The iPhone 17 Is Officially Here

In line with Apple‘s well-established release cadence, the curtains have now been drawn back on the iPhone 17 and all its cutting-edge variants.

Featuring the new Centre Stage front camera that “takes selfies to the next level”; a powerful 48MP Fusion Main camera with an optical-quality 2x Telephoto; a freshly-introduced 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera that captures expansive scenes and macro photography in greater detail; as well as a powerful performance upgrade in the A19 chip… true to the Cupertino-based tech giant’s annual promise, this is the latest and greatest.

Check out what else has been confirmed below.

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iPhone 17 Models

• iPhone 17
  Base model, jumps in size from 6.12 inches to approximately 6.3 inches.
• iPhone 17 Air (Slim)
  The inaugural ultra-thin option that replaces the iPhone Plus. A lighter build and clear design focus on a refined form factor. 6.5 inches by 5.6mm (eSIM only as a result) and only 165 grams.
• iPhone 17 Pro / Pro Max
  Iterative external design, stronger internals, and additional Pro-exclusive colour. 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches, respectively.

The Air slots neatly between the base and Pro in terms of both size and price (not to mention competing directly with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge as a 0.2mm thinner offering).

Design & Colours

The iPhone 17 Air appears to be Apple’s big design play in 2025, delivering a device that emphasises thinness above all else, as per the broader next-gen smartphone trend of form factor refinement in lieu of genuine innovation. Consequently, the Air is eSIM-only, given the lack of space for your traditional SIM tray.

The forthcoming Pro and Pro Max, however, will largely resemble the iPhone 16’s silhouette.

Here are the confirmed colours:

One feature that won’t make the cut is under-display Face ID, despite the earlier assertions of display industry authority Ross Young, which analysts have now pushed to future cycles. Potentially the iPhone 18.

Overall, it’s a restrained design cycle with subtle design evolutions like thinner borders, as touched upon above.

Display

The base iPhone 17 looks set for its first significant screen bump in years, expanding to around 6.3 inches – roughly equivalent to the 16 Pro size. Super Retina XDR with ProMotion and all, which trickles down from the Pro models thanks to improved panel yields.

The Always-On panel can dynamically scale from 120Hz down to 1Hz for efficiency. Ceramic Shield 2 debuts with three times better scratch resistance and reduced glare, while brightness now peaks at 3,000 nits outdoors (the highest ever on any iPhone).

Contrast in sunlight is also twice as good as before, meaning less squinting during Aussie summers.

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Performance & Connectivity

Internally, the phones will be powered by new-generation silicon.

The A19 chip is built on third-generation 3nm architecture and pairs a six-core CPU with a five-core GPU that’s more than twice as fast as the A15. Neural Accelerators are embedded into each GPU core, unlocking on-device generative AI tasks with lower latency.

Apple has promised all-day battery life with up to 30 hours of video playback – eight more than the iPhone 16 – alongside Adaptive Power Mode in iOS 26, which learns your daily usage to conserve energy.

Fast-charging remains, juicing devices to 50% in 20 minutes with a higher-wattage USB-C adapter.

As for connectivity, it’s driven by Apple’s new N1 wireless chip, bringing Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. Naturally, the stability and reliability of AirDrop, Personal Hotspot, and other peer-to-peer features have seen an improvement.

Cameras

The biggest leap comes from the front-facing system. Though that isn’t to say Apple hasn’t put serious effort into both ends of the iPhone 17’s camera system.

The new Centre Stage front camera introduces a square sensor (an iPhone first) that pushes selfies and video calls further: 18MP stills, a wider field of view, and the ability to shoot portrait or landscape while holding the phone upright.

AI automatically expands the frame for group shots and stabilises video in 4K HDR, while Dual Capture also lets you record from the front and rear cameras simultaneously.

Around the back, it’s 48MP across the board this year. As touched upon during the intro, that’s a 48MP Fusion Main camera with integrated 2x Telephoto that effectively doubles as two lenses; and the new 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide that produces up to four times the resolution of its predecessor, enabling macro detail and more dramatic angles.

In terms of video, 4K60 Dolby Vision, Spatial Audio recording, Cinematic mode, and Action mode all return, alongside the bells and whistles like Audio Mix and wind noise reduction. Spatial photos and videos can even be captured for playback on Vision Pro.

As suspected by MacRumors, the Air and Pro models come with a new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, spanning the back of the device. The standard iPhone 17 retains the two vertical rear cameras positioned in a pill-shaped camera bump.

Battery

While the iPhone 17 series will broadly range from 3,692 mAh to 5,088 mAh in capacity (mirroring the iPhone 16 series), the Air will be forced to make a noticeable concession due to its ultra-slim design – though not as much as the once theorised 2,800 mAh to 2,900 mAh capacity, as per Chinese leakers, which is about over 20% less than the base iPhone 16.

Here are the confirmed capacities:

• iPhone 17: 3,692 mAh (+3.7% more than iPhone 16)
• iPhone Air: 3,149 mAh
• iPhone 17 Pro: 4,252 mAh (+18.7% more than iPhone 16 Pro)
• iPhone 17 Pro Max: 5,088 mAh (+8.6% more than iPhone 16 Pro Max)

And just to reiterate Apple’s promise from the performance section of this article, expect all-day battery life (up to 30 hours of video playback) – paired with Adaptive Power Mode in iOS 26 to help it go the distance.

iOS 26 & Apple Intelligence

Every iPhone 17 will ship with iOS 26, and Apple is set to deepen its push into Apple Intelligence, refining on-device AI workflows and embedding smarter features into system apps.

iOS 26 introduces a refreshed design called Liquid Glass, placing more focus on content while keeping the interface familiar. Apple Intelligence is expanded with Live Translation for text and audio in real time across Messages, FaceTime, and Phone; Visual intelligence lets you search or take action directly from screenshots.

Developers can now tap into the on-device foundation model, enabling more privacy-protected apps that work even offline. Call and message screening tools reduce interruptions, while CarPlay, Maps, Wallet, and Music all see quality-of-life upgrades.

A new Apple Games app consolidates all titles in one hub.

RELATED: Apple’s iOS Receives First Major Design Overhaul In Years

iPhone 17 Release Date (Australia & International)

Like we said before, say what you will about the boffins over in Cupertino, but they don’t miss their deadlines. The iPhone 17 line will be available for pre-order from Friday, September 12th at 10 AM (AEST), ahead of hitting shelves precisely a week later on Friday, September 19th.

iPhone 17 Price(s)

iPhone 17 pricing discussions were perhaps the most tentative thanks to the ripple effects of the Trump administration’s tariffs and general state of geopolitics, with reports that the Pro range could undergo a modest increase in certain regions due to higher component costs.

But remarkably enough, the base iPhone 17 will start at $1,399 (identical to the 16’s entry price point at launch), working its way to $1,799 for the maximum storage option of 512GB.

The iPhone 17 Air, on the other hand, is positioned more closely to the 16 Plus’ level, ranging from $1,799 all the way to $2,599 for a terabyte of built-in storage.

The iPhone 17 Pro begins at $1,999 and tops out at $2,799; while the iPhone 17 Pro Max opens at $2,199 and caps itself off at an eye-watering $3,799.

For reference, here’s what the iPhone 16 line retailed for at launch.

Keep an eye out here for any relevant updates on the iPhone 17.