Which iPhone 17 Model Should You Buy?

Apple’s 2025 iPhones are right here, and issues are fairly completely different for the primary time shortly. The base iPhone 17 will nonetheless really feel acquainted, however the iPhone 17 Pro 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 unique thought: a super-thin and ultra-lightweight machine.

Preorders kick off September 12, and official gross sales begin September 19. If you are contemplating an improve, what mannequin do you have to get? I’ll break down the important thing variations and similarities among the many iPhone 17 lineup, so you may hopefully make a extra knowledgeable alternative in your subsequent iPhone.

You Don’t Need to Upgrade

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

If you are set on shopping for an iPhone 17 mannequin, we’ve got a information on the way to promote your iPhone in order that it would not simply gather mud in a drawer. When your new machine arrives, again up your outdated iPhone earlier than switching to the brand new one, then observe our information on manufacturing facility resetting your machine earlier than promoting or giving it away. We even have tips about the way to arrange your new iPhone and what settings to vary to get essentially the most out of it.

Which iPhone 17 Is Right for You?

Let’s rapidly discuss 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 would not have “17” within the title.

The Display

Although iPhones differ in display screen dimension, all of them characteristic an OLED display screen (Apple refers to it as a Super Retina XDR show) and make use of ProMovement expertise. This is the primary time the non-Pro fashions have ProMovement, which is actually a 120-Hz refresh fee.

This has been a standard characteristic on Android telephones for some time, but it surely means your show refreshes 120 occasions per second slightly than 60, like on the iPhone 16, so every little thing you do will really feel smoother. (We have 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 screen, which is why the brand new iPhone 17 and iPhone Air now help the always-on show.

Apple additionally says there is a new Ceramic Shield 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 hit as much as 3,000 nits of peak brightness, which means it will be simpler to learn your iPhone display screen on sunny days.

The Camera

The front-facing selfie digicam is an identical on all of the iPhone 17 fashions. It’s a brand new square-shaped 18-megapixel sensor, and meaning you may anticipate extra element out of your selfies. However, the sq. sensor additionally introduces a better solution to seize group selfies. You can hold holding your cellphone in portrait orientation for one of the 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 help Dual Capture, which helps you to shoot with each the entrance and rear cameras on the identical time. You can learn extra about these options right here.

The Usual Specs

All of the iPhones are IP68 water- and dust-resistant and have Face ID, the Camera Control button, Action 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 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 help.

The Differences

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

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