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iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 16: Which Is the Right Choice for You?

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You may be wondering whether to buy Apple's latest device, the iPhone 17, or score last year's iPhone 16 at a discount. To help with that decision, here's a breakdown of how the two phones compare.

The iPhone 17 starts at $829 -- or $799 with carrier activation -- the same launch price as the iPhone 16. But there's a key difference: the iPhone 17 starts with 256GB of storage, double the 128GB base on the iPhone 16.

The iPhone 16 is now available at a $100 discount. So, is it worth saving some money, or should you splurge on the latest phone?

Here's what to know about each phone -- from the cameras to the displays to the batteries.

Watch this: iPhone Air Review: A Joy to Hold, at a Cost 10:06

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Screen differences

Some of the biggest changes between the iPhone 16 and 17 have to do with the display.

Apple says it shrunk the borders around the screen on the iPhone 17, expanding the display from 6.1 inches on the iPhone 16 to 6.3 inches on the iPhone 17 without expanding its dimensions. The new Ceramic Shield 2 cover on the iPhone 17 offers 3x better scratch resistance, according to the company.

The baseline iPhone 17 gets a display with a 120Hz refresh rate, as opposed to the 60Hz display on the iPhone 16. That means the iPhone 17 finally supports an always-on display, so you can glance at the time, your notifications and Live Activities without waking the screen.

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