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iPhone 17 Anybody update from the iPhone 15 base model to the iPhone 17 base model?

O

omelet1978

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 22, 2012
278
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I've had the base model iPhone 15 for 2 years and am very happy with it. However if people have updated to the 17 it would be interesting in hearing their thoughts on it.

3000 nits brightness, 120 refresh rate, better battery life...to name a few improvements, so just wondering if these updates warrant an upgrade?
 
Was watching this as I’m in the same boat. Currently have a 15 that works fine and still has good battery life (currently 99% health). Yet I keep eyeing a sage iPhone 17 thinking it’s such a good value with the larger Promotion screen, 256 gb storage and the upgraded cameras and trying to justify that I should just do it now while the trade in on my 15 is still good.
 
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The upgrades are mostly incremental. The 17 is noticeably more powerful than the 15, but for most people, the difference won’t be very noticeable aside from the much higher screen refresh rate.

There’s really no need to upgrade unless you simply want to. The 15 is an excellent phone and will easily last another 3–4 years. No one needs to move up from a 15, do it only if you want to.
 
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Andeddu said:
The upgrades are mostly incremental. The 17 is noticeably more powerful than the 15, but for most people, the difference won’t be very noticeable aside from the much higher screen refresh rate.

There’s really no need to upgrade unless you simply want to. The 15 is an excellent phone and will easily last another 3–4 years. No one needs to move up from a 15, do it only if you want to.
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Agreed. For me maybe for the larger storage 128 vs 256. As much as I try to limit my app use, I'm down to about 20GB free space.Having 256 would be rather welcoming.
 
I would only do it if any of the following are concerns for you:
  • Your 15's battery is struggling (though you could also just have Apple replace the battery)
  • You really believe Apple Intelligence will be beneficial in the next couple of years (🤷‍♂️)
  • You really love high refresh screens (though if you've had the 15, you likely don't know the difference)
Had a 15, as did my wife, handed it down to daughter b/c her phone was done. Wife now has a 16, I have 17. I love high refresh screens, nobody else in my family cares. There are some incremental camera improvements and modest battery improvements, but nothing earth shattering. It's like moving from an older nice Honda Accord to a newer nice Honda Accord. It can be a nice change, but by no means necessary. :)
 
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Owner of 15 16 and 17 all 256gb. Honestly even if the 17 has a higher refresh rate screen the quality and whites of the two other models are better.. the 17 doesn’t have this uniformity… other than that pictures transferred in MacBook they all look the same especially 16 and 17 are identical, even with the front cameras… i personally prefer the 16 because it’s lighter… I had before for 2,5 year a 14pro … extremely good built quality but my gosh it was heavy 😜
Ps: I also gave up my iPad Pro m4 for a 5g iPad mini 7 and I use way way more but for laptop I use a MacBook Pro m4 pro fully loaded and I cannot use anything else
 
Bost85 said:
I also gave up my iPad Pro m4 for a 5g iPad mini 7 and I use way way more but for laptop I use a MacBook Pro m4 pro fully loaded and I cannot use anything else
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I did nearly the same, except I kept my iPad Pro since work required it, but bought an iPad mini 7 which I enjoy using more than I could have imagined.

Then having used MacBooks for years I have a M4 Pro 16” MacBook Pro. Between the fabulous keyboard, gorgeous display and amazing performance, it’s MacBook Pro models that keep me a loyal Apple customer.
 
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I upgraded from the 15 base to the 17 base. I had the 15 for about 18 months. Was it necessary? Absolutely not, my old phone was running quite nicely. But the battery health was around 85% and I definitely noticed a decrease in battery life, and so the extra battery life plus the (slightly!) bigger screen and the ProMotion of the 17 as well as future proofing for a bit longer with the A19 chip. I got a good deal from my mobile provider, so I'm pretty happy with it, and my old phone can have a new battery fitted and then go to a family member as their upgrade from a 12.
 
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When it come to basic operation for phone, text and reading email, there is little to no difference.
 
I think it’s not worth the price of the upgrade. 15 is perfectly fine, unless you absolutely need more base storage and Apple intelligence. And anyway iOS 26 is incredibly buggy (that’s not the subject but I wonder if it’s not a sign that Apple is less quality obsessed than before). So if your 15 works well, why change ?
Actually if I were to change it would be for the pro because the standard lacks telephoto, but the pro is too expensive and heavier, so I stick on my 15
 
Ok, so I pulled the trigger on upgrading from a 15 to a 17 and the screen is a definite upgrade (although honestly I don't find ProMotion to be the must have, can't go back change that a lot of people seem to claim it is) and the front camera is a nice upgrade, but otherwise it doesn't really feel any different than my 15 did. I thought jumping 3 chip generations would make it feel a lot faster but I really don't notice a difference and even battery life seems about the same so far.
 
bodonnell202 said:
Ok, so I pulled the trigger on upgrading from a 15 to a 17 and the screen is a definite upgrade (although honestly I don't find ProMotion to be the must have, can't go back change that a lot of people seem to claim it is) and the front camera is a nice upgrade, but otherwise it doesn't really feel any different than my 15 did. I thought jumping 3 chip generations would make it feel a lot faster but I really don't notice a difference and even battery life seems about the same so far.
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Is the bezel smaller on the 17 than it is on the 15? I saw a few comparison but I can't tell.
 
aajeevlin said:
Is the bezel smaller on the 17 than it is on the 15? I saw a few comparison but I can't tell.
Click to expand...

Yes it is. The 17 has around the same size chassis as the 15 but 6.3" display instead of 6.1".

The 17 and 17 Pro have pretty much the same display this generation.
 
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i have a 15pro and will upgrade to the 17base. cant stand anymore the constant heat ups and the battery is just thrash at 90%
 
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