iPhone 17 Reviews: Choosing the Base Model 'No Longer Means Missing Out'

September 18, 2025 September 18, 2025

iPhone 17 Reviews: A Giant Leap for the Base Model

iPhone 17 Reviews: The Base Model is No Longer a Compromise

The first wave of reviews for Apple's new iPhone 17 are in, and they're painting a picture of a base model that's anything but basic. Launching alongside the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup, this 6.3-inch device boasts upgrades that were previously exclusive to Pro models, making it a compelling option for many users. Read on to discover what makes this year's standard iPhone so special.

A Stunning Display: The Star of the Show

One of the biggest headlines is the substantial display upgrade. The iPhone 17 features a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display – a significant jump from the 6.1-inch screen of its predecessor, the iPhone 16. This isn't just a size increase; it also incorporates ProMotion technology, offering a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. This adaptive refresh rate dynamically adjusts between 1Hz and 120Hz depending on the content, resulting in incredibly fluid scrolling and a generally more responsive user experience. Reviewers across the board praised this improvement.

Jacob Kastrenakes from The Verge called the display a "game changer," highlighting the inclusion of an always-on display, a feature previously reserved for the Pro models. This allows for quick glances at notifications, time, and widgets without fully waking the screen.

In size, resolution, and specs, the iPhone 17's display is the same as what you’ll find on this year's Pro. And the most notable thing about the change is that the iPhone 17 finally has an always-on display. The feature works exactly the same as it does on the Pro phones, too. When you set the iPhone 17 down, the screen dims, showing a faint version of your wallpaper, widgets, clock, and notifications. Being able to quickly glance at your phone for information is extremely handy and instantly makes the device a whole lot more useful.

Jacob Krol from TechRadar echoed this sentiment, calling the display "the star of the show." He emphasized the transformative effect of ProMotion:

Yes, the iPhone 17's 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display now supports ProMotion, meaning it delivers a buttery-smooth experience for scrolling, swiping, gaming, streaming, and even general navigation, as it will adjust on the fly from 1Hz all the way up to 120Hz depending on what you're doing. The iPhone 16, 15, and 14 before it were all locked at 60Hz, which wasn't a big deal if you weren’t coming from a 120Hz device, but this is a really nice upgrade. The iPhone 17's display story is really about the sum of its parts. ProMotion, Always-On, and a slightly larger screen make for a great experience, and there's a serious amount of value to be found through this display alone. Oh, and it's also coated in Ceramic Shield 2, which makes it three times as scratch-resistant as the screen on the iPhone 16 – that's a win, especially if you're prone to dropping your iPhone.

Camera Capabilities: Stepping Up the Game

The iPhone 17 also receives a significant camera boost. It features a dual-camera system with both a 48-megapixel Wide and a 48-megapixel Ultra Wide lens. This is a considerable upgrade over the 12-megapixel Ultra Wide lens found on the iPhone 16, offering enhanced detail and versatility.

Abrar Al-Heeti from CNET specifically praised the camera improvements, noting that the added capabilities allow the iPhone 17 to outperform the iPhone Air in several key areas:

It's interesting to have more photo-taking flexibility on a less expensive iPhone model, since the iPhone Air can't take 0.5x photos or Cinematic mode videos. It's another way this baseline device makes a case for itself. Like the iPhone Air, the iPhone 17 takes 12-megapixel 2x telephoto images, which maintain a solid level of detail as you punch in. Photos default to 24 megapixels, but you can switch to 48 megapixels to capture a bit more detail.

Performance and Power: A Smooth Operator

Under the hood, the iPhone 17 is powered by Apple's A19 chip, featuring a six-core CPU, a five-core GPU, and the Neural Engine. While it has 8GB of RAM – the lowest among the new iPhones – reviewers found its performance to be remarkably impressive.

Eric Zeman from PCMag ran benchmark tests and was pleasantly surprised by the results:

I ran the phone through the typical battery of benchmark tests to see how it fares against the competition. Surprisingly, it runs a bit faster than the iPhone Air, which becomes much hotter than the 17 under load. Meanwhile, the Pro iPhones are about 10% faster, which isn't as big a difference as I expected. The iPhone 17 buries the Pixel 10's Tensor G5 processor in testing, though Google tells us it designs its chips to run AI calculations, not perform well on benchmarks. The iPhone 17's A19 also bested the Galaxy S25's Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip in CPU performance, though it fell behind in GPU calculations. Ultimately, the iPhone 17 and its combination of memory and A19 power are more than enough to handle all your apps, daily tasks, and Apple Intelligence requests. In my tests, the phone had no trouble generating AI images, conjuring up new Genmoji, and powering Apple Photos' editing tools.

Battery Life: All-Day Power

Apple claims an 8-hour improvement in video playback time compared to the iPhone 16. While real-world testing didn't quite match this figure, the improvements are still noticeable.

John Velasco from Tom's Guide reported a modest yet worthwhile battery life increase:

Our battery drain test reveals an improvement, albeit a small one. It reaches a time of 12 hours and 47 minutes, an improvement of 34 minutes over the iPhone 16. That might not sound like a whole lot, but it's worth remembering that the iPhone 17 has a larger 6.3-inch display this time. I can affirm that I'm getting all-day battery life with a full charge. Roughly speaking, I'm seeing 15% battery life right before bed time. Most of my time was spent on checking emails, watching a few videos on my break at work, and looking through all of my social feeds. It's undoubtedly nowhere as close to offering the endurance I’ve been having with my iPhone 16 Pro Max for just about the last year, but most people will suffice getting through a work day. I'm excited to report that Apple also upgrades the iPhone 17's charging speeds, with its 35W wired charging getting its battery to 39% in 15 minutes — and then to 71% in 30 minutes. That's a marked improvement over the iPhone 16, but Apple didn't stop there as it also adds 25W Qi 2.2 charging support.

Conclusion: A Winning Combination

The iPhone 17 base model represents a significant step forward. The combination of a larger, high-refresh-rate display with always-on functionality, improved cameras, faster performance, and decent battery life makes it a very attractive proposition. While it may not match the raw power of the Pro models, the price-to-performance ratio is undoubtedly compelling. If you're looking for a powerful and feature-rich iPhone without the Pro price tag, the iPhone 17 is certainly worth considering. It's available for pre-order now, starting at $799.