There's a new Apple flagship phone in town: the long-awaited iPhone 17. The $799 iPhone 17 is the base model of the new iPhone lineup, which is now on sale with the $999 iPhone Air, $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro and $1,199 iPhone 17 Pro Max. While the iPhone 17 is the most affordable option among the new phones, there's nothing basic about it. It features plenty of updates like a 120Hz display, upgraded cameras and a faster A19 chip.
Since there's a new base iPhone, we figure it's only fitting to compare it to one of its toughest competitors: the base Galaxy S25 from Samsung. The two have very similar characteristics and would make excellent smartphones, depending on whether you're on the Apple or Android side of the divide.
So how do these two flagships stack up? Let's take a closer look.
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Display
One of the biggest updates to the iPhone 17 over its predecessor is that it finally has a ProMotion display with a 120Hz variable refresh rate, which has only been in the iPhone's Pro models to this point. This allows for an always-on display so you can glance at your notifications and Live Activities without having to wake the screen. Plus, it offers a smoother experience when playing games or scrolling through the web. Aside from the refresh rate, the iPhone 17's 6.3-inch OLED screen has a 2,622x1,206-pixel resolution and 3,000 nits of brightness.
Watch this: iPhone Air Review: A Joy to Hold, at a Cost 10:06
Samsung's Galaxy line has had a 120Hz variable refresh rate for a while (ever since the S20), and it's no different with the Galaxy S25. The S25 also has an always-on display option, which can be configured to show all the time or by tapping the screen. Its 6.2-inch AMOLED display isn't quite as sharp with a 2,340x1,080-pixel resolution, and it's also not quite as bright, at 2,600 nits at peak brightness.
The iPhone 17 has a 48-megapixel main camera and a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera. Abrar Al-Heeti/ Zooey Liao/ CNET
Cameras
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