Apple iPhone 17 review: The biggest upgrade to the entry-level iPhone in years
The iPhone 17 introduces significant upgrades that elevate the entry-level experience, including Dual Capture mode and a ProMotion display, making it a strong competitor against Pro models
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and gone off social media altogether) this past week, you’d know that the iPhone juggernaut has rolled into town, and while all the chatter and attention has been deservedly heaped on the Pro and the Air models, the regular iPhone 17 ( ₹82,900 onwards) has received the biggest upgrade to the entry-level iPhone in years. So much so, it’s no longer the compromise that the base model used to be and could legitimately compete with Pro models from this year and past, outside of camera enthusiasts.
But you wouldn’t really be able to tell it’s a vastly superior phone over last year’s model simply by looking at it. Sure, there are a few new colours, though save for the sage model, they’re all a bit muted compared to the bolder pink and ultramarine models from last year. The size and weight differences are imperceptible, and the phone still feels good in the hand with its ever so slightly rounded edges and aluminium frame.
Around the front is where the headlining facelift lies, by way of the iPhone 17 squeezing in a larger 6.3-inch display (from 6.1-inch last year) with thinner bezels and a one-two combo of 3000 nits of peak brightness along with the anti-reflective coating on the Ceramic Shield 2-protected screen, both of which come together for an improved experience outdoors and under direct lighting.
And after what feels like years of asking, the iPhone 17 finally features the ProMotion display (1-120Hz) that’s been a regular fixture on the Pro series, bringing Apple’s most popular phone up to speed, quite literally, with not only the pricier Pros but also most of its Android competition. The benefits are immediately visible, even when compared to last year’s iPhone—scrolling, navigating and switching between apps are all pro-level fluid now, and you get the bonus always-on display as well.
Now, having used the iPhone 17 for a little over a week, I couldn’t recall a single time when the performance of the A19 chip left me wanting for more, whether I was bouncing between endlessly scrolling on X and Instagram, streaming music on Apple Music and YouTube Music, taking a insanely large number of photos throughout the day or even the occasional reel edit on Edit. iOS26 on the 17 is slick as a whistle, though the glassy see-through elements may not be for everyone (and you can tone them down).
There’s a small section of pro creators who would need the 17 Pro’s extra graphic core and vastly improved thermals for better sustained performance, but for the rest of us (including many content creators), know this—the 17 will be more than enough for your needs. You’re also getting twice the storage— 256GB, up from 128GB for the 16—for an additional three thousand over last year’s launch price. It’s 2025, and I’m glad we’re seeing brands realizing that 128GB is altogether too paltry by flagship standards.
Battery life is largely the same as before, which means that you’ll get through a regular day of work, entertainment and messaging before the battery indicator turns red. And when you need to charge, you can expect to recharge to 50 percent in about 25 minutes with a 40W (or higher) adapter, or use a MagSafe charger and get up to 25W charging.
On the back, there’s the now-familiar dual-camera setup from last year, with Apple stacking an upgraded 48-megapixel ultrawide alongside the 48-megapixel primary shooter for better landscape shots and up-close macro photography. Shooting across well-lit daytime shots and some at evening soirees, the iPhone does well to capture detail and true-to-life color, though night-time shots did sacrifice a slight bit of detail for capturing color and mood of the image. Of course, there were instances where I wished for more reach, particularly when zooming in on something far away. The lack of a dedicated telephoto lens is a bit of a letdown, particularly when the base flagships on the Android side of the fence all have some optical zoom…and could nudge a small section of iPhone 17 buyers towards the Pros.
That said, portrait shots were as good as the pricier Air and Pros from this year’s lineup, but what the 17 shares with its siblings on the front camera is far more exciting, a feature that even non-tech-savvy friends will appreciate. All iPhones this year use a Center Stage camera with a square-shaped sensor (instead of the traditional rectangular sensor), so you can shoot 18MP images in either portrait or landscape mode while still gripping your phone vertically. No more precariously claw-gripping the phone just to take that group selfie and still ending up with at least one person looking off-camera—the camera can even auto-detect all the faces in the photo and automatically use portrait or landscape mode to get the best photo. It even works to keep you centered in the frame during video calls a la the Center Stage cameras on recent iPads and Macs.
Another feature that’s bound to capture the fancy of vloggers and creators is the Dual Capture mode, which lets you record video from the front and rear cameras at the same time—perfect to capture live reactions during events. I’m just glad that Apple hasn’t gatekept these newer features on the Pros, so everyday folks won’t need to cough up the extra premium for this year’s most talked about camera extras. Video recording is traditionally a strong suit for iPhones, and it remains robust with support for up to 4K Dolby Vision at 60fps and super slow-mo 1080p at 240fps.
Verdict
With the most significant update in years, the iPhone 17 should well go on to be the sleeper hit of the lineup, appealing even to impatient folks coming from the iPhone 16, even though I don’t recommend buying a new phone every year. Crucially, with the bumped-up screen and cameras, the iPhone 17 feels like a Pro experience for the first time, without having to pay the quite significant extra that that Pros command. If you’re in the market for a new Apple handset, the iPhone 17 isn’t just good for its price, it’s one of the best iPhones Apple has made, period.
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