Apple finally told us all about the iPhone 17, and right now, countless Apple users are asking the same question: Do I need to upgrade to the new model?
We’ve already compared the iPhone 17 to the 16, but what about the iPhone 15? Apple’s 2023 handset is by no means long in the tooth, but there are certain aspects of the iPhone 17 that jump out as huge improvements. Between display upgrades, battery life, and performance, there are some genuinely good reasons to upgrade, even if your phone is only a couple of years old. Of course, there are also some very compelling reasons not to upgrade.
Let’s get into it.
iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 15: Price
For starters, the iPhone 17 is launching at $799. That’s the same price the iPhone 15 launched at in 2023. One thing to note, though, is that you can’t get an iPhone 15 straight from Apple’s website anymore. That means there isn’t really an easy price comparison here. Though, the iPhone 16 is now priced at $699, and needless to say, choosing not to upgrade will always be the more economical choice.
iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 15: Specs
Here’s the iPhone 17.
Credit: CNET
Here are the basic specs for iPhone 15:
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6.1-inch display with 2556×1179 resolution and 60Hz refresh rate
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A16 Bionic chip
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128GB/256GB/512GB storage
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Rear cameras: 48MP wide, 12MP ultrawide
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Front camera: 12MP
And here are the iPhone 17’s specs:
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6.3-inch display with 2622×1206 resolution and adaptive 120Hz refresh rate
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A19 chip
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256GB/512GB storage
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Rear cameras: 48MP wide, 48MP ultrawide
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Front camera: 18MP
The display is the big thing here. For the iPhone 17, Apple finally introduced a 120Hz refresh rate, after years of lagging behind the rest of the industry in that regard. That also coincides with the iPhone 17 having a slightly larger display than the 15, with a higher resolution. If you care a lot about display quality but don’t want to shell out for an iPhone 17 Air or Pro, there’s your main selling point for the iPhone 17.
Mashable Light Speed
That’s not the only thing, though. The iPhone 17 comes with a newer chip that should provide stronger performance, as well as a minimum of 256GB of internal storage, twice that of the iPhone 15’s cheapest variant. There are, needless to say, camera improvements too, but we’ll get to those in a bit.
iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 15: Design
The new color options this year.
Credit: Mashable/Apple
Apple did not necessarily reinvent the wheel when it came to the physical design of the iPhone 17.
It still has the same vertically stacked dual-lens camera bump on the phone’s backside, which is the main visual difference between the iPhone 17 and 15. The latter phone’s camera lenses are diagonally stacked. Interestingly, the two phones are nearly identical in terms of height, weight, and depth, despite the iPhone 17 having a larger display. The newer model also weighs marginally more, coming in at 6.24oz instead of 6.02oz.
Lastly, the iPhone 17 comes in five colors: Black, White, Mist Blue, Sage, and Lavender. As for the iPhone 15, you also get five different colors: Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink.
iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 15: Performance and battery life
As I mentioned earlier, the iPhone 17 has a newer A19 chip inside of it, contrasted with the A16 chip in the iPhone 15. That will more than likely mean the iPhone 17’s performance is stronger than the 15’s, but it’s impossible to say by how much without directly testing the new phone, something we can’t do just yet.
The same goes for battery life. Apple is promising up to 30 hours of video playback on iPhone 17, but without a unit in our hands, we can’t verify that for now. That should be a huge leap compared to the iPhone 15, however, as that phone was only rated for 20 hours by the same metric. It’s probably safe to assume the new phone will last longer than the old one, but again, we can’t prove that yet.
iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 15: Camera
The iPhone 17 can take portrait and landscape selfies — without turning the phone. It’s a pretty neat trick.
Credit: Apple
Lastly, the iPhone 17 promises a couple of big camera improvements over the iPhone 15. So, if you take a lot of photos or videos, or you’re a creative professional, then the iPhone 17 has some big advantages.
Specifically, the new 48MP ultrawide lens is a lot bigger (at least numerically) than the 12MP module on the iPhone 15. We can’t demonstrate how that difference manifests in everyday use yet, but that will be something to look at over the coming weeks. Similarly, the new 18MP Center Stage selfie cam promises big upgrades over previous models thanks to its higher megapixel count and larger field of view. You should theoretically be able to fit more people into a selfie on iPhone 17, which could be a selling point for plenty of folks.
Needless to say, our upcoming review of the iPhone 17 will feature plenty of photos and analysis, so watch out for that.
