The iPhone 17 is just around the corner, with leaks and rumours painting a glorious future for fans of Apple’s most anticipated smartphone. Expected to bring in major upgrades over the outgoing iPhone 16, the iPhone 17 will aim to be more than just an interative update. A new chipset coupled with nicer cameras, a larger battery with faster charging and new colours could be all that compels consumers looking to upgrade.
However, the outgoing iPhone 16 is now enjoying great price benefits and for all those wanting a good deal on Apple’s new-ish iPhone, this option is a great deal. Running on the 3nm A18 chipset, the iPhone 16 makes Apple Intelligence features more accessible. The cameras are among the best you can find on any modern-day smartphone and you get to experience the best of the iOS ecosystem yet.
Now comes the crucial question: should you wait for the upcoming iPhone 17 with its promising specs sheet or is the current generation iPhone 16 with its tempting prices a better deal? We think you should wait and here’s why.
4 reasons why you should wait for the upcoming iPhone 17
Next-gen performance
The iPhone 16 currently utilises the fast and extremely capable A18 chipset. However, the new iPhone 17 is expected to offer an even faster and more capable A19 chip. Rumours suggest that the A19 will be based on a more advanced 3nm process, offering greater efficiency and superior neural engine performance, thus giving the iPhone 17 lot more firepower to play with. While the percentage numbers might not give a compelling reason, the extra performance always helps with longevity of the device.
Significant camera upgrades
While the iPhone 16 refined pre-existing optics from the iPhone 15, the iPhone 17 could introduce larger sensors, advanced computational photography modes, new lens configurations for enhanced low-light performance, superior zoom capabilities and video recording. The front camera is also expected to get a larger 24MP sensor for superior imaging and videography. For all the photography enthusiasts as well as content creators, the iPhone 17 might be worth the wait.
Smooth display
One of the bigger complaints with the iPhone 16 was the retention of a standard 60Hz OLED panel, which was a lot slower than the average 120Hz display on most budget Android phones. Apple might finally bring 120Hz refresh rate to the iPhone 17, thus making the animations and scrolling a lot smoother. Rumours also hint at a brighter OLED panel with improved power efficiency and possibly slimmer bezels.
New AI features:
The iPhone 17 is anticipated to be a showcase for Apple’s new AI features. Beyond the AI features introduced with iOS 18 on the iPhone 16, the A19 chip on the iPhone 17 could enable more complex and personalised on-device AI features. This could make the iPhone user experience a lot smarter with proactive assistance. We could see deeper integration with ChatGPT. Apple could also add specific on-device AI features to the iPhone 17, thus making it a worthwhile investment over the outgoing iPhone 16.
Hence, while the iPhone 16 remains a highly capable smartphone, the iPhone 17 promises a potential for substantial upgrades in performance, camera, display, design, and AI capabilities.
