Why upgrading to iPhone 17 after a year made sense for a casual user like me

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ZDNET Key Takeaways

• The iPhone 17 offers significant generational improvements in display, camera, and battery capacity.
• Despite its base model configuration, it has several improvements over last year’s Pro model.
• It’s a solid option for iOS fans who don’t want to pay extra for upgraded features.

There are many people who live to look beyond the edge of mobile innovation. They live for phones that are as thin as possible, that fold in three, or that have cameras with impeccable super zoom technology without missing a beat. I’m not one of those people.

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Although I live in the realm of entry-level iPhone models, I’ve always been intrigued by Apple’s latest mobile features. But Apple hides its best innovations behind its four-figure-priced Pro line, and the idea of ​​paying as much for a phone as I did for my MacBook Air M2 just a few years ago seems sacrilege.

Since I’m not a power user, I’m not someone who upgrades my phone every year, and certainly not to a Pro model. However, I made an exception for the iPhone 17 in my personal update cycle. These features explain exactly why.

1. Earnings on small screens that add up

For the first time, Apple gave a base model iPhone with a 6.3-inch always-on display. and ProMotion technology. Therefore, the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro have exactly the same display specifications. When the iPhone 17 specs were announced in September, as excited as I was about the level playing field in the display category, I severely underestimated the difference a 120Hz refresh rate would make, and it’s arguably the best upgrade Apple could have made to its base model phones.

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ProMotion adapts your device’s refresh rate, offering higher rates up to 120Hz for dynamic content and lower rates up to 10Hz for static content. The most obvious difference I immediately noticed between my iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 was in the Liquid Glass animations and scrolling through my daily news. Overall, the iPhone 17 provided me with a smoother and more enjoyable interface compared to my iPhone 16.

The always-on display makes it easy to see notifications, widgets, and live activities without needing to unlock my phone, another benefit I didn’t realize I was missing until now. Although an increase in screen size from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches seems insignificant on paper, it is noticeable in practice. Without the increased size making the phone feel too big in my hand, pocket or bag, its larger size makes a difference to my eyes, especially when reading on my phone.

Aside from the flashier display features, the iPhone 17 shares a resolution of 2622 x 1206 pixels and a maximum brightness of 3000 nits with the iPhone 17 Pro. These aren’t features I was ever willing to pay extra money for, but they are great benefits for casual users like me.

2. Not the camera upgrade I expected

I don’t feel like my lifestyle requires the pro-level camera systems found in Apple’s high-end iPhone lineup, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the finer details. The iPhone 17 offers some rear camera improvements over its predecessor, notably the introduction of a 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera to improve photo quality. Still, I was more interested in the Center Stage front camera.

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With the announcement of the iPhone 17 lineup, I was surprised to see Apple bring a new camera feature to the base model phones, the first major front-facing camera update since the iPhone 11.

The Center Stage camera uses AI and a new square camera sensor to expand the front camera’s field of view, allowing you to take selfies in landscape mode without needing to rotate the phone horizontally. It also intelligently zooms and rotates the photo orientation to include all people in the photo frame.

This feature was particularly helpful when my sister, mom, and I were attending a local Christmas market and wanted to take a selfie with the giant Christmas tree. The line was long and I didn’t have much time to set up the camera or position it correctly to include the three of us and the tree.

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You’ll also see the Center Stage camera in action on FaceTime and video calls, using its technology to always keep your face in frame. The iPhone 17’s camera improvements also show up when taking videos, offering ultra-stabilized video capture, Center Stage for front camera videos, and Dual Capture, which records video from the front and rear cameras simultaneously.

Although Apple’s Pro line includes a more advanced triple camera system, the iPhone 17 has an advantage over previous Pro generations with its integration of Center Stage camera technology and new video recording capabilities. While I don’t see myself using all of these new camera features often (as a truly casual user), I’m glad I didn’t pay more for them.

3. Battery and charging

Although I am a very casual iPhone user, I spend a considerable amount of time on my phone and could benefit from an improvement in battery capacity. The iPhone 17 has an estimated battery capacity of 3,629 mAh, which Apple says translates to up to 30 hours of video playback. Compared to the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16’s estimated battery capacity of 3,561 mAh translates to up to 22 hours of video playback.

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The increase in battery capacity from the iPhone 16 to the iPhone 17 is the largest increase Apple has given to a base model phone; The largest generational increases are usually reserved for the Pro models. Still, the battery capacity of the iPhone 17 is slightly larger than that of the iPhone 16 Pro.

ZDNET Buying Tips

Some people often buy Apple’s Pro-level phones, headsets, and computers to enjoy their luxurious hardware experiences, without realizing that they are paying for features they may never use. although ITelephone 17 Lacking the immediately recognizable triple camera setup and the eye-catching Cosmic Orange color, it’s the cheapest iPhone for people who want advanced features without spending a fortune.

Even if you don’t engage in mobile gaming and maximize the ProMotion display, or never use the dual capture feature and don’t care about the enhanced AI processing on the device, you can rest assured that you didn’t overpay for those unused features. Apple gave the iPhone 17 a notable facelift, something uncharacteristic of its base model phones, so if there’s a generation that deserves an early refresh, it’s this one.