Apple’s new iPhone 17 brings two headline upgrades to the mainstream line: a ProMotion display that finally delivers a 120Hz refresh rate on the standard model, and a meaningfully upgraded front-facing camera built around a larger sensor. Together with a new design and faster silicon, this is a more ambitious update than the typical year-over-year tune-up.
ProMotion comes to the standard iPhone
For years, Apple kept high-refresh displays as a Pro-only perk. The iPhone 17 breaks that pattern with a 6.3-inch panel that adapts up to 120Hz, bringing smoother scrolling, more responsive gameplay, and sharper motion rendering to the base model. Variable refresh also helps power efficiency by dialing down when static content is on screen.
Peak brightness is rated at 3,000 nits, which should bolster readability in direct sun and improve specular highlights in HDR video. Independent labs like DisplayMate have long tied higher APL brightness and precise tone mapping to better outdoor legibility, so this spec matters as much as it sounds for everyday use.
A bigger, smarter selfie camera
The front camera gets a substantial lift. Apple says the sensor is nearly twice the size of last year’s, paired with a higher megapixel count and a wider field of view. In practical terms, larger pixels and more glass typically mean cleaner low-light selfies, less noise, and improved subject separation for portrait effects.
Autofocus and face detection have been a staple of recent iPhones, but the added sensor real estate should particularly help group selfies and video calls in mixed lighting. Imaging analysts at DXOMARK have repeatedly shown that sensor size correlates with better signal-to-noise ratios and texture retention—two areas front cameras often struggle with.
Reworked design and dual 48MP rear cameras
Apple has also rethought the camera housing, shifting to a wider, horizontal island that visually lowers the bump and makes room for upgraded optics. On the back, the iPhone 17 pairs a 48MP wide with a 48MP ultrawide, enabling higher-resolution captures and more detail in cropped shots without a dedicated telephoto.
Colorways are restrained but fresh: Lavender, Mist Blue, Black, White, and Sage. The palette leans modern without the candy gloss of earlier generations, and it complements the refined camera shelf and flatter lines.
Core specs and real-world impact
Under the hood, the iPhone 17 runs on Apple’s A19 chip, supported by 8GB of RAM and storage options of 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB. Battery capacity is listed at 3,600mAh. While milliamp-hours don’t tell the whole story, pairing adaptive refresh with Apple’s power management should translate to steadier all-day endurance, especially for heavy messaging and social feeds.
On the software side, iOS 26 introduces a visual overhaul Apple calls Liquid Glass—subtler translucency, smoother transitions, and more coherent iconography. Core apps like Photos and Phone have streamlined interfaces, and Apple Intelligence features are embedded across the system for on-device assistance, image suggestions, and more contextual actions without sending as much data to the cloud.
Why this update matters
ProMotion arriving on the mainstream iPhone is the tipping point many buyers have been waiting for. Counterpoint Research has tracked a steady rise in 120Hz adoption across midrange Android devices, and Apple’s move eliminates a long-standing gap that made cheaper rivals feel smoother day to day. For gaming, touch input synced to a higher refresh can reduce perceived latency, which competitive titles like Call of Duty: Mobile and Genshin Impact already exploit.
The selfie upgrade is equally pragmatic. Front cameras are used more frequently than most rear lenses for video calls, creator content, and social posts. A larger sensor is the kind of behind-the-scenes change that pays off immediately without learning new features—clearer faces, better skin tones, and steadier exposure under tough indoor lighting.
Early take
If you’ve skipped a couple of cycles waiting for the standard iPhone to feel “Pro enough,” the iPhone 17 finally checks the big boxes: a high-refresh display, brighter screen, and more capable front camera, alongside a redesigned camera island and modernized software. Independent testing from labs and reviewers will flesh out the fine print—color accuracy, sustained brightness, and low-light performance—but on paper, this is the most consequential base-model refresh in years.