iPhone 17 Review – why the 17 is the best value iPhone of the lot

Reviewing four phones in four days is impossible, so let’s be open and transparent about this – I put most of my time into the iPhone Air this last week. I switched my phone number to the Air and used it for all the main tests like battery life and usability.

However, I carried with me the three other phones – the iPhone 17 range if you like. Reflecting on the launch last week I knew iPhone 17 looked like the best value of the bunch, and spoiler alert – i was 100% right.

I can totally understand why the Pro Model iPhones are appealing to people – I’m struggling to fight back my desire for the multiple times optical zoom, I get that. Apple has packed the Pro with stunning cinematic level features in the cameras, but have a serious look at your photo library – you’re taking simple photos, basic videos and for that reason you probably don’t “need” the iPhone 17 Pro.

Taking really simple, basic point and shoot photos, there’s no way at all you’d know the difference between iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro

In fact, the photo on the left (17) I think has better colour in the trees compared to the Pro on the right.

The same in the shade pushing through trees into a setting sun, lots of great detail, clarity in the leaves and just a great photo all round

I switched to Portrait mode and had a look at how it would handle a complex plant in the foreground.

The 17 (L) did just as well as the Pro (R), with some of the detail blurred while a crisp foreground was able to highlight the plant.

No, the 17 couldn’t do the zoom of the Pro – that’s a deal breaker, but it gets back to the “how often do you use it?” question.

iPhone 17 has the same sized screen as the 17 Pro, and it’s larger than last year’s iPhone 16 – 6.3 inches while the actual phone has only changed in size by just millimeters.

Now contemplate that storage – this starts at 256GB – a doubling of the base level storage without a change in price? Bonus!

The screen just pops with thanks to the Pro Motion Display, and it’s maximum brightness matters when using it outdoors.

To seal the deal, iPhone 17 also has the new 18MP front facing selfie camera. This square sensor allows Apple to frame up four different photo angles with one lens.

While holding the phone in portrait (Upright) orientation you can take a close or wide selfie:

And while still holding it upright, you can take a wide or close selfie in landscape orientation without twisting your wrist.

Set up the automatic Center Stage adjustments and your phone will automatically re-frame based on who walks into your shot.

Anything Apple Intelligence the iPhone 17 Pro can do, the iPhone 17 can also do.

So tell me, why do you need the Pro?

Because you love the colour Orange that much?

iPhone 17 might just be the ultimate iPhone for anyone.

Web: Apple