Head to head
AppleiPhone 17vsAppleiPhone 16
- Released
- 2025-09-19endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £799Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Released
- 2024-09-20endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Price
- £699Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-19
3 wins for iPhone 170 wins for iPhone 161 difference you won’t notice
Specifications
A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. Every figure carries its source.
Body
Apple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 16
Dimensions
149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95 mmOfficial
147.6 x 71.6 x 7.80 mmOfficial
Weight
177gOfficial
170gOfficial
You won’t notice this difference.
Build
Aluminium design, Ceramic Shield 2 front, Colour-infused glass back (Black, Mist Blue, Sage, Lavender)Official
Aluminium design, Ceramic Shield front, Colour-infused glass backOfficial
SIM
Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM); Dual eSIM supportOfficial
Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM); Dual eSIM supportOfficial
Water/dust rating
IP68Official
IP68Official
Display
Apple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 16
Display type
Super Retina XDR OLED, Always-On, HDR, True Tone, Wide colour (P3)Official
Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR, True Tone, Wide colour (P3)Official
Display size
6.3inOfficial
6.1inOfficial
Resolution
2622 x 1206Official
2556 x 1179Official
Pixel density
460ppiOfficial
460ppiOfficial
Refresh rate
120HzOfficial
No verified data
Peak brightness
3000nitsOfficial
2000nitsOfficial
Typical brightness
1000nitsOfficial
1000nitsOfficial
Screen protection
Ceramic Shield 2 frontOfficial
Ceramic Shield frontOfficial
Platform
Apple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 16
Operating system
iOS 263rd party
iOS 183rd party
Chipset
A19 chipOfficial
A18 chipOfficial
CPU
6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency coresOfficial
6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency coresOfficial
GPU
5-core GPU with Neural AcceleratorsOfficial
5-core GPUOfficial
Memory
Apple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 16
Storage (base)
256GBOfficial
128GBOfficial
Storage options
256GB/512GBOfficial
128GB/256GB/512GB3rd party
GSMArena — Apple iPhone 16 specifications reports 128GB/256GB/512GB · Apple UK — iPhone 16 Technical Specifications claims 128GB
RAM
8GB3rd party
8GB3rd party
Card slot
No3rd party
No3rd party
Camera
Apple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 16
Main camera
48MP Dual Fusion camera system: 48MP Fusion Main 26mm f/1.6 with sensor-shift OIS; 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide 13mm f/2.2 120°; Fusion Main also enables 12MP optical-quality 2x Telephoto 52mm f/1.6Official
Advanced dual-camera system: 48MP Fusion Main 26mm f/1.6 with sensor-shift OIS; 12MP Ultra Wide 13mm f/2.2 120°; 48MP Fusion Main also enables 12MP 2x Telephoto 52mm f/1.6Official
Main sensor resolution
48MPOfficial
48MPOfficial
Main aperture
f/1.6Official
f/1.6Official
Main sensor size
1/1.56"3rd party
1/1.56"3rd party
Telephoto
12MP optical-quality 2x Telephoto, 52mm, f/1.6, sensor-shift OIS (enabled by 48MP Fusion Main)Official
12MP 2x Telephoto, 52mm, f/1.6, sensor-shift OIS (enabled by 48MP Fusion Main)Official
Ultrawide
48MP Fusion Ultra Wide, 13mm, f/2.2, 120° field of viewOfficial
12MP Ultra Wide, 13mm, f/2.2, 120° field of viewOfficial
Front camera
18MP Center Stage, f/1.9 aperture, autofocus with Focus PixelsOfficial
12MP TrueDepth, f/1.9 aperture, autofocus with Focus PixelsOfficial
Video capture
4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fpsOfficial
4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fpsOfficial
Battery
Apple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 16
Battery capacity
3692mAh3rd party
3561mAh3rd party
Battery per charge
41hOfficial
37hOfficial
Marginal — most people won’t notice.
Battery lifespan
1000cyclesOfficial
1000cyclesOfficial
Fast charging
40WOfficial
20WOfficial
Marginal — most people won’t notice.
Wireless charging
25WOfficial
25WOfficial
Connectivity
Apple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 16
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMOOfficial
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMOOfficial
Bluetooth
6Official
5.3Official
USB
USB-C, USB 2 (up to 480Mb/s), DisplayPortOfficial
USB-C, USB 2 (up to 480Mb/s), DisplayPortOfficial
NFC
YesOfficial
YesOfficial
Positioning
Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC)Official
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDouOfficial
Misc
Apple iPhone 17Apple iPhone 16
Colours
Black, White, Mist Blue, Sage, LavenderOfficial
Black, White, Pink, Teal, UltramarineOfficial
SAR (EU, head)
1.49W/kg3rd party
1.24W/kg3rd party
Repairability (EU class)
COfficial
COfficial
4 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for
Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) · AnTuTu benchmark · 3DMark Wild Life Extreme · DXOMARK camera score. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.