The ultra-thin iPhone Air and the three iPhone 17 models Apple unveiled during its press event on Tuesday will be available for preorder on Friday, a schedule that’s familiar to iPhone early adopters. Picking the right iPhone has always been a tough choice, though. One would look at the new specs and features, consider battery life and color options, and see if the price was right. iPhone buyers will go through the same process this year when looking at the four iPhones in Apple’s 2025 lineup.
However, the iPhone 17 series is different. Making the “right choice” more difficult than ever. The ultra-slim iPhone Air has some compromises you need to be aware of, which might outweigh the iPhone Pro performance the Air is ready to offer. The iPhone 17 Pros offer Apple’s most capable iPhone hardware, complete with the most sophisticated camera experience and best battery life. But there’s also the standard iPhone 17 that starts at $799. That gets you 256GB of storage as well as screen and battery specs that rival the Pro models.
Apple is fully aware that choosing the right iPhone might be more difficult than before, so it released a video on its YouTube channel titled “The Can’t Decide Guide: A Guided Tour of the New iPhone Family” to help you out. The video is about 10 minutes long and has almost 1.8 million views at the time of this writing. Comparatively, the iPhone 17 livestream event was seen by 28 million people on YouTube, as of Thursday morning.
iPhone 17, iPhone Air, or one of the Pros?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvFMrroRkRk
The clip stars an Apple employee ready to give an undecided customer a brief look at the four iPhone 17 models, peppered with a few gags along the way. The iPhone 17’s highlights include the color options, the display improvements, the stronger Ceramic Shield glass cover, the faster A19 chip, the two 48-megapixel cameras, and the new Center Stage selfie camera.
Apple also mentions the iPhone Air’s colors, but the focus here is on the new design. The iPhone Air is Apple’s thinnest iPhone ever, featuring a 6.5-inch screen and a 5.6mm profile. Apple emphasizes the phone’s improved durability, thanks to the titanium frame and front and back Ceramic Shield covers. The company also goes over the A19 Pro chip, the single-lens 48-megapixel camera, the Center Stage selfie shooter, and the iPhone Air’s all-day battery life.
Finally, Apple details the strengths of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, saying the two devices are its “most pro iPhones yet.” The new Pros feature the same A19 Pro chip as the Air, but they have a 6-core GPU. The vapor chamber exclusive to the iPhone 17 Pros should ensure sustained performance. Like the Air, the new Pros feature Ceramic Shield on the front and back, but they introduce an aluminum unibody. Apple also notes the iPhone 17 Pros have the “best ever camera system,” featuring three 48-megapixel lenses. Battery life is also a highlight, with Apple signaling the iPhone 17 Pro Max as the iPhone with the “best battery life ever.”
The price tag is always a major factor when buying a premium handset like the newest iPhone. While Apple’s video doesn’t mention prices, our handy iPhone 17 price guide should have you covered.
