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

Yuuuki said:
Wait wait wait what? The 17 has hold up only 34 mins longer than the 16???? wtf? Where gets Apple the mentioned 8 hours longer battery life from? Yeah I know its not real life use numbers, but this still sucks if thats really true.
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I've found the battery of my 16 to be phenomenal.
 
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ericg301 said:
I've found the battery of my 16 to be phenomenal.
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I cant comment on that, only had the 16 Pro (not anymore currently) ...but I think they both have about the same battery life? I just hope the 17 will be fine for day to day use. 😅
 
I’m so annoyed that Apple dropped the Plus this year in favor of the form over function mess that is the Air. If they had a 6.9” Plus phone I would have switched from the Pro line, which is probably why they didn’t do it.
 
I can’t decide between the iPhone 17 and a 16 Pro Max.

Can’t really justify the price of a 17 Pro Max, like the Max screen size but think the 17 would be a better phone in most other ways. Decisions, decisions.
 
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If only Apple would’ve been a little more “generous” and given it 12GB of RAM. I guess they need to motivate base 17 owners to upgrade in two or three years when their phones become sluggish.
 
So the whole "30 hours of video playback" was simply a meaningless marketing point when it comes to real world usage?
 
dampfnudel said:
If only Apple would’ve been a little more “generous” and given it 12GB of RAM. I guess they need to motivate base 17 owners to upgrade in two or three years when their phones become sluggish.
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My X has lasted 8 years, and it only has 3 GB of RAM. I'm only replacing it because iOS 16
 
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Interesting that according to at least one test, the Air gets substantially warmer than the base 17 when doing the same things. But another test done by Tom's Guide's Mark Spoonauer found this:

"More surprisingly, the iPhone Air turned in cooler temperatures than the Pro Max when we measured the back of the phones using a laser thermometer in 5 locations and averaged the results."

Neither the Air nor the base 17 have a vapor chamber, but the Pro models do, so that doesn't seem to be a reliable factor for predicting temperatures in real use. Maybe the inconsistencies are in the testing methods. It would be interesting to know how warm the Pro models get when doing the same things as on the base 17 and the Air, to see if the Pros' vapor chamber allows them to run even less warmly than the base 17. A vapor chamber might not have been possible for the Air since it would have increased the Air's thickness above Apple's target.
 
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OzPeyter said:
My X has lasted 8 years, and it only has 3 GB of RAM. I'm only replacing it because iOS 16
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The 17 will be a huge upgrade over the X for you and by the way I still have my X. It’s part of my iPhone museum which also includes my first iPhone, the 4S. As for the 8GB of the 17, I suspect that will lead to limitations with AI in the coming years.

It just would’ve been nice if the 17 got the same onboard capabilities when it comes to AI without any limitations or increased dependency on servers.
 
johnsawyercjs said:
Interesting that the Air gets substantially warmer than the base 17 when doing the same things. Neither one has a vapor chamber, since that's limited to the Pro models, so that's not the difference. It would be interesting to know how warm the Pro models get when doing the same things as on the base 17 and the Air, to see if the Pros' vapor chamber allows them to run even less warmly than the base 17. A vapor chamber might not have been possible for the Air since it would have increased the Air's thickness above Apple's target.
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Sometimes thicker is better.
 
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It think the normal 17 is a fantastic phone. With ProMotion, better cameras, more storage, slightly bigger screen, better battery life and a newer processor, it is a fantastic iPhone. Will easily recommend getting one over the 16. Colors could have been better. Between the 17 and 17 Pro (not Max), other than the camera difference, think most will be happy with the 17 and save the $300. Don't think the performance difference will be noticeable on a daily basis.
 
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Shills or not I get to the see the hardware / GUI in good quality - If I am at the level of buying a 1000 quid phone just cause some YT "celebrity" says its a good phone then more fool me ?
 
KALLT said:
Consider also: if you are planning to keep the device for 7 years or more, you likely have to replace the batteries, maybe even more than once. This is not an insignificant cost.
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That definitely used to be an issue 6+ years ago... these days it seems like I'm always near a charger so it never matters anymore. IDK if it was the pandemic and work-from-home or just phases of life or what but I replaced my 8+ long before it felt like the battery needed replacement.
 
KALLT said:
Consider also: if you are planning to keep the device for 7 years or more, you likely have to replace the batteries, maybe even more than once. This is not an insignificant cost.
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I'm still on the original battery for my iPhone X and can charge it 2-3 times per day (but that is not an inconvenience for me) and I did consider replacing the battery this year. Apple quotes $90 for the job. iFixit sells a kit for $40. I don't consider that a significant cost when the alternative is a new phone.
 
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