Does the Latest iPhone 17 Actually Offer Anything New?
Every year, Apple gathers everyone together in its Cupertino base in California in order to announce the release of a new iPhone. Every year, the company makes out as if the new model is the latest and greatest and that you couldn’t possibly hope for anything better…until 12 months later.
The company’s loyal followers would no doubt tell you that there are huge advances from one iPhone to the next, but is there actually much truth to that?
What Apple wants you to do is to upgrade your phone every 12 months, but do people with an iPhone 16 really need to do that?
Notable Upgrades
As much as it is easy to be snarky when it comes to Apple’s desperate desire to sell everything that it puts out there as the latest and greatest, it is important to acknowledge that the iPhone 17 does have some notable upgrades over the iPhone 16. The most obvious one is in its size, with the new phone coming in at 5.89 x 2.81 x 0.31 inches, compared to the 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches.
Ok, it isn’t exactly night and day, but the new offering is a touch bigger and that might take heavy iPhone 16 users some time to get used to, with the screen size being 6.3 inches rather than 6.1. It also boasts the A19 chip as opposed to the A18 one.
@josiahmcroberts EVERYTHING that’s new with iPhone 17😀#iPhone17 ♬ original sound – josiahmcroberts
Other than that slight size difference, there isn’t a huge difference in how the two phones look. The 17’s screen is covered in the Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple claims is three times more resistant to being scratched than the previous version, but given the fact that most people will put them in a case and add a protective screen, it’s a bit ‘and what’.
One of the things that people might be interested in is the addition of the variable refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz, which allows users to engage the Always-On Display for the first time outside of the Pro range. That, alongside the improved camera, might win some people over.
What About the Pro Range?
What Apple have done quite cleverly over the years is introduce more and more versions of their iPhone, which has encouraged users to pick the ‘best’ device even if they don’t really need it. In 2025, the company has actually released four new phones, with the most attention-grabbing being the iPhone Air.
Whilst that ultra-thin offering will certainly win over some people, it is arguably the Pro line that has seen the biggest difference introduced. That is thanks to the fact that the company have brought in a bigger battery, alongside what it’s calling a ‘Vapour Chamber’ to keep it cool.
The A19 Pro chip is also in the new phone, meaning that the entire thing should run quicker and have a longer-lasting battery. Perhaps more important is the new system in the camera, which now has a 48-megapixel telephoto lens that offers an 8x optical zoom, should you really need to see something quite far away.
It is also worth noting that there is no longer a 128GB model, meaning that it starts at the bigger 256GB mark. The ‘plateau’ on the back of the phone for the cameras is the biggest physical difference, making it look more like a Google Pixel phone than the previous generation iPhone.
Is it Worth Upgrading?
Part of the problem with the human condition is that many of us will constantly be looking for something better. The fact that Apple have decided to replace the titanium chassis with a brushed aluminium unibody is the sort of thing that is designed to appeal to exactly that part of our nature, even if most of us will stick our device in a case and never really think about the body of the phone.
The only thing that most people will want to know is whether or not it is worth upgrading and the answer to that question is an entirely personal one, based on several different criteria.
iPhone 5s was the best design ergonomically. Perfect size to reach across the screen with one thumb, no camera bulge, fingerprint sensor, nice materials, and 33% lighter than the latest iPhone 17 Air. pic.twitter.com/DAWnhzj20p
— Daniel Vassallo (@dvassallo) September 9, 2025
If you have only recently bought an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro, the reality is that the difference between the old phone and the new one won’t be big enough to mean that an upgrade is necessary. If, on the other hand, you’re still rocking one of the older phones, then the need to look at the new one is greater.
Of course, how you use the phone will ultimately be the most important factor. If you tend to take hundreds of photographs every time you leave the house, you might well want to think about the cameras on offer in the iPhone 17 Pro. If you just use it to go on Twitter and argue with people, your current phone will do just fine.