Apple made a lot of noise about its super-slim iPhone Air and super-citrusy iPhone 17 Pro this week, but the company gave the base iPhone 17 some major updates that make it a really great deal — and all without raising its $799 starting price.
Let’s start with the iPhone 17’s display, which is now bigger and has a higher refresh rate with a load of features that have been exclusive to the iPhone Pro for years.
Here’s a quick rundown: Apple has bumped the iPhone 17’s screen size up to 6.3 inches. The screen finally has Apple’s ProMotion tech, meaning it has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, which makes scrolling and games smoother. It also has an always-on display with a max screen brightness outdoors of 3000 nits — even brighter than last year’s iPhone 16 Pro. Finally, the company promises the screen has “3x better scratch resistance” thanks to the new Ceramic Shield 2 that has a “new Apple-designed coating.” It’s the same screen you’ll find on the iPhone 17 Pro, Apple’s Alex Kirschner confirms to The Verge.
The iPhone 17 also offers Apple’s new 18MP Center Stage front camera that’s available on all of its latest phones, which can capture horizontal selfies without making you turn your phone sideways. The front camera can dynamically expand the field of view if you have a lot of people in the shot.
And Apple is doubling the base storage on the iPhone 17 from 128GB to 256GB — the same starting point for Apple’s other new phones — giving you a lot more room for storing photos, videos, and apps. It has the new N1 wireless networking chip with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, just like the other phones. It has improved battery life, too; Apple touts 30 hours of video playback, up from 27 on the iPhone 16 Pro.
The iPhone 17 is missing a few bells and whistles you’ll get on the iPhone 17 Pro. There’s no Ceramic Shield on the back; it has an A19 chip instead of the A19 Pro chip, three fewer hours of video streaming battery life compared to the 17 Pro, and there isn’t a 1TB storage option. It’s missing the dedicated telephoto camera you’ll find on the Pro, too.
For the vast majority of people, and given how similar the specs are between the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro, the base option will be a fantastic pick for a much lower price. And even though there’s no orange iPhone 17, at least Apple offers it in black.
Update, September 10th: Added confirmation that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro have the same screens.
