Which iPhone 17 Model Should You Buy?

Which iPhone 17 Mannequin Ought to You Purchase?

Apple’s 2025 iPhones are right here, and issues are fairly totally 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 known as the iPhone Air. The “Air” branding has been considerably diluted of late—the current-gen iPad Professional fashions are lighter than the iPad Air—however the iPhone Air brings that means again to the unique thought: a super-thin and ultra-lightweight system.

Preorders kick off September 12, and official gross sales begin September 19. In case you’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 may hopefully make a extra knowledgeable selection in your subsequent iPhone.

Desk of Contents

You Don’t Must Improve

When you have an iPhone from only a few years in the past, you most likely need not improve to Apple’s newest, except your system has points. Even then, there are issues you are able to do to repair your iPhone, like getting a battery alternative, or you may attempt a few of these troubleshooting steps. The purpose is, you should not really feel the necessity to improve simply because Apple has a brand new mannequin.

In case you’re set on shopping for an iPhone 17 mannequin, we now have a information on tips on how to promote your iPhone in order that it would not simply accumulate mud in a drawer. When your new system arrives, again up your previous iPhone earlier than switching to the brand new one, then observe our information on manufacturing facility resetting your system earlier than promoting or giving it away. We even have tips about tips on how to arrange your new iPhone and what settings to vary to get probably the most out of it.

Which iPhone 17 Is Proper for You?

Let’s shortly discuss in regards to the similarities throughout all of the iPhone 17 fashions this yr, and sure, that features the iPhone Air, even when it would not have “17” within the identify.

  • {Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu

  • {Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu

  • {Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu

Apple

iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Professional

The Show

Though iPhones differ in display dimension, all of them characteristic an OLED display (Apple refers to it as a Tremendous Retina XDR show) and make use of ProMotion know-how. That is the primary time the non-Professional fashions have ProMotion, which is actually a 120-Hz refresh price.

This has been a standard characteristic on Android telephones for some time, but it surely means your show refreshes 120 occasions per second reasonably than 60, like on the iPhone 16, so every thing you do will really feel smoother. (We’ve a broader explainer right here.) These are adaptive refresh charges that may drop as little as 1 Hz when there’s little exercise on the display, 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 cut back glare. All of those screens may also hit as much as 3,000 nits of peak brightness, that means it’s going to be simpler to learn your iPhone display on sunny days.

The Digicam

The front-facing selfie digicam is equivalent on all of the iPhone 17 fashions. It is a new square-shaped 18-megapixel sensor, and meaning you may count on extra element out of your selfies. Nonetheless, the sq. sensor additionally introduces a wiser strategy to seize group selfies. You’ll be able to preserve holding your telephone in portrait orientation for the very best grip, and it’ll robotically 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 similar time. You’ll be able to learn extra about these options right here.

The Typical 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 by way of 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 assist.

The Variations

{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu

Now, here is the place they diverge, which can show you how to higher perceive what mannequin to purchase.