Apple iPhone 17 and Apple iPhone Air tie on the OH Rank at a score of 67. Apple iPhone 17 wins on Performance and Battery; Apple iPhone Air wins on Main Camera. Apple iPhone Air is 3.2mm wider than Apple iPhone 17. Apple iPhone 17 is the more recent release, from Sep 19, 2025.
EDITORIAL: The vanilla 17 gets a new A19 (3nm) chip along with now minimum 256GB of fast memory. In one of the biggest upgrades to an iPhone, Apple finally put in a 120Hz LTPO Retina OLED screen with advanced anti-glare coating. The resolution and Dolby Vision are the same as on the 17 Pro. Ultrawide camera is upgraded to 48MP and the new 18MP selfie is shared with Pro models too. In a true Apple fashion, battery tech is the same with just 130mAh more power. Taking the upgraded screen into account explains noticably worse battery endurance compared to iPhone 16.
EDITORIAL: Like Samsung, Apple has introduced a slim phone this year. And just like Samsungâs, Appleâs new entry replaces the bigger non-Pro model that wasnât selling too well. 17 Air is the only iPhone this year to keep the Titanium build and the only one to come with just 2 lenses: one on the front and just one in the back. Other then being 5.6mm thin, 17 Air offers the same screen with anti-reflection coating and the same new âCenter Stageâ selfie camera as this yearâs Proâs. Itâs A19 Pro chip has 1 core less and a noticably slower performance when compared to 17 Pro Max. Night mode photos are painfully slow to take. The still and video imaging is very good but remember: you wonât have access to any meaningful zooming or ultrawide action. At least, Airâs battery life is better then Samsung Edgeâs. We wish it more luck then iPhone Plus had.
Both phones here were scored by me, using the same ten categories, with no ads, sponsorships, or manufacturer relationships — this comparison is as objective and honest as it gets.