The Cupertino-based tech giant Apple has launched the new iPhone 17, and in more ways than one, the handset redefines what we call the “baseline” or “entry-level” iPhone. It comes with more Pro features than ever, including increased base storage (256GB, finally), a ProMotion display, faster wired charging, and a more powerful chipset.
All this, and the iPhone 17 (256GB) costs less than what the iPhone 16 (256GB) was launched for in September 2024: Rs. 82,900 vs. Rs. 89,900. If you avail the introductory bank offer worth Rs. 6,000, the effective price of the iPhone 17 comes down to Rs. 77,900. This makes the latest entry-level iPhone one of the most value-for-money handsets from Apple.
All the upgrades bridge the gaps that existed between the Android flagships and the iPhone in the same segment. So, how does the new, improved, and relatively affordable iPhone 17 compare to the other Android flagships in terms of price? That’s what we’ve tried to figure out in this comparison, wherein we’ve put the iPhone next to the Pixel 10, Galaxy S25, the vivo X200, Oppo Find X8, and the Xiaomi 15.
Also Read: Apple N1 Chip & C1X Modem: Desperation Or A Step In The Right Direction?
Pixel 10 vs. Competition: Tech Specs
| iPhone 17 | Pixel 10 | Galaxy S25 | vivo X200 | Oppo Find X8 | Xiaomi 15 | |
| Dimensions | 149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95 mm | 152.8 x 72 x 8.6 mm | 146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2 mm | 160.3 x 74.8 x 8 mm | 157.4 x 74.3 x 7.9 mm | 152.3 x 71.2 x 8.08 mm |
| Weight | 177 grams | 204 grams | 162 grams | 197, 202 grams | 193 grams | 191 grams |
| Colors | Black, White, Mist Blue, Sage, Lavender | Indigo, Frost, Lemongrass, Obsidian | Icy Blue, Mint, Navy, Silver Shadow, Pink Gold, Coral Red, Blue Black | Natural Green, Cosmos Black | Space Black, Star Gray | Green, Black, White |
| IP Rating | IP68 (6 meters up to 30 minutes) | IP68 (1.5m up to 30 minutes) | IP68 (1.5m up to 30 minutes) | IP68/IP69 | IP68/IP69 | IP68 |
| Display | 6.3-inch 120Hz | 6.3-inch 120Hz | 6.2-inch 120Hz | 6.67-inch 120Hz | 6.59-inch 120Hz | 6.36-inch 120Hz |
| Panel Technology | OLED LTPO (Promotion) | OLED LTPS | AMOLED LTPO | AMOLED LTPS | AMOLED LTPS | AMOLED LTPO |
| Peak Brightness | 3,000 nits | 3,000 nits | 2,600 nits (peak) | 4500 nits (peak) | 4500 nits (peak) | 3200 nits (peak) |
| Pixel Density | 460 ppi | 422 ppi | 416 ppi | 460 ppi | 460 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Processor | A19 (3nm) | Tensor G5 (3nm) | Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm) | Mediatek Dimensity 9400 (3 nm) | Mediatek Dimensity 9400 (3 nm) | Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm) |
| Peak Clock Speed | 4.26 GHz | 3.78 GHz | 4.47 GHz | 3.63 GHz | 3.63 GHz | 4.32 GHz |
| GPU | Five-core GPU | Imagination DXT-48-1536 GPU | Adreno 830 | Immortalis-G925 | Immortalis-G925 | Adreno 830 |
| RAM Type | 8GB RAM | 12GB of RAM | 12GB of RAM LPDDR5X | Up to 16GB of LPDDR5X | Up to 16GB of LPDDR5X | 12GB of LPDDR5X |
| Storage Type | Up to 512GB NVMe | 256GB UFS 4.0 | Up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 | Up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 | Up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 | 512GB of UFS 4.0 |
| Operating System | iOS 26 | Android 16 | One UI 7 | FuntouchOS 15 | ColorOS 15.0 | HyperOS 2.0 |
| OS Support | ~ 5years | 7 year | 7 year | 4 years | 4 years | 4 year |
| Security Support | ~ 5years | 7 year | 7 year | 4 years | 5 years | 6 year |
| Primary Camera | 48MP (f/1.6, sensor-shift OIS) 1/1.56″ | 48MP (f/1.70, OIS), 1/2″ | 50MP (f/1.8, OIS), 1/1.56″ | 50MP (f/1.6, OIS), 1/1.56″ | 50MP (f/1.8, OIS), 1/1.56″ | 50MP (f/1.6, OIS), 1/1.31″ |
| Secondary Camera | N/A | 10.8MP (f/3.1, OIS), 1/3.2″, 5x optical zoom lens | 10MP (f/2.4, OIS), 1/3.94″, 3x optical zoom lens | 50MP (f/2.6, OIS), 1/1.95″, periscope telephoto 3x optical zoom | 50MP (f/2.6, OIS), 1/1.95″, periscope telephoto 3x optical zoom | 50MP (f/2.0, OIS), 1/2.76″, 2.6x telephoto zoom lens |
| Tertiary Camera | 48MP (f/2.2, 120°), 1/2.55″ ultrawide sensor, AF | 13MP (f/2.2, 120°), 1/3.1″ ultrawide sensor, AF | 12MP (f/2.2. 120°), 1/2.55″ | 50MP (f/2.0, 119°), 1/2.76″ ultrawide sensor, AF | 50MP (f/2.0, 120°), 1/2.75″ ultrawide sensor, AF | 50MP (f/2.2, 115°), 1/2.76″, ultrawide sensor |
| Selfie Camera | 18MP (f/1.9) Center Stage | 10.5MP (f/2.2), 1/3.1″ | 12MP (f/2.2), 1/3.2″ | 32MP (f/2.0) | 32MP (f/2.4) | 32MP (f/2.0), 1/3.14″ |
| Battery Capacity | 3,692 mAh | 4,970 mAh | 4,000 mAh | 5,800 mAh Si/C | 5,630 mAh Si/C | 5,240 mAh |
| Charging Speed | 40W wired, 25W MsgSafe (Qi2.2) | 30W wired, 15W Pixelsnap wireless (based on Qi2) | 25W wired, 15W wireless | 90W wired | 80W wired, 50W wireless | 90W wired, 50W wireless |
| Connectivity Options | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v6.0, NFC, GPS (L1 + L5), USB 2.0 | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth v6.0, NFC, Google Cast, dual-band GNSS GPS, USB Type-C 3.2 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.4, GPS, NFC, USB Type-C 3.2 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.4, dual-band GPS, NFC, IR Blaster, USB Type-C 2.0 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.4, dual-band GPS, NFC, IR Blaster, USB Type-C 3.0 | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v6.0, dual-band GPS, NFC, USB Type-C 3.2 |
| Starting Price | Rs. 82,900 (for the 256GB variant) | Rs. 79,999 (for the 256GB variant) | Rs. 74,999 (for the 128GB variant) | Rs. 65,999 (for the 256GB variant) | Rs. 69,999 (for the 256GB variant) | Rs. 64,999 (for the 512GB variant) |
Also Read: No AI, No Problem? Why Apple Skipped Intelligence at the iPhone 17 Launch
iPhone 17 vs. Competition: Key Takeaways
Design
- Among all the other phones, the iPhone 17, Pixel 10, Galaxy S25, and the Xiaomi 15 are what we’d call compact flagships, a characteristic that is also reflected in their dimensions. However, the vivo X200 and the Oppo Find X8 have significantly larger form factors; they’re not as big as the Ultras or XLs, but they’re not as compact either.
- The Galaxy S25 is the thinnest among all the phones, followed by the Find X8 and the iPhone 17. Samsung’s vanilla flagship is also the lightest among all (162 grams), followed by the iPhone 17 (177 grams) and the Xiaomi 15 (191 grams).
- While the vivo X200 and the Fnid X8 have an IP68/IP69 rating, the iPhone 17 is the only IP68-rated handset in the comparison that can survive at a depth of six meters for up to 30 minutes, while all the other ones are limited to 1.5 meters for the same duration.
Display
- The iPhone 17 features a 6.3-inch OLED screen (bigger than its predecessor), which is bigger than the Galaxy S25, but smaller than the Xiaomi 15, the X200, and the Find X8.
- Still, it is one of the few phones in the segment to feature an LTPO panel, which unlocks a variable refresh rate between 1 – 120Hz (what Apple calls the ProMotion display). Besides the iPhone, the Galaxy S25 and the Xiaomi 15 also sport an LTPO panel.
- The vivo X200 and the Oppo Find X8 are the only two smartphones that can achieve a local peak brightness of 4,500 nits on their displays. They are followed by the Xiaomi 15 (which peaks at 3,200 nits), then the iPhone 17 and the Pixel 10 (both at 3,000 nits).
- The iPhone 17 has one of the highest pixel densities in the segment: 460 ppi, also shared by the three Chinese flagships.
Performance
- At the moment, the A19 chip on the iPhone 17 is the most powerful on any smartphone, costing around Rs. 80,000, or even in the upper-flagship segment. It features a six-core CPU, a five-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine, which offers around 20% better performance than the iPhone 16.
- That doesn’t take away anything from the other flagships that feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite or the Dimensity 9400 chips, as they are also reliable for the most demanding workflows.
- The vivo X200 and the Oppo Find X8 feature up to 16GB of RAM, suggesting that they should be able to accommodate more apps in RAM. All the phones (except the Pixel 10) offer up to 512GB of storage. The iPhone 17 features 8GB of RAM, and although it may seem less impressive on paper, in real-world usage or even in synthetic benchmarks, it should be able to outperform other flagships.
Operating System
Out of the box, the iPhone 17 runs on the iOS 26 operating system. It features the Liquid Glass design language, which utilizes several translucent layers of visual elements, each with its own reflective and refractive properties, resulting in a glass-like appearance.
The operating system also includes several changes, such as Spatial wallpapers, a revamped camera layout, floating tab bars, and features like Live Translation for Phone, Messages, and FaceTime, Call Screening, a new CarPlay interface, and other changes to the system apps.
- In comparison, the Pixel 10 runs on Android 16, which offers features such as Live Updates, grouped notifications, Material 3 Expressive design, desktop windowing, Identity Check for enhanced security, and system-wide Gemini AI integration.
- The Galaxy S25 runs on One UI 7 based on Android 15, and will get updated to One UI 8 soon. The custom user interface, along with deeper AI integration, offers a seamless experience. Like the Pixel 10, the Galaxy S25 will also get seven years of operating system updates from the date of launch.
- The vivo X200 and the Oppo Find X8 utilize Funtouch OS 15 and ColorOS 15, respectively. Xiaomi 15 features the HyperOS 2.0, which offers HyperConnect for a unified ecosystem experience (such as using continuity features). All four phones get four years of major operating system updates, along with additional security updates.
Also Read: The iPhone 17 Pro’s 4X Telephoto Camera: Upgrade or Downgrade?
Cameras
- Among all the phones in this comparison, the Xiaomi 15 features the largest primary sensor (1/1.31″). The other phones, including the iPhone 17, sport a 1/1.56″ primary sensor, while the Pixel 10 has the smallest sensor of them all (1/2″).
- While all the other phones have a dedicated telephoto sensor — with the X200 and the X8 having the largest (3x telephoto lens) — the iPhone 17 does not. It only provides 2x optical-quality zoom (which crops in the central 12MP) of the sensor. Only the Pixel 10 offers a 5x optical zoom, but it features one of the smallest sensors among all.
- When it comes to the ultrawide camera, the iPhone 17 has a 48MP 1/2.55″ sensor that supports autofocus. This is among the largest sensors in the comparison, with only the Galaxy S25 having a similarly sized sensor (although it features a 12MP camera). You can also capture macro pictures with the sensors, and so can you with some other phones.
- Regarding the front camera, it is the Chinese flagships that have a high-resolution selfie shooter (32MP), but the iPhone 17 outshines everyone with an advanced Center Stage camera. For those catching up, the camera system uses a square-shaped sensor and clever software tricks to capture photos in multiple aspect ratios and field of views, depending on the number of people in the frame (it changes the field of view dynamically).
Battery
- The vivo X200 features the largest battery of all phones in its segment, and naturally, it should provide decent battery life in day-to-day use. However, you shouldn’t link the battery capacity to the overall usage time that a phone can offer, as the iPhone 17 offers up to 30 hours of video playback with the smallest 3,692 mAh battery in the segment.
- The Chinese flagships also excel in charging speed, wherein the vivo X200 and the Xiaomi 15 support 90W wired charging. However, in terms of wireless charging, the Xiaomi 15 and the Oppo Find X8 offer 50W wireless charging. The iPhone 17 offers 40W wired and 25W MagSafe wireless charging.
Also Read: iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 16: Incremental Changes or Worthwhile Upgrade?
Conclusion
The iPhone 17 sets a new benchmark for what an entry-level iPhone could be by introducing new features at a lower price than last year’s model. Apple has successfully closed the gap between its base model and Android flagships. While the heavyweights from the Chinese companies still feature bigger batteries that charge at a much faster rate, and there’s a dedicated telephoto camera on most of the phones, the iPhone 17 excels in almost every aspect except these (and the seven-year software support promised by Google and Samsung).
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