iPhone 17: 5 new features that'll make you upgrade

After months of rumors and leaks, Apple's iPhone 17 series is finally here. It brings with it a series of upgrades and improvements that, depending on the phone model you currently have, might make the new phones worth upgrading to.

All of the models in the iPhone 17 lineup get big improvements over their predecessors, and the base models even get some features that were previously only available on Pro devices. In other words, while you may not be due for an upgrade if you have an iPhone 16, if you have anything older than that, an iPhone 17 model might be tempting.

Curious about the features on offer in the iPhone 17 series, and whether or not they’re big enough to convince you to upgrade? Here’s a look.

A thinner design

It turns out the rumors were true. While the new iPhone Air technically isn't part of the "iPhone 17 series" in name, it is being released at the same time and has many of the same features. The iPhone Air has a much thinner build than previous-generation iPhone models (only 5.6mm), but it still has a 6.5-inch ProMotion display, Apple’s new A19 Pro processor, and more.

However, the thinner build has some trade-offs. The battery life is likely to be lower than that of the models in the iPhone 17 lineup, though Apple says it has redesigned the battery and introduced new efficiency features in iOS 26 to help offset this. There’s only one camera on the back — though it is a pretty capable camera that still has two-times lossless zoom. If you don't care about those trade-offs and want something thin and light, then the iPhone Air might be for you.

A better screen

The base iPhone 17 is getting features that many consider to be long overdue, including a high refresh rate screen. Previously, ProMotion displays that can reach 120Hz were reserved for Pro iPhone models only, despite the fact that plenty of cheaper Android phones have started getting these features for a number of years now.

On the iPhone 17, the ProMotion display can range from 1Hz to 120Hz. That means that when content on the screen is static, the refresh rate can be lower to save battery life, and when animations are on the screen or you’re scrolling, it can range up to 120Hz to make the software feel nice and smooth.

Faster performance

Like every year, Apple has launched a new processor for the iPhone 17 series. The iPhone 17 gets the A19 chip, which Apple says offers 20 percent better graphics performance for the ProMotion screen. This will also impact things like gaming and Apple Intelligence performance. 

As always, there's an even better chip for the new Pro iPhones. The Apple A19 Pro chip is Apple's most powerful iPhone chip to date. Apple says it delivers up to 40 percent faster sustained performance. It has a six-core CPU, along with a six-core GPU, that works in tandem with a new 16-core Neural Engine for AI performance. iPhone 17 Pro devices have other performance upgrades, too. Notably, they have a new vapor chamber that's designed to better cool the A19 Pro, which should help it perform better for longer periods of time.

A better camera

All of the iPhone 17 models have better cameras, and, as usual, the Pro model gets the best updates. 

The base iPhone 17's biggest camera upgrade is perhaps on the front rather than the back. On the iPhone 17, there's now a Center Stage front-facing camera. On the iPhone 17, the camera is also a Center Stage, which has a square sensor that allows the phone to better frame a shot when the image is cropped. That square sensor also allows users to take landscape selfies without having to rotate their phone, plus there's a new Dual Capture feature that lets users take a photo on both the front-facing and rear-facing cameras at the same time. On the back, you'll get a 48 megapixel main camera along with a 48 megapixel ultrawide camera that Apple says can capture up to four times the resolution compared to the ultrawide camera on the iPhone 16.

Even better are the upgrades to the iPhone 17 Pro. Like before, there are three cameras on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro, but that includes a new telephoto camera that can capture eight-times optical quality zoom. Apple says that the telephoto camera is 56 percent larger than the previous generation telephoto camera on the iPhone 16 Pro, which means it can capture sharper photos in good lighting and more detail in low lighting. The iPhone 17 Pro also gets the new square front-facing sensor.

Better durability

We've all had the experience of accidentally smashing a screen or other glass on a phone, but the iPhone 17 series and new iPhone Air are more durable than before.

All of the devices in the lineup use Apple's new Ceramic Shield 2 glass, which it says can deliver three times better scratch resistance. The fronts will have the new Ceramic Shield 2 glass, while the backs will have the previous generation Ceramic Shield glass, but that still should make for solid durability overall.