power Adapter to get the fastest speeds.
iPhone 17 features and software
Image Credit - Apple
It runs iOS 26 out of the box
Apple Intelligence is not fully ready for the iPhone 17
It was widely expected that 2025 would be the year Apple fully caught up with other brands in AI. However, it’s not happening just yet. Despite that, though, you can use Live Translation now with Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. Apple is also updating Visual Intelligence with Circle-to-Search-like capabilities.
Visually, iOS 26 is a pretty big change from previous OSes. There’s a new design called Liquid Glass with transparent elements everywhere in the operating system. It makes everything look fluid and lively, significantly changing the feel of the new iPhone.
iOS 26
The iPhone 17 will run iOS 26 out of the box. | Image Credit - Apple
With iOS 18, we got some new features that include free-form app icon placement, deep app icon customization (allowing for resizing icons and adding a colorful tint), customizable lock screen shortcuts, and a redesigned Control Center.
Apple announced iOS 26 during WWDC 2025 (and yep, there's no iOS 19). iOS 26 brings an entirely new look called Liquid Glass, which would be uniform across all Apple devices. The camera app is also getting a redesign with a new, minimalistic look. Apple is also bringing useful features to the Phone app, like Call Screening, and to Messages and other Apple apps.
The iOS 26 update is a major overhaul, so things are going to look pretty different than what we're used to.
The new Liquid Glass design language. | Image Credit - Apple
iPhone 17 hardware
iPhone 17 specs at a glance:
CPU: Apple A19 chip
RAM: 8 GB
Battery: ~3,600mAh
Storage: 256 GB, 512 GB
Camera setup: 48 MP main, 12 MP ultra-wide, 18 MP Center Stage selfie
The new A19, according to Apple, brings a huge boost in speed. There's now an updated display engine, ISP, and Neural Engine for Apple Intelligence and the new Photographic Styles. The SoC features a 6-core CPU that is 1.5x faster than the iPhone 13's chip, and a 5-core GPU.
The iPhone 17 also introduces the N1, which is a new Apple-made wireless networking chip with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread support. N1 also improves the performance of the Personal Hotspot and AirDrop features.
Comparisons
If you want to know more about how the iPhone 17 fares against the competition, check out our 1v1 comparisons here:
You should wait for the iPhone 17 if you're deep in the Apple ecosystem, but you don’t need the Pro model’s extra features. Also, if you’re looking for a base iPhone model with 120Hz refresh rate, 17 is your lucky number. If you're using iPhone 14 or older, I think the 17 might be the correct model for you.
You should not wait for the iPhone 17 if you're a die-hard Android fan (that was obvious). If you have the iPhone 15 Pro, for example, it would be probably best not to switch to the vanilla iPhone 17, but check out its bigger siblings.
Izzy, a tech enthusiast and a key part of the PhoneArena team, specializes in delivering the latest mobile tech news and finding the best tech deals. Her interests extend to cybersecurity, phone design innovations, and camera capabilities. Outside her professional life, Izzy, a literature master's degree holder, enjoys reading, painting, and learning languages. She's also a personal growth advocate, believing in the power of experience and gratitude. Whether it's walking her Chihuahua or singing her heart out, Izzy embraces life with passion and curiosity.
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