The iPhone 17 is official – time to decide if your FOMO is real

iPhone 17 has launched with meaningful upgrades

The iPhone 17 made its debut during Apple’s latest September event, joining the lineup alongside the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and the completely new iPhone 17 Air. While this year’s bigger upgrades clearly went to the Pro models and the Air, the regular iPhone 17 hasn’t been left empty-handed.

Design-wise, the iPhone 17 doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It looks almost identical to last year’s iPhone 16 with its vertical dual-camera setup, but Apple did tweak the display. The phone now features a 6.3-inch OLED panel with Ceramic Shield, a bump up from the iPhone 16’s 6.1-inch screen. Despite the larger display, the overall size hasn’t really changed thanks to thinner bezels.

And the best of all? We finally get ProMotion, Apple's way of saying 120Hz refresh rate. Plus, this time around the display supports 3000 nits of peak brightness. 

Color options this time include:

• Lavender 
• Mist Blue
• Sage
• Black 
• White

The phone also comes with the expected IP68 water and dust resistance, making it capable of handling water and dust without issue. On the sides, you get two familiar buttons: the Action Button, which can be programmed for shortcuts like opening the camera or muting the phone, and the Camera Control Button (introduced last year), which lets you shoot, zoom in or out, and handle camera functions more easily.

Now, as I already mentioned, there is still a dual camera setup on the back. For the first time, the iPhone 17 brings 48 MP sensors across all rear cameras, designed to capture standout photos and videos. The new 48 MP Fusion Main camera promises crisp detail and even includes an optical-quality 2x Telephoto, essentially giving you two cameras in one.

Meanwhile, the 48 MP Fusion Ultra Wide takes resolution up a notch – offering up to 4x more detail compared to the last generation. That means sharper wide-angle shots, better macro photography, and more flexibility when framing unique perspectives.

• 48 MP main camera
• 48 MP ultra-wide camera
• 18 MP selfie camera

And yeah, another big change is that 18 MP selfie camera that , which should make FaceTime calls, video chats, and selfies look much sharper – a long-overdue improvement for many users.

For the first time, the sensor is square, which means it delivers high resolution no matter how you hold the phone, offering four different compositions. That also means you don’t need to rotate your device to capture a landscape shot. On top of that, AI automatically expands the view, making it especially handy for group photos.

As usual, Apple didn’t share the exact battery size, but all signs suggest it is the same 3,600 mAh capacity as the iPhone 16. That should still be enough for a full day of moderate use, possibly more. Apple says that thanks to ProMotion, the base iPhone 17 now promises 8 hours more of video streaming. Charging is now faster, with Apple claiming 50% in 20 minutes. 

Inside, Apple equipped the iPhone 17 with the latest A19 chipset, which gives it the extra horsepower needed to handle all the new Apple Intelligence features (more on those in a moment). The letdown, though, is memory – we are stuck with 8 GB of RAM when many were hoping for at least 12 GB this year. As for storage, your options are:

• 256 GB
• 512 GB

And since I’ve already brought up Apple Intelligence, let’s dive into it. The iPhone 17 ships with iOS 26 out of the box, and that means full access to Apple’s AI-powered tools, including:

• Writing tools: proofread or rewrite text in different styles.
• Transcript summaries: automatically condense long notes into key takeaways.
• Priority messages in Mail: push time-sensitive emails straight to the top of your inbox.
• Image Playground: create custom images in seconds from prompts, concepts, or even people in your Photos library.
• Clean Up: erase distracting background objects in your photos with a single tap.

As always, you can count on at least six years of OS updates, plus a couple of extra years of security patches – though those tend to arrive less frequently.

Price and availability

The iPhone 17 goes up for pre-order this Friday, with official sales kicking off on September 19.

What’s surprising is that Apple didn’t bump the price this year. The phone still starts at $799, and that’s for the 256 GB model.

The iPhone 17 is an upgrade only some people will really feel

The iPhone 17 isn’t a radical step forward, but that doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant. For anyone still holding on to an iPhone 14 or even an iPhone 15, this year’s base model brings enough to feel fresh: a larger screen, 120Hz refresh rate (something Android competitors supported for years), the new 18 MP selfie camera, and the more powerful A19 chip. Those upgrades alone make the everyday experience noticeably better if you’re coming from a few generations back.

But for iPhone 16 owners, the story is very different. The changes are subtle enough that most people won’t feel much of a difference in daily use. Apple seems to have drawn a line between those upgrading from older models and those looking for a reason to trade in their year-old device – and the latter group isn’t getting one.

Playing it safe could hurt Apple in the long run

Apple’s strategy with the base iPhone 17 feels cautious. The A19 chipset, ProMotion, brighter display and the new cameras are improvements, but overall, this base model doesn’t break new ground.

Now, of course, we’ll still need to actually review the phone to see how much of a boost the A19 delivers and whether that new selfie camera really makes a difference. But just judging by the spec sheet, it feels like Apple is playing it safe yet again. And personally, I think the lack of 12 GB of RAM is a real miss. After all, we are deep into the AI era, and apps and features are only getting more demanding.

And here’s the thing: Apple’s rivals clearly see this. Google’s new Pixel 10 starts with 12 GB of RAM right out of the gate to better handle its AI features, both current and upcoming. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 does the same. Apple’s decision to stick with 8 GB feels like an odd move – one that could come back to bite it.