The shiny new iPhone 17 is right here, which implies your completely good older iPhone might be beginning to look slightly historic. It’s that point of 12 months once more: the annual debate over whether or not it is best to lastly pull the set off on an improve.So, is the iPhone 17 value it? The new mannequin begins at $829, however here is the kicker: Apple lastly did away with the measly 128GB base storage. The new entry-level mannequin now begins at a way more cheap 256GB, which is a long-overdue bump that may simply make the improve a no brainer.Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content material and lab-based evaluations. Add CNET as a most well-liked Google supply.Several noteworthy updates to the iPhone 17 make it really feel like a tempting selection, even over the pricier iPhone 17 Pro fashions. At lengthy final, Apple has prolonged a 1-120Hz show throughout its total lineup, so you may have smoother scrolling and an always-on show with out spending upwards of $1,100 on a Pro mannequin. An anti-reflective coating and better 3,000-nit peak brightness make the display barely simpler to see open air. And digicam upgrades assist to stage up pictures and selfies. Here’s how the iPhone 17 compares to older iPhones, starting from final 12 months’s iPhone 16 to 2020’s iPhone 12. The iPhone 16 James Martin/CNET iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 16 Appearance-wise, the iPhone 17 has so much in widespread with the iPhone 16. But 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). That means the iPhone 17 lastly helps an always-on show, so you may look on the time and your notifications with out waking the display and luxuriate in smoother scrolling. A brand new anti-reflective coating helps scale back glare, particularly within the vibrant 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 could make viewing content material barely extra immersive, although it will not be a massively noticeable distinction. And a brand new Ceramic Shield 2 cowl on the iPhone 17 presents 3 times higher scratch resistance, based on Apple, so you may fear rather less about etching into your cellphone’s display (however perhaps nonetheless get a display protector to be protected). The iPhone 16 and 17 have a 48-megapixel wide-angle digicam, however the iPhone 17 bumps the ultrawide digicam from 12 megapixels to 48 megapixels. The front-facing digicam additionally will get upgraded from 12 megapixels (on the iPhone 16) to 18 megapixels on the iPhone 17. Both telephones have a Camera Control button for rapidly launching the digicam and snapping pictures. A brand new Center Stage function can routinely modify selfie pictures 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 facet anymore. Dual Capture enables you to concurrently file 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 slightly 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 change aligns with enhancements CNET observed in our battery checks. 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’s an incremental replace, however even slightly 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 high off your battery slightly sooner. The backside line: While the updates to the iPhone 17 assist it stand out as an all-around stable machine, the modifications over final 12 months’s iPhone 16 are incremental sufficient that there is not a lot cause to improve — except you are actually enthusiastic about that smoother show and sooner charging. But for most individuals, delicate variations imply it is best to most likely simply maintain onto your iPhone 16. The iPhone 15 James Martin/CNET iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 15 The iPhone 15 has so much in widespread with the iPhone 16, together with a 48-megapixel wide-angle digicam, a 12-megapixel ultrawide digicam and a 6.1-inch show. The 6.3-inch show on the iPhone 17 has slimmer bezels to broaden that actual property a bit, and the 48-megapixel ultrawide digicam can result in barely sharper photographs. The baseline iPhone 15 does not have an Action button you can customise to launch varied apps and capabilities, and as a substitute has the extra conventional ring/silent change. The iPhone 17 has an Action button and a Camera Control button. Both telephones have a Dynamic Island cutout on the high of the show for displaying alerts and Live Activities, such because the time your DoorDash order is arriving, flight updates and what music is at present enjoying. With every era, Apple touts longer battery life, so you may anticipate to get a pair extra hours of video playback with the iPhone 17 than you’d with the 15. Perhaps probably the most important distinction between the iPhone 15 and 17 is that the iPhone 15 does not have Apple Intelligence; these AI options solely arrived on that 12 months’s Pro fashions. If you improve to the iPhone 17, you will have entry to writing and picture enhancing instruments, in addition to newer options like Live Translation for calls and messages. The backside line: 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. But the opposite {hardware} and software-related updates are comparatively minimal, so that you’re most likely good holding your iPhone 15 for a minimum of one other 12 months. The iPhone 14 James Martin/CNET iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 14 The iPhone 14 was the final Apple cellphone with a Lightning port and that is considered one of most important 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 a substitute use one which works with most of your different units. The baseline iPhone 14 additionally does not have a Dynamic Island cutout within the show, as that function launched with simply the Pro fashions that 12 months. Upgrading to the iPhone 17 will allow you to rapidly faucet into actions like your rideshare journey or flight info. The iPhone 14 has a 12-megapixel vast and ultrawide-angle digicam on the again, whereas the iPhone 17 bumps that to 48 megapixels throughout the board. The iPhone 17 additionally will increase the front-facing digicam’s decision from 12 megapixels to 18 megapixels, whereas including a brand new Center Stage selfie function to routinely modify between portrait and panorama photographs with out you having to rotate your cellphone. But the 2 telephones additionally some key similarities, like having eSIM and satellite tv for pc connectivity on board. The backside line: The iPhone 14 has probably the most noticeable variations with the iPhone 17. Upgrading may supply some recent options like an Action button and, finally, a USB-C port, in addition to Dynamic Island and an upgraded digicam. But if you wish to avoid wasting cash and hold your present cellphone, you will not be lacking out on something too drastic. The iPhone 13 Patrick Holland/CNET iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 13 The iPhone 13 has an analogous A15 Bionic chip because the iPhone 14, and shares the identical twin 12-megapixel digicam system. But not like the iPhone 14, the iPhone 13 does not have crash detection or satellite tv for pc connectivity, or digicam options like Action mode for extra secure movies. At this level, your iPhone 13 could also be displaying its age. Upgrading to the iPhone 17 gives you entry to newer options like Apple Intelligence, Dynamic Island, USB-C charging and the Camera Control and Action buttons. You may additionally discover sooner speeds by switching to the iPhone 17, now that it has been a couple of years because the iPhone 13 got here out. The backside line: It could also be time to improve to the iPhone 17 in case you have an iPhone 13. It’s doable your cellphone is beginning to present its age, and switching to Apple’s newest baseline will get you a longer-lasting battery, an upgraded digicam, AI options and a handful of latest {hardware} and software program capabilities. The iPhone 12 Sarah Tew/CNET iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 12 Like the following couple of iPhones after it, the iPhone 12 has a twin 12-megapixel digicam 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 digicam system. The iPhone 12 lacks options like crash detection, satellite tv for pc connectivity, Dynamic Island and USB-C charging. It additionally does not assist the Apple Intelligence suite of AI options for writing, picture enhancing, language translation and extra. It’s doable your iPhone 12 has change into 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 more likely to be a noticeable distinction between how lengthy every cellphone can maintain up. The backside line: Swapping your iPhone 12 for the iPhone 17 could possibly be a wise transfer. There have been noticeable modifications over the past a number of years, from the addition of the Action and Camera Control buttons to the introduction of Apple Intelligence. The swap to USB-C and expanded battery capability may make the most recent iPhone extra tempting; you will not need to cling to your now-outdated Lightning cable. And you will doubtless discover sooner speeds and better efficiency throughout the board when switching from a 5-year-old machine to the most recent era. Apple iPhone 17 vs. Older iPhones Apple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 16Apple iPhone 15Apple iPhone 14Apple iPhone 13Apple iPhone 12Show measurement, tech, decision, refresh fee 6.3-inch OLED; 2,622 x 1,206 pixel decision; 1-120Hz variable refresh rate6.1-inch OLED; 2,556 x 1,179 pixel decision; 60Hz refresh rate6.1-inch OLED; 2,556×1,179 pixels6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixels6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixels6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixelsPixel density 460ppi460 ppi460 ppi460 ppi460 ppi460ppiDimensions (inches) 5.89 x 2.81 x 0.31 in5.81 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches2.82 x 5.81 x 0.31 in5.78 x 2.82 x 0.31 in5.78 x 2.82 x 0.3 in5.78 x 2.82 x 0.29 inDimensions (millimeters) 149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95 mm147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8mm71.6 x 147.6 x 7.8 mm147 x 72 x 7.8 mm147 x 72 x 7.65 mm146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mmWeight (grams, ounces) 177 g (6.24 oz)170 g (6 oz.)171g (6.02 oz)172 g (6.07 oz)6.14 oz; 174g5.78oz; 164gMobile software program iOS 26iOS 18iOS 17iOS 16iOS 15iOS 14Camera 48-megapixel (vast) 48-megapixel (ultrawide)48-megapixel (vast), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)48-megapixel (vast), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)12-megapixel (vast), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)12-megapixel (vast), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)12-megapixel (vast), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide)Front-facing digicam 18-megapixel12-megapixel12-megapixel12-megapixel12-megapixel12-megapixelVideo seize 4K4K4K4K at 60 fpsHDR video recording with Dolby Vision as much as 4K at 60 fps4KProcessor Apple A19Apple A18A16 BionicApple A15 BionicApple A15 BionicApple Bionic 14RAM + storage RAM N/A + 256GB, 512GBRAM N/A + 128GB, 256GB, 512GB128GB, 256GB, 512GBRAM NA; 128GB, 256GB, 512GB128GB, 256GB, 512GB64GB, 128GB, 256GBExpandable storage NoneNone (Face ID)NoneNoneUndisclosedUndisclosedBattery Up to 30 hours video playback; as much as 27 hours video playback (streamed)Up to 22 hours video playback; as much as 18 hours video playback (streamed). 20W wired charging. MagSafe wi-fi charging as much as 25W with 30W adapter or greater; Qi2 as much as 15WUndisclosed; Apple claims as much as 20 hours of video playback (16 hours streamed)Undisclosed; Apple claims 20 hours of video playbackNoNoFingerprint sensor None (Face ID)None (Face ID)None (Face ID)None (Face ID)Undisclosed; Apple lists 19 hours of video playbackUndisclosed; Apple lists 15 hours of video playbackConnector USB-CUSB-CUSB-C (USB 2.0)LightningNo (Face ID)No (FaceID)Headphone jack NoneNoneNoneNoneLightningLightningParticular options Apple N1 wi-fi networking chip (Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 6, Thread. Action button. Camera Control button. Dynamic Island. Apple Intelligence. Visual Intelligence. Dual eSIM. 1 to 3,000 nits brightness show vary. IP68 resistance. Colors: black, white, mist blue, sage, lavender. Fast cost as much as 50% in 20 minutes utilizing 40W adapter or greater through charging cable. Fast cost as much as 50% in 30 minutes utilizing 30W adapter or greater through MagSafe Charger.Apple Intelligence, Action button, Camera Control button, Dynamic Island, 1 to 2,000 nits show brightness vary, IP68 resistance. Colors: black, white, pink, teal, ultramarine.Dynamic Island; 5G (mmw/Sub6); MagSafe; water-proof (IP68); wi-fi charging; eSIM; satellite tv for pc connectivity5G (mmw/Sub6); MagSafe; water-proof (IP68); wi-fi charging; eSIM; satellite tv for pc connectivityNoNoUS value begins at $829 (256GB)$799 (128GB)$799 (128GB), $899 (256GB), $1,099 (512GB)$799 (128GB), $899 (256GB), $1,099 (512GB)5G enabled; MagSafe; water-proof (IP68); wi-fi charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM) 5G enabled; MagSafe; water-proof (IP68); wi-fi charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM)
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