I spent a month with cheap iPhone 17 – 3 reasons to buy it over pricier models

APPLE has pulled a blinder with the iPhone 17 – it’s a mobile miracle.

I’ve been trying out the new gadget for just over a month now, and I reveal exactly who should buy this superstar smartphone. Hint: it’s a lot of you.

This year’s new entry-level iPhone is interesting.

It was overshadowed at the September launch by the stunningly orange iPhone 17 Pro – and the super-skinny iPhone Air.

But while they were snatching headlines, the iPhone 17 was quietly becoming a sleeper hit.

iPhone 17, £799

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It’s well-equipped, attractive, and comes in at a fairly competitive price point of £799 / $799.

That’s not bad consider the top-end version of the iPhone 17 Pro Max rises to a staggering £1,999 / $1,999. That’s ultra-premium laptop territory.

I’ve been using the iPhone 17 for a little over a month, and it’s hard to find much to complain about.

IPHONE 17 HARDWARE – THE DESIGN & SPECS

Let’s start with the looks.

This is a classic iPhone: attractive, lightweight, with squared sides and curved corners.

It’s a great size that should suit most people. This is a real don’t-fix-what’s-not-broken approach.

And speaking of not breaking, Apple says that it has made the gadget more scratch resistant with a Ceramic Shield 2 coating.

I haven’t tried to destroy it. But I will say (at risk of jinxing myself) that I’ve dropped my iPhones hundreds of times over the years and haven’t smashed a screen.

It’s increasingly rare to see a broken iPhone screen on a newer model these days.

Still, it might be worth getting a case if you’re nervous.

Anyway, this device comes in five attractive colour options: black, mist blue, sage, white, and lavender (which I’ve been using).

It’s a decent selection that should suit all tastes.

On the hardware front, the iPhone 17 is packing some serious power.

Much of its might comes from the new A19 chip, an Apple-built processor that’s speedy and power-efficient.

You’ll be able to game comfortably on the phone without it overheating.

And I’ve used it to record long 4K videos without it shutting off too.

There’s a very impressive 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display on board.

It’s a good size that will suit most needs, and it’s pixel-dense with great colour accuracy.

And it’s an OLED screen, which means the pixels illuminate themselves rather than requiring a backlight. So they can be shut off individually do show true blacks, allowing for better contrast and a wider range of colours.

It’s also a ProMotion display, which was previously the preserve of Pro-series phones.

So you’re getting a 120Hz refresh rate – that’s the number of times per second the display can show you a new image.

Having a high refresh rate is great for making animations smoother, allowing for high-frame-rate gaming, and showing you fast-paced content like sports with less motion blur.

It can also hit 3,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness. In practice, it handles HDR (High Dynamic Range) footage very well, displaying bright whites with vibrancy and detail.

And it’s easy viewing even outside.

As well as that, you get Apple’s Always-On display feature, which shows the time, a wallpaper, and even widgets and Live Activities.

You can tweak this to just show the time, or nothing at all, if you prefer.

On the storage front, you get 256GB as standard, which is a decent amount for most regular users.

But you can upgrade to 512GB if that’s not enough.

You’ve got a 48-megapixel two-camera system, with a 2x “optical-quality” Telephoto capability plus an ultra-wide shooter.

It’s a brilliant camera that performs pretty well even in low-light, or in shots with a broad range of lights and darks.

And video is really very good. It can shoot 4K Dolby Vision footage at 60 frames per second. And it comes out looking beautiful, and very professional.

A TikTok star’s dream.

As a bonus note, the front selfie camera now uses a square sensor.

So you can switch between horizontal and vertical selfies without turning your phone.

That means you can get wide group shots without shakily flipping your iPhone on its side…and then dropping it. It’s a great feature.

And it also has a Centre Stage capability that will zoom and track your position so you’re always centred on video calls.

On battery life, your mileage may vary.

Apple is officially saying you’ll get “all-day” battery life, and says that the iPhone 17 can serve up 30 hours of video playback.

And it can even charge to 50% in 20 minutes with Apple’s 40-60W power adapter.

In my experience, the iPhone 17 comfortably lasts a whole day, which is fine for most people. It’s impressive given the quality of the screen and the power of the processor on board.

IPHONE 17 SOFTWARE – THE FEATURES

Of course, the hardware is just one part of the iPhone.

The other key element is the stuff that you interact with on the screen. The software: iOS 26.

This new version has a few important changes, not least of which is the design overhaul.

Apple has introduced a new glossy, translucent look called Liquid Glass. It’s using this on its other gadgets like the iPad and the Mac too.

And you’ll notice it on your Apple CarPlay when you connect your new iPhone to your car.

The new design is a bit Marmite, but I’m quite fond of it.

More important, however, are the new features landing in iOS 26.

There are a couple of genuinely useful phone call features you won’t want to miss.

One is Call Screening, which uses an AI robot voice to ask unknown callers who they are and why they’re calling.

And the response will be written out on your iPhone’s screen in real-time so you can decide whether to take the call or not.

And another is Hold Assist, which uses AI to wait on hold for you during customer support calls.

Then when the agent is ready, you’ll be alerted that it’s time to pick up the phone.

There’s also a Live Translation feature that lets you chat to people in another language over Messages, FaceTime, and even on phone calls.

It’s pretty effective, although on calls you have to wait for sentences to end before the translation kicks in.

So it’s a slightly more natural experience when using it over Messages.

Anyway, it’s a decent selection of features this year. They might not be super flashy, but they’re all quite genuinely useful. That’s what counts.

And it all adds to the very easy-to-use, attractive, and customisable iOS that you know and love.

IPHONE 17 VERDICT – SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

The iPhone 17 is very impressive for its price.

You’re getting much of what an iPhone 17 Pro offers, but for hundreds less.

But who is it really for?

The main differentiators between this and the Pro models are the camera and the screen size.

You simply have a better camera set-up on the Pro.

And the Pro Max gives you an extra 0.6 inches from corner to corner, which translates to a lot more screen real estate.

And now that Apple has abandoned the iPhone Plus models, you’re locked in at 6.3-inch on this model.

So if you want a giant iPhone, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is your only option for this year’s line-up (unless you go for the cheaper and still-excellent iPhone 16 Plus).

The Pro also uses a three-camera setup that is more powerful and versatile.

And my top iPhone colour of the year – Cosmic Orange – is only available on the Pro.

But ultimately, the iPhone 17 is significantly cheaper (the Pro starts at £1,099/$1,099), gets you most of the Pro’s features, and is a better size and weight for most people.

Is this a better buy than the iPhone Air? For most people, almost certainly yes.

The Air is £200/$200 more than the iPhone 17, and the only real advantage is that it’s slimmer, lighter, and is very eye-catching.

So if you want a statement phone, the iPhone Air will certainly deliver.

But it’s fair to say that the iPhone 17 is this year’s most sensible buy for the vast majority of people.

The Sun says: The iPhone 17 is the Apple mobile most people will want this year. It’s powerful, looks great, delivers on battery life, and serves up good value for money. A budget-friendly powerhouse. 5/5

iPhone 17, £799

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All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.

Always do your own research before making any purchase.