At a look
Knowledgeable’s Score
Professionals
- Extra storage for a similar value as final 12 months’s mannequin
- 120Hz ProMotion and All the time-On Show
- Centre Stage and Twin Seize digital camera options for socials
- Stable battery life
Cons
- AI options are nonetheless hit or miss
- Digital camera could possibly be improved
Our Verdict
After seasons of incremental upgrades and a few important bumps this 12 months, the iPhone 17 has reached a degree the place it delivers a stunning quantity for its value. Its show and efficiency are top-notch, its battery life is stable and charging is fast, and it has a terrific mix of high-end and enjoyable options. If you happen to’re mulling over an improve, that is the time to do it, and that is the mannequin to get.
Value When Reviewed
This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined
Greatest Pricing Right this moment
Value When Reviewed
From $799
Greatest Costs Right this moment: Apple iPhone 17
Not all iPhone line-ups are created equal. If you happen to’re not somebody who upgrades every year, some iterations are skippable, and a few will provide you with rather more bang on your buck.
2024’s iPhone 16, for instance, was pretty missable. Sure, there was an honest digital camera improve, however due to the give attention to Apple Intelligence options – a few of which have nonetheless come to nothing – its most notable improvements have been the Digital camera Management and Motion buttons, and so they’re not universally liked.
Then there are the classic years, and for the bottom mannequin iPhone, 2025 is one in all these. We are able to speculate that, due to the potential promoting energy of the eye-catchingly redesigned Professional fashions and the slender new iPhone Air, Apple felt comfy showering its base mannequin with upgrades, secure within the data that iPhone fanboys and fangirls would nonetheless go for the pricier fashions.
However when you’re extra involved with quiet high quality, you’ll get so much on your £799/$799 with the iPhone 17.
Design & Construct
- Identical measurement, bigger display screen than final 12 months
- Harder display screen safety
- 5 color choices
Let’s be actual. The iPhone 17 appears to be like very very similar to the iPhone 16. It’s a telephone that’ll be extremely acquainted to anybody who’s left the home within the final 12 months.
However there’s a purpose Apple has been slowly refining its base mannequin design and that’s as a result of it’s easy, elegant and beautiful. It’s leant into that magnificence this 12 months with 5 color choices that maybe err barely on the aspect of tastefulness: black, white, mist blue, lavender and (everybody’s favorite) sage inexperienced.
I’ve the white mannequin in to check and in particular person, it’s very engaging. My solely criticism, and that’s largely for the needs of this evaluate, is that it doesn’t come out effectively in images: its matt, colour-infused again glass is ghostly and all of the pics I’ve taken of it appear like examples of paranormal images.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
The iPhone 17 is identical measurement (149.6mm x 71.5mm x 7.95mm), as final 12 months’s mannequin, with the identical matt aluminium body and rounded corners. Nevertheless, the display screen measurement has elevated ever so barely from 6.1 to six.3 inches, decreasing the bezel to a slim body. It’s a minor revision, however one which brings it in step with Android rivals such because the Pixel 10.
Apple claims that the ceramic defend safety on the display screen is thrice as scratch-resistant as final 12 months’s mannequin, so I’m residing life on the sting and not using a display screen protector. However, regardless of receiving just a few knocks, it’s nonetheless pristine.
Keep in mind that there’s no ceramic defend on the again glass, which is one in all various causes we’d all the time recommend shopping for and utilizing a case. I’m utilizing an official Apple silicone case with MagSafe in a refined shade of lurid neon yellow that’s good sufficient however appears dear (£49.99/$49.99) for what it’s.
One more reason is that the again glass is slippery and, until you need to clutch at your telephone with a loss of life grip, it’s straightforward to drop. Nevertheless, the telephone is gentle within the hand at 177g, and until you’re a lover of huge telephones, its measurement is nearly excellent.
It’s sufficiently small to slot in a night bag or most pockets, giant sufficient to comfortably watch movies on, but not giant sufficient to interrupt your nostril when you drop it in your face whereas scrolling.
There’s an argument to be made that there are extra buttons than are strictly essential
Apple says that the iPhone 17 is water-proof to a depth of 6 metres for as much as half-hour, however I gained’t be the particular person to check this declare. By way of official rankings, its IP68 verifies it for a dunking in as much as 1.5m of freshwater and ensures it’s totally dust-proof.
There are 5 bodily aspect buttons. Of the three on the left, two are for quantity and above them is the Motion button, which you need to use to change to silent, enter focus mode, Shazam a music (which is such a terrific characteristic), immediately translate and extra.
On the proper is the Facet button, to energy down or summon Siri, and beneath it the Digital camera Management button, which you need to use to open after which management the digital camera.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
I don’t love the digital camera button as a result of it’s not the place I need it to be, however as I’m left-handed, that’s usually the case for me. Nonetheless, my right-handed colleagues don’t appear to be wowed by it both.
There’s an argument to be made that there are extra buttons than are strictly essential, particularly if you think about programmable accessibility options comparable to again faucets, however when you don’t use them, you may swap them off.
Elsewhere, I maintain haptics switched off however when you use them for calls and alarms, you’ll discover they’re properly judged, and highly effective sufficient to provide you with a warning from a pocket or on a desk.
Display & Audio system
- All the time-On show
- 3,000 nits peak brightness
- 120Hz refresh fee
A few of this 12 months’s key upgrades are to the display screen and the best way you utilize it.
What stays the identical is that it’s a Tremendous Retina XDR show, a high-spec OLED panel that gives a vivid viewing expertise, with wonderful color copy.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Whereas it nonetheless has the identical typical (1,000 nits) and HDR (1,600 nits) brightness, and nonetheless drops all the way down to 1 nit minimal brightness to guard your eyes when you decide it up in a darkish room, it now peaks at 3,000 nits for out of doors use. This makes a giant distinction when utilizing your telephone outdoors.
My earlier telephone was an iPhone 14, which peaked at 1,200 nits, which is simply not sufficient to learn open air on a sunny day – so it is a favorite improve for me.
One other change is the refresh fee. For the primary time, Apple has given its base mannequin ProMotion expertise, which suggests adaptive refresh charges of as much as 120Hz.
If you happen to’ve come from a 60Hz telephone, what this implies for you is that your show could look smoother and extra responsive. You’re almost definitely to identify the distinction when gaming (minimising stutters and lag), however you may also discover it whereas scrolling.
What this implies for me is there’s one much less factor my Android-wielding colleagues can mock my iPhone for, 120Hz being customary throughout flagship and mid-range Android fashions.
It now peaks at 3,000 nits for out of doors use. This makes a giant distinction
ProMotion is likely one of the options that’s facilitated one other improve: the All the time-On show. The important thing benefit of that is that you would be able to all the time see the time and any notifications at a look.
However to my thoughts, there’s an obstacle in that the addictive glowing rectangle I carry round with me is all the time drawing consideration to itself. I’ve discovered increasingly that I unconsciously decide it up whereas watching a movie or chatting to somebody. If you happen to don’t just like the All the time-On characteristic, you may flip it off in Settings. And I’ll undoubtedly do this quickly.
The ultimate factor to say in regards to the display screen is Dynamic Island, which arrived on the bottom mannequin final 12 months. It’s an interactive pill-shaped characteristic on the high of the display screen that works as a part of the Face ID authentication system and provides you controls and knowledge for various native app options, together with timers, music and telephone calls.
Among the finest issues about it’s that you just don’t want to determine the best way to use it. It’s simply there if you want it. That’s as a result of it solves an issue you’re really prone to face: the best way to shortly entry one app if you’re in one other.
There’s excellent news by way of audio, too. Lastly, the iPhone 17 has an honest pair of audio system that ship clear sound if you’re on a name or watching a video.
They’re even adequate to take heed to music at shut quarters, though you’re clearly not going to be having fun with a really bassy expertise, and it’ll distort when you go too loud. However I used to carry a Bluetooth speaker into the toilet for bathe music – now I simply iPhone and go.
Specs & Efficiency
- Apple A19 chip
- 256GB/512GB storage choices
Apple has given the iPhone 17 one other recent chip improve this 12 months, to the A19. The A19 is a 3nm chip, with a 5-core Apple-designed GPU.
The A19 matches or betters the A18 Professional chip from final 12 months’s Professional fashions by way of efficiency benchmarks. This once more speaks to the iPhone’s worth for cash – the 16 Professional launched in September 2024, beginning at £999/$999.
This 12 months’s Air and Professional fashions run on the A19 Professional, so as soon as once more, all fashions are utilizing the identical sequence of chipset.
This telephone is a champ with regards to multitasking
The iPhone 17 does really feel seamless in use. Scrolling is stutter-free and gaming is clean, though downloading and taking part in giant video games comparable to Genshin Affect will nonetheless heat up the telephone, however to not a regarding diploma. And informal video games are a doddle.
The hardware-accelerated ray tracing signifies that graphics-heavy video games show with extra visible depth and once more, much less probability of stuttering efficiency.
This telephone is a champ with regards to multitasking. Whereas working, I are likely to open apps as I would like them, pasting from Safari to Slack or importing pictures, jotting down notes in conferences and generally composing articles in Pages, with the outcome that I can have greater than a dozen apps open at a time. However I’ve but to have an issue or a crash.
This 12 months, the bottom mannequin begins with 256GB of storage, with the choice of 512GB for £999/$999.
iPhone 17 benchmarks
Cameras
- 48Mp essential and 48Mp ultrawide rear lenses
- 18Mp selfie digital camera
- Centre Stage and Twin Seize options
The digital camera module appears to be like precisely because it did final 12 months, with two lenses stacked on the high left. It’s a neater association than the diagonal formation on the iPhone 15. The one downside with the positioning is, when you use your telephone and not using a case, it should rock annoyingly when positioned on a tabletop.
However by way of specs and efficiency, there are upgrades from final 12 months. Whereas the 48Mp essential digital camera stays the identical, the ultrawide has been bumped up from 12Mp to 48Mp. The lens can seize rather more knowledge, which suggests extra element. It might make a distinction in macro photographs and it’s helpful to anybody who desires to print their images.
The ultrawide has a 120° subject of view and 13mm focal size, in comparison with the roughly 75° of the principle 48Mp Fusion lens, with its 26mm focal size. It’s straightforward to make use of: simply select 0.5x from the main target choices or pinch the display screen.
But that’s because the iPhone camera is designed for someone like me, who is notably not a photographer, but rather a person who points their phone at nice-looking things and expects a nice-looking photo to appear.
And, generally speaking, it does. The iPhone 17’s colour reproduction is excellent and images rarely look over-processed.
Choose Portrait and you’ll get a decent shot of a friend. If the background bokeh doesn’t provide enough contrast, you can adjust it afterwards by playing with depth.
Hold your phone very close to a flower, and the macro will kick in, giving you a rich, detailed shot of the petal and stem.
The iPhone camera is designed for someone like me, who is notably not a photographer
Low-light photography, however, is still not particularly impressive. It’s come a long way since the iPhone 14, whose low-light shots were uniformly grainy. But I live in the city and the iPhone 17 struggles with light pollution, opting to flood most nighttime shots with a weird grey light. Even so, the detail and crispness are much improved compared to three generations ago.
Even less impressive is the zoom. The iPhone 17 has a 4x optical zoom range, from 0.5x on the ultrawide to 2x on the main lens, but the images it produces at 2x, especially in low light, are pretty blurry and are unlikely to make it into your favourites folder.
Beyond this, it has a digital zoom of up to 10x, but this is achieved (as it is on pretty much any camera phone without a telephoto lens) by enlarging and cropping the image without adjusting the lens. So, if you’re a frequent gig-goer and regularly want to snap pics of a faraway stage, you might want to invest in an iPhone 17 Pro model – or go for one of our recommended camera phone picks.
But Apple knows its audience, and it has added a couple of cool new features to its selfie camera.
The first is bringing Centre Stage to its front camera. By using a larger, square sensor instead of the traditional rectangular one, the iPhone’s software can compose the shot as needed to keep you – and any friends you’re posing with – in the middle of the frame.
This means you don’t have to turn your phone from portrait to landscape to get everyone in. After playing around with it for a while, I can say it does work, although it’s not quite as dynamic as it appears in Apple promos.
The second is a video feature involving both cameras. Switch on Dual Capture and you’ll record what you’re looking at (gigs and sporting events seem the most likely use cases) and your own reaction to it.
While I can’t see myself using it, I’ve already spotted Dual Capture videos a few times on Instagram and TikTok. Well played, Apple.
Battery Life & Charging
- 30 hours’ video playback
- MagSafe charging
Apple says that video playback has increased to 30 hours on the iPhone 17, up from 22 hours on the iPhone 16. This indicates quite a significant boost in battery life.
During the week, I’m a heavy phone user. I start the day reading the news or a book on my phone. I have Slack open all through the working day, and I generally listen to music while I work as well. If I run or go for a walk in the evening, the iPhone comes with me for music and my running app. Then there’s usually a bit of scrolling before bed.
At the weekend, when I’m not on my phone as much, I can get almost two days of use
Despite all of that, I can still get through a day without needing to charge the iPhone 17.
At the weekend, when I’m not on my phone as much, I can get almost two days of use before I have to plug it in. The iPhone 17 comes with a USB-C charging cable, but, as you’d expect now, no adapter.
Having previously used an iPhone that charged via Lightning cable, USB-C is a huge upgrade. Unusually, I don’t mind Apple’s proprietary technology – but it has to be better than alternatives, which the Lightning cable was very much not.
But you don’t need to use a cable at all, as the iPhone 17 supports MagSafe charging accessories, as well as wider Qi2 charging, something Android is only starting to catch up with.
Apple claims that the iPhone 17 can charge up to 50% in 20 minutes if you use a 40W adapter or higher. Wireless charging or a 30W adapter will get you up to 50% in half an hour.
Testing this out is when I discovered that I don’t have a fast charger in the house. The fastest I was able to get, using whatever old adapter I found in a drawer, was around 48% in half an hour. But I’ll be updating this review and the benchmarks to reflect how it works with a brand-spanking-new 40W charger.
In the meantime, you can see the iPhone 17 review by my colleague David Value in our sibling publication Macworld. He was in a position to affirm the 50% cost in 20 minutes declare.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Software program and Apps
- Runs on iOS 26
- AI options combined
The iPhone 17 runs the newly launched iOS 26, with its Liquid Glass redesign. Despite the truth that that is Apple’s largest software program redesign since iOS 7 in 2013, it’s already pale into the background in a ho-hum manner.
In some respects, it is a good factor. I don’t need an interface that I continuously discover, and, in actual fact, my solely problem with iOS 26 includes some third-party apps which can be considerably over-engineered to take advantage of the brand new design. Slack is one such perpetrator, with a textual content field that glows irritatingly if you click on on it.
I don’t are likely to ask Siri for something lately. We get alongside significantly better that manner
The lock display screen and residential display screen customisations are enjoyable, though I think about that most individuals will depart their icons alone somewhat than tinting them and making them tougher to establish.
Different options are tiny, helpful upgrades, like having the ability to change the default snooze timer.
I’ve discovered the AI options to be hit or miss. I initially liked Apple Music’s AutoMix, which suggests you by no means should energy via useless air between songs when working, however after a string of cacophonous mixes, I needed to swap it off.
In the meantime, Picture Clear Up is beneficial when you don’t ask an excessive amount of of it. Voicemail transcriptions have been a combination of correct and simply alarmingly fallacious, and I don’t are likely to ask Siri for something lately. We get alongside significantly better that manner.
Apple will assist the iPhone 17 with software program updates and safety patches for not less than 5 years, and probably as much as seven.
Value and Availability
As soon as once more, Apple has saved the iPhone 17 on the identical value as its predecessor, though it’s really a greater deal.
For £799/$799 you’ll get 256GB of storage, 512GB for £999/$999. That’s rather more cost-effective than final 12 months, the place the identical £799/$799 solely netted you 128GB of storage, whereas 256GB and 512GB value £899/$899 and £1,099/$1,099 respectively.
This pricing places it head-to-head with the Google Pixel 10. If you happen to can’t determine between the 2, take a look at our Pixel 10 versus iPhone 17 specs comparability. The Pixel 10 is the higher wager if you’d like a zoom lens or stable AI options – however in any other case, it’ll in all probability come all the way down to your most popular working system.
You should purchase the iPhone 17 within the UK from retailers together with Apple, Currys and Amazon, or from EE, O2, Vodafone and different telephone suppliers.
Within the US, you should buy from various retailers, together with Apple itself.
See extra options in our full information to the most effective telephones you should buy.
Must you purchase the iPhone 17?
For many iPhone customers, upgrading isn’t a query of if however when. Let’s not child ourselves: we’re all locked into the ecosystem and eventually, we’ll be shopping for one other iPhone. iPhone tremendous followers and massive spenders will benefit from the Professional fashions this 12 months, and those that need a pocket-sized speaking level will go for the Air.
However for the remainder of us, who possible have an ageing mannequin and are questioning whether or not it’s price going for the brand new iPhone 17 or getting final 12 months’s mannequin at a reduction, I’d say that that is the 12 months to spend money on a shiny new telephone. Until you already personal an iPhone 16, you’ll discover an actual distinction when you’re upgrading.
Specs
- Working system: iOS 26
- Show: 6.1-inch Tremendous Retina XDR show
- Chipset: A19
- Storage: 256GB/512GB
- Rear Cameras: 48Mp f/1.6 essential digital camera, 48Mp f/2.2 ultrawide digital camera
- Entrance digital camera: 18Mp f/1.9 Centre Stage digital camera
- Charging: USB-C quick PD 2.0 charging, 25W wi-fi MagSafe charging, 25W wi-fi Qi 2 charging, 4.5W reverse wired
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, 5G NFC
- Water resistance: IP68
- Dimensions: 149.6mm x 71.5mm x 7.95mm
- Weight: 177g
- Colors: Black, White, Mist Blue, Lavender, Sage
