A few months have passed since that famous September event and the iPhone 17 is no longer an unknown newcomer; it has passed its test, its initial software bugs have been fixed with iOS updates, and now it is time to put this phone next to its older brother, the iPhone 16, without any pretensions, without Apple’s marketing hype, and with a completely consumer and technical perspective.
Many of you may be stuck in these two choices: buy the iPhone 16, which has now reached equilibrium in the market and is considered a (relatively!) affordable option, or spend more and go for the iPhone 17? Are the changes this year really so revolutionary that it is worth the price difference? Or has Apple re-introduced the same phone from last year in a new color?
In this very detailed and long report, I am not going to just list the specifications for you. We want to get into the heart of the technology. We want to see what exactly changes occur in the nerves of your eyes and brain when you use the phone when we say 120 Hz display. We want to see how much those extra mAh of battery will do you during a busy day. So stay tuned to see which phone is more worth buying for the price.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 17 Design Comparison

When you first hold the iPhone 17 next to the iPhone 16, you might think at first glance that you are dealing with identical twins. But as you know, Apple is a master of subtle changes that show their impact in the long run. Let’s take a closer look at these changes.
For years, 6.1 inches had been Apple’s gold standard for entry-level models. The iPhone 12, 13, 14, 15, and finally the iPhone 16 all revolved around this size. This size was a balance point for many; not so big that it tired the hand, and not so small that the content was lost.
But in 2025, with the iPhone 17, Apple decided to break that standard and move to 6.3 inches. On paper, a 0.2-inch increase (about 5 mm) may seem insignificant, but in the world of mobile ergonomics, it’s a huge change.

• User experience with the iPhone 16: When you hold the iPhone 16 in your hand, it feels familiar. Your thumb (if you have average-sized hands) can easily reach the buttons on the opposite side, and one-handed typing is quite possible. At 147.6 mm, this phone is still considered a compact phone in the world of Android giants.
• User experience with the iPhone 17: The story is a little different here. The body is a little longer. Apple has tried to control the increase in body size by reducing the black borders around the screen (Bezels), but you still feel that the phone sits fuller in the hand. For those with smaller hands, reaching the notification shade on the iPhone 17 is a bit more challenging, and you may have to use Reachability more. But in return, that extra screen space makes for a more immersive experience when reading text or browsing Instagram.

There were rumors that the base models might also be made of titanium this year, but Apple has stuck with aluminum to maintain its distinction from the Pro series and, of course, control costs. Both phones are made of a very high-quality aluminum frame and a glass back panel. But there is one subtle difference:

• iPhone 16: It has a matte glass back that feels smooth but still attracts fingerprints to some extent.
• iPhone 17: Apple has used a new matte process for the glass, which has a satin-like texture and makes the phone less slippery in your hand. This means that the phone is a little less likely to slip out of your hand like a fish on the iPhone 17.
  The iPhone 16 was the first to feature Apple’s new physical Camera Control button. When it first came out last year, many of us had issues with it. It was a bit low, a bit stiff, and the software was buggy.
  The hardware of the button hasn’t changed much on the iPhone 17, but the feel of the button has. Apple has used a newer Taptic Engine in the iPhone 17 that delivers haptic feedback much more accurately to your fingertips. When you swipe the iPhone 17’s button to zoom in, the tiny ticks you feel under your hand closely mimic the feel of rotating the lens ring on a real camera. On the iPhone 16, it felt a bit digital and artificial.
  For more information, you can check out WiseSelect’s iPhone 17 review video and WiseSelect’s iPhone 16 review.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 17 Display Comparison

Let’s be honest, folks. The iPhone 16’s biggest weakness, even back in its day, was its 60Hz refresh rate. In a world where $150 Android phones have 120Hz displays, seeing blurry scrolling and choppy animations on an $800 Apple phone was a real pain. But the iPhone 17 is here to change the game.
Finally, after years of waiting, Apple has brought ProMotion to the standard iPhone 17 model. This isn’t just a number; it’s a quality-of-life change.
The impact on everyday use: When you scroll through menus on the iPhone 17, or scroll through long text in Safari, the text remains perfectly legible. There’s no motion blur. It feels like the content is glued to your finger. When you go back and work with the iPhone 16, you feel like the phone is broken or lagging (when it’s not, it’s just your eyes are used to the smoothness of 120 Hz).

• Adaptive refresh rate (LTPO): The iPhone 17 panel is smart. It doesn’t have to be at 120 Hz all the time. When you’re looking at a still image, the refresh rate drops to 1 Hz. When you’re playing a game, it goes to 120. This means you have both a smooth image and optimal battery consumption. The iPhone 16, however, is always (or most of the time) locked at 60 Hz, wasting energy.
  Thanks to the same LTPO technology that I mentioned, the iPhone 17 now has the Always-On Display feature. Imagine your phone on your desk. Without touching it, you can see the clock, date, weather widget, and important notifications. On the iPhone 16, the screen is completely off and black, and you have to tap or pick up the phone to see the clock. This may seem like a small thing, but it saves you from having to turn the screen on full blast hundreds of times a day.
  Another key improvement is the maximum screen brightness.
• iPhone 16: 2,000 nits of maximum brightness outdoors. This was really good and got the job done.
• iPhone 17: 3,000 nits of maximum brightness outdoors.
  Where does that extra 1,000 nits come in handy? When you’re out in the summer, wearing sunglasses and trying to hail an Uber or get directions. With the iPhone 16, you might have to shade your phone with your hand, but with the iPhone 17, the screen is as clear and readable as a sheet of white paper. Plus, the iPhone 17 has a new anti-reflective coating that drastically reduces ambient light reflection and maintains image contrast under direct sunlight.

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 17 Battery Performance Comparison

The battery has always been the Achilles’ heel. But what about in 2025?

• iPhone 16: About 3561 mAh.
  ‌ iPhone 17: About 3692 mAh. You might say it’s only 130 more? But wait. Apple has used stacked battery technology in the iPhone 17, which has a higher energy density and degrades over time.
  The iPhone 17’s increased battery life isn’t just because of the mAh, it’s because of the LTPO display. Because the iPhone 17’s screen can lower the refresh rate, the display’s battery consumption is drastically reduced when you’re reading an e-book or looking at a photo.
• Video playback: The iPhone 16 lasts about 22 hours. The iPhone 17 has increased this number to about 26-27 hours.
• Real-world scenario: We worked with both phones for a full day (from 8 am to 11 pm). Mobile internet on, Instagram, a little gaming, navigation, and calls.
• iPhone 16: At 10 pm, it reached 15 percent and entered Low Power Mode.
• iPhone 17: Still had 28% charge at 10pm.
  Both phones support 25W MagSafe charging (with a 30W adapter or higher). While rumors have it that it will be 50W wireless, the iPhone 17’s charging speed isn’t that much different from the 16. The 50% charge in 30 minutes is a standard that Apple still maintains. But the iPhone 17 stays cooler while charging, which in turn helps with battery life.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 17 camera performance comparison

This year, Apple has shifted its focus from camera count to pixel quality. Let’s see what’s new. For years, we’ve been stuck with 12MP selfie cameras. The photos were good, but not great. The iPhone 17 finally breaks that barrier and gets a 24MP selfie camera.

• Details: Double the resolution means you can zoom in on selfies and count your eyelashes! Cropping photos without losing quality is now possible.
• 6-piece lens: In addition to the sensor, the lens has also been upgraded. This new lens reduces image distortion (your face is no longer in the corner of the image) and increases clarity. FaceTime video calls with the iPhone 17 are so clear that it seems as if the other person is sitting in front of you.
  Both phones have a 48-megapixel Fusion main camera. Daytime photos with both phones are masterpieces. But the difference is in the second camera (Ultra Wide).
  A iPhone 16: It has a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. Landscape photos are good in the day, but at night they have noise and the corners of the image are a bit soft and blurry.
• iPhone 17: It is equipped with a 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera. Yes, you read that right, even the standard model has received this upgrade. What does this mean? This means that your wide photos are now as sharp and high-quality as the photos from the main camera. And more importantly: macro photography. With the new 48MP sensor, when you get the phone close to a flower or insect, it captures details that the naked eye can’t see. Macro was good on the iPhone 16, it’s stunning on the 17.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 17 Hardware Comparison

We always say that iPhones are fast. But this year the story is a little more complicated than just being faster. Let’s go under the hood.

• iPhone 16 (A18 chip): This chip is built with the second-generation 3nm architecture. It has 6 processing cores (2 powerful + 4 energy-efficient) and 5 graphics cores. This chip is still faster than 99% of Android phones on the market.
• iPhone 17 (A19 chip): This chip is built with a more optimized architecture (3nm advanced version or N3P).
  Does the iPhone 17 open WhatsApp faster? No. Both open instantly. The main difference is in heat management and stability. The iPhone 16 got a little hot after about 20 minutes when running heavy games like Genshin Impact or Resident Evil and dimmed the screen. The iPhone 17 can run at full power and brightness for longer (say, 45 minutes) thanks to a new cooling design and the A19 chip that generates less heat.
  Here’s a hot technical discussion. To run Apple Intelligence, you need at least 8GB of RAM.
• iPhone 16: Has 8GB of RAM.
• iPhone 17: Although there were rumors of 12GB of RAM, the standard 17 model has the same 8GB of RAM, with 12GB reserved for the Pro models.
  The lack of RAM on the iPhone 17 may be disappointing, but Apple has improved performance by using faster memory and better memory compression in the A19 chip. However, if you’re the type of person who keeps 50 apps open and expects them to be all there tomorrow morning, both phones may occasionally reload apps.

The iPhone 17 is the first phone (besides the Pro series) to use Apple’s own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip (the N1 series).

• Pros of the N1 chip: Unparalleled ecosystem integration. AirDrop speeds between two iPhone 17s are blazing fast. Connection to the Apple Watch is more stable.
• Limitations: There’s one minor technical caveat, though. The N1 chip in the iPhone 17 doesn’t support the full 320MHz Wi-Fi 7 bandwidth, and is limited to 160MHz. But don’t worry, because our home modems are still struggling to reach Wi-Fi 6 speeds, let alone 7. But for the future, having Wi-Fi 7 on the iPhone 17 is a huge advantage.

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 17 software comparison

Now that we’re in early 2026, both phones are running iOS 26.
Apple Intelligence: Both phones have all the features of Apple’s AI (summarizing notifications, creating emojis with AI, intelligent Siri).

• What’s the difference? Speed ​​and local processing (on the device). The A19 chip in the iPhone 17 has a more powerful Neural Engine. For example, when you ask Siri to search through your photos and find a photo of me in a red dress by the sea, the iPhone 17 does it in a split second, but the iPhone 16 may pause for 1-2 seconds.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 17 Speaker Comparison

Perhaps few people pay attention to the speaker, but when you’re watching a movie in bed, it’s important. Audio tests show that the iPhone 17 has made a leap in the speaker department.

• Sound clarity: The top speaker (Earpiece) in the iPhone 17 has been redesigned and has a stronger sound output. This has made the stereo balance (left and right balance) much better.
  And sound separation: At high volumes (for example, when you’re taking a shower and you put on a song), the singer’s voice on the iPhone 17 is clearer and doesn’t mix with the bass. The iPhone 16 was slightly distorted at 100% volume.

Which is more worth buying between the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 17?

So we’ve reached the last stop. Let’s do two by two to four.
Advantages of the iPhone 17 over the 16:

1. Display: 120 Hz ProMotion + Always On + 3000 nits of brightness (this is the most important change).
2. Size: 6.3 inches (larger and more modern).
3. Camera: 24-megapixel selfie and 48-megapixel ultra-wide.
4. Battery: Better battery life and smarter power management.
5. Hardware: Cooler A19 chip and Wi-Fi 7.
6. Body: More durable glass (Ceramic Shield 2) and more scratch-resistant.

When to buy the iPhone 16?

If your budget is limited and you are financially strained, the iPhone 16 is still a great phone. Its main camera is great, it has artificial intelligence and can handle anything. If you have worked with a 60Hz screen so far and your eyes are used to it, you can still be happy with it.

When to buy the iPhone 17?

If you can afford to spend more, don’t hesitate for a moment and buy the iPhone 17. Why? Because the 120Hz screen is an experience that once you try it, there is no going back. This phone feels like a complete product that Apple has finally put aside its stinginess and poured Pro features into. With these specifications, the iPhone 17 is a phone that will easily serve you for 4 to 5 years like the first day and will not go out of style. I hope this comparison has been able to clear the way for you. I would be happy to hear your opinions. Take care of yourself and your technologies!