Which iPhone 17 Model Should You Buy?

Apple’s 2025 iPhones are right here, and issues are quite different for the primary time shortly. The bottom iPhone 17 will nonetheless really feel acquainted, however the iPhone 17 Professional fashions have a very new look, and there is a brand-new mannequin referred to as the iPhone Air. The “Air” branding has been considerably diluted of late—the current-gen iPad Pro fashions are lighter than the iPad Air—however the iPhone Air brings which means again to the original idea: a super-thin and ultra-lightweight machine.

Preorders kick off September 12, and official gross sales begin September 19. If you happen to’re contemplating an improve, what mannequin must you get? I will break down the important thing variations and similarities among the many iPhone 17 lineup, so you’ll be able to hopefully make a extra knowledgeable selection in your next iPhone.

You Don’t Must Improve

If in case you have an iPhone from just some years in the past, you most likely needn’t improve to Apple’s newest, until your machine has points. Even then, there are issues you are able to do to fix your iPhone, like getting a battery replacement, or you’ll be able to attempt some of these troubleshooting steps. The purpose is, you should not really feel the necessity to improve simply because Apple has a brand new mannequin.

If you happen to’re set on shopping for an iPhone 17 mannequin, we have now a information on how to sell your iPhone in order that it does not simply acquire mud in a drawer. When your new machine arrives, back up your old iPhone earlier than switching to the brand new one, then comply with our information on factory resetting your device earlier than promoting or giving it away. We even have tips about how to set up your new iPhone and what settings to change to get probably the most out of it.

Which iPhone 17 Is Proper for You?

Let’s shortly speak in regards to the similarities throughout all of the iPhone 17 fashions this 12 months, and sure, that features the iPhone Air, even when it does not have “17” within the title.

The Show

Though iPhones differ in display screen measurement, all of them function an OLED display screen (Apple refers to it as a Tremendous Retina XDR show) and make use of ProMotion expertise. That is the primary time the non-Professional fashions have ProMotion, which is basically a 120-Hz refresh charge.

This has been a standard function on Android telephones for some time, however it means your show refreshes 120 occasions per second slightly than 60, like on the iPhone 16, so every part you do will really feel smoother. (We’ve got a broader explainer here.) These are adaptive refresh charges that may drop as little as 1 Hz when there’s little exercise on the display screen, which is why the brand new iPhone 17 and iPhone Air now assist the always-on show.

Apple additionally says there is a new Ceramic Defend 2 entrance glass that is 3X extra scratch-resistant than earlier than, and a brand new antireflective coating to scale back glare. All of those screens can even hit as much as 3,000 nits of peak brightness, which means it’s going to be simpler to learn your iPhone display screen on sunny days.

The Digicam

The front-facing selfie digicam is similar on all of the iPhone 17 fashions. It is a new square-shaped 18-megapixel sensor, and meaning you’ll be able to count on extra element out of your selfies. Nonetheless, the sq. sensor additionally introduces a better strategy to seize group selfies. You may preserve holding your telephone in portrait orientation for the very best grip, and it’ll routinely zoom out to ensure everybody suits within the body, whereas additionally switching to a panorama orientation for the widest view. All of those fashions additionally assist Twin Seize, which helps you to shoot with each the entrance and rear cameras on the identical time. You may learn more about these features here.

The Common Specs

All the iPhones are IP68 water- and dust-resistant and have Face ID, the Digicam Management button, Motion Button, USB-C, and Qi2 magnetic wi-fi charging (MagSafe). All gadgets begin at 256 GB of storage. There’s Apple Intelligence on these gadgets, the identical Emergency SOS through Satellite tv for pc and Crash Detection capabilities, and so they make the most of Apple’s new N1 wi-fi networking chip for Bluetooth 6, Wi-Fi 7, and Thread support.

The Variations

{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu

Now, here is the place they diverge, which is able to assist you to higher perceive what mannequin to purchase.