Apple announces iPhone 17 with ProMotion display and upgraded selfie cam

At its big iPhone launch event on Tuesday, Apple finally dropped all the news on the new iPhone 17 lineup.

While some annual iPhone upgrades feel very incremental, this year’s batch of new iPhones does feel like it has a little more juice than usual. Part of that is the new design, as Apple has reimagined the rear camera bump as a wider, more horizontal camera island (dubbed “the plateau” in Apple speak).

As we’ll get to shortly, there are also some exciting changes in the spec sheet. Let’s dive in.

Meet the new iPhone 17

The iPhone 17 comes in four colors: Lavender, Mist Blue, Black, White, and Sage. It starts at $799 and launches on Sept. 19.

Here are the basic specs for the new iPhone 17:

• 6.3-inch display with adaptive 120Hz refresh rate

• 3,000 nits peak brightness

• A19 chip

• 256GB starting storage

• Rear cameras: 48MP wide, 48MP ultrawide

• Front camera: 18-megapixel Center Stage front camera

The two big things to note here are the refresh rate and the megapixel count on the front camera. Apple’s base model iPhones have lagged behind the competition for years, stubbornly sticking with 60Hz refresh rates even as budget options like the Google Pixel 9a offer double that amount.

The iPhone 17 camera array

The new Center Stage front camera will let you capture better selfies.
Credit: Apple

The base iPhone gets some serious camera upgrades. Let’s start on the back, where you get a 48MP “dual fusion camera system,” which Apple says combines a main camera and telephoto camera. The second rear camera is also 48MP, and the Fusion Ultra Wide camera “captures expansive scenes and macro photography,” per an Apple press release.

The new selfie cam also has a wider field of view than previous models, with Apple claiming the sensor itself is “nearly twice as big” as last year’s selfie cam. Because of this larger sensor, you can take landscape and portrait selfies without moving the phone, which is a neat trick.

In addition, the new front camera lets you shoot “ultra-stabilized video in 4K HDR.” Also of note, you can now capture video from the front and rear cameras simultaneously, which Apple says will come in handy on FaceTime calls.

What else is new?

The new lock screen in iOS 26.
Credit: Apple

The rear cameras on the iPhone 17.
Credit: Apple

As usual, the new iPhone also comes equipped with the newest version of iOS, called iOS 26 in this case. It’s got a new design language overhaul called “Liquid Glass,” which is a name that makes sense once you see how it looks. Basic, everyday apps like Photos and Phone have also gotten interface makeovers to streamline things a bit. Apple Intelligence features are also on display here, such as live language translation.

Mashable has been testing Liquid Glass and iOS 26 for months, and it delivers quite a few new features, in addition to the new look.

How to preorder the iPhone 17

Ready to upgrade? The new iPhone 17 starts at $799 for 256GB of storage and launches on Sept. 19. You can pre-order the new phone at the Apple Store.

For more Apple event coverage, follow Mashable’s live blog and get real-time updates on the iPhone 17, Apple Watch Series 11, and AirPods Pro 3 launch.