We begin with the rear camera. Not much has changed here, or rather, it remains largely the same: While the iPhone 17 Pro and Air now feature new horizontal camera layouts, the standard 17 retains the two vertically stacked lenses seen in last year’s models. This means it’s the only iPhone 17 that visually resembles the iPhone 16 lineup — which could be seen as either positive or negative, based on your viewpoint.

While the dual rear cameras appear unchanged, there’s a significant upgrade. Both lenses now boast 48-megapixel sensors — a significant boost for the ultrawide, which was previously 12 megapixels. Apple claims that the main camera can function as a 2x telephoto lens, while the ultrawide camera handles macro photography. However, don’t expect the camera versatility found in the Pros — still, it surpasses the single lens on the Air. The selfie camera has also seen enhancement, now featuring an 18-megapixel sensor with Center Stage capabilities for automatic framing and orientation adjustment.

The standard iPhone typically lags behind in receiving the latest features Apple introduces to the Pros, but this year, it feels particularly overshadowed with the new Air and redesigned Pro. Nonetheless, the selfie camera improvements will be appreciated by those going for the base model, and the colors appear vibrantly saturated in real life.

The base iPhone 17 comes in five color choices: lavender, mist blue, black, white, and sage. These hues lean towards the softer, pastel side of the spectrum — oddly enough, for a vibrant appearance, you’ll need to opt for the 17 Pro’s striking orange color this year.

This doesn’t mean there are no updates. The iPhone 17 follows in last year’s 16 Pro models’ footsteps by reducing its bezel, resulting in a marginally larger display, increasing from the iPhone 16’s 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches now. This gives it the same screen size as the iPhone 17 Pro, providing one less incentive to upgrade.

Size isn’t the only upgrade, either. This is the first year that the base iPhone has included support for up to 120Hz refresh rates, finally matching a feature you can find on $200 Android phones. That should mean smoother scrolling and more fluid animations, helped along by the upgraded A19 chip — it’s a change that’s sometimes hard to notice at first, but is immediately apparent when you go back to a 60Hz screen. It’s also a brighter screen than before, with a peak outdoor brightness of 3,000 nits, and is protected by the new, tougher Ceramic Shield 2.

Throw in more power thanks to the updated A19 chipset, longer battery life, and support for faster 25W MagSafe charging, and the iPhone 17 is a bigger update than many of us expected.

The iPhone 17 starts at $799, the same price as the 16, but you get double the storage at 256GB. It’ll be available to order from this Friday, with devices hitting store shelves on September 19th.