00:04The iPhone 17 feels like the best standard iPhone in years. This is the iPhone most people should
00:10buy, especially since it keeps the same starting price but doubles the storage. But before we get
00:15there, let's dive into the features to see why it's the perfect phone. At first glance, the iPhone
00:2317 doesn't rewrite Apple's design language, and honestly, it doesn't need to. It's still
00:28unmistakably an iPhone, just a touch bigger and a bit more refined. The build feels balanced
00:33and comfortable in the hand, with the same frosted glass back and matte sides, and polished
00:38camera bump if you're comparing it to the iPhone 16. This right here is the sage green color
00:43in case you were wondering, and it's really grown on me. It's subtle with a nice color
00:48shift as the light hits it, and if that's not your vibe, you can go for mist, blue, lavender,
00:52black, or white. The action button and camera control is here on the side, and the USB port
00:57is on the bottom, plus MagSafe on the back. Again, no radical redesign here, but it feels
01:03every bit as modern as the pricier models.
01:08Now, the big story with the iPhone 17 is the display. The 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR OLED
01:14screen finally gets promotion, and perhaps more importantly, always on. And this pretty
01:19much alone changes how the phone feels. Then here, while I'm scrolling, gaming, even swiping
01:25through photos, it's all buttery smooth now at up to 120Hz, depending on the task really.
01:30To keep this bright, punchy panel protected, Apple used Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says
01:35is three times more scratch resistant compared to last year's iPhone. All of that is paired
01:40with the A19 processor and the excellent vibrancy and richness of the Super Retina XDR to screen.
01:44It all feels more responsive and instantaneous, whether that's navigating the liquid glass world
01:49of iOS 26, playing a triple-A game, or swiping through photos. I even enjoyed watching films
01:55and TV episodes on the iPhone 17. Everything looked great, with excellent color reproduction
02:00and smooth visuals.
02:05Let's move on to the cameras, because this year, Apple gave the base iPhone a serious upgrade.
02:10You now get two 48-megapixel Fusion cameras, a main and an ultrawide, both capable of capturing
02:15sharper, more color-accurate shots with less edge distortion.
02:19The ultrawide lens in particular is a big improvement. Colors look realistic, detail is rich, and there's
02:25far less warping at the edges. You can shoot at 0.5x, 1x, and 2x, or push to 10x digital
02:31zoom if you really need it, and while there's still no telephoto, overall image quality is
02:36fantastic for this tier. Portraits look clean, night mode is better, and the photonic engine
02:41does its usual magic to blend 48-megapixel detail into 24-megapixel files. Up front, there's
02:46a new 18-megapixel center stage camera that automatically frames wide or ultrawide, and
02:50even rotates from vertical to horizontal, depending on the group. In other words, no more selfie
02:56Tetris. I know you all watching will know exactly what I'm talking about there.
02:59And then, there's dual capture, which records with the front and rear cameras at once.
03:04It's genuinely fun, perfect for concerts, games, or family moments. Under the hood, the iPhone
03:0917 runs Apple's A19 chip that's fast, efficient, and more than enough for daily life. The chip
03:15is made up of a 6-core CPU split between two performance cores and four efficiency cores,
03:20a 5-core GPU with accelerators, and a 16-core neural engine. It's also a 3-nanometer chip,
03:26paired with a new display engine, which makes ProMotion and Always-On a reality here. And
03:31that's one of the best features. In everyday use, though, everything's fluid. Apps open instantly,
03:35games like Asphalt 9 and Disney Speedstorm run smoothly, and it doesn't heat up as much as
03:40older models when using Apple intelligence features. Speaking anecdotally, of course.
03:45On benchmarks, it's faster than the iPhone 16, and not far off from the A19 Pro inside the iPhone Air.
03:50You're getting Pro-level performance for $799, and Apple even doubled the base storage to 256 gigs this
03:57year. Plenty of room for all your apps.
04:02Okay, time to talk about how the iPhone 17 is really holding up day-to-day. Apple still doesn't
04:07reveal the exact battery size inside, but it does promise up to 30 hours of downloaded video
04:13playback and up to 27 hours for streaming. That's a solid improvement year-over-year at 6 hours.
04:18In my month of testing, I consistently made it through a full day even with the Always-On display
04:23enabled and a few FaceTime calls thrown in. That's not quite iPhone 16 Plus territory,
04:28but nonetheless, it's reliable all-day battery life. If you're planning to be on the road,
04:32constantly shooting images, playing some games, or draining the battery with heavy workflows,
04:37you might find that you need to recharge it after 8 or 9 hours. I did encounter that,
04:42but the faster recharge times help mitigate this. There is, however, no official MagSafe battery pack
04:48for this iPhone model. That's exclusive to the iPhone Air. When it is time to charge, the new 40W fast
04:53charging is fantastic. About 50% in 20 minutes and 80% in under an hour. It can get warm
04:59during the
05:00initial ramp up, but it does cool down as it gets closer to finishing.
05:07So, should you buy the iPhone 17? If you're coming from an iPhone 14 or older, this is absolutely the
05:13year to upgrade. You're getting pro-level display tech, major camera improvements, and double the storage,
05:18all while Apple has managed to keep the $799 and £799 starting price. You can check out the links
05:24in the description for the best deals on the iPhone 17 as well. If you happen to have an iPhone
05:2916 or 15,
05:30you can probably skip this one unless you really want the smoother display or sharper ultrawide camera.
05:35But generally speaking, the iPhone 17 hits the sweet spot. Fast, fun, reliable, and easily the best
05:41value iPhone Apple has made in years. The iPhone 17 doesn't reinvent the iPhone. It perfects what the standard
05:47model should be, and that's exactly why it's so good.
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