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How to pick
Two decisions matter and the rest is noise. First, storage, because you cannot add to it later. 128GB is the sensible floor and if you take a lot of photos and do not clear them out, go higher, because running out is genuinely miserable to deal with. Second, which model, and here the useful trick is to buy last year's better iPhone rather than this year's cheapest. You get better cameras and the same length of software support for similar money. Apple keeps sending security updates to a handset for roughly five to six years, which is what actually decides when it needs replacing, not speed. On charging, any decent USB-C charger works. Apple has not put one in the box for years and the phone charges much faster with a proper one than with an old five watt plug.
What I recommend
The current lineup
Four models, and the differences are simpler than Apple make them sound: screen size, cameras, and battery. Storage is the one decision you cannot undo later, so take the larger size if you are hesitating. Every one of these gets around five to six years of security updates, which is what actually decides when a phone needs replacing.
iPhone 17
The standard model, and for most people the right one. A 6.3 inch screen and a 120Hz display, which is the upgrade you actually notice day to day rather than in a specification list. Starts at 256GB, which removes the storage worry that has caught people out for years.
- 120Hz screen, the change you notice most
- Starts at 256GB rather than 128GB
- Same everyday speed as the Pro models
- Cheapest way into the current generation
- No telephoto camera, so no proper optical zoom
- Battery is good but not Pro Max good
- Aluminium rather than titanium frame
iPhone 17 Pro
The cameras are the reason to pay the difference. Proper telephoto zoom rather than cropping into the picture, and noticeably better results in poor light. Same 6.3 inch screen as the standard model, so this is about the cameras rather than size.
- Telephoto camera, real optical zoom
- Considerably better in low light
- Much better video if that matters
- Titanium frame
- Substantially more expensive
- Heavier than the standard model
- Most people never use what they are paying for
iPhone 17 Pro Max
The longest battery life in the lineup by a wide margin, up to 39 hours of video, and a 6.9 inch screen. If you are out all day away from a charger, or if you find smaller screens hard to read, this is the one.
- By far the best battery of any iPhone
- 6.9 inch screen is genuinely easier to read
- Same excellent cameras as the Pro
- Large and heavy, awkward one handed
- The most expensive iPhone
- Does not fit comfortably in every pocket
iPhone Air
Remarkably thin at 5.6mm, and that is the whole point of it. The trade is a single rear camera and a smaller battery than the Pro models. Buy it because you want the lightest phone, not because you want the best one.
- Extraordinarily thin and light
- 6.5 inch screen in a small body
- Genuinely lovely to hold
- One rear camera only, no zoom at all
- Smaller battery than the Pro models
- Costs more than the iPhone 17 for fewer cameras
- Thin phones bend more easily, use a case
Spending less
The budget model keeps the thing that matters most, which is the software support.
iPhone 17e
Apple's cheaper current model. You lose camera quality and some screen features, but you keep the same long software support, which is what actually decides how long a phone lasts. A sensible choice if the phone is for calls, messages and photos of the grandchildren.
- Same long software support as the expensive ones
- Considerably cheaper
- Perfectly good camera for everyday photos
- Lighter and easier to hold than the Pro Max
- Single rear camera
- Screen is a step down
- Slower than the 17 in demanding apps
Related reading
New iPhone and everything to move across?
Photos, contacts, messages and passwords. I can move the lot across so nothing is left behind.