Tuesday, September 9th 2025
Apple Debuts iPhone 17
Apple today announced iPhone 17, featuring the new Center Stage front camera that takes selfies to the next level; a powerful 48MP Fusion Main camera with an optical-quality 2x Telephoto; and a new 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera that captures expansive scenes and macrophotography in more detail. The 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion is bigger and brighter, enabling super smooth scrolling, immersive gaming, and improved efficiency. And with the new Ceramic Shield 2, the front cover is tougher than any smartphone glass or glass-ceramic, with 3x better scratch resistance than the previous generation and reduced glare. It is all powered by the latest-generation A19 chip for higher performance and longevity.
iPhone 17 will now be available starting with 256 GB of storage—double the entry storage from the previous generation—and a 512 GB option, in five beautiful colors: black, lavender, mist blue, sage, and white. Pre-orders begin Friday, September 12, with availability beginning Friday, September 19.
"iPhone 17 is a big upgrade with powerful features that make iPhone even more useful in your day-to-day life, from the bigger and brighter ProMotion display with 3x better scratch resistance, to all-day battery life with faster charging, the A19 chip for powerful performance, a fantastic 48MP Dual Fusion camera system, and the innovative Center Stage front camera—our best front camera yet," said Kaiann Drance, Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing. "iPhone 17 is a fantastic choice for customers looking for the latest features and the confidence in knowing their iPhone is built to last."
A Powerful Camera System for Next-Level Selfies and High-Resolution Captures
iPhone 17 introduces an all-new Center Stage front camera that advances the photo and video experience. The Center Stage front camera features the first square front camera sensor on iPhone, offering a wider field of view and higher resolution—up to 18MP for photos—to capture more detail. Users no longer have to rotate their iPhone to take a landscape selfie—they can now take photos and videos in portrait or landscape while holding their iPhone vertically, enabling a more comfortable, secure grip and centered gaze. For group shots, Center Stage for photos uses AI to automatically expand the field of view and can rotate from portrait to landscape to include everyone in the frame. The Center Stage front camera enables ultra-stabilized video in 4K HDR, and users can now record on the front and rear cameras simultaneously with Dual Capture—perfect for capturing themselves and the world around them. During calls over FaceTime or third-party apps, Center Stage for video calls keeps users stable and positioned in frame.
iPhone 17 features all 48MP rear cameras for the first time, to capture impressive photos and videos. A 48MP Fusion Main camera shoots sharp detail, and with an integrated optical-quality 2x Telephoto—it is like having two cameras in one. A new 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera captures up to 4x the resolution compared to the previous generation, so users get even more detail for uniquely framed, wider-angle shots or macrophotography. Next-generation Photographic Styles help users customize their photos by adjusting color, highlights, and shadows in real time with a better understanding of skin tones, and a new Bright style will be available with iOS 26 to brighten skin tones and apply a pop of vibrance across the image.
iPhone 17 records stunning video in 4K60 FPS Dolby Vision with creative features, such as Cinematic mode and Action mode. Video is captured with Spatial Audio for immersive listening; Audio Mix lets users adjust sound after capture to boost voices and reduce ambient noise; and wind noise reduction minimizes unwanted noise. iPhone 17 can also take spatial photos and videos to help users relive memories with remarkable depth on Apple Vision Pro.
A Beautiful and Durable Design with a Pro Display
iPhone 17 introduces major display improvements with a sleek contoured edge design. Available in one 6.3-inch size, iPhone 17 has thinner borders than the previous generation and a stunning Super Retina XDR display, featuring ProMotion with an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120 Hz for a smooth and power-efficient experience. The Always-On display shows the time, widgets, and Live Activities at a glance, and when not in use, the display efficiently adjusts down to 1 Hz.
iPhone 17 introduces Ceramic Shield 2 with a new Apple-designed coating for 3x better scratch resistance and improved anti-reflection to reduce glare. It is also easy to use iPhone 17 outside thanks to 3000 nits peak outdoor brightness—the highest ever on iPhone—and 2x better outdoor contrast.
A19: Next-Level Performance and All-Day Battery Life
Built on third-generation 3-nanometer technology, A19 delivers powerful performance, efficiency, and a huge boost in speed. An updated display engine, ISP, and Apple Neural Engine power features like Apple Intelligence and the latest-generation Photographic Styles. The 6-core CPU is 1.5x faster than the A15 Bionic chip in iPhone 13, and the 5-core GPU is more than 2x faster than A15 Bionic, unlocking stunning graphics and next-level mobile gaming. Neural Accelerators are also built into each GPU core to help run powerful generative AI models on device.
The efficiency of A19 and the advanced power management of iOS 26 deliver all-day battery life, and with ProMotion, iPhone 17 gets up to 30 hours of video playback—eight more hours than the previous generation. The new Adaptive Power Mode in iOS 26 also gets to know a user's typical battery consumption and anticipates when they might run low, intelligently conserving power to help get them through the day. And, iPhone 17 can charge up to 50 percent in 20 minutes with an optional high-wattage USB-C power adapter like Apple's new 40 W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60 W Max.
iPhone 17 introduces N1, a new Apple-designed wireless networking chip that enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. In addition to the latest generation of wireless technologies, N1 improves the overall performance and reliability of features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop.
eSIM: A Flexible, Convenient, and Secure Connection
eSIM is a digital SIM that offers greater flexibility, better security, and seamless connectivity compared to traditional physical SIM cards. An industry standard, eSIM is supported by over 500 global carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and more. An eSIM-only iPhone 17 model will be available in Bahrain, Canada, Guam, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the U.S., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. eSIM also makes staying connected while traveling even more convenient, allowing continued connectivity through affordable international roaming plans from users' home carriers or local prepaid options available with more than 200 carriers. For better security, eSIM cannot be physically removed if an iPhone is lost or stolen, and managing travel eSIMs is even easier with a new streamlined setup in iOS 26.
Featuring iOS 26 with New Apple Intelligence Capabilities
iOS 26 elevates the iPhone experience with a beautiful new design, powerful Apple Intelligence capabilities, and meaningful improvements to the apps users rely on every day. The new design with Liquid Glass makes apps and system experiences more expressive and delightful, bringing greater focus to content while keeping iOS instantly familiar. Apple Intelligence now translates text and audio on the go with Live Translation, helping users communicate across languages in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. Updates to visual intelligence allow users to capture a screenshot and easily search or take action on anything they're viewing on their iPhone screen. The on-device foundation model at the core of Apple Intelligence is available to all developers, with apps already offering new intelligent, privacy-protected experiences that can even be used when offline. New screening tools for calls and messages help eliminate distractions so users can focus on the conversations that matter most. iOS 26 also introduces new features in CarPlay, Apple Music, Maps, and Wallet, as well as Apple Games, a brand-new app that gives players a single destination for all their games.
Beautiful New Accessories
In addition to the iPhone 17 Clear Case with MagSafe, a Silicone Case with MagSafe will be available in five colors: black, neon yellow, light moss, anchor blue, and purple fog. The Silicone Case with MagSafe can be paired with the new Crossbody Strap, giving users a hands-free way to wear iPhone. Crafted from 100 percent recycled yarns, the smooth strap drapes comfortably, with embedded flexible magnets and stainless steel sliding mechanisms to easily adjust the length and keep both straps securely aligned. The Crossbody Strap will be available in 10 colors: black, light gray, blue, light blue, purple, sienna, green, neon yellow, tan, and orange.
iPhone 17 and the Environment
Apple 2030 is the company's ambitious plan to be carbon neutral across its entire footprint by the end of this decade by reducing product emissions from their three biggest sources: materials, electricity, and transportation. iPhone 17 is made with 30 percent recycled content, including 85 percent recycled aluminium in the enclosure and 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery. It is manufactured with 35 percent renewable electricity, like wind and solar, across the supply chain. iPhone 17 is also designed to be durable, repairable, and offers industry-leading software support, while meeting Apple's high standards for energy efficiency and safe chemistry. The paper packaging is 100 percent fiber-based and can be easily recycled.
Pricing and Availability
Source:
Apple
iPhone 17 will now be available starting with 256 GB of storage—double the entry storage from the previous generation—and a 512 GB option, in five beautiful colors: black, lavender, mist blue, sage, and white. Pre-orders begin Friday, September 12, with availability beginning Friday, September 19.
A Powerful Camera System for Next-Level Selfies and High-Resolution Captures
iPhone 17 introduces an all-new Center Stage front camera that advances the photo and video experience. The Center Stage front camera features the first square front camera sensor on iPhone, offering a wider field of view and higher resolution—up to 18MP for photos—to capture more detail. Users no longer have to rotate their iPhone to take a landscape selfie—they can now take photos and videos in portrait or landscape while holding their iPhone vertically, enabling a more comfortable, secure grip and centered gaze. For group shots, Center Stage for photos uses AI to automatically expand the field of view and can rotate from portrait to landscape to include everyone in the frame. The Center Stage front camera enables ultra-stabilized video in 4K HDR, and users can now record on the front and rear cameras simultaneously with Dual Capture—perfect for capturing themselves and the world around them. During calls over FaceTime or third-party apps, Center Stage for video calls keeps users stable and positioned in frame.
iPhone 17 features all 48MP rear cameras for the first time, to capture impressive photos and videos. A 48MP Fusion Main camera shoots sharp detail, and with an integrated optical-quality 2x Telephoto—it is like having two cameras in one. A new 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera captures up to 4x the resolution compared to the previous generation, so users get even more detail for uniquely framed, wider-angle shots or macrophotography. Next-generation Photographic Styles help users customize their photos by adjusting color, highlights, and shadows in real time with a better understanding of skin tones, and a new Bright style will be available with iOS 26 to brighten skin tones and apply a pop of vibrance across the image.
A Beautiful and Durable Design with a Pro Display
iPhone 17 introduces major display improvements with a sleek contoured edge design. Available in one 6.3-inch size, iPhone 17 has thinner borders than the previous generation and a stunning Super Retina XDR display, featuring ProMotion with an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120 Hz for a smooth and power-efficient experience. The Always-On display shows the time, widgets, and Live Activities at a glance, and when not in use, the display efficiently adjusts down to 1 Hz.
iPhone 17 introduces Ceramic Shield 2 with a new Apple-designed coating for 3x better scratch resistance and improved anti-reflection to reduce glare. It is also easy to use iPhone 17 outside thanks to 3000 nits peak outdoor brightness—the highest ever on iPhone—and 2x better outdoor contrast.
A19: Next-Level Performance and All-Day Battery Life
Built on third-generation 3-nanometer technology, A19 delivers powerful performance, efficiency, and a huge boost in speed. An updated display engine, ISP, and Apple Neural Engine power features like Apple Intelligence and the latest-generation Photographic Styles. The 6-core CPU is 1.5x faster than the A15 Bionic chip in iPhone 13, and the 5-core GPU is more than 2x faster than A15 Bionic, unlocking stunning graphics and next-level mobile gaming. Neural Accelerators are also built into each GPU core to help run powerful generative AI models on device.
The efficiency of A19 and the advanced power management of iOS 26 deliver all-day battery life, and with ProMotion, iPhone 17 gets up to 30 hours of video playback—eight more hours than the previous generation. The new Adaptive Power Mode in iOS 26 also gets to know a user's typical battery consumption and anticipates when they might run low, intelligently conserving power to help get them through the day. And, iPhone 17 can charge up to 50 percent in 20 minutes with an optional high-wattage USB-C power adapter like Apple's new 40 W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60 W Max.
iPhone 17 introduces N1, a new Apple-designed wireless networking chip that enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. In addition to the latest generation of wireless technologies, N1 improves the overall performance and reliability of features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop.
eSIM: A Flexible, Convenient, and Secure Connection
eSIM is a digital SIM that offers greater flexibility, better security, and seamless connectivity compared to traditional physical SIM cards. An industry standard, eSIM is supported by over 500 global carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and more. An eSIM-only iPhone 17 model will be available in Bahrain, Canada, Guam, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the U.S., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. eSIM also makes staying connected while traveling even more convenient, allowing continued connectivity through affordable international roaming plans from users' home carriers or local prepaid options available with more than 200 carriers. For better security, eSIM cannot be physically removed if an iPhone is lost or stolen, and managing travel eSIMs is even easier with a new streamlined setup in iOS 26.
Featuring iOS 26 with New Apple Intelligence Capabilities
iOS 26 elevates the iPhone experience with a beautiful new design, powerful Apple Intelligence capabilities, and meaningful improvements to the apps users rely on every day. The new design with Liquid Glass makes apps and system experiences more expressive and delightful, bringing greater focus to content while keeping iOS instantly familiar. Apple Intelligence now translates text and audio on the go with Live Translation, helping users communicate across languages in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. Updates to visual intelligence allow users to capture a screenshot and easily search or take action on anything they're viewing on their iPhone screen. The on-device foundation model at the core of Apple Intelligence is available to all developers, with apps already offering new intelligent, privacy-protected experiences that can even be used when offline. New screening tools for calls and messages help eliminate distractions so users can focus on the conversations that matter most. iOS 26 also introduces new features in CarPlay, Apple Music, Maps, and Wallet, as well as Apple Games, a brand-new app that gives players a single destination for all their games.
In addition to the iPhone 17 Clear Case with MagSafe, a Silicone Case with MagSafe will be available in five colors: black, neon yellow, light moss, anchor blue, and purple fog. The Silicone Case with MagSafe can be paired with the new Crossbody Strap, giving users a hands-free way to wear iPhone. Crafted from 100 percent recycled yarns, the smooth strap drapes comfortably, with embedded flexible magnets and stainless steel sliding mechanisms to easily adjust the length and keep both straps securely aligned. The Crossbody Strap will be available in 10 colors: black, light gray, blue, light blue, purple, sienna, green, neon yellow, tan, and orange.
Apple 2030 is the company's ambitious plan to be carbon neutral across its entire footprint by the end of this decade by reducing product emissions from their three biggest sources: materials, electricity, and transportation. iPhone 17 is made with 30 percent recycled content, including 85 percent recycled aluminium in the enclosure and 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery. It is manufactured with 35 percent renewable electricity, like wind and solar, across the supply chain. iPhone 17 is also designed to be durable, repairable, and offers industry-leading software support, while meeting Apple's high standards for energy efficiency and safe chemistry. The paper packaging is 100 percent fiber-based and can be easily recycled.
Pricing and Availability
- iPhone 17 will be available in lavender, mist blue, sage, white, and black in 256 GB and 512 GB storage capacities. iPhone 17 starts at $799 (U.S.) or $33.29 (U.S.) per month.
- Apple offers great ways to save and upgrade to the latest iPhone models. With Apple Trade In, customers can get $200 to $700 (U.S.) in credits when they trade in iPhone 13 or newer. Apple also partners with select carriers to offer incredible deals, and customers can get up to $1,100 (U.S.) in credits when they trade in iPhone 13 or newer—in any condition—to put toward iPhone 17 Pro. Customers can take advantage of carrier deals by visiting the Apple Store online or an Apple Store location. For carrier deal eligibility requirements and more details, see apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/carrier-offers. To see what their device is worth and for trade-in terms and conditions, customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in.
- Customers in more than 63 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Türkiye, the UAE, the UK, the U.S., and Vietnam, will be able to pre-order iPhone 17 beginning at 5 a.m. PDT this Friday, September 12, with availability beginning Friday, September 19. iPhone 17 will be available in 22 other countries and regions beginning Friday, September 26.
- iOS 26 will be available as a free software update on Monday, September 15. Some features may not be available in all languages or regions, and availability may vary due to local laws and regulations. For more information about availability, visit apple.com.
- Apple Intelligence is available in beta with support for these languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Chinese (simplified), Japanese, and Korean. More languages will be coming by the end of this year: Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (traditional), and Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, see support.apple.com/en-us/121115.
- Apple is extending free access to satellite features for an additional year for existing iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users. The free trial will be extended for iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users who have activated their device in a country that supports Apple's satellite features prior to 12 a.m. PT on September 9, 2025. For satellite feature availability, visit support.apple.com/en-us/105097.
- In addition to an iPhone 17 Clear Case, available for $49 (U.S.), a Silicone Case with MagSafe will be available for $49 (U.S.) and a Crossbody Strap will be available for $59 (U.S.). FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe will be available for $59 (U.S.) in black, navy, midnight, purple, fox orange, and moss.
- The Apple-designed 40 W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60 W Max will be available for $39 (U.S.), and a Qi2 25 W-certified MagSafe Charger will be available in a 1-meter length for $39 (U.S.) or a 2-meter length for $49 (U.S.).
- AppleCare delivers exceptional service and support, with flexible options for Apple users. Customers can choose AppleCare+ to cover their new iPhone, or in the U.S., AppleCare One to protect multiple products in one simple plan. Both plans include coverage for accidents like drops and spills, theft and loss protection on eligible products, battery replacement service, and 24/7 support from Apple Experts. For more information, visit apple.com/applecare.
- iCloud+ plans start at just $0.99 (U.S.) per month, providing additional storage to keep photos, videos, files, and more safe in the cloud and accessible across devices. iCloud+ also gives access to premium features such as event creation in the Apple Invites app, as well as Private Relay, Hide My Email, Custom Email Domains, and HomeKit Secure Video. With Family Sharing, users can share their subscription with five other family members at no extra cost.
- Customers who purchase iPhone 17 may receive three free months of Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, Apple News+, and Apple TV+, with a new subscription. Offer and services availability varies by region. See apple.com/promo for details.
45 Comments on Apple Debuts iPhone 17
I've been running my 4 year old $300 used Pixel 4a 5G on a cheap BYOP plan and really have no reason at all to upgrade (and only really upgraded previously because the depreciation of 4G/LTE). Outside of the standard upgrade itch I can't really think of anything I really *need* to get a new phone for.
The one feature that improves almost every year are the cameras. If you don't take many pictures (especially low light shots and video), yeah, the pace of innovation may seem very leisurely. One upgrade is that Apple included what appears to be the same 24MP front-facing camera in all of this year's phones.
Power management and battery performance has also improved in recent years, same with durability. These devices are taking more abuse and having fewer failures. If you spend most of your waking hours in an air-conditioned office or your monster SUV or the couch in your mom's basement, this is hard to notice.
It just kinda matters "when" you buy the flagship. I was waiting for Galaxy S models to receive Snapdragon in Europe and when that happened with S23 Ultra I grabbed one immediately. Still have it and it's great phone in every way. It sucks a bit that I just missed the 7 years of updates, but oh well. Buying vanilla iPhone 17 is currently a great option as they finally fixed the last really big negative about the vanilla model (high refresh rate screen). Now you get lets say 80% of the Pro models for way less and you'll get same amount of updates and performance really isn't that much different for general use I'd say.
My Pixel 4a 5G has been to Egypt, Eastern Europe, and Japan in the time I've had it and it's done great as my primary photo/video/communication device. I doubt most people are leaning on their phones even a fraction as hard, but I guess high res glamour shots of their $12 Big Macs for the instagram crowd require the latest and greatest :peace:
I will point out that much of this planet actually spends a considerable amount of their time on public transit, to and from work; we have been over this countless times before.
And there are generational differences, young people (especially zoomers) are on the go much more than older people. When a zoomer says they "watched a TV show" there's a much higher chance they did it on their phone. Fatass Americans driving in their fatass SUVs to sit in their fatass office chairs or their fatass couches in front of their fatass TVs or fatass wide-screen gaming monitors are mostly just an American thing.
The rest of the world isn't having their fast food DoorDashed to them.
Here's a fun annual photo statistic that shouldn't be a surprise (but probably will be for some people here):
"A full 95% of youth have taken selfies, compared to 63% of those aged 35–54 and only 44% of people over 55."
Source: photoaid.com/blog/mobile-photography-statistics/
No surprise that Apple upgraded the front-facing camera to 24MP. Smartphone camera usage is heavily skewed toward younger users.
And what has the PC done? Webcams debuted on the computer (Trojan Room Coffee Machine, SGI Indy, early-to-mid Nineties) but have stagnated ever since. I paid $25 for a 720p Logitech USB webcam in 2020. Image quality is junk, audio quality barely satisfactory. There's a testament to stagnation. There's an Acer notebook PC in the house, that also has a miserable webcam.
And haptic feedback? Gaming on PC with keyboard and mouse? OK, so no haptic feedback, playing games like you're on some Apple II running Choplifter. Hell, even Nintendo 64 had optional vibration with the Rumble Pack accessory.
Listing a bunch of fine foreign locations where your phone's camera worked is old news. Remember that the smartphone basically destroyed the point-and-shoot digicam market. By 2012 the novelty of taking a photo and sharing it with the world immediately overrided image quality for many. Smartphone camera image quality caught up within a few years.
Only the phone enthusiasts are getting excited for the yearly releases, I feel like manufacturers could slow down to every other year for new devices, then again these companies have record sales so convincing the average user they need a new phone every year to have a slightly better camera still works.
But in the end, it's more about the software, especially third-party apps.
A couple items:
-I don't think anyone is arguing that PCs aren't also heavily commoditized at this point as well. No real major differences between brands/makes or hardware. An Acer/Dell/HP etc are all going to do basically the same thing with basically the same performance tiers on the table.
-None of the other items really signify any kind of paradigm shift around phone hardware releases. New phones are old phones with slightly better everything (that is going to get compressed to hell anyway in its default format and then compressed again when it's uploaded to social media).
That's my point, it's hard to get excited about this stuff when it's just more MP cameras.
Ironically, despite fat ass Americans rolling around in their land barges instagraming $12 big macs not being the ideal audience for this stuff, the American legacy wireless carrier contract schemes are really what these types of incremental upgrades are intended for (building the cost of the phone into the phone plan).
The majority world is going to be using prepaid sims and rolling with their ancient Huawei relics.
Apple is answering here. Improved cameras, improved battery performance, and better displays if you look at all four models announced today. It's not like today's smartphones need a +50% boost in CPU cycles between generations or need to paint +60% more polygons. Everyone benefits from better battery life and not peak CPU cycles or peak 5G downloading speeds.
If you're watching YouTube or TikTok videos, who cares if some other phone's peak cellular download speed is +5% more? That's like eke-ing out 4% more FPS by overclocking your GPU. IT'S NOT IMPORTANT to anyone but score chasers.
It's unrealistic to expect paradigm shifting features each year. Everyone is trying very hard with AI but the consumer facing stuff is still half-baked. AI is heavily reliant on software, good data, training, inference, et cetera. Hard to put it all together. But yeah, I think AI is going to be the next blockbuster feature. But it will take a lot longer than dodgy snake oil salesmen like Altman, Amodei, Musk, and other grandstanding AI
charlatansCEOs will have you believe.If you do a side-by-side comparison of the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 on the Apple website, you can see that the iPhone 17 Pro is stacked with the most pro photo/video features. USB 2 transfer speeds isn't so much a hindrance for still photography, it's much more important for large video files.
Remember that the Pro iPhones started with iPhone 12 in 2020. At the time, there was some debate about who the iPhone Pro was targeted at and what "Pro" meant. Since then Apple has refined its target audience to professional content creators as the iPhone Pro's output is now being taken very seriously by the film and television industries worldwide. iPhone photography/videography has come a long way since the early days of 4K video capture for making short clips of skateboarding sessions, etc. It's not just for enthusiasts, Instagrammers and TikTok-ers.
Apart from home shot video, Joe Consumer isn't slinging as much data between their phones and computers. With streaming audio (music, podcasts, etc.), far fewer people are syncing large music libraries to their phones. I still do but it's not like every time I plug my iPhone into my Mac that I'm transferring gigabytes of music files each sync. And more people do this over wifi these days compared to the early iPhone years.
Same with still photos, a lot of these are going straight into iCloud first. In fact, they might already be visible in your Mac's photo library before you sit down in front of your computer.
Apple -- by offering iCloud with a free tier that includes some cloud storage -- has circumvented much of the Lightning port/USB-C port bottleneck between iPhones and computer hosts.
The iPhone based tools for photo and video editing have also become very robust so fewer projects need to be handled on a Mac or PC. Compared to ten years ago, more complex projects can be handled on-device using included apps or using third-party apps. Of course the most complex projects still benefit from having the footage transferred from phone to computer but if you are regularly using full-blown Final Cut, Premiere or Davinci Resolve, you are probably using an iPhone Pro anyhow.
And yes the day Apple upgrades the USB-C port on the base iPhone to USB 3 speeds I'm sure plenty of people here will say "Gee, what took them so long?!?" Lol, for sure I'll share the sentiment even if I don't voice it explicitly.
:D :) :p
replaced it myself with a 240 USD Motorola Edge 50 neo
120 hz, 12gb mem, 256gb storage, oled, clean android
it is more than enough quick and it's all the phone I need to browse web / x / YouTube
so no, todays budget phones are amazing value