iPhone 17: Full Specs, Price, Colors, and What's New (2026)

# iPhone 17: Full Specs, Price, Colors, and What's New (2026)

By Daniel Rozin | A Versus B | September 1, 2026

The iPhone 17 is Apple's 2026 flagship smartphone, released in September 2026. It starts at $799 for the base model and comes in four variants: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Plus, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. The line is built around Apple's A19 chip, improved camera systems, a redesigned slim aluminum frame, and longer battery life than any previous iPhone. This guide covers the complete specs, pricing, new features, and how each model differs.

iPhone 17 Lineup at a Glance#

What's New in iPhone 17#

A19 Chip#

Apple's A19 is built on TSMC's 3nm process (second generation), delivering approximately 15% faster CPU performance and 20% faster GPU performance compared to the A18 in iPhone 16. The Neural Engine handles on-device AI tasks — Siri's enhanced reasoning, live translation, and photo processing — without sending data to the cloud. The A19 Pro variant in the Pro models adds additional GPU cores and a dedicated ray-tracing accelerator for mobile gaming.

Redesigned Aluminum Frame#

The iPhone 17 base and Plus models introduce a new machined aluminum frame that is approximately 0.4mm thinner than iPhone 16, with a matte finish available across all colors. The Pro models use grade-5 titanium, continuing the design language introduced with iPhone 15 Pro. All four models are rated IP68 (6 meters for 30 minutes).

Camera System Upgrades#

iPhone 17 and Plus:

• 48MP Fusion main camera: f/1.6 aperture (wider than iPhone 16's f/1.6 — same aperture, new sensor with larger photosites for better low-light)
• 12MP front camera with autofocus
• 4K Cinematic video at 120fps (up from 60fps on iPhone 16)
• Night mode: 2x improvement in low-light detail per Apple benchmarks

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max:

• New 48MP periscope telephoto camera on both Pro models (previously only Pro Max had periscope zoom)
• 5× optical zoom on both
• ProRAW and ProRes video recording
• 4K/120fps Cinematic mode
• Enhanced macro photography mode

Battery Life#

Apple quotes the following continuous video playback figures:

• iPhone 17: 24 hours (up from 22 hours on iPhone 16)
• iPhone 17 Plus: 30 hours (up from 27 hours)
• iPhone 17 Pro: 27 hours (up from 23 hours)
• iPhone 17 Pro Max: 34 hours (up from 33 hours)

All models support 30W MagSafe wireless charging and 25W USB-C wired charging.

Apple Intelligence Features#

iPhone 17 ships with iOS 19 and full Apple Intelligence support, including:

• Writing Tools: rewrite, proofread, and summarize text across all apps
• Smart Reply: context-aware message suggestions in Mail and Messages
• Photo Cleanup: remove background objects with AI
• Priority notifications: AI-ranked notification feed
• Siri with ChatGPT integration: for questions Siri hands off to ChatGPT (requires user opt-in)

Apple Intelligence requires an iPhone 15 or later. iPhone 17 is the first model to include the full expanded feature set without any regional limitations.

iPhone 17 Colors#

iPhone 17 and Plus:

• Black
• White
• Ultramarine (deep blue)
• Teal
• Pink

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max:

• Black Titanium
• White Titanium
• Natural Titanium
• Desert Titanium (new for 2026 — a warm matte gold)

Storage Options and Pricing#

Apple offers trade-in credit for older iPhones, reducing effective costs significantly. As of launch, a trade-in iPhone 16 Pro Max in good condition reduces the iPhone 17 Pro Max 256GB price to approximately $699.

Should You Upgrade From iPhone 16?#

The upgrade from iPhone 16 to iPhone 17 is incremental — primarily meaningful for:

• Users who shoot a lot of video (4K/120fps Cinematic mode is a real upgrade)
• iPhone 16 users bothered by battery life on heavy-use days
• Anyone who wants the new slim frame design

For iPhone 15 or older users, the A19 chip, camera improvements, and Apple Intelligence feature set represent a more compelling upgrade.

The iPhone 16 remains available as a discounted option, typically $100 below its original launch price after the iPhone 17 release.

Related Comparisons#

Deciding between iPhone 17 and Samsung? See iPhone 17 vs. Samsung Galaxy S26 for a detailed feature-by-feature breakdown. For Pro model comparisons, see iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max. For the broader ecosystem question, see Android vs. iPhone.