r/AppleWhatShouldIBuy • u/Born-Association-301 • 1d ago
iPhone Confused about buying iPhone 17
Hi! I'm considering buying an iPhone 17, but I have read many comments about how bad the battery life is. I am a light user. I like listening to music while I'm commuting, using language apps, and taking photos and short videos to make memories. As social apps, I only use Instagram and WhatsApp. I use Reddit on the web. I don't play heavy games. However, since this phone's mAh capacity is even worse than my six-year-old Android phone, I am confused. Would you still recommend it, or should I go for something like an iPhone 16 Plus?
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u/Amalfali 1d ago
You seems to be a user as me and i recently got 17 base and once i noticed a major drain like really fast but it was just once and i charge this twice a day or if I charge yesterday night around 8 till 90 then until next day 1pm it gets around 20 , well coming from android does feels a hectic to me coz its been just a month but i guess for the power and optimisation its worth that also my phone is new so maybe thats why and it may get stable later with it ,lets see . For continuous usage you can expect 8-10 percent drain a hour even for. Normal tasks
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u/Amalfali 1d ago
No man you will miss upon pro motion display for just battery and much features that 17 provide so just go for 17
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u/Shazali99 1d ago
- Or if you really want bigger battery then 16 pro max. If that's isn't in budget then 15 pro max is still a very capable phone
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u/Born-Association-301 22h ago
Thank you so much! I'll consider that. Which iPhone camera is closest to the more natural in your opinion? (Least AI effected camera) I am planning to use it mostly for capturing my art work.
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u/Shazali99 4h ago
Can't really comment on that as I have only used iphone 13 and 15 pro. Out of these two 15 pro is better. But you can check camera comparison on youtube
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u/BeMaelle 1d ago
i'd say all older iPhones up to the base 17 batteries took a hit since ios 26 and continuing honestly.
The most recent pros, the pro maxes and base plus'es will always last the longest. Since 17 pro they use the aluminum housing to manage the heat better, besides using more power efficient hardware or the battery capacity being way higher.
I think the base 17 delivers the best battery for its size category honestly. Only newer pro and bigger iphones last longer. We can only wait for apple to optimize ios even further. Because honestly, ios 26 was already way worse than 18 for me, but the promised optimization focused 27 is even worse than that in my experience. I rlly don't know what they're cooking since liquid glass.
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u/Born-Association-301 22h ago
Yeah totally agree 👍🏻 Many people complain about how iOS 26/27 effected their phones battery performance. And as a iPad user, I really don't get the point of liquid glass either. I wish they improve the user experience rather than "nicer" themes.
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u/Life-Development-380 20h ago
Weirdly enough 27 improved my battery life noticeably on my backup phone which is an SE2020
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u/MambaSaidKnockYouOut 19h ago
The iPhone 17’s battery isn’t bad at all. When I first got it it could make it through a day pretty easily, and it sounds like I’m a heavier user than you.
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u/Born-Association-301 19h ago
Cool! How long have you been using it?
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u/MambaSaidKnockYouOut 19h ago
Just over a year, I got it a few days after it launched. The battery is at 90% capacity right now, but I’m not the most mindful about optimized charging.
The only really significant changed I’ve noticed over the last few months is that the phone seems to struggle to maintain peak brightness if I’ve been using it more heavily. I’m an uber driver and it seems like after 30+ minutes of using the app the brightness goes down, which wasn’t the case when I first got it. The lower brightness is still fine indoors, but it can make the screen harder to see when it’s sunny out. Even after closing apps that use more energy, it can still take a while for the brightness to come back.
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u/baldestpianoman 18h ago
is not bad actually if u set up correctly it gets all day long without problems
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u/Born-Association-301 13h ago
Can you share your usage if it is not to much to ask? I only use Instagram for sharing posts or stories, I use 10-15 minutes. Don't like scrolling so much. Very minimal usage of WhatsApp too. I use my phone mostly for searching online, taking pictures of my sketchbook/drawings, listening to music and studying language apps. Would iPhone 17 be enough?
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u/Equivalent-Lion-3906 9h ago
iPhone 17 Owner here. I am a light user like you & I am not on or using my phone 12+ hours a day & I don't find the battery life bad at all. If it were me, I would go with the 17 all the way. YMMV though.
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u/Born-Association-301 4h ago edited 4h ago
That's good 👍🏻 Yeah I mostly use my iPad when I'm at home. I only use my phone for calling someone or using it for social media for like 10-15 minutes. My sot is pretty low at home. When I am outside I use it for listening to music, and studying Japanese flashcards etc. I also like taking photos but not for like long hours. I guess I can survive 😅 Thank you!
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u/Secret-Librarian-644 1d ago
Instagram is a huge battery drain. Its like a heavy gane
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u/Royal_Medicine8648 1d ago
The 16 plus has a worser battery than the 17 and on the 17 you get 120hz
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u/Born-Association-301 22h ago
17 is really nicer but since 16 plus has a bigger battery size, I thought it would be better 😑
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u/Friendly_Zucchini_91 23h ago
Must be confusing it with the air, that has a bad battery. The 17 on the other hand is fine
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u/Born-Association-301 22h ago
No, I only read the comments here. I am not confusing it with Air because I didn't search the Air.
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u/Teenage_techboy1234 23h ago
I have a 17 pro here. The battery is excellent for what is a relatively compact phone. The 17 battery is a bit worse, but not by a huge amount from what I've heard. You should be fine.
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u/Born-Association-301 22h ago
That's nice to hear! How is your sot and battery life? I might consider 17 pro as well.
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u/Sensitive_Foot8899 22h ago
I have a 17 pro max and the I only charge over night
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u/Born-Association-301 21h ago
That's awesome! It is above my budget unfortunately (for my country), maybe I can get the Pro.
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u/TuxTheHamster 1d ago
Around 80 to 20 percentage i get 4h SOT. This includes scrolling IG reels, chatting in telegram, reddit, safari. Now i deleted my IG app and facebook app also because mostly i was doomscrolling reels, so lets see how it goes. But the battery is acceptable to me.