If you're looking to buy an iPhone in

2026, you have seven options to choose

from. And watching a review video on

every single one of these is far too

timeconuming. So, in this video, we're

going to break down every iPhone

currently sold by Apple, discuss the

good and the bad, which ones you should

avoid, how long they'll last, and of

course, the best phone to buy in 2026

based on several different criteria.

Okay, so let's start with the design and

the build quality. So, every single

iPhone currently sold by Apple has a

full screen display. So, no more home

buttons anywhere. Also, we have an

action button on the lefth hand side,

Mags Safe support, and all of them

charge via USBC. So, yes, last year the

16e did not have MagSafe support, but

this year we do have MagSafe on the 17e,

which completes MagSafe being on every

phone in the lineup. And also every one

of these phones aside from the iPhone

17e has the camera control button down

here on the bottom right hand side of

the phone. And here's where it gets

really interesting because you know a

few years ago Apple really promoted

titanium. Titanium was like the best

build quality for the iPhone. But this

year in 2026, there's only one iPhone

currently sold by Apple that uses a

titanium chassis and that is the iPhone

Air. Yes. So all these devices are

actually made with aluminum instead of

titanium. So, the iPhone 16, 16 Plus

aluminum, iPhone 17e aluminum, iPhone 17

aluminum, and then the Air uses

titanium. And then the iPhone 17 Pro and

Pro Max actually use the brand new

aluminum unibody design from Apple,

which helps with thermals, especially

when combined with the new vapor chamber

cooling system inside. So, this is going

to help a lot with performance. We'll

talk about that later on in this video.

And you can tell it has that aluminum

unibody design because of the little

kind of plate right there. the two-tone

look on the back is different. Also, the

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are the only

phones currently sold by Apple that have

the ceramic shield on the back of the

phone. So, Apple claims that this will

make them four times more resistant to

cracks versus the back glass of all

these other iPhones here. So, if you're

going for the best durability,

definitely the Pro and Pro Max. But on

the front glass, it's a little bit of a

different story. Okay, so all these

phones except for the iPhone 16 and 16

Plus get ceramic shield 2 on this front

glass, which is good for three times

better scratch resistance and also has

improved anti-reflection to reduce

glare. However, the iPhone 16 series

here has the first generation of ceramic

shield, so it will be more prone to

scratches than the later iPhones. Now,

all of these phones are IP68 dust and

water resistant. So, if you jump into a

pool with any of these phones, they're

going to be just fine. You might just

have issues with that charging port

getting water inside, but aside from

that, durability wise, they're all the

same. But thankfully, if you do get

water in your charge port and it's all

messed up and you can't charge, you do

have Mag Safe support on the back.

Again, for all these phones, unlike last

year where the 16E was left out,

however, it is important to note that

not all charging speeds are the same

amongst the devices sold by Apple right

now. So, the iPhone 16s can charge up to

22 watts wirelessly. The iPhone 17e can

charge at 15 watts only. The iPhone Air

can charge up at 20 watts. The iPhone

17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max can actually

charge up to 25 watts as long as you use

a 30 watt charging block. So, the 17E is

going to be the slowest charging one of

the bunch, but it's still better than

last year's 16e, which only charged at

7.5 watts since it didn't have MagSafe.

The Pros also charge up the fastest when

charging wired. So, they go up to 50%

charge in 20 minutes with a 40 watt

adapter. The others are in 30 minutes.

Now, speaking of charging up, we have to

talk about the battery life because

that's another major deciding factor

when you're trying to determine which

phone you should get. Which one actually

gets good battery life or at least good

enough battery life for you and your

life. And if you take a look at what

Apple rates these phones for, I'm going

to use the streaming video playback

metric since I think that's more

realistic for what you might actually

do. The iPhone 16 gets up to 18 hours of

streaming video playback. 16 Plus gets

24 hours. iPhone 17e gets 21 hours.

iPhone 17 gets 27 hours. iPhone Air gets

22 hours. 17 Pro 30 hours. 17 Pro Max 35

hours. However, I have to say that in

real life and actual realworld usage

that you're not going to get those

numbers. Like it's not going to be the

same, especially not even in that same

order. You may be thinking, you know,

oh, the iPhone 16 Plus should get much

better battery life than like the iPhone

17, but that's not necessarily the case

because if you watch some of these, you

know, battery test videos here on

YouTube and also just from my own

experience, I have a few thoughts I want

to share. So, first off, the 17 Pro Max

is absolutely insane. If you want the

best battery life, easily, you know,

it's the 17 Pro Max and it's really not

close. Now, the 17e is the newest, so it

did do well in the battery test. And I

would actually expect it to do pretty

well as well. You know, even after a few

months of ownership, but in my

experience and from what I've seen

online, it looks like the 17 and 17e are

very similar in terms of battery life.

Sometimes the 17e even outperforms the

iPhone 17. But again, it could just be

because it's a brand new phone. Now, the

iPhone 16 has noticeably worse battery

life than any of the iPhone 17s. So,

that is something worth noting. If

you're looking for the best battery

life, I would not look at the 16 at all.

Now, the 16 Plus might outperform the

base model 17. It has a solid chance

actually of being better than the iPhone

17 and 17e, but you know, you're not

getting a lot. You're you're giving up a

lot with the iPhone 16 Plus. So, if you

really only care about battery life, and

that's it. You don't want anything else,

maybe the 16 Plus, but I would say that

17 Pro Max is probably a better bet for

that. And that leaves us with the iPhone

Air, which does get the worst battery

life of the bunch. The iPhone Air does

not get great battery life. I actually

did a long-term review video here on the

channel and I compared it to the 17 Pro

Max because I use the 17 Air or the not

the 17 Air. It's the iPhone Air, not the

17 Air, but I used that as my main phone

for quite some time and the battery life

is just simply not great. So, you're

choosing form over function if you get

this phone. You're you're buying it for

the thinness, the lightness. That's

really it. You're not going to get great

battery life on it, and you will have to

charge up throughout the day at least

one time. So, I noticed after using all

of these, pretty much every single one

of them I have to charge up at least

once during the day, except for the

iPhone 17 Pro Max. So, unless you're

getting an iPhone 17 Pro Max, I think

it's a good idea to at least have a

MagSafe power bank, you know, on deck

and ready to go in case you're out and

away from a charger because you probably

will need to charge up all these phones

at least once throughout the day. And

the battery bank that I choose like 90%

of the time when I leave my house is

coming from Basis who just so happens to

be sponsoring this segment of the video.

So this is their Pico AM52. It's one of

the thinnest chi 2.2 magnetic power

banks and it's 10,000 mAh. So it's going

to charge up your iPhone at the full 25

watts and you can get about one and a

half full charges from this guy.

sometimes even up to two full charges.

All while weighing just 6.95 oz or 1.2

times the weight of the iPhone Air. So,

it's super easy to carry. And if you're

worried about it getting super hot like

I was, you don't need to because it

stays below 102° Fahrenheit, which is

12% cooler than the competitors thanks

to the TUV certified triple cooling

system inside. Now, Basis also has a

version with this awesome built-in cable

to charge up the power bank itself or to

charge your phone. and it doubles as a

carrying loop when you're on the go. So,

this thing is super practical. And this

is actually the one I use. This is the

model I use with the cable. Now, if

10,000 mAh is too large for you, if it's

too much and you really only need to

charge up one time while you're on the

go, Basis also has the Pico AM41, which

is a 5,000 mAh ultras slim battery bank

that weighs just 3.8 O. That's 35%

lighter than the iPhone Air. It also

comes with this short braided USBC cable

for faster charging. And by the way, all

these power banks have this highquality,

sleek aluminum alloy finish to them,

which always stands out to me. Now,

Basis also has other models on their

site if you want to check those out. But

if you want to pick up any of these

power banks, be sure to use my link in

the description and also in the pinned

comment below. Okay, so let's talk about

the size and the feel in the hand

because this year we have a massive

discrepancy in terms of screen sizes,

feel in the hand. There's just a lot

going on with the lineup in 2026 and

there's a lot to cover here. So, first

off, let's talk about the sizes of the

displays because if you take a look

here, they may all look similar, but

they're actually very different. So, the

iPhone 16 and the iPhone 17e have 6.1 in

displays. The iPhone 17 and 17 Pro have

6.3 in displays. The iPhone Air has a

6.5 in display. The iPhone 16 Plus has a

6.7 in display. And the iPhone 17 Pro

Max has a 6.9 in display. So, we have

five different screen sizes this year in

the lineup. Kind of confusing, but one

area where it's not confusing is the

feel in the hand because there is a

massive difference in the feel and the

hand pretty much across the board here.

So, the iPhone Air is undoubtedly the

one that feels the most premium. So, it

does have the titanium borders. As you

can see, it's just glistening in this

light right here. So, this thing

absolutely feels the most premium of the

bunch. It just feels like luxury when

you're holding it. Plus, it's so thin,

so light. When you put it in your

pocket, you barely feel it. This thing

is hands down the best for feeling the

hand, for size, just everything. If

you're only going for the looks and the

feel, you know, the form of it, this is

the one to choose. This thing weighs

just 165 g. Now, if we compare that to

everything else here on the table, we

have the iPhone 16 weighing 170 g, 16

Plus 199 g, 17e

16 g, iPhone 177 g, 17 Pro 206, 17 Pro

Max 233. So, that's interesting. And of

course, the Air is also the thinnest of

the bunch by far, like I mentioned. So,

here are the thickness figures, as you

can see right there. And if I had to

rate these in terms of feel in the hand,

aside from the iPhone Air clearly and

far away being in first place, I would

say that the iPhone 17 is in second. The

base 17, it's actually the same as the

17e. So, the iPhone 17e and the iPhone

17 both feel great in the hands. Now, I

would say that the Pro models probably

feel, you know, my least favorite. They

are a little bit slippery. The edges are

very curved off. I prefer using these

with a case. So, I actually like the

feel of the base 17 better than the Pros

this year. But again, it doesn't really

come close to the iPhone Air. That thing

just feels amazing. It's like magic.

Okay, so now let's get a bit more

specific with the display because we

have other differences that we haven't

yet discussed. So, first off, all these

models do have a Super Retina XDR OLED

display. So, we have an OLED display

across the board. Now, they do all also

have similar resolution at 460 PPI and a

2 million to1 contrast ratio. Also, all

models except for the iPhone 17e have

1,00 nits of peak brightness. So, that's

impressive. Also, we have 1600 nits of

peak brightness in HDR and 3,000 nits

when outside with auto brightness turned

on. Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 has 2,000

for that, you know, nits outside. Now,

going back to the iPhone 17, since it

doesn't have the 1000 nits of peak

brightness, it has 800 nits and 1,200

nits in HDR. So, a little bit less. And

that seems like a noteworthy difference.

It seems like something you'll actually

notice. But honestly, I haven't really

noticed it at all. The only time I

really notice that the newer models are

a lot more bright is when I'm outside in

direct sunlight and I need that auto

brightness to be all the way maxed out.

But aside from that, if we go back to

the home screen here and we take a look

close to the top, there's another

glaring difference you will notice, and

that is the fact that we have a dynamic

island on every phone except for again

the iPhone 17e. So, you're going to

notice these compromises throughout the

video, but take a look at that. We still

have a notch on this display. Also, the

bezels are a good bit thicker than any

other phone here on this desk. So,

thicker bezels and no dynamic island,

which is a big loss in my opinion. I'm

somebody who loves dynamic island for

seeing now playing just for all the the

live activities, things like that. It's

so good for it, and that's something

you're going to have to sacrifice with

the 17e. Now, we also have another big

difference here, and that is in the

refresh rate. So, some people notice a

big difference with the refresh rate.

Some people don't. I'm one of those

people who I can tell a big difference

when I have a 120 Hz prootion display.

And thankfully, almost every one of

these phones has a 120 Hz display. So,

the iPhone 17, the iPhone Air, iPhone 17

Pro, and 17 Pro Max all have a prootion

120 Hz display. Meanwhile, the iPhone

16, 16 Plus, and iPhone 17e are stuck at

60 Hz. Okay, so now let's move on to the

speaker quality. So, I think that the

iPhone 17 Pro Max is going to sound the

best by a wide margin, but let's go

ahead and just do a brief test here to

see which one of these sounds better in

terms of speakers.

Heat. Heat.

Love it.

All right. All right, so now let's flip

these guys over and take a look at the

cameras because cameras are probably the

biggest deciding factor aside from

battery life when it comes to choosing

your next iPhone. So, first off, we have

the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus over here, and

these both have the advanced dual camera

system. So, we have a 48 megapixel

fusion and a 12 megapixel ultrawide

lens. So, if we press the camera control

button here, you can see that we

have.5x, 1x, and 2x. And we do also have

digital zoom all the way up to 10x. And

you're also going to get macro mode

thanks to that ultra wide lens along

with spatial photos, deep fusion, smart

HDR5, and the latest generation

photographic styles. Now, when it comes

to video, you're going to have wind

noise reduction, audio mix, spatial

video recording, and macro video

recording. And then we have the iPhone

17e, which only has a single 48

megapixel fusion camera system with OIS.

And this is only going to have 1x and 2x

optical zoom. Of course, since we don't

have that ultra wide lens, and you are

going to be able to digital zoom up to

10x. Now, when it comes to video on the

iPhone 17e, we can shoot in 4K 60 and we

also have audio mix, but there's no

cinematic mode, no action mode, no

spatial mode, and none of the macro

modes for photo or for video. So, a lot

is lacking software-wise in terms of

like softwarebased features on the 17e.

And then when we get to the iPhone 17,

things start to get a bit interesting

because we have a dual 48 megapixel

fusion camera system. So a 48 megapixel

main and a 48 megapixel ultrawide. So

remember we have a 12 megapixel

ultrawide on the 16s. So that's a big

upgrade for the 17 series aside from the

17e of course for ultrawide shots. So

you're going to have 5x, 1x, and 2x with

digital zoom up to 10x. But those.5x

shots are going to look much sharper.

Now, when it comes to video for the

iPhone 17, we're gonna have 4K 60, dual

capture, wind noise reduction, audio

mix, spatial video, and macro video.

Now, if you're not familiar with the

dual camera, that of course is when you

go in right here if you're on videos.

And we tap up here. Right down here, we

have dual capture. And when you tap on

that, that will allow you to shoot video

from both the front and the back at the

same time. So, this is going to be great

for vlogging, if you're into vlogging or

just taking videos of what you look like

while you're also doing an activity.

It's actually really handy. I actually

really like using dual capture,

especially when you're traveling to

really capture the moment, capture

yourself and what's in front of you.

It's really awesome. And then moving

along to the iPhone Air. So, the iPhone

Air has a single 48 megapixel fusion

camera system with sensor shift OIS. So,

a little bit better than just regular

OIS like we have on the 17e. But again,

we have the same 1x and 2x optical zoom

and digital zoom up to 10x. So, there's

no.5x, no ultra wide there. Now for

video, this is also a little bit limited

because it does have 4K 60 and the dual

capture mode which is nice along with

audio mix and action mode, but it does

not have cinematic mode, spatial video

or any of the macro modes. And then over

here we have the Mac Daddies, the 17 Pro

and 17 Pro Max. So these have the best

cameras by far. So not only in terms of

volume because we have a triple camera

setup, but all three of them are 48

megapixels. So 48 megapixel main fusion

camera, 48 megapixel ultrawide and 48

megapixel telephoto. We also have second

generation sensor shift OIS and 3D

sensor shift OIS for the telephoto.

That's only on the Pros. And we also

have amazing zoom ranges with the 17 Pro

Max. We have the.5X, the 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x,

and we can digital zoom up to 40x in

photos. If we go over to video, you can

digital zoom up to 24x in videos. So, if

you're somebody who likes to zoom a lot

for your photos and videos, look no

further than the 17 Pro or Pro Max. Now,

we're also going to have better flash.

So, we have adaptive True Tone flash on

the Pros versus just regular True Tone

flash on the others. We also have the

Pro Raw format, so you can shoot photos

in RAW, which is great for editing

afterwards. And then when it comes to

video, you can do both regular video or

ProRes video in up to 4K 120fps. And you

also have the option to do external

recording to an SSD. You can shoot in

Apple log 2. And you can shoot slow-mo

at 4K 120. And plus, you get other pro

features like ProRes RAW and Gen Lock.

So, that's awesome. And also, these are

going to have the best audio when you

record videos as well because we do have

studio quality for mic array along with

the studio option for the audio mix

feature. So once again, if your number

one thing you're looking for in a phone

is to take the best video and photo

quality possible, you need to get the 17

Pro and Pro Max because this year it's a

pretty wide gap to be honest, especially

when it comes to zoom ranges. Now, for

just regular photos in 1x, maybe even

2x, probably not going to be a massive

difference between the 17 and the 17

Pros. You really see the big difference

when you're shooting in those pro

formats, like shooting in Pro RAW. And

also when you shoot video in ProRes,

it's noticeably better than just regular

video shot in like 4K 60 or 4K 30. But

honestly, for those 1x shots, any of

these phones are going to be just fine.

Like if you put these on social media,

you won't be able to tell the difference

between any of these if you're just

shooting regular at 1x. Even the iPhone

Air or the iPhone 17E will look pretty

much just as good as any of the others

at 1x. It's really when you start

getting into those more advanced shots,

like I said. Now, I do want to point out

that the iPhone 17e and the iPhone Air

are the only ones here with a single

camera lens. So, you might be thinking

that the photo and video quality is just

terrible. You should just ride it off

right away. But that's not necessarily

the case. Like, these are going to look

just as good for just regular 1x photos

as like even the 17 Pro Max. So, you

know, I wouldn't be too worried about

that. So, if you care the absolute most

about photo and video quality, you

should go with the 17 Pro or Pro Max.

and honestly not even look back because

this year, especially for zoom, if

you're somebody who zooms a lot, like

it's night and day difference on the 17

Pro series versus even the regular 17.

And you also get really sharp portrait

shots with that 48 megapixel telephoto

lens. Now, as far as the iPhone 17e and

the iPhone Air, the only two here with a

single camera lens, the cameras aren't

terrible. The photo quality and video

quality is going to be just fine at 1x,

but they're just bare bones. They're

missing a lot of features. So, if you're

somebody who gets into the software

features, if you get into zooming in on

subjects, if you get into, you know,

some of these more advanced features,

then you're just going to want to avoid

these. These are just for the person who

just wants to take out their phone and

snap a quick picture and be done.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 series, the 16

and 16 Plus here, along with the iPhone

17, they're very similar to be honest.

Like, you do get better ultrawide shots

with the 48 megapixel ultra wide lens.

And of course, dual capture is really

nice on the 17 series, but the photos

and videos using the main 1x camera will

be almost exactly the same. And to be

honest, I think these cameras are enough

for most people. So like even the 16

series, I would say is fine. Okay, so

now let's flip these guys over to the

front side and take a look at the

front-facing camera because usually

there's not a big difference in

front-facing camera quality, but this

year is different. So, the iPhone 16s

and the 17e. So, these three over here

are going to have just a 12 megapixel

front-facing camera. Whereas the iPhone

17, the iPhone Air, the 17 Pro, and the

17 Pro Max are all going to have an 18

megapixel center stage camera. So,

you're going to have center stage for

phone calls, for like, you know,

FaceTime calls. You're going to have

ultra stabilization. And of course, we

do have that dual capture feature. If

you go into video and you go right here,

you can do dual capture right there. And

honestly, the megapixel difference seems

small, like going from 12 megapixels up

to 18 megapixels, but it's actually a

noticeable difference. Like when you

take selfies, you can see the much

better quality on the 17 series and the

Air compared to last year's models and

of course the 17e. So, if you're

somebody who takes a lot of selfies or

if you're on FaceTime a lot and you

really like the center stage feature

like we have on the Mac, you're going to

want to avoid these three over here

because the iPhone 17 series is where

it's at. Now, let's get out of here and

talk about the performance because we

also have a noteworthy difference in

performance amongst these phones here.

So, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus have the

A18 chip inside with a six core CPU and

5 core GPU along with 8 gigs of RAM.

Now, the iPhone 17 and 17e have the A19

chip with a six core CPU, 5 core GPU

with neural accelerators, and 8 gigs of

RAM. And then we have the iPhone Air

right here, which has the A19 Pro chip

with a six core CPU, 5 core GPU with

neural accelerators and 12 gigs of RAM.

And then the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max

both have the A19 Pro chip just like the

Air. And they have a six core CPU, six

core GPU with neural accelerators along

with 12 gigs of RAM. And most

importantly, these have the new vapor

chamber cooling system that

significantly reduces heat output. So I

will tell you right now, if you're

somebody who plays a lot of intensive

games, a lot more intensive than Subway

Surfers. If you're somebody who plays

like PUBG or Call of Duty Mobile, if

you're somebody who does a lot of

exporting with their videos or photos in

Lightroom, if you do a lot of that and

your phone produces a lot of heat,

you're going to notice some performance

improvements with the 17 Pro and Pro Max

thanks to the vapor chamber cooling

system inside. I've really noticed a big

difference in this over the past several

months. Meanwhile, the iPhone Air gets

extremely hot when you do those tasks.

Honestly, you don't even need to do

those tasks. The iPhone Air just gets

hot just existing, just being on. this

thing gets hot because again it is made

of titanium and it's so thin and light.

So just keep that in mind. And keep in

mind the Pros also have 12 gigs of RAM.

That's actually a substantial upgrade

over the 8 gigs that you see over here

or even on the base model iPhone 17. So

multitasking is also going to be a good

bit better on the Pros. But honestly,

after using all these phones for quite

some time now, aside from the 17e, which

is the most recent one, but after using

these all since launch back in

September, I can tell you right now that

when just doing dayto-day tasks like

social media, doom scrolling, you know,

YouTube videos, the light gaming, all of

these are going to perform pretty much

the exact same. Like, I do notice that

the iPhone Air actually performs worse a

lot of times because it gets so hot. But

aside from that, you know, all these

performatively the same. I mean, it's

really when you start getting to the

intensive task of gaming, that's where

you see the pros start to take the lead.

But aside from that, they're all pretty

similar. And I would not make a decision

just based off performance, unless

again, you are somebody who does a lot

of work and intensive tasks or gaming.

Now, it is also worth mentioning that

the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are the only

phones sold by Apple right now that

start at 128 gigs of storage. That is

bad because again, low storage is

something that can cause performance

issues. So that's why I'm putting it in

here with performance, you know.

Meanwhile, every other phone here starts

at 256 gigs of storage. So that's a big

downside for the iPhone 16s. Now, let's

also talk about connectivity, cellular,

and wireless because all these phones do

have 5G. However, they are not all

treated equally. And that's because the

iPhone 17 and the iPhone Air are the

only ones here with the C1X modem from

Apple. So they only get sub6 5G whereas

all the others have millimeter wave aka

the much faster version of 5G. Now the

iPhone 16s over here only have Bluetooth

5.3 and Wi-Fi 7 whereas everything else

including the 17e has Bluetooth 6 and

Wi-Fi 7 thanks to the Apple N1 chip

inside. Oh, and something else the

iPhone 17e is lacking is thread support.

So there's no thread built in and

there's no precision dual frequency GPS.

So, those are also some limitations. And

when it comes to physical connectivity,

of course, all of these do have USBC,

but the iPhone 17 Pros are going to be

the fastest because they have data

transfer speeds via USB 3. So, if you

transfer data a lot, you know, the Pros

are going to be much faster than

anything else. Okay, so now let's talk

about the pricing and which iPhone you

should buy in 2026. So, the iPhone 16

starts at $699 for 128 gigs. iPhone 16

Plus, $799 for 128 gigs. iPhone 17e 599

for 256 gigs. iPhone 17 for 799 for 256

gigs. iPhone Air $9.99 for 256 gigs. And

then the iPhone 17 Pro 1099 at 256 gigs

and the 17 Pro Max at 1199 for 256 gigs.

Now, keep in mind the Pros are the only

ones here that can spec up to 2 TB of

storage. So, yes, the iPhone 17e is the

cheapest and arguably the best value

phone this year, especially since it

doesn't come with as many drawbacks as

last year's 16e. You know, I would not

recommend the iPhone 16s on the other

hand. So, again, these start at 128 gigs

of storage. And you're definitely not

going to want to pay more, you know, for

storage on Apple's site if you're buying

last year's model already. So, you're

paying, you know, only $100 less, but

yet you're getting half the storage. It

really makes no sense to get the 16 or

the 16 plus in my opinion unless you

just really love you know this blue

ultramarine color which I don't blame

you but I that's really the only reason

I see you know you getting the 16 plus

or 16 regular. I would recommend getting

at least even the 17e over the 16. But I

think the iPhone 17 is actually the real

star of the show here because keep in

mind you know especially over the iPhone

16 series you get noticeably better

battery life 120 Hz refresh rate. You

have a better selfie camera. You have 48

megapixel ultrawide camera and it comes

with double the storage and it's just

$100 more. That's one of the easiest

decisions I've ever had to make when

making a video like this to choose

either this year's model or last year's

model. Nob brainer. Go with the 17. If

you're even considering the 16, find a

way, go sell some lemonade, make $100

and and get that 17. And honestly, the

iPhone 16 Plus might be the exception.

But that's only really if you have mega

large hands and you really need a big

phone like that. Now, if we move on over

to the right hand side, I have a few

things I want to break down here. So,

first off, if you care about battery

life the absolute most, 17 Pro Max,

nothing else needs to be said. Get the

iPhone 17 Pro Max and call it a day. I

guess you could say the iPhone 16 Plus

is an exception if you want the best

battery life, but again, you're paying

all that money, almost $1,000, and

you're only getting 128 gigs of storage.

So, I think 17 Pro Max for battery life.

Now, if you care about camera quality

the most with battery life being a close

second, I would say the 17 Pro or the 17

Pro Max are the best choices for you

depending on your size preference.

There's no difference in the cameras on

these two. So, they're both going to

have amazing cameras. It really just

comes down to, you know, what is better

for your hand size and your situation.

Now, if you're somebody who's on a

pretty tight budget and you don't need

all the fancy new features, or if you

just want to get something as a gift, I

would say the iPhone 17e is a tremendous

option this year. I had a hard time

recommending the 16e last year just

because it didn't have Mag Safe and it

was missing some of these other, you

know, key features, but I have a really

easy time recommending the 17e this

year. It's just a great phone all

around. And if you're getting this for

somebody who loves pink, it also comes

in pink, which is nice. And if you're

somebody who just kind of wants the best

mix of features and cost, but you don't

necessarily care about having the best

camera quality or some of the niche

software features, again, I would say

iPhone 17e might be the one for you.

Now, that's only if you don't want a

bigger display. If you want the bigger

display, the more modern looking phone,

then you might want to pay up for the

17, especially because you do get that

extra camera as well, which could be

beneficial. But man, just picking this

thing up makes me realize how much I

love the iPhone Air. And if you're

somebody who just wants the best feeling

phone, if you really care about the way

your phone feels and the way your phone

looks and the way you know people

perceive you using this phone as well, I

would say the iPhone Air is the best

hands down for feel in the hand and that

luxurious look. I think nothing touches

the iPhone Air. This phone does have

compromises all over the place, but

you're not buying this thing, you know,

for all the features. You're buying it

for the look. You're buying it for the

form factor. you're buying it because it

makes your life easier honestly when

having it in your pocket and things like

that. And if you don't use your phone

for more than like 10 minutes at a time,

20 minutes at a time, iPhone Air is

great for you. And that leaves us with

this guy, the iPhone 17. I think this is

the best bang for your buck iPhone you

can currently buy from Apple. The base

model iPhone 17. This thing is

tremendous. So, it's just such a great

value. I mean, you get 256 gigs of

starting storage. You have the dynamic

island on the front. You have faster 5G

speeds. You have a better camera system

than all of these phones except for the

Pros. And you have tremendous battery

life. So, I think the iPhone 17 is the

best iPhone to buy in 2026 for most

people depending on how much you value,

you know, the missing features in the

17e. If some of these features don't

really matter to you, things like, you

know, the slightly bigger display. So,

if you don't see a big difference in the

display here, and if also if you don't

care about 120 Hz, 120 Hz is a big deal

to some people, but if you don't care

about 120 Hz, then you might be fine

with the 17e. Also, you don't have

always on display on the 17e. And the

big one for me also is that you don't

have the dynamic island. But again, if

you're somebody out there who doesn't

care about the dynamic island, 17e might

be the one for you and save a couple

hundred bucks because again, this also

starts at 256 gigs of storage and it has

mag saves. You're not really missing out

on some of the big drawbacks like we had

last year on the E model. But I think

the hardest thing to get past is that

single camera lens. I think that's the

main reason most people probably go with

the base 17 over the 17e. But again, if

you're somebody who only takes 1x shots,

you don't zoom a lot, you don't use any

of those fancy features, then again, 17e

might be the best one for you. I think

this is a close second for bang for your

buck. But if you have a little bit of

money saved up and you want to get the

best of the best, just get the iPhone 17

Pro or the 17 Pro Max. These things are

absolute beasts and they're just going

to kill it at everything you throw at

it. Now, before we finish up, I do want

to talk about buying used phones or

refurbished phones on sites like eBay or

Amazon. So, I would say that if you

don't quite have the budget for the

iPhone 17 or 17e even, I would

personally be looking at a used iPhone

15 Pro or 15 Pro Max. You can get those

for about $450 to $500. They have great

cameras, titanium, Apple intelligence,

and solid battery life. Just make sure

the battery health is over like 90% I

would say, and you should be good. But

let's say you have less than $300.

You're on a really tight budget. If

you're just trying to get a phone for

somebody who's going to destroy the

phone or, you know, always breaks their

phones, I would look at the iPhone 13.

So, this is actually going for $275 on

Amazon refurbished and sometimes you can

find it even less on eBay. So, it's hard

to beat for, you know, less than $300.

So, anyways guys, that is it for this

buyer guide video. I hope it helped you

out. I know I threw a lot of information

at you, but if it did help you out, I

would appreciate it with a comment down

below. And if you want to see more

videos like this, be sure to hit that

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