The iPhone 17’s robust battery life, fast performance, pro-level display, and capable cameras easily make it the best iPhone for the money and our top pick. The base model is on a more even footing with the iPhone Pro than ever before.
The standard iPhone has never been better. With the iPhone 17 (starting at $799), Apple has upgraded the base model in meaningful ways that level it up against the rest of the iPhone 17 family—and competing flagship phones. It benefits from the same display as the iPhone 17 Pro ($1,099), delivers better battery life and performance than the iPhone Air ($999), and costs much less than the iPhone 17 Pro Max ($1,199), providing an ideal blend of features, performance, and value. The Air may exhibit more wow factor, and the Pro models have more advanced camera systems, but the iPhone 17 is our Editors’ Choice winner and the best iPhone for most people.Design: Elegant Simplicity
It may not have the Air’s slim design or the Pro models’ chunky camera module, but the iPhone 17 strikes a good balance between size, weight, features, and usability. Of all the new Apple phones, the standard iPhone 17 is the most like its immediate predecessor, the $699 iPhone 16, in appearance. It has one of the simplest and cleanest designs, and elegantly blends its Ceramic Shield 2 front glass, Ceramic Shield rear glass, and aluminum frame with subtle seams and a comfortable shape. Anyone who’s purchased the base iPhone model in the last few years will feel instantly at home with its compact size, solid build quality, and familiar controls. This year’s finishes include a pleasing Lavender, Sage (pictured below), Mist Blue, Black, and White.
The iPhone 17 (5.89 by 2.81 by 0.31 inches, 6.24 ounces) is a hair larger and heavier than the iPhone 16 (5.81 by 2.82 by 0.31 inches, 6.0 ounces), owing to the larger screen (6.3 inches versus 6.1 inches). The difference is slight enough that you won’t notice unless you have both of them in your hands simultaneously. It’s still the most compact member of the iPhone 17 family. Meanwhile, the $799 Google Pixel 10 (6.02 by 2.83 by 0.34 inches, 7.2 ounces) is bigger and heavier, and the $799 Samsung Galaxy S25 (5.78 by 2.78 by 0.28 inches and 5.71 ounces) is smaller and lighter. These three compact flagships are all in the same ballpark in size and weight.
I like the matte feel of the rear panel glass and the minimalistic look of the camera module. Apple says it infused the color directly into the glass. The metal frame has a pleasing grain only visible when you inspect it closely. The phone carries over the IP68 rating from the iPhone 16, the same level of dust and water protection you’ll find on the Pixel 10 and Galaxy S25.
The buttons and ports are in all the same places. From top to bottom along the left edge, you’ll find the Action button, the volume up button, and the volume down button. As before, you can program the Action button to perform many tasks. On the left edge, you’ll find the large power button nearer to the top and the Camera Control a bit below it. All buttons have plenty of travel and feedback, while the Camera Control has a smoother feel. The USB-C (v2.0) port and speaker grille are on the bottom edge, as are two tiny screws. You won’t find a SIM card tray, a feature that’s been absent since the iPhone 14. The US models support eSIM only, though international models still include a physical SIM tray.
It’s a bummer that Apple hasn’t upgraded the USB port. The 2.0 connector is limited to data transfer speeds of 480Mbps, while the Pro models get faster USB 3.0, which can handle speeds of up to 10Gbps. Display: A Pro Screen for Less
With the 17, Apple upgrades the base iPhone to a pro-level screen without increasing the price, and I’m here for it. Spec for spec, the iPhone 17 has the same display as the 17 Pro.
The screen increases from 6.1 inches on the iPhone 16 to 6.3 inches, jumps from a resolution of 2,556 by 1,179 pixels with a density of 460 pixels per inch (ppi) to 2,622 by 1,206 pixels at 460ppi, and leaps upward in brightness from a peak of 2,000 nits to a peak of 3,000 nits. You also get the full Dynamic Island with Face ID scanner for secure biometric transactions.
More importantly, the iPhone 17 drops the static 60Hz panel of last year’s phone and adopts the ProMotion Display, which has a variable refresh rate of 1Hz to 120Hz and introduces the always-on display to base-level iPhone users. The always-on display (which shows your wallpaper, clock, notifications, and widgets) has been available on the Pro iPhone models (and budget Android phones) for years. It’s a welcome upgrade.Performance: All the Power You Need
The iPhone 17’s performance lands right where I expected it to. It’s not quite as quick as the Pro models, but it outguns much of the Android competition, including Google’s Pixel 10, on benchmarks.
The iPhone 17 is built around Apple’s base A19 processor, which packs a six-core CPU, a five-core GPU, and Apple’s Neural Engine, or NPU. New for the A19, the GPU cores each have their own Neural Accelerator, which the company says boosts the chip’s ability to process AI calculations.
