Apple unveiled its latest iPhone 17 at the company’s ‘Awe Dropping’ event on September 19. While the slimmest iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 Pro models hogged a lot of limelight at the event, the vanilla iPhone 17 promises to deliver a well-balanced performance and designed to enhance everyday usability. With a starting price tag of Rs 82,900, the Apple iPhone 17 is aimed at users who want to experience flagship features without the Pro-level pricing. We got a chance to spend some time with the iPhone 17 and here’s our first impressions of the same.
Design and display
Apple iPhone 17 retains the signature Apple design but at the same time it also incorporates some subtle refinements. iPhone 17 comes with a new aluminium unibody and replaces the previous glass-and-metal sandwich. The new aluminium design makes the phone lighter and more thermally efficient. The power button and camera control button are placed on the right side, whereas the left side features the action button and volume rockers on the left. The rear of the smartphone has a dual rear camera setup placed vertically on the right corner. The front of the smartphone is dominated by a 6.3-inch OLED Super Retina display with 1206×2622 pixel resolution. The display comes with ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The display is protected with a coating of Ceramic Shield 2 protection which makes it resistant to scratches. It is also easy to use iPhone 17 outside thanks to 3000 nits peak outdoor brightness — the highest ever on iPhone — and 2x better outdoor contrast. iPhone 17 gets IP68 rating, making it resistant to water and dust. The iPhone 17 comes in Black, White, Mist Blue, Sage, Lavender colour options.
Performance and camera
Apple iPhone 17 is powered by the company’s own A19 chipset. The 6-core CPU is 1.5x faster than the A15 Bionic chip in iPhone 13, and the 5-core GPU is more than 2x faster than A15 Bionic, unlocking stunning graphics and next-level mobile gaming. Neural Accelerators are also built into each GPU core to help run powerful generative AI models on devices. Apple says that the efficiency of A19 and the advanced power management of iOS 26 deliver all-day battery life, and with ProMotion, iPhone 17 gets up to 30 hours of video playback — eight more hours than the previous generation. The company claims that the iPhone 17 can deliver a day’s battery life in a single charge and the smartphone can charge up to 50% in just 20 minutes.Apple iPhone 17 runs iOS 26 operating system. This latest version of the operating system brings a new design, Apple Intelligence capabilities, and improvements to the apps. The new design with Liquid Glass makes apps and system experiences more expressive. Apple Intelligence now translates text and audio on the go with Live Translation, helping users communicate across languages in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. Apple Intelligence now translates text and audio on the go with Live Translation, helping users communicate across languages in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone.Coming to the camera, iPhone 17 houses a dual rear camera setup which comprises 48MP wide-angle (f/1.6) camera and 48MP wide-angle (f/1.6) camera. The front of the smartphone houses a 18MP (ƒ/1.9) centre stage front camera. A 48MP Fusion Main camera shoots sharp detail, and with an integrated optical-quality 2x Telephoto — it is like having two cameras in one. A new 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera captures up to 4x the resolution compared to the previous generation, so users get even more detail for uniquely framed, wider-angle shots or macro photography.The Center Stage front camera features the first square front camera sensor on iPhone, offering a wide field of view and capturing photos up to 18MP. The new centre-stage camera setup prevents the users from the hassle of rotating the phone every time they take a selfie. Users can take photos and videos in portrait or landscape while holding their iPhone vertically.For group shots, Center Stage for photos uses AI to automatically expand the field of view and can rotate from portrait to landscape to include everyone in the frame. While we haven’t fully tested the cameras yet, our initial experience left us impressed with their accuracy and level of detail. For a more in-depth analysis, stay tuned for our full review.
What we think
The iPhone 17 may not be the flashiest iPhone in Apple’s 2025 lineup, but it’s arguably the most practical. With a starting price tag of Rs 82,900, the smartphone offers a brighter display, smarter camera system and more efficient chipset. Stay tuned for our review to find out if the smartphone is worth the upgrade.
