In truth, the right time to upgrade is when your existing phone is no longer doing a suitable job. But in truth, each release tends to be just a little bit better than the last, or may introduce new options to nudge you into an early upgrade, like this year’s super-thin iPhone Air. The new modelsThe standard iPhone 17 is a reasonable upgrade over last year’s model, thanks to a range of display, camera and power efficiency upgrades. That might sound like jargon, but it means smoother motion, longer battery life and an always-on display. You could say it has everything the iPhone 17 has, plus most of the iPhone 17 Pro features, packaged with a slightly bigger screen and much slimmer frame, except there’s a caveat where battery life and photography are concerned.