iPhone 17 vs iPhone 16: a real upgrade or more of the same?

The iPhone 16 brought some interesting updates like the new Camera Control button, a faster A18 chip, and slight camera improvements, but those were hardly enough to satisfy users.

With outdated 60Hz displays, similar designs, and limited AI features at launch (and still), the iPhone 16 felt more like an afterthought than a revolutionary step in the right direction.Now, all eyes are on the upcoming iPhone 17, which promises to finally bring bigger design changes, a much-needed display upgrade, and a sharper selfie camera. If you’re wondering how the iPhone 17 will stack up against the iPhone 16 — and whether it will finally deliver a big leap forward — you’re in the right place.

In this comparison, we’ll explore the key differences in design, display, performance, cameras, battery life, and software between the iPhone 17 and iPhone 16 based on everything we know so far.

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iPhone 17 vs iPhone 16 expected differences:

Table of Contents:

The Camera Control button offered pressure and touch-sensitive shortcuts for zoom and focus, but in real-world use, it felt awkwardly placed and not essential for most users.

The iPhone 17, meanwhile, is expected to introduce a more noticeable design overhaul. A new splicing process will create a smoother transition between the frame and back glass, eliminating the harsher edges of older models for a more seamless feel in the hand.

Apple will also shrink the bezels significantly with the help of BRS (Border Reduction Structure) technology, making the screen feel even more immersive without growing the phone’s physical footprint.

As for colors, we expect the iPhone 17 to come in similar ones to the iPhone 16, although there’s a good chance we will see new ones. The iPhone 16 colors are Black, White, Pink, Teal, Ultramarine.

While peak brightness on the iPhone 16 (around 2000 nits) was competitive outdoors, the panel was otherwise a step behind rivals like Samsung and Google in overall responsiveness.

However, the iPhone 17 could finally change that story. Leaks suggest it will have a  larger 6.27-inch OLED display with ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate, using Samsung’s newer M14 panel. This would offer smoother scrolling, better power efficiency, and potentially even greater peak brightness than the iPhone 16.

Apple might also extend Always-On Display to the standard model, but that is not an upgrade we feel confident about.

The A18 also laid the foundation for upcoming Apple Intelligence features with its 16-core Neural Engine and improved hardware-accelerated ray tracing for gaming.The iPhone 17 is expected to take things even further with the A19 chip. While still based on a 3nm process (not the hoped-for 2nm breakthrough), the A19 should bring optimizations in power efficiency, AI task handling, and future-proofing for on-device machine learning. RAM is again expected to be 8GB.

Both phones will run iOS 19 when the iPhone 17 launches, but the upcoming Apple Intelligence features aren’t expected until late 2025 or even early 2026.

The camera system between the two phones is likely to feel similar, but the iPhone 17 will offer a sharper front-facing camera and likely some other subtle improvements.

Here is a refresher on the iPhone 16 camera setup:

• 48 MP main camera (f/1.6, 24 MP default photos)
• 12 MP ultra-wide (f/2.2, autofocus, Macro support)
• 12 MP selfie camera (f/1.9)

And here are the cameras we expect on the iPhone 17:

• 48 MP main camera (similar sensor, possibly refined processing)
• 12 MP ultra-wide camera
• 24 MP upgraded selfie camera

We expect the iPhone 17‘s rear cameras to offer excellent daylight and low-light photography, just like its predecessor. However, the its 24MP selfie camera should bring a substantial upgrade in the selfie-snapping department, including for video — this would be a very welcome upgrade considering how soft the iPhone 16’s selfies could look.

The new model still has no telephoto lens, so optical zoom remains reserved for the Pro line.

The iPhone 16 brought a larger 3,561 mAh battery and performed decently across our web browsing, video streaming, and gaming battery tests. It introduced faster 25W MagSafe wireless charging, but wired charging still hovered around 20W outside of certain heavy-load scenarios, where it would increase.The iPhone 17 is expected to have a slightly bigger battery (approximately 3,600 mAh) and more a efficient display and chipset. Sadly, we don’t expect any improvements to the charging, but a new stacked battery design could slightly enhance battery lifespan and thermal performance..

The iPhone 17 is starting to sound like the phone that it’s predecessor should have been. The smoother ProMotion 120Hz display, thinner bezels, sharper selfie camera, and more polished design could finally modernize the standard iPhone experience.

Performance upgrades will likely be modest, with the A19 chip refining rather than reinventing what the A18 already does well. Battery life and charging will also see incremental improvements rather than major shifts.

If you’re using an iPhone 16 and content with its power, camera quality, and 60Hz display (although that would be hard to believe), the jump to an iPhone 17 might not feel essential. But for anyone coming from an older iPhone — or anyone tired of living without a 120Hz screen — the iPhone 17 could finally deliver the upgrade experience that’s been missing the last two years.