Apple iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 16
Apple's iPhone 17 may look like business as usual at first glance, but this year's update is a bigger jump than we've come to expect from the vanilla line. In fact, the jump from the iPhone 16 to the iPhone 17 feels like one of the more meaningful generational steps we've seen in recent years.
Of course, the iPhone 16 remains a solid performer. But compared side by side, the iPhone 17 clearly feels like the more modern and complete package - not just a small refinement, but a proper evolution for Apple's mainstream iPhone.
However, as a few of our test findings will suggest, newer is not always better.
Table of Contents:
For starters, you can compare the complete specs sheets or directly continue with our editor's assessment in the following video or in the text below.
Size comparison
The iPhone 17 has grown just a touch this year to make room for its new, larger 6.3-inch display. It's approximately 2 mm taller and slightly thicker than the iPhone 16, although its width remains almost identical. In practice, the difference in size is barely perceptible - the new model still feels compact, balanced, and easy to handle, true to the spirit of Apple's standard iPhones.
Weight has gone up marginally to 177 grams, which won't be noticed in everyday use. The familiar aluminum frame and flat glass panels are back once again, now protected by the improved Ceramic Shield 2 glass and retaining the same IP68 water-resistance rating.
Unlike the iPhone 17 Pro models, Apple didn't shake up the design language of the vanilla iPhone this year - no titanium frame, no new glass "window" insert, and no dramatic styling changes. It's the same clean, classic look that many users prefer, though others might see it as a bit too conservative compared to the fresh aesthetic of the Pros.
All told, the iPhone 17 is only fractionally larger and heavier than its predecessor while maintaining the same sleek, pocket-friendly feel - a subtle evolution rather than a reinvention.
Display comparison
The display is where the iPhone 17 makes its biggest and most overdue leap. After years of 60 Hz panels on the vanilla models, Apple has finally brought a 120 Hz LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED to the standard iPhone. It's not just smoother - it's smarter too, with adaptive refresh down to 1 Hz, which has allowed for adding the Always On Display feature, while enjoying the same premium scrolling feel the Pro models have had for years.
The panel itself is a bit larger this year at 6.3 inches, up from 6.1 inches on the iPhone 16, and it keeps the familiar 460 ppi sharpness thanks to the slightly higher 1206 × 2622 px resolution. Color accuracy, HDR performance, and contrast remain excellent, with full support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision.
When it comes to maximum brightness, interestingly, both iPhones can output the same level of max brightness in Auto mode, but the iPhone 17 was quick to drop it down while the iPhone 16 maintained it for longer. So we had no choice but to demote the iPhone 17 result to the level of brightness it can sustain reliably. With its anti-reflective coating, however, it also needs less brightness to overcome glare outside when it's sunny.
In short, this is the first year the regular iPhone truly feels "Pro-grade" display-wise. The iPhone 16 still looks great, but its 60 Hz OLED now feels decidedly last-gen next to the 17's silky-smooth, more efficient LTPO panel.
Battery life
The iPhone 17 comes with a slightly larger 3,692 mAh battery compared to the iPhone 16's 3,561 mAh unit. On paper, that's a modest upgrade, but paired with the new, more efficient A19 chip and the LTPO display that can drop its refresh rate down to 1 Hz, it contributes to slightly better power management overall.
In our testing, the two phones delivered very close results - the iPhone 17 posted an Active Use Score of 14:59 hours, while the iPhone 16 managed 15:42 hours. The difference is small enough not to matter in daily use - the newer model benefits from smoother adaptive refresh to more than make up for that difference.
Charging speed
Charging remains one of the iPhone line's more conservative areas, though the iPhone 17 finally takes a small step forward. It supports the newer PD 3.2 standard with AVS negotiation, officially rated at up to 35-40W. In our testing, the iPhone 17 caps at around 29W with most Apple and third-party chargers we tried, but the upgraded protocol allegedly ensures more efficient charging.
In our wired charging test, the new model was able to top up slightly more in half an hour, and a full charge was noticeably faster than the iPhone 16.
Wireless charging also remains similar in speed, with MagSafe and Qi2 support offering up to 25W on both models (since iOS26).
Speaker test
Both iPhones rely on Apple's familiar hybrid stereo speaker setup, with the earpiece acting as the secondary channel and the main speaker firing from the bottom of the frame. The overall sound remains excellent, full-bodied, clean, and balanced, with convincing depth and stereo separation that are among the best in the segment.
That said, the iPhone 17 measures slightly quieter than its predecessor. It achieved a Good loudness score of –27.5 LUFS, while the iPhone 16 managed a Very Good –25.5 LUFS. The drop isn't dramatic but noticeable in side-by-side playback, and it mirrors what we've seen across the entire iPhone 17 lineup this year - the Pro models are also a touch quieter than before, possibly due to altered speaker tuning or smaller acoustic chambers.
In terms of tonal balance, both phones deliver similarly rich output. The iPhone 17 still offers deep bass, clear mids, and smooth highs, maintaining Apple's hallmark audio quality even if it no longer tops the charts in sheer loudness. The iPhone 16, on the other hand, sounds virtually identical in character but has the edge in overall volume, giving it a slightly livelier presentation.
In short, the iPhone 16 is the louder of the two, but the iPhone 17 sounds just as refined - arguably even a bit more controlled and natural at higher volumes. Either way, both remain excellent performers for multimedia and casual music playback.
Performance
Under the hood, the iPhone 17 runs on Apple's new A19 chipset, which is still built on a 3nm process but features updated CPU and GPU clusters for improved efficiency and thermal control. The architecture delivers higher peak performance with improved sustained output.
Apple has also streamlined memory and storage configurations this year. The base iPhone 17 now starts at 256 GB of storage, double what the iPhone 16 offered at its entry level, while both models share 8 GB of RAM. The new chip's enhanced neural engine and media subsystems also enable faster photo processing, improved on-device AI capabilities, and smoother overall camera and system performance. Still, technically, both devices support the Apple Intelligence features.
In day-to-day use, the difference between the two phones is subtle in light tasks but becomes noticeable under heavier workloads or gaming, where the A19 maintains higher sustained performance and runs cooler. Combined with the higher base storage and improved efficiency, the iPhone 17 feels like the more capable and better-balanced performer, even if the iPhone 16 still delivers flagship-grade responsiveness. The iPhone 17 would definitely give you better future-proofing in terms of system performance.
Benchmark performance
Synthetic benchmarks show a clear performance lead for the iPhone 17's new A19 chipset across the board. In AnTuTu 10, it posts a healthy 20% jump over the iPhone 16. The gains carry through to Geekbench 6, where the iPhone 17 reaches 9,360 points, up from 7,929, confirming tangible CPU and efficiency improvements.
Graphics performance, on the other hand, appears to be almost identical despite the updated 5-core Apple GPU. In 3DMark Wild Life Extreme, the iPhone 17 scores 4,803, compared to 4,295 on the iPhone 16 — not a massive leap, but enough to deliver steadier frame rates and improved thermals during prolonged gaming or heavy 3D workloads.
In real-world use, the iPhone 17 feels every bit as fast and responsive as the numbers suggest. It maintains its higher performance for longer under load, thanks to improved thermal management and the efficiency of the LTPO display working alongside the A19. The iPhone 16 remains a strong performer, but next to its successor, it now feels a step behind in both raw power and sustained output.
Camera comparison
Both the iPhone 17 and iPhone 16 use a 48MP 1/1.56" main sensor with f/1.6 lens, dual-pixel PDAF and sensor-shift OIS - effectively the same hardware generation.
The bigger shift is the ultrawide: the iPhone 17 upgrades to a 48MP unit that mirrors what Apple puts on the Pro models. The iPhone 16's ultrawide is 12MP, again with AF.
Selfies also tilt in favor of the new model: the iPhone 17 debuts a multi-aspect 18MP PDAF selfie camera with OIS, capturing higher-res, more flexible framing (landscape/portrait at full res). The iPhone 16 retains the tried-and-true 12MP PDAF selfie, which is sharp and reliable, albeit less detailed overall.
Image quality
In daylight from the main camera, the two iPhones are quite close quality-wise, with the same rendition and dynamic range.
Main camera samples: Apple iPhone 17 • Apple iPhone 16
At 2x, both phones crop from the main sensor. The iPhone 17's 12MP crops look convincingly "optical" in good light with excellent detail, but only if you are into pixel peeping. The iPhone 16's 2x is solid and low-noise, though its digital zoom is a clearer step down from 1x.
Main camera 2x zoom samples: Apple iPhone 17 • Apple iPhone 16
The ultrawide is where the iPhone 17 stands out, but only on paper. Its 48MP sensor outputs 24MP by default but the higher resolution gives you only a minor increase in resolved detail, while the general rendition remains quite similar between the two phones.
Ultrawide camera samples: Apple iPhone 17 • Apple iPhone 16
Selfies are another win for the iPhone 17 on paper. The iPhone 17 may come out on top, but only because of the more flexible framing offered by the 18MP multi-aspect sensor, which is unique in the smartphone world. Other than that, both iPhones take nice-looking, sharp selfies, and neither one takes the lead in image quality.
Selfie camera samples: Apple iPhone 17 • Apple iPhone 16
In low light, the main cameras of the two phones do an equally commendable job, with great detail and dynamic range.
Main camera low-light samples: Apple iPhone 17 • Apple iPhone 16
The zoom results in the dark are very usable from both but the iPhone 17 has a slight edge in detail again.
Main camera 2x zoom low-light samples: Apple iPhone 17 • Apple iPhone 16
At night neither ultrawide does a great job. But the iPhone 17 has the option to toggle on a night mode, which is slow, but improves the results.
Ultrawide camera low-light samples: Apple iPhone 17 • Apple iPhone 16
Video quality
Below we have a few framegrabs from the videos taken by the two phones at each focal length, so it's easier to compare them to one another.
In good light from the main camera, both phones record excellent 4K footage. The quality is equally great either way.
Video samples: Apple iPhone 17 • Apple iPhone 16
Ultrawide video is very likable on both.
After dark, the main-camera footage comes out nicely from either iPhone, and the 2x zoomed video is decent. The low-light ultrawide video isn't great, but it's usable.
Low-light video samples: Apple iPhone 17 • Apple iPhone 16
Stabilization is always on and consistently effective on both models across all cameras and frame rates. Walking shots appear steady, pans are smooth, and micro-jitter is well-controlled. There's no meaningful advantage for either here — both are among the most stable shooters in the segment.
Verdict
The vanilla iPhone 17 represents one of the more substantial year-on-year updates in Apple's recent lineup history. It may look largely familiar on the outside, sticking to the traditional aesthetic rather than adopting the more radical design shake-up of the Pro models, but beneath that familiar exterior lies a phone that pushes the "standard" iPhone closer to Pro territory than ever.
One of the biggest upgrades this year is the display. The iPhone 17 finally adopts an LTPO OLED panel with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, aligning it with Apple's Pro devices. The result is an Always-On Display capability as well as a smoother, more responsive experience throughout the interface. Combined with the new A19 chipset, the phone feels notably faster and more fluid in daily use.
The performance leap brought by the new SoC is tangible and the increased 256GB base storage feels like an overdue but very welcome move. The new 48MP ultrawide camera is a welcome step-up, while the 18MP selfie shooter raises the bar for front-facing photography. Battery life remains reliably strong, ensuring the iPhone 17 feels like a more complete all-rounder.
That said, the iPhone 16 still holds up admirably more than a year after its release. Its main camera output remains competitive, and its overall performance, battery life, and excellent video capture make it far from obsolete. In fact, with prices now dipping, it arguably offers the better value if you're not after the very latest hardware or the higher storage tier.
Ultimately, the iPhone 17 is the model to get if you want a truly modern iPhone experience without going Pro — a phone that's faster, better equipped, smoother to use, and more future-proof.
However, if you're upgrading from an older model and want to save a few hundred bucks, the iPhone 16 remains a reliable device to recommend. You won't feel short-changed either way, but this year, Apple's standard model makes a stronger case for itself than it has in a long time.
- The larger and smoother 120Hz LTPO OLED with AOD.
- The faster and more efficient A19 chipset.
- The multi-aspect 18MP selfie camera.
- The faster charging times to 100%.
- The longer battery life in video playback and gaming in our battery tests.
- 256GB base storage tier as standard.
Get the Apple iPhone 17 for:
| 256GB 8GB RAM | $ 853.84 | £ 738.00 |
| 512GB 8GB RAM | £ 899.00 | € 1,164.00 |
| Show all prices | ||
- The lower price for largely the same user experience.
- The objectively louder speakers.
- The longer web browsing and call times in our battery tests.
Get the Apple iPhone 16 for:
| 128GB 8GB RAM | $ 456.94 | C$ 908.71 |
| 256GB 8GB RAM | $ 524.18 | C$ 1,001.23 |
| Show all prices | ||
Reader comments
- no1
- 7RR
its not just 120Hz, it is LTPO, it works 1Hz-120Hz you who usually use midrange phone daily, dont know this
- Anonymous
- uSQ
There is literally a link to compare the complete specs sheet in the article ffs
