The popularity of the iPhone 17 series continues to soar, even though it has been slightly over six months since its launch. You don't necessarily need the pricier iPhone 17 Pro — the standard iPhone 17 has proved to be a reliable companion for most. For many on the Android side of things in India, it is the iPhone 17 that has tempted them to make the switch.
It would be reductive to measure the success of a smartphone purely through its camera capabilities. There is much more going on with the iPhone 17, and Apple has given these features a place of pride in its new Drumbeats campaign, launched on April 26. Six 15-second films unfold comedically, blending the charm of India's royal past with the latest in iPhone technology. In each, a royal messenger delivers bad news — but the king or queen always turns the situation around with a feature on their iPhone.
Include everyone with Centre Stage
Every smartphone should have something like this. The iPhone 17 comes with an 18MP Centre Stage front camera, built around a new square sensor. While the sensor is 24MP, photos are delivered as an 18MP horizontal or vertical crop — meaning you can shoot landscape images whilst holding your iPhone in portrait orientation.
Apple noticed that people taking selfies in landscape mode tended to look at the display rather than the camera. That problem is now solved. With Centre Stage, subjects stay in frame automatically. A second person joins — the camera adjusts. A third joins — it zooms out slightly. All without any input from you. The square sensor also enables horizontal video whilst holding the phone vertically, and the additional sensor data outside the active frame delivers smoother, more stable footage even without Action Mode.
Two-in-one with Dual Capture
You may have noticed vloggers posting videos with a talking-head picture-in-picture moment. That is Dual Capture. It lets you record both the front and rear cameras simultaneously — filming your reaction whilst capturing what you are seeing. Previously, this required specific third-party apps, often paid ones.
It is ideal for teaching, concerts, recording a baby's first steps, or any moment worth capturing from both sides. You can move your view to any corner of the screen, though once recorded, you cannot reposition or remove your own layer in editing.
Get smart with Visual Intelligence
Press the Action button and you open up a world of possibility with Visual Intelligence. Built on Apple Intelligence, it makes the world around you instantly recognisable. Point your iPhone at a restaurant and it surfaces opening hours and reviews. Search Google, ask ChatGPT, translate text, detect phone numbers and e-mail addresses, identify animals and plants — all from a single tap.
Ceramic Shield takes a tumble in its stride
Review units have taken their fair share of drops. And yet the iPhone 17, with Ceramic Shield 2, has emerged unscathed every time — without so much as a scratch, and without a protective case. The front cover is tougher than any smartphone glass on the market, with three times better scratch resistance than the previous generation and reduced glare. The iPhone 17 also delivers an impressive 3,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness.
Juice up with fast charging
Battery life on the iPhone 17 is considerably better than before, thanks to the A19 chip and intelligent software management. Running low? The iPhone 17 charges to 50 per cent in just 20 minutes with a compatible high-wattage USB-C adapter, such as Apple's new 40W Dynamic Power Adapter. Add iOS 26's all-day battery management and you are looking at up to 30 hours of video playback — eight more hours than the previous generation.
Lost and found with Find My
One of the most quietly indispensable features on any iPhone is Find My. Whether your phone has slipped into the sofa or been left somewhere unfamiliar, Find My can track it down — even when offline. Locate your iPhone from an Apple Watch or iPad, and vice versa. Turn on Notify When Left Behind, and the app alerts you the moment you part ways with any Apple device without meaning to.