I’ve tried every iPhone 17 model, and my golden rule for upgrading is changing in 2025

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The idea of “tyranny of choice” says that having a set of good choices is supposed to let everyone find exactly what makes them most happy, but the reality is that having so many good choices can often lead to anxiety, indecisiveness, and discontent. If we apply this concept to the iPhone 17 lineup, then Apple is quite the tyrant this year.

After all, the base model iPhone 17 and Pro Max gives you a chance to use tomorrow’s technology today. 

Also: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max review: I’ve got one big reason to recommend a year-over-year upgrade

I’ve upgraded my iPhone every year since the first iPhone in 2007, and I’ve spent hands-on time with all four of this year’s iPhone models. And yet, my buying advice this year is wildly different than any other year in the past. And there are several reasons why.

Let’s unpack it by looking at each of the product lines, as well as who I’d recommend as the ideal upgrader for each one. 

The $799 iPhone 17 suits more people than ever

Do not sleep on the base model iPhone 17

Apple also kept the price of the iPhone 17 at $799 while raising the base storage from 128GB to 256GB. Last year, 256GB of storage on the iPhone 16 would have put the price of the phone at $899. From that perspective, Apple effectively gave the iPhone 17 a $100 price cut. Likewise, the iPhone 17’s two biggest Android competitors, the Pixel 10 and the Samsung Galaxy S25 still start with 128GB of storage on their base models and both cost $799. 

Also: Want Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses? You have to book a demo first – and they are going fast

From another perspective, this year’s iPhone 17 is nearly identical to last year’s iPhone 16 Pro, except that it lacks the telephoto zoom. However, it does add the next-gen selfie camera and the dual-capture camera. And last year’s iPhone 16 Pro started at $999 for 128GB of storage and $1,099 for 256GB.

As a result, there are people I would have previously recommended to opt for the iPhone Pro line who I’m very happy to recommend the iPhone 17 steps into a bit of a cursed place in the iPhone lineup between the base model and Pros — a place where the iPhone 12-13 Mini and the iPhone 14-16 Plus models all struggled to generate much interest over the past half decade. 

Like Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, the iPhone Air is considered a technology demonstration of just how thin its engineers can make a phone as a precursor to a leap forward in foldables — the Fold 7 in Samsung’s case. 

For the vast majority of iPhone upgraders, I’m still going to say no — not when the base model iPhone 17 has better cameras and costs less. And if you’re a true power user, then you’re not going to be satisfied with the battery life or the cameras on the iPhone Air. 

But if you’re someone who loves to live on the cutting edge of tech and run ahead of the pack, you’re probably going to be pretty giddy when you put your hands on the iPhone Air. You’re probably someone who would have loved to wear Google Glass or the Apple Vision Pro and you’re one of the leading candidates to get the iPhone Fold in 2026. The iPhone Air

The other big problem I had with the two titanium iPhone 15 and 16 Pro Max phones over the past two years was regular overheating. Whenever I was doing a lot of photo or video shooting, when I was in crowded urban areas with weak wireless signals, or when I had the phone out in the sun for extended periods, these two Pro Max phones would get incredibly hot. And when they overheated, the battery would start to drain very quickly. 

That’s definitely not the dynamic you want to see from an expensive, high-end phone.  

I was thrilled that Apple has addressed both problems in the iPhone 17 Pro Max

Of course, I’ll need to do a lot more testing with the Zoom camera before I can say whether it’s ready to take on more of my everyday Zoom photography. I’m also going to compare it with the Pixel 10 Pro XL zoom, which I’m also testing. Like last year, I plan to do a dedicated review of the new iPhone 17 Pro camera system, so stay tuned for that.

Also: iPhone Air vs. Samsung S25 Edge: I compared both ultra-thin phones to decide a winner

Nevertheless, I’m now going to make a recommendation that I’ve never made before — with an asterisk. If you, like me, experienced overheating and zoom issues with the iPhone 15 Pro Max or the iPhone 16 Pro Max, you may want to consider a more rapid-than-usual upgrade to the iPhone 17 Pro Max