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iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 17 Buyer's Guide: 20 Upgrades Compared

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The iPhone 17 launches this week with Apple's biggest display upgrade to a non-Pro model in years, some major camera improvements, faster performance, and big battery life gains.

iPhone-16-vs-17-Feature.jpg

Beyond these headline features, how much of an improvement does the ‌iPhone 17‌ really offer? This guide breaks down the differences between the iPhone 16 and ‌iPhone 17 to help you understand all of the changes and determine whether these enhancements are enough to justify making the switch‌.

This guide focuses on the ‌iPhone 17 versus the iPhone 16‌, but to learn about how it compares to the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro, see our other comparison guide.

iPhone 16 (2024)iPhone 17 (2025)
6.1-inch display6.3-inch display
Slimmer bezels
60Hz displayProMotion for refresh rates up to 120Hz
Always-On display
2,000 nits peak brightness (outdoor)3,000 nits peak brightness (outdoor)
Ceramic Shield frontCeramic Shield 2 front (3x better scratch resistance)
A18 chip (N3E)A19 chip (N3P)
5-core GPU5-core GPU with Neural Accelerators
Up to 22-hour battery lifeUp to 30-hour battery life
12-megapixel front-facing camera18-megapixel front-facing camera
Tap to zoom on front-facing cameraTap to zoom and rotate on front-facing camera
Center Stage front-facing camera
Ultra-stabilized video on front-facing camera
Dual Capture (up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps)
12-megapixel Ultra Wide48-megapixel Ultra Wide
MagSafe wireless charging up to 22W with 30W adapter or higherMagSafe wireless charging up to 25W with 30W adapter or higher
Up to 50% charge in 30 minutes with 20W adapter or higherUp to 50% charge in 20 minutes with 40W adapter or higher
Apple N1 chip for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 5.3 connectivityBluetooth 6 connectivity
Available in Ultramarine, Teal, Pink, White, and BlackAvailable in Lavender, Sage, Mist Blue, White, and Black


The iPhone 17 is a fairly substantial year-over-year update. The jump to a larger 6.3-inch display with ProMotion, 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera, longer battery life, and new A19 chip makes it the most significant base-model iPhone upgrade in recent years. It offers great value for money at $799, with many of the new features that come to the other more expensive models this year.

Most iPhone 16 owners will notice meaningful differences, but naturally those with an iPhone 14 or older will see a more dramatic dramatic leap. Buyers who want a modern iPhone with a Pro-level display and excellent cameras at a lower price should strongly consider the upgrade, but iPhone 16 owners satisfied with their device may find less urgency to switch. Nevertheless, the upgrade is relatively substantial.

Article Link: iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 17 Buyer's Guide: 20 Upgrades Compared
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/iphone-16-vs-17/
JPack said:
Given the average smartphone replacement cycle in the U.S. is 3-4 years, these guides should be comparing iPhone 13 or 14 with the 17. Such a guide would be far more meaningful.

If you bought iPhone 16 anywhere near full price, the iPhone 17 is going to make you cry a little.
Click to expand...
Agree. I’m upgrading from 13PM to 17PM and I know that pretty much everything is an improvement but would be nice to see this table for older models
 
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diewish2007 said:
I have an iPhone 14 Plus. A shame they got rid of the Plus options for the base phones. I think I'll wait until Apple Intelligence is actually good before even considering to upgrade.
Click to expand...

I don't know why they have to be branded at all. Just offer both the regular iPhone and Pro in 2 screen sizes, all the internals remain the same other than a larger battery.
 
JPack said:
Given the average smartphone replacement cycle in the U.S. is 3-4 years, these guides should be comparing iPhone 13 or 14 with the 17. Such a guide would be far more meaningful.

If you bought iPhone 16 anywhere near full price, the iPhone 17 is going to make you cry a little.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've got a 13 Pro and if it ever craps out on me (still going strong!) I'm ordering a 17 right away. It ticks all the boxes for me. (There's a sliver of my thinking that wonders about the 8 GB vs 12 GB of RAM and the LiDAR scanner, but I hardly now what either of those things does for me right now.)
 
JPack said:
Given the average smartphone replacement cycle in the U.S. is 3-4 years, these guides should be comparing iPhone 13 or 14 with the 17. Such a guide would be far more meaningful.

If you bought iPhone 16 anywhere near full price, the iPhone 17 is going to make you cry a little.
Click to expand...

You just have to be happy that you have the 16 and skip the 17 ;)

But yes, the 17 is a big leap forward: the display and double the storage.
However, I don't like the colors at all this time.

Teal and ultramarine on the 16 are much nicer.
In October, I bought the 16 as a 256 GB version for the price of the 128 GB version.
 
JPack said:
these guides should be comparing iPhone 13 or 14 with the 17. Such a guide would be far more meaningful.
Click to expand...

My organization has a number of junior users. As a senior member of the organization and CIO, I get the newest equipment and the junior members with less experience get the older equipment that was formerly allocated to those in leadership.

In other words, I bought my iPhone 16 last year, but my kid that has an iPhone X could use an upgrade.

So it is convenient to know what changes I'll see when I get an iPhone 17 for myself. He'll get my year old iPhone 16, which should last him a good 5+ years.
 
jz0309 said:
Agree. I’m upgrading from 13PM to 17PM and I know that pretty much everything is an improvement but would be nice to see this table for older models
Click to expand...
Pick any phone you would like to compare in the link below all the way back to iPhone 7. I don't ever get a new iPhone without scrolling through it first.

Anytime this website does these comparisons, which they've done many of, they just regurgitate what is in the below link.

 
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Jeremy3292 said:
(6.3"-6.1") / 6.1" = 3.28%
Click to expand...
Screen area doesn’t grow linearly with screen diagonal, you can’t compute it like that. Pixel count is 5% higher and PPI is the same.

Besides, the more precise diagonals are 6.12” and 6.27”, making for only a 2.5% increase in diagonal.
 
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