Apple’s 2025 iPhones are right here, and issues are fairly completely different for the primary time shortly. The bottom iPhone 17 will nonetheless really feel acquainted, however the iPhone 17 Professional fashions have a totally new look, and there is a brand-new mannequin known as the iPhone Air. The “Air” branding has been considerably diluted of late—the current-gen iPad Professional fashions are lighter than the iPad Air—however the iPhone Air brings that means again to the unique concept: a super-thin and ultra-lightweight machine.
Preorders kick off September 12, and official gross sales begin September 19. When you’re contemplating an improve, what mannequin must you get? I am going to break down the important thing variations and similarities among the many iPhone 17 lineup, so you possibly can hopefully make a extra knowledgeable alternative in your subsequent iPhone.
Desk of Contents
You Don’t Must Improve
When you have an iPhone from only a few years in the past, you in all probability need not improve to Apple’s newest, until 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 possibly can attempt a few of these troubleshooting steps. The purpose is, you should not really feel the necessity to improve simply because Apple has a brand new mannequin.
When you’re set on shopping for an iPhone 17 mannequin, we have now a information on how you can promote your iPhone in order that it does not simply acquire mud in a drawer. When your new machine arrives, again up your previous 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 how you can arrange your new iPhone and what settings to alter to get essentially the most out of it.
Which iPhone 17 Is Proper for You?
Let’s shortly speak in regards to the similarities throughout all of the iPhone 17 fashions this yr, and sure, that features the iPhone Air, even when it does not have “17” within the title.
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
Apple
iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Professional
The Show
Though iPhones differ in display screen dimension, all of them characteristic an OLED display screen (Apple refers to it as a Tremendous Retina XDR show) and make use of ProMotion know-how. That is the primary time the non-Professional fashions have ProMotion, which is basically a 120-Hz refresh price.
This has been a typical characteristic on Android telephones for some time, however it means your show refreshes 120 instances per second moderately than 60, like on the iPhone 16, so every little thing you do will really feel smoother. (We’ve got 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 assist the always-on show.
Apple additionally says there is a new Ceramic Protect 2 entrance glass that is 3X extra scratch-resistant than earlier than, and a brand new antireflective coating to scale back glare. All of those screens may hit as much as 3,000 nits of peak brightness, that means it will be simpler to learn your iPhone display screen on sunny days.
The Digicam
The front-facing selfie digital camera is similar on all of the iPhone 17 fashions. It is a new square-shaped 18-megapixel sensor, and which means you possibly can anticipate extra element out of your selfies. Nonetheless, the sq. sensor additionally introduces a wiser option to seize group selfies. You may hold holding your telephone in portrait orientation for the perfect grip, and it’ll routinely zoom out to verify everybody matches within the body, whereas additionally switching to a panorama orientation for the widest view. All of those fashions additionally assist Twin Seize, which helps you to shoot with each the entrance and rear cameras on the identical time. You may learn extra about these options right here.
The Traditional Specs
All the iPhones are IP68 water- and dust-resistant and have Face ID, the Digicam Management button, Motion 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 by way of Satellite tv for pc 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 assist.
The Variations
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
Now, here is the place they diverge, which is able to allow you to higher perceive what mannequin to purchase.
