Best iPhones

Apple's iPhone lineup spans a wide range of prices and capabilities, and choosing the right model depends on how you weigh camera quality, processing power, battery life, and cost. This list ranks every current iPhone using weighted scores across those categories and more, helping you find the model that fits your priorities.

The Apple iPhone 17 Pro takes the top spot overall, pairing a strong camera system with excellent performance and battery efficiency. For users who want the largest display and the most processing headroom available, the iPhone 17 Pro Max edges ahead in raw performance. On the more affordable end, the iPhone 17 delivers a compelling balance of features for under $1,000, while the iPhone 17e brings the essentials well under $600.

Best iPhone Overall

Apple

iPhone 17 Pro

Ranked #3 of 51 devices tested

674/ 744Overall

Price (at release): $1,099

Buy on eBay

Score Overview

Display679/ 845

Performance902/ 1012

Camera573/ 606

Battery670/ 799

Charging376/ 837

Speaker823/ 857

Biometrics172/ 1036

Microphone578/ 949

Data Transfer572/ 877

The iPhone 17 Pro's camera system is the clearest reason to choose it over any other iPhone right now. Main camera sharpness in bright light is meaningfully higher than the standard iPhone 17, and the gap widens in mixed and low-light conditions. Color accuracy from the main sensor sits in a competitive range, though color error across all iPhones at this price remains higher than we'd like — the Samsung Galaxy S26+ shows noticeably less color deviation from reference, even as its overall camera score falls well short of the 17 Pro's.

Battery life lands at just under 24 hours of continuous video playback — close to identical with the Pro Max despite the smaller 4252mAh cell, which is a good result for a 6.3-inch phone. The display peaks above 3,000 nits in HDR and has the lowest color error of any iPhone we've tested.

The Pro Max costs $100 more, offers a larger screen and bigger battery, and is the better call if battery endurance is the deciding factor. For most users, however, the standard Pro's balance of camera quality, battery, and display holds up well at $1,099.

Best iPhone for Performance

Apple

iPhone 17 Pro Max

Ranked #5 of 51 devices tested

664/ 744Overall

Price (at release): $1,199

Buy on eBay

Score Overview

Display627/ 845

Performance906/ 1012

Camera573/ 606

Battery617/ 799

Charging420/ 837

Speaker816/ 857

Biometrics215/ 1036

Microphone885/ 949

Data Transfer582/ 877

The A19 Pro chip in the iPhone 17 Pro Max delivers the strongest sustained performance of any current iPhone. In graphics workloads, it maintains stability across extended runs better than the iPhone 17 Pro — which shares the same chip but runs slightly warmer in a smaller chassis — and gaming drain over a session is comparable between the two. Single-core CPU performance sits among the highest we've measured on any phone, and the multi-core result is competitive with the best Android flagships.

That said, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is not the fastest phone overall. The Honor Magic8 Pro ranks meaningfully higher in raw performance.

Within the iPhone lineup, the trade-off is straightforward — the Pro Max's larger chassis handles sustained load a little more consistently than the Pro, but single-core scores and GPU peaks are within a few percent of each other.

Best iPhone Under $1,000

Apple

iPhone 17

Ranked #22 of 51 devices tested

575/ 744Overall

Price (at release): $799

Buy on eBay

Score Overview

Display582/ 845

Performance814/ 1012

Camera429/ 606

Battery555/ 799

Charging332/ 837

Speaker762/ 857

Biometrics207/ 1036

Microphone664/ 949

Data Transfer103/ 877

At $799, the iPhone 17 delivers Apple's A19 chip and a GeekBench multi-core score of 9,645 — meaningfully ahead of the Nothing Phone (3) at the same price, which scores around 7,000. Sustained performance holds up well under load. Peak HDR brightness hits 3,022 nits, which is high enough that the display holds up well in direct sunlight.

Battery life lands around 22 hours of continuous video playback. That's solid for a device this size, though the iPhone 17 Pro stretches closer to 24 hours, and the iPhone Air, priced $200 higher, falls noticeably short at about 17 hours, which makes the 17 the better value within Apple's own lineup.

The trade-offs are real. Camera performance is a weak point for this price tier—the Nothing Phone (3) produces noticeably sharper main-lens images in good light.

For iOS users who don't need the Pro's camera system, the iPhone 17 covers the essentials at a price the rest of Apple's lineup can't match.

Best iPhone Under $600

Apple

iPhone 17e

Ranked #27 of 51 devices tested

548/ 744Overall

Price (at release): $599

Buy on eBay

Score Overview

Display541/ 845

Performance764/ 1012

Camera437/ 606

Battery498/ 799

Charging281/ 837

Speaker821/ 857

Biometrics229/ 1036

Microphone665/ 949

Data Transfer90/ 877

At $599, the iPhone 17e is the only iPhone that fits under a $600 ceiling. It isn't the strongest performer in this price range overall — the RedMagic 11 Air and Nothing Phone (4a) Pro both outscore it on battery life and camera, respectively, and neither costs more.

What the 17e does deliver is the A19 chip, the same silicon in the $799 iPhone 17, with multi-core performance that sits comfortably ahead of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 in the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro. The speaker is genuinely good — among the better results in our database at this price — and main camera sharpness in good light is actually higher than the iPhone 17's, with slightly more usable dynamic range.

Battery life is a limitation though. Video playback lands around 18 hours, which is several hours behind what the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro manages. Gaming sessions drain it faster than web browsing, and 20W wired charging is slow relative to competing Android phones at this price.

If you're committed to iOS and your budget stops at $600, this is the phone for you.