Apple iPhone 17 Review: The Pro You’ve Been Waiting For
Is the iPhone 17 the best iPhone to buy in 2025? Our in-depth review covers the stunning 120Hz ProMotion display, new 48MP cameras, A19 chip performance, and why this might be the easiest iPhone to recommend in years. iPhone 17 Review
For years, Apple’s standard iPhone has felt like a solid, if slightly compromised, choice compared to its Pro siblings. With the iPhone 17, that narrative has been completely rewritten. This isn’t just an incremental update; it’s a massive leap forward that blurs the lines between the standard and Pro models, making it arguably the most compelling and easy-to-recommend iPhone in the entire 2025 lineup.
Apple has finally brought its most requested high-end features down to the standard model, delivering a premium 120Hz ProMotion display, a much-needed storage boost, and a significant camera overhaul. Let’s dive in and see if this is the iPhone you should buy.
Design and Build: Familiar Yet Refined
At first glance, the iPhone 17 looks very similar to its predecessor, and that’s a good thing. It retains the clean, all-glass back and comfortable aluminum frame, avoiding the controversial new design of the 2025 Pro models. The build quality is exceptional, featuring Ceramic Shield 2 glass on the front for top-tier scratch resistance and a durable back. It’s also rated IP68, meaning it can survive submersion in up to 6 meters of water for 30 minutes.
This year’s colors include classics like Black and White, alongside new pastel-like shades: Mist Blue, Lavander, and Sage. While the footprint is slightly larger to accommodate the bigger screen, it remains impressively light and comfortable to hold, weighing almost 30 grams less than the iPhone 17 Pro.
The Star of the Show: A Pro-Level Display
The single biggest upgrade to the iPhone 17 is its display. Apple has finally equipped the standard model with a 6.3-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED panel featuring ProMotion technology. This is a game-changer, allowing for a silky-smooth 120Hz variable refresh rate that makes scrolling and animations feel incredibly fluid. The LTPO tech also allows the refresh rate to drop to as low as 1Hz to conserve energy, which enables the long-awaited Always-On Display feature.
The bezels are noticeably slimmer, creating a more immersive viewing experience. While its sustained brightness in automatic mode hovers around 1000 nits—which is perfectly usable outdoors but not class-leading—it can hit an impressive peak brightness for HDR content. This is the display users have been asking for, and it finally makes the standard iPhone feel truly premium.
Performance: The Power of the A19 Chip
Powering the iPhone 17 is the new Apple A19 chip, built on an advanced 3nm process. Paired with 8GB of RAM, the phone handles everyday tasks, multitasking, and demanding apps with effortless speed. In benchmarks, it posts impressive scores, proving it’s a true flagship performer.
However, there’s a catch. Unlike the Pro models, the standard iPhone 17 lacks a vapor chamber for cooling. Under sustained heavy loads, such as long gaming sessions, the phone gets noticeably hot and throttles its performance. While this won’t affect most users in daily use, it’s a clear differentiator from the Pro lineup.
On a huge positive note, Apple has finally doubled the base storage. The iPhone 17 now starts at a much more practical 256GB of fast NVMe storage, eliminating storage anxiety for most buyers.
Camera Overhaul: Upgrades All Around
The iPhone 17 boasts a formidable new camera system, with significant upgrades to the ultrawide and selfie sensors.
- Main Camera (48MP): While using the same excellent sensor as the iPhone 16, the main camera continues to deliver fantastic results. By default, it captures incredibly detailed 24MP photos with vibrant, true-to-life colors. Apple’s 2x “optical quality” zoom, which crops from the center of the sensor, also produces sharp and clean 12MP shots. The only minor weakness is a dynamic range that can sometimes crush shadows or clip highlights in tricky lighting.
- Ultrawide Camera (48MP): The ultrawide camera gets a massive resolution bump from 12MP to 48MP. This new sensor, inherited from the Pro line, now includes autofocus, which enables it to take stunningly detailed macro shots. Overall image quality is a clear step up from previous generations.
- Selfie Camera (18MP): The new 18MP front camera is a standout feature. It now includes both autofocus and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), resulting in outstandingly sharp and stable photos and videos. Skin tones look natural, and detail is excellent, making it one of the most dependable selfie cameras on the market.
For video, the iPhone 17 continues Apple’s legacy of excellence, offering 4K video at up to 60fps with Dolby Vision HDR across all cameras. The stabilization is rock-solid, making it a fantastic tool for content creators.
Battery Life and Faster Charging
The iPhone 17 is equipped with a 3,692 mAh battery, offering solid all-day endurance that will comfortably get most users through a full day of use.
Charging has also seen a welcome improvement. It now supports the PD3.2/AVS standard, allowing you to charge to 50% in roughly 20-30 minutes with a compatible 40W+ adapter. Wireless charging is also faster, with support for up to 25W via MagSafe/Qi2, and it even supports 4.5W reverse wired charging to top up your accessories.
Software: A First Look at iOS 26
The iPhone 17 runs iOS 26 out of the box, which introduces a major visual overhaul called Liquid Glass. Inspired by visionOS, this new design language brings crystal-like elements and more dynamic animations to the entire user interface.
While the new look is refreshing, it feels a bit unpolished in its first iteration and can seem chaotic at times. On the feature front, iOS 26 introduces Visual Intelligence (Apple’s take on Circle to Search), a new Games app, and a more streamlined Camera UI. However, core iOS shortcomings, like cumbersome file management, remain unaddressed.
The Verdict: Is the iPhone 17 for You?
The iPhone 17 is the most significant upgrade to the standard iPhone in years. By finally adding a 120Hz ProMotion display and doubling the base storage to 256GB without a price increase, Apple has eliminated the two biggest compromises of previous models.
It’s not perfect—the lack of a dedicated telephoto lens is still a Pro differentiator, and the A19 chip throttles under heavy stress. But these are minor complaints for the vast majority of users.
With a phenomenal display, a versatile and high-quality camera system, strong performance, and all-day battery life, the iPhone 17 is an incredibly well-rounded package. It is, without a doubt, the easiest iPhone to recommend in 2025 and the one most people should buy.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Stunning 6.3″ 120Hz LTPO ProMotion display with Always-On.
- Generous 256GB of base storage at an unchanged price.
- Faster wired and wireless charging speeds.
- Excellent video quality and stabilization on all cameras.
- Upgraded 48MP ultrawide with macro capabilities.
- Outstanding 18MP selfie camera with OIS and autofocus.
- Light, premium build with IP68 water resistance.
Cons:
- No dedicated telephoto camera for optical zoom.
- Throttles and gets hot under sustained heavy load.
- USB-C port is still limited to slow USB 2.0 data transfer speeds.
- iOS 26’s new design feels unpolished.
