Now that the iPhone 17 is officially out, we will answer one of the most commonly asked questions: What are the new changes with the iPhone 17 vs iPhone 16 in a more straightforward approach as much as we can.

iPhone 17 vs iPhone 16

One Size, but bigger than 16

The iPhone 17 now comes in one size, which means, for those who want the bigger iPhone, you are probably going to resort to last year’s 16 Plus while you can. However, compared to the iPhone 16, which houses a 6.1” display, the iPhone 17 now houses a 6.3” display instead.

ProMotion on the 17

Both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 use Super Retina XDR Display, which is great, but one of the highly sought-after iPhone Pro series displays is finally on a non-Pro. The ProMotion, which is the higher refresh rate panel, is finally here on the iPhone 17. It also supports Always-on display, which is a nice touch.

Powered by A19

The iPhone 17 now uses a new processor, the A19, which uses a 6-core CPU with a 5-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, which happens to be the minor change you are looking for here. The neural engine is still at 16 cores, and you get the hardware-accelerated ray tracing. To be fair, apart from the Neural Accelerators, there isn’t much of a difference in the processor specs. However, Apple claims that this brings better battery life to the table.

18MP Center Stage Camera vs 12MP TrueDepth

The iPhone 17 uses a totally new 18MP camera but the emphasis is on the Center Stage element because now, it utilises the entire sensor rather than a portion of the sensor to do the entire tap to zoom and even rotate. If you have used iPads with Centre Stage, expect the same experience here with stabilisation, the Center Stage works for both Photos and Videos. Finally, Dual Capture is here – you can use both the front and rear camera to record at the same time.

The iPhone 16 uses a humble 12MP camera that still shoots great selfies in my opinion but you don’t get those fancy features – that’s about it.

Rear Dual 48MP on iPhone 17 vs a 48 and 12MP setup

While the primary sensor remains the same as the iPhone 16’s 48MP, the ultra-wide camera receives an upgrade from 12MP to a 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera. Honestly, as an Ultra-wide aficionado, I love this change. As for the rest, the experience doesn’t derail from the iPhone 16.

Slight Bump in Magsafe Charging

The MagSafe wireless charging on the new iPhone 17 is rated at 25W versus the 22W found on the iPhone 16. But do take note, you will have to use a 30W adapter to properly use this.

Finally, the Price (at least in Malaysia)

The new iPhone 17 comes in two variants: 256GB starts at RM 3,999 and 512GB at RM 4,999. And now that the 17 is out, the 16 will only be available in a 128GB configuration for RM 3,499 – but I am sure you can get it for far less, if you know where to look. Honestly, that’s a pretty good price structure. But if you are already on the iPhone 16 like me, should you upgrade?

Personally, I’ll wait for the next iPhone 18 because while the upgrades are nice, it isn’t significant enough for me to make the jump, although that Sage Green iPhone 17 is calling out to me and the improved 48MP ultrawide. But you know what, I am okay with my iPhone 16.

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