Apple put an always-on screen in the iPhone 17 and improved the display’s refresh rate to 120 Hz. Plus, the selfie cam got a brilliant new feature. There are plenty of other enhancements too — including double the storage capacity! — which all combine to make Apple’s new base-model iPhone a welcome upgrade for those ready to move up from an aging device.
This is the first time I’ve regularly used a basic iOS model in almost a decade. I’m impressed with what Apple offers for $799. It’s really made me question the need for a Pro model. Here’s why.
This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.
iPhone 17 review
The iPhone Pro and Pro Max models always get the most attention from customers and journalists alike. It’s not surprising — they include the best cameras, processors, screens, etc. And this year the ultra-slim iPhone Air is equally distracting.
But don’t overlook the humble base model iPhone 17. Especially as it’s not so humble. Apple poured in so many upgrades — especially to the screen! — that it’s never been stronger competition for the Pro versions. Skipping the Pro saves you at least $300. Here’s why you should consider it.
iPhone 17 brings some real upgrades over previous years' models, including an always-on, 120Hz ProMotion display, a much-improved Center Stage selfie camera and a minimum of 256GB storage.
- Pro-level features, including always-on, ProMotion screen
- Extra-durable Ceramic Shield 2 cover glass
- Available in lavender, sage, mist blue, white and black
- Brilliant Center Stage selfie cam
- Not Apple's most advanced camera system.
- Same design as iPhone 16.
Table of contents: iPhone 17 review
- A 120 Hz, always-on screen that’s packed with other features
- A Center Stage selfie cam
- Ultrawide camera upgrade
- Double the storage!
- Better performance from the A19 processor
- Not a (significant) redesign but pretty colors
- iPhone 17 battery life
- iPhone 17 review: Final thoughts
- Pricing
Pricing
A 120 Hz, always-on screen that’s packed with other features
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
If I had made a wishlist of features to improve previous base-model iPhone screens, then the iPhone 17 fulfills every one of them.
First off, it’s an always-on display, something previously reserved for Pro models. The screen dims but doesn’t turn off completely, which makes glancing at the handset for the time or the latest notifications a snap. And the screen brightness goes all the way up to 3000 nits for use outdoors — much brighter than older iPhones.
In a related improvement, the iPhone 17 now sports a ProMotion screen, so the refresh rate varies from 120Hz down to 10Hz. The higher refresh rate makes scrolling through text look better — there’s no jitter — and the higher refresh rate looks great when playing games that support it. On the other end of the scale, the lower rate helps preserve battery life when you have the screen dimmed, or when viewing static content.
If all that weren’t enough, the iPhone 17 display grew to 6.3 inches, up from the 6.1-inch LCD in the iPhone 16 and earlier versions. The additional screen area isn’t a huge difference, but every little bit helps.
A feature you hopefully won’t need, but may come to appreciate, is Ceramic Shield 2. Apple promises 3x better scratch resistance. As a bonus, this also reduces how reflective the display is.
There are enough improvements to the iPhone 17 screen to justify an upgrade from an iPhone 13 or 14 even if Apple didn’t make any other changes to the handset. But there are plenty.
A Center Stage selfie cam
Center Stage is a brilliant feature that lets the front-facing camera follow someone on a video call, as though the camera were moving on its own. The feature came to iPad years ago, and I try to never make a video call without it. I’m thrilled that it’s included in Apple’s latest handset.
My testing of Center Stage on the iPhone 17 confirms that the days when I had to carefully keep the selfie cam aimed toward my face during FaceTime calls are over. As long as the camera is pointed in my general direction, I’m centered in the video. I can concentrate more on what I’m saying and pay less attention to the mechanics of the call. The people I’m talking to also benefit — it seems like I hold my iPhone very steady, even when I don’t.
This is an example of Apple doing things right. Rather than enhancing the selfie cam by dumping in more megapixels, it made the camera far more useful.
That said, Apple also dumped in a lot more megapixels. The front-facing camera went from 12 MP to 18MP. And the shape of the camera changed so it now takes landscape pictures with the phone held in portrait mode. This means that taking a group photo doesn’t require turning the phone sideways.
Plus, iPhone 17 supports Dual Capture. This lets you record a video from the rear camera while simultaneously recording with the front-facing one. The resulting video has the selfie video embedded in a small window, just like when you were recording.
Honestly, I’m astonished Apple put these selfie cam upgrades in the base-model iPhone 17 now. These are exactly the sort of features that are typically a Pro model exclusive for a year or two. Not this time.
Ultrawide camera upgrade
Cameras are important. For some people I know, it’s primarily what they use their phone for. For everyone else, it’s a major feature — which Apple is fully aware of. That said, the main iPhone 17 camera didn’t get an upgrade this year, so it stays at a 48-megapixel resolution with 2x optical zoom. Still, it’s vastly better than the 12MP camera with no optical zoom in an iPhone 14.
And the iPhone 17 ultrawide camera did get a resolution boost, going from 12MP to 48MP. This is the camera used for group shots and landscapes. Don’t forget it’s there — activate it by tapping on the “.5” just above the shutter button in the Camera app. It’s also used for macro shots when you want to get really close up.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The base model iPhone is ideal for the “point and shoot” photographer. If what you want is to open the Camera app, point the camera at your friend, child, pet, etc. and take a picture, you’ll be completely happy with the iPhone 17, and you don’t need to pay extra for a Pro version. Pricier models are best for people who dig around in the Camera settings to achieve certain photography effects. If you don’t do that, paying a lot more for a Pro seems a waste of your money.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The stand-out exception is the telescopic photography. iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max include a native 4x optical zoom, plus Apple says it delivers optical-quality 8x zoom. In short, the Pro models are far better at zooming in on distant objects than the iPhone 17. Its 2x optical zoom is one of the few limitations in the device.
Photos: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
All the cameras Apple builds into the full range of iPhone models are excellent at taking everyday pictures, including the one in the iPhone 17.
Double the storage!
To hold all the great pictures you’re going to take, the base model iPhone 17 comes with 256GB of storage capacity — double the earlier models. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max also start at this same capacity, so no advantage there.
Apple gets regularly criticized for overcharging for iPhone memory, so I’m happy to say that all that additional storage capacity comes at a $0 increase in the base model.
That said, if you want to configure your iPhone with 512 GB of storage, it’ll cost you an additional $200.
Better performance from the A19 processor
Photo: Apple
The iPhone 17 runs an Apple A19 processor, a jump up from the A18 in the 2024 handsets. In real-world terms, I tried to stress the chip by playing graphics-intensive RPG with the phone connected to an external display. It was no problem.
I had to turn to the Geekbench 6 CPU benchmarking application to see how powerful the chip is. The handset scored about 9,400 on the Multi-Core CPU test. For comparison, the iPhone 16 scores about 8,200 on the same test, while the older iPhone 14 gets about 5,500. That’s a 15% jump from last year’s model, and a 70% increase from the earlier one.
And the two pricier iPhone 17 Pro models score around 9,950 in the CPU test. That means the more expensive versions function about 6% faster — nice but hardly a dramatic improvement.
In Geekbench 6’s Metal test, which stresses the GPU, the iPhone 17 scored about 37,400. For comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro Max gets about 44,000 thanks to an additional GPU core.
For those coming from an older iPhone, your device doesn’t have very poor daily performance, so a faster chip won’t speed up your day-to-day usage much. But you’ll likely be glad for it when long-delayed Apple Intelligence features finally come along. That includes the AI-infused version of Siri that might finally make Apple’s voice assistant worth using.
The iPhone 17 includes 8GB of RAM, the same as its predecessor, and more than earlier ones. Reportedly, 8GB is the minimal amount needed for Apple Intelligence. Pro models have 12GB. Only time will tell if that’ll make a real-world difference in handling AI.
Not a (significant) redesign but pretty colors
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Getting a larger 6.3-inch screen required slightly increasing the height of the iPhone 17. But otherwise, the design remains unchanged. And that’s a good thing. Most notably, Apple’s latest base model skipped the enormous camera hump that the rest of the iPhone 17 series got.
Like the iPhone 16, it includes the newish Camera Control button (yawn) and the Action Button. The old Lightning port has thankfully been sent to the dustbin of history in favor of USB-C.
The base model iPhone 17 comes in lavender, mist blue, sage, white or black casings — a much wider range of options than the Pro versions.
iPhone 17 battery life
Apple promises the iPhone 17 delivers up to 30 hours of video playback, or up to 27 hours if the video is streamed. For comparison, Apple also says the iPhone 16 offers up to 22 hours of video playback. That’s a 22% increase.
I have not had the iPhone 17 long enough to have reliable data on its battery life. For one thing, a new iPhone can have poor battery life until iOS 26 gets itself properly indexed. Also, iOS 26 includes a new feature called Adaptive Power that extends battery life, but this needs to learn my regular usage patterns first.
I’ll update this review when I have something more useful to say about the new iPhone 17 battery life.
iPhone 17 review: Final thoughts
If you have your eye on an iPhone 17 Pro because you think the Pro models are the only good handsets Apple makes, the base model iPhone 17 should come as a wake-up call for you. Dramatic improvements to the display, the Center Stage selfie cam, twice as much storage and many other enhancements make it closer to the Pro versions than ever.
★★★★★
Price: The same or cheaper
One of the standout features of the base model iPhone 17 is the $799 starting price, the same as last year’s model. But Apple’s newest includes 256GB of storage, while the iPhone 16 with that much capacity sold for $899. That means the new model is effectively $100 cheaper than its predecessor.
And the iPhone 17 costs $300 less than the iPhone 17 Pro. Given the close competition between the base model 17 versus the 17 Pro, think hard before putting down the extra cash.
iPhone 17 brings some real upgrades over previous years' models, including an always-on, 120Hz ProMotion display, a much-improved Center Stage selfie camera and a minimum of 256GB storage.
- Pro-level features, including always-on, ProMotion screen
- Extra-durable Ceramic Shield 2 cover glass
- Available in lavender, sage, mist blue, white and black
- Brilliant Center Stage selfie cam
- Not Apple's most advanced camera system.
- Same design as iPhone 16.
Apple did not provide Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out more in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
