Apple iPhone 17 ZDNET's key takeaways The iPhone 17 starts at $799 with 256GB of base storage The biggest upgrades are a new 120Hz ProMotion display and 18MP front camera. You'll still have to settle for not having a telephoto lens, and battery life is average. View now at Apple View now at Verizon View now at Best Buy more buying choices Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Base model iPhones are often overlooked. Apple's launch of the iPhone 17 lineup made that even more the case, with the ultra-thin iPhone Air and the Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro stealing all the attention. However, several weeks spent with the iPhone 17 have made it evident that it's the biggest win of the product season for most users. The best part is that despite the upgrades, the latest iPhone model retails for the same price as its predecessor, but with double the storage (256GB). Also: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max review: I've got one big reason to recommend a year-over-year upgrade More recently, I took the iPhone 17 on a week-long work trip to Hawaii, which included extensive use of the device on a 12-hour flight and taking pictures every day. Here are its biggest standouts (and notable caveats) to help you make a buying decision. A design that's better in every way Aesthetically, the iPhone 17 appears largely unchanged, retaining its glass exterior, stacked dual camera array, and aluminum frame. The most noticeable change is the introduction of new pastel colorways, which include Lavender, Sage, and Mist Blue, in addition to the traditional White and Black. However, there are lots of meaningful design changes that make it a big upgrade. Starting with perhaps the biggest design upgrade: the inclusion of the ProMotion display. With the iPhone 17, Apple finally made the 120Hz ProMotion display, which was typically limited to Pro users, uniform across the entire lineup, even the base model. If you are coming from a previous iPhone base model and are not accustomed to higher refresh rate displays, you are in for a treat. Trust me, while subtle, you will notice the difference. Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET As someone who has always purchased the Pro lineup, I had forgotten how spoiled I was by the 120Hz refresh rate until I tested the iPhone 16e and had to readjust to a 60Hz refresh rate, which was noticeably more stuttery and laggy. In addition to the refresh rate, the phone now features thinner borders and a slightly larger 6.3-inch display -- which boasts a peak outdoor brightness of 3,000 nits, the highest ever on the base model. Although the display size isn't significantly larger, regaining some extra screen real estate is always a perk. During my testing, which included sitting by the pool under the Hawaiian sun, I didn't have to strain while looking at my phone in direct sunlight. Another perk that was previously exclusive to Pro users is the Always-on display. This feature comes in handy for viewing at-a-glance information, such as time, date, and notifications, without having to unlock your phone. Lastly, a display upgrade that is harder to spot or test is Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says gives it three times better scratch resistance. The best new camera feature is... Kerry Wan/ZDNET The iPhone 17 features an 18MP Center Stage front camera, an upgrade from the 12MP camera of the prior year. While this directly translates to better-quality selfies, the real magic relates to its wider field of view and larger sensor. Now, you can switch from landscape to portrait mode without rotating the phone, as seen in the photo above. I am holding my phone vertically while taking a horizontal photo. Also: Apple's iPhone 17 will forever change how we take selfies - including on Android phones You can manually toggle the orientation, or, using AI, the camera can automatically widen the shot when it detects a group of people and rotate from landscape to vertical to get everyone in the frame. Using it for the first time feels a bit like magic, and while not the flashiest feature, it is wildly convenient. Bottom line: if you're a selfie fanatic, you will be really happy with this camera and won't miss a thing from the Pro line. But the same can't be said about the rear cameras. Unedited selfie taken on iPhone 17 with my wonderful CNET colleague Katie Collins at Snapdragon Summit. Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET The rear cameras received a slight boost, too, with a 48MP Fusion main and a 48MP Fusion ultra-wide replacing the 12MP ultra-wide found on the iPhone 16. Overall, in most lighting conditions, the rear cameras perform well, capturing well-balanced shots that diffuse light evenly on the subject, display vivid colors that aren't overly saturated, add a balanced amount of contrast, and even accurately represent skin color. What's still missing here is a dedicated telephoto lens for higher-quality zoom shots, something I missed having when capturing distant subjects. Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET Compared to my iPhone 16 Pro, which was my daily driver for the past year, or the iPhone 17 Pro, which I have been able to tinker with since the release, the iPhone 17 photos are still of lesser quality. To illustrate my point, I am including an image below, taken simultaneously on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17, and the difference in balancing light and handling shadows is noticeable. Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET The difference in results is expected, as the Pro lineup features a three-camera array, including a telephoto lens, which is ultimately the primary selling point of the Pro model over the base model. For many, the difference will be so subtle that it may not be a deal breaker. Since the camera is the biggest tradeoff from the Pro model, if you don't need a professional-level camera in your pocket, then the iPhone 17 will be just fine. Where the iPhone 17 fell short for me The iPhone 17 features Apple's A19 chip, a step up from the A18 chip in the iPhone 16. The most significant upgrade in the silicon is the neural accelerators in the 5-core GPU, designed to enhance the handling and processing of AI tasks more efficiently. While I can't necessarily say I noticed a big performance boost from its predecessor, that's not a bad thing, as both phones guarantee a smooth, optimal experience with speed, connectivity, multitasking, handling background tasks, and more. Also: I compared the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max: Here's who should upgrade It's worth mentioning that Apple Intelligence features on iOS 26 run smoothly on the phone and are also very helpful. I use features like AutoMix, which acts like a DJ for your songs in Apple Music, on a daily basis. Other features, such as Hold Assist, which alerts you when an operator comes to the phone after being put on hold, have been handy. Kerry Wan/ZDNET Another factor that can make a significant difference is the added storage. Typically, Apple has offered a base storage of 128GB, but this year it is starting all of its phones at 256GB. So, while at face value it may seem like the iPhone 17 is $100 more expensive than the iPhone 16, retailing at $799, it is actually the same price as the iPhone 16 with 256GB. For someone like me who loves to take photos of absolutely everything, having a minimum of 256GB has always been a requirement. Whenever I test a phone with only 128GB, it quickly becomes sluggish and barely usable due to the amount of digital clutter I collect. Therefore, in the age of digital hoarding, I believe most users will also be able to reap the benefits of expanded storage. Also: I've tested every iPhone 17 model, and I'm recommending something different this time In terms of battery life, I have not been able to make it through a whole day without needing to recharge my phone at some point. During peak usage, I would get a battery-low notification by late afternoon. (I partly suspect that it also has something to do with transferring all my files and data from my iPhone 16 Pro. I'll be running a battery test again with a freshly set-up phone soon.) On an average day, the iPhone 17 will have about 20% left by dinner time, which is just good enough. ZDNET's buying advice Even after testing it for as long as I have, my initial advice stands: the iPhone 17 is the best phone for most people, especially now that the gap between the base and Pro models has closed even further. Shelling out the extra $300 for the iPhone 17 Pro is only worth it if you're invested in mobile photography or are an absolute power user who needs the performance boost from a bigger battery, vapor chamber, and A19 Pro chip.