iPhone 17 The REAL Reason the iPhone 17 Is This Year’s BEST iPhone…

[joshwithachance]

It’s not the gorgeous 120Hz display, it’s not the sweet color options, it’s not even the INCREDIBLE value proposition…

IT’S THE BOTTOM SPEAKER STILL BEING ON THE RIGHT SIDE.🙌🏼

 

[jntdroid]

It’s not the 120Hz display, it’s not the sweet color options, it’s not even the INCREDIBLE value proposition…

IT’S THE BOTTOM SPEAKER STILL BEING ON THE RIGHT SIDE.🙌🏼

Lol... I have to admit when I tried out the 17p for a bit, that was something I didn't think I was "used" to... but quickly found out that was an odd habit I didn't realize I had (occasionally putting the bottom grill up to my ear to hear something).

 

[joshwithachance]

Lol... I have to admit when I tried out the 17p for a bit, that was something I didn't think I was "used" to... but quickly found out that was an odd habit I didn't realize I had (occasionally putting the bottom grill up to my ear to hear something).

I noticed it right away because I was always blocking it when using my phone in landscape or watching a video. Honestly prefer the base 17 SOLELY for this reason. At least when it comes to listening to music or watching videos anyway. Especially since I find the sound quality to be a bit better (fuller?) too surprisingly.👀

 

[geta]

The 17 is a great phone, but the 16e is better value for money.

 

[snipr125]

The 17 is a great phone, but the 16e is better value for money.

16e is cheaper for sure with excellent battery life, but overall imo the 17 is like the peoples phone, its good at everything with literally no compromises.

 

[joshwithachance]

The 17 is a great phone, but the 16e is better value for money.

No it's not. For only $200 more you get a 120Hz 3000 nit display, A19 chip, MagSafe, dual cameras and double the storage with the 17 vs 16e.

 

[super chimp]

So where are the speakers on the Pro models then, aren’t they in the same place as the base 17?

 

[joshwithachance]

So where are the speakers on the Pro models then, aren’t they in the same place as the base 17?

Nope. For some reason Apple moved the bottom speaker to the left side. And it sounds noticeably worse imo, on top of being much easier to block in regular use.

 

[geta]

No it's not. For only $200 more you get a 120Hz 3000 nit display, A19 chip, MagSafe, dual cameras and double the storage with the 17 vs 16e.

More like €300 here... so not really worth it for the differences you mentioned. As for the A19 chip, the 16e came out before it was available… and the next 17e will also get it.

 

[joshwithachance]

More like €300 here... so not really worth it for the differences you mentioned. As for the A19 chip, the 16e came out before it was available… and the next 17e will also get it.

Still worth it imo. 60Hz going into 2026 is a ****ing CRIME.

 

[winxmac]

iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 are just like the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro but with 2x optical quality instead of a dedicated telephoto.

iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 are the spiritual successors of the iPhone X and iPhone XS.

iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 look better compared to iPhone 11 and iPhone 12.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Sorry OP, but for my money the 17 Pro versions are well worth the extra cost.

 

[super chimp]

Nope. For some reason Apple moved the bottom speaker to the left side. And it sounds noticeably worse imo, on top of being much easier to block in regular use.

How bizarre. I wonder why they did that. I wonder if it affects speakerphone performance noticeably.

 

[joshwithachance]

Sorry OP, but for my money the 17 Pro versions are well worth the extra cost.

The Pros just feel so... uninspired and undesirable to me this year. Which is shocking, because I've been a Pro Max user since the 11.

 

[petershaw_]

speakers are great but i’m shocked how bad the mic is on my base17 compared to the 15pro i’ve had before. notice it when taking videos ore sending voice messages

 

[Ctrlos]

Maybe I’m a crotchety old sod but I just don’t get why phone speakers would be a selling point at all. The iPhone Air sounds worse than other models but they were already crap to start with. If I’m watching a video outside my house I’ll probably have AirPods in; if I’m at home I have a TV. I have a couple of Homepod Mini’s for music at home and any sensible shower not involving a romantic partner doesn’t even last the length of a rock song. If you put better speakers in these things it just encourages more people to initial a private public conversation on their phone that make it look like they’re eating a slice of toast.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

Still worth it imo. 60Hz going into 2026 is a ****ing CRIME.

I realised I was using one of my 4k 28" monitors at 30Hz. It only took me a month to notice it. Even now, knowing one of them is at 30Hz and one at 60Hz, I have to wave things around between the screens to figure out which one it is! I can't tell 120Hz without a lot of close and detailed examination. There are a LOT of different properties of a screen that are more important than the refresh rate (to a point).

 

[uacd]

The sad thing is that iPhone 17 still has ancient USB 2.0 port, hence slow image transfer speeds and no HDMI out, so you are only left with AirPlay mirroring and won’t be able to connect iPhone by wire whenever you need.

Idk whether I should upgrade to it from my 11 Pro. Technically better, factually - same. No Pro photo and video formats, no normal 5x or at least some optical 3x telephoto like many Samsungs. At the same time I am not too inclined into any of the Pro models.

Recently I’ve seen some examples from 0.5x made on one of these recent iPhones and well, why people like it so much vs telephoto? It performs very bad indoors, thanks to noise reduction image looks mushy, edges are all skewed and you can see edge blur which kinda hints at poor lens quality. It is barely usable. Telephoto would have at least allowed some distant reach. Maybe in next iPhone iterations I guess🤷‍♂️

 

[Ctrlos]

The sad thing is that iPhone 17 still has ancient USB 2.0 port, hence slow image transfer speeds and no HDMI out, so you are only left with AirPlay mirroring and won’t be able to connect iPhone by wire whenever you need.

Idk whether I should upgrade to it from my 11 Pro. Technically better, factually - same. No Pro photo and video formats, no normal 5x or at least some optical 3x telephoto like many Samsungs. At the same time I am not too inclined into any of the Pro models.

Recently I’ve seen some examples from 0.5x made on one of these recent iPhones and well, why people like it so much vs telephoto? It performs very bad indoors, thanks to noise reduction image looks mushy, edges are all skewed and you can see edge blur which kinda hints at poor lens quality. It is barely usable. Telephoto would have at least allowed some distant reach. Maybe in next iPhone iterations I guess🤷‍♂️

The iPhone 17 does support HDMI out though. The 16e doesn’t have it because Apple and the Air lacks it because the 3D printer port doesn’t support the extra cable contacts.

 

[Elusi]

Recently I’ve seen some examples from 0.5x made on one of these recent iPhones and well, why people like it so much vs telephoto? It performs very bad indoors, thanks to noise reduction image looks mushy, edges are all skewed and you can see edge blur which kinda hints at poor lens quality. It is barely usable. Telephoto would have at least allowed some distant reach. Maybe in next iPhone iterations I guess🤷‍♂️

It's just a good utility lens. Most photos I take aren't intended for art galleries anyway. They need to include all the stuff I want to show or document. With the ultrawide I can stand close to something and still capture all of it. It also enables baseline macro photography.

For example when out shopping and needing to send a picture of a product shelf to someone else so they can say which damn bag of coffee is the one they want, there is another shelf behind me so I can't back down and panorama is a bit of a nightmare. Just pinch to zoom out a little and the entire shelf is captured.

 

[uacd]

The iPhone 17 does support HDMI out though. The 16e doesn’t have it because Apple and the Air lacks it because the 3D printer port doesn’t support the extra cable contacts.

Thank you for the info. Hmm, I guess some spec websites may be wrong then, I’ve heard some reviewers say it doesn’t. Well, at least something good🙂 A huge advantage over most budget/mid-tier droids

 

[Parowdy]

The 17 is a great phone, but the 16e is better value for money.

A newer chip with like her support and more RAM, double the starting storage, brighter screen with ProMotion, dual camera system, Dynamic Island, always on display,… for just a couple hundred more you get double the phone.

 

[Parowdy]

iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 are just like the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro but with 2x optical quality instead of a dedicated telephoto.

iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 are the spiritual successors of the iPhone X and iPhone XS.

iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 look better compared to iPhone 11 and iPhone 12.

The biggest upgrade from the X to the Xs, as far as I remember, were the stereo mics and the Plus model. The rest stayed the same.
The 16 was a good phone with obvious drawbacks, mostly the screen refresh rate and the starting storage. Both things the 17 fixed in addition to having upgraded ultra wide and front cameras.
Unlike the X and Xs the 16 and 17 look alike but are vastly different devices.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

No it's not. For only $200 more you get a 120Hz 3000 nit display, A19 chip, MagSafe, dual cameras and double the storage with the 17 vs 16e.

Almost no one pays full price for the 16e...you can routinely find the 16e for >$200, on prepaid and out the door. No contract/payments.

For example:

Apple iPhone 16e Prepaid: Price, Specs & Deals | Metro by T-Mobile

Shop the latest deals on iPhone 16e at Metro. iPhone 16e sports supersized battery life and is built for Apple Intelligence & hi-res photography. Get yours at Metro today!

www.metrobyt-mobile.com

 

[geta]

A newer chip with like her support and more RAM, double the starting storage, brighter screen with ProMotion, dual camera system, Dynamic Island, always on display,… for just a couple hundred more you get double the phone.

Sure, pay extra €300 if you value all these things. However people buying 16e mainly care about lower price and good battery life.

As for the newer chip, read post #19.