The new iPhone 17 is finally here, and while it lacks the notable upgrades like the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro series, it’s a noteworthy upgrade for several key reasons.
Taking cues from its key rivals at the $800 price point, Apple chose to improve all the key criticisms of its regular model. The result is that the iPhone 17 offers a very similar iPhone 17 Pro experience, without the high price tag, albeit with one less camera.
The 48MP main and ultrawide cameras are identical to those on the iPhone 17 Pro, as is the larger 6.3-inch ProMotion display, which features a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate. Coupled with a larger battery, pro performance, and faster charging — as well as 25W Qi2/MagSafe magnetic wireless charging — the iPhone 17 offers an experience that’s hard to beat.
Yet, the iPhone and iOS 26 experience won’t be for everyone. If you are looking for an alternative, whether it runs iOS 26 or Android 16, here are three phones you should consider instead.
Nirave Gondhia / Digital TrendsApple iPhone 17 Pro
Price: From $999.99 with 256GB of storage
The new iPhone 17 Pro is priced identically to last year’s iPhone 16 Pro, which means there’s just a $200 price difference between it and the iPhone 17. Several noteworthy upgrades make it a key alternative that’s worth considering.
The iPhone 17 Pro features an identical display, matching even down to the 3,000-nit peak brightness. The main and ultrawide cameras are identical, as is the new square-sensor 18MP Center Stage selfie camera, which can capture high-resolution images and videos in both vertical and horizontal orientations.
The iPhone 17 Pro has one key advantage: the third lens. In Apple’s world, the distinction between the Pro and non-Pro variants is a telephoto lens, and the iPhone 17 Pro features a new 4x telephoto lens that can capture high-resolution 8x images as well.
It’s a long-awaited upgrade that makes the iPhone 17 Pro worth considering if you want an iPhone 17 with the missing lens. The iPhone 17 Pro also features a stunning Cosmic Orange color option that’s unlike any other iPhone, and the A19 Pro chipset offers considerably more performance than the A19 chipset in the iPhone 17.
John McCann / Digital TrendsGoogle Pixel 10
Price: From $799.99 with 128GB of storage, $899.99 with 256GB of storage.
There’s one thing that all the Android phones on this list also have in common: they’re priced similarly to the iPhone 17, but all feature a telephoto camera.
The Pixel 10 joined these ranks earlier this year, but to add the same 10.8MP 5x telephoto lens it has used in other Google phones, the company had to drop the ultrawide lens from 48MP to 12MP. It’s a noticeable downgrade, and if you don’t often zoom past 2x, the better ultrawide lens on the iPhone 17 could be more beneficial.
Both features feature a 6.3-inch OLED display with a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate and 3,000 nits peak brightness. The A19 processor in the iPhone 17 is considerably more powerful than the Tensor G5 processor in the Pixel 10, although both offer considerable improvements over their predecessors.
The Pixel 10 has a 4,970 mAh battery that’s paired with 30W wired charging and 15W Qi2 magnetic wireless charging. Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 has a smaller 3,692 mAh battery, but Apple’s on-device optimizations mean it’s likely to offer similar overall battery life. The iPhone 17 offers faster charging, with 25W Qi2 magnetic charging and up to 40W charging that can charge the phone to 50% in just 20 minutes.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital TrendsSamsung Galaxy S25
Price: From $799.99 with 128GB of storage, $899.99 with 256GB of storage.
Then there’s the Galaxy S25, which offers a consistent entry-level Samsung Galaxy experience. The display is 0.1 inches smaller than the iPhone 17 at 6.2 inches, but it offers the same 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, albeit with a lower peak brightness of 2,600 nits.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor is among the best on a smartphone, and paired with 12GB of RAM, the Galaxy S25 offers a smooth experience that makes it one of the best Android phones. A key downside is the 4,000 mAh battery and 25W charging, both of which are less capable than the competition.
The 50MP main camera delivers an excellent experience, but the 12MP ultrawide is less capable than the iPhone 17. The 10MP telephoto lens offers up to 3x optical zoom, but doesn’t deliver beyond this mark, while the 12MP selfie camera doesn’t match up to the Center Stage selfie camera on the iPhone 17.
The Pixel 10 and Galaxy S25 both offer interesting alternatives to the iPhone 17, as both start at the same price as the iPhone 17, but with half the storage. Matching the 256GB storage inside the iPhone means both phones cost $100 more than Apple’s base iPhone, making these considerations even harder. Whichever phone you buy, there’s never been a better time to buy an $800 smartphone. They’re already some of the best phones you can buy.
