Here’s a first look at the iPhone 17
Apple’s big fall event just wrapped up, and we rushed out of the Steve Jobs Theater to get our hands on the latest iPhones. Here’s a look at the new iPhone 17, Apple’s base model this year, which is joined by the thinner iPhone Air and beefier iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max — there’s no Plus this time around.
The first place to start is the rear camera. Not because a lot has changed here, but rather because it hasn’t: while the iPhone 17 Pro and Air have both adopted new horizontal camera “plateaus,” the regular 17 has the same two vertically stacked lenses as last year. That means this is the only iPhone 17 that actually looks like the iPhone 16 range — which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.
The dual rear cameras look the same, but there’s been a big change. Both lenses now use 48-megapixel sensors — a big upgrade for the ultrawide, which was previously 12 megapixels. Apple claims that the main camera will double as a 2x telephoto, while the ultrawide handles macro duties, but don’t expect a camera as versatile as those on the Pros — still, it’s better than the single lens on the Air. The selfie camera has been upgraded too, with an 18-megapixel sensor supported by Center Stage for automatic framing and even orientation adjustment.
The regular iPhone is always the last to get whatever shiny new features Apple rolls out to the Pros, but it looks especially left behind this year with the Air in the mix and a new design for the Pro. But the selfie camera improvements will be appreciated here by anyone upgrading to the base model, and the colors are pleasantly saturated in person.
You’ll get five color options with the base iPhone 17: lavender, mist blue, black, white, and sage. They’re all at the subdued, pastel end of the spectrum though — bizarrely, you’ll have to opt for the 17 Pro’s bright orange to get a truly punchy finish this year.
That’s not to say that nothing has changed. The iPhone 17 has followed in the footsteps of last year’s 16 Pro models by shrinking its bezel for a slightly larger display, jumping from 6.1 inches in the iPhone 16 to 6.3 inches now. That means it has the same size display as the iPhone 17 Pro, giving you one less reason to upgrade.
Size isn’t the only upgrade, either. This is the first year that the base iPhone has included support for up to 120Hz refresh rates, finally matching a feature you can find on $200 Android phones. That should mean smoother scrolling and more fluid animations, helped along by the upgraded A19 chip — it’s a change that’s sometimes hard to notice at first, but is immediately apparent when you go back to a 60Hz screen. It’s also a brighter screen than before, with a peak outdoor brightness of 3,000 nits, and is protected by the new, tougher Ceramic Shield 2.
Throw in more power thanks to the updated A19 chipset, longer battery life, and support for faster 25W MagSafe charging, and the iPhone 17 is a bigger update than many of us expected.
The iPhone 17 starts at $799, the same price as the 16, but you get double the storage at 256GB. It’ll be available to order from this Friday, with devices hitting store shelves on September 19th.
Apple’s big fall event just wrapped up, and we rushed out of the Steve Jobs Theater to get our hands on the latest iPhones. Here’s a look at the new iPhone 17, Apple’s base model this year, which is joined by the thinner iPhone Air and beefier iPhone 17 Pro…
Recent Posts
- Apple begins requiring age verification for App Store use in Texas
- Apple is bringing age verification to Texas this week
- How to watch NBA Finals 2026: Free streams, schedule, TV channels for New York Knicks vs San Antonio Spurs
- WiiM expands its whole-home ecosystem with a new soundbar
- You can make the hyper-violence in Marvel’s Wolverine more PG-13, if you want to
Archives
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023