The new iPhone 17 drop was a highlight of 2025, and there’s a good chance many people received the phone for the holidays as an exciting gift.
Getting a new iPhone might seem pretty straightforward, and while the device might run you through a basic setup, there are other steps you can take to ensure you’re getting the best user experience. Dion Schuddeboom, a tech pro and content creator, recently made a video on the “first things” you should do when setting up the new iPhone 17 to “maximize” your experience. Read more about what he had to say below.
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1. 'Preserve' Battery Life By Setting A Charge Limit
With the iPhone 17 and the new iOS 26 software, there's a battery feature that can help keep your device and battery strong and last as long as possible. Many tech experts stress that it's not a good idea to keep your iPhone plugged in at 100% for various reasons, including overheating, and now, you can customize your own charging limit to prevent this from happening. First, go to Settings > Battery > Charging.
"You can actually set a charge limit, and that is effectively going to reduce the maximum charge of your iPhone," says Schuddeboom, who also suggests making sure "Optimized Battery Charging" is turned on. "Optimize battery charging, I think, is the best of both worlds, where it's going to help preserve your battery health by staggering how your phone charges."
2. Save Time By Changing Default Apps
Although many people rely on the preinstalled apps that come with an iPhone, like Safari, Mail, Messages, etc., sometimes, people find themselves using other apps instead. For instance, you might prefer to use Chrome over Safari or WhatsApp over Messages. If that's the case, there is an easy way to ensure those apps are made your 'default,' giving them more permission and saving you time with accessibility. First, go to Settings > Apps > Default Apps.
"Here we can change a myriad of applications as the default," explains Schuddeboom. "You can change your mail, your messaging app...For example, I like to set that to WhatsApp. You have your browser, [and] perhaps you want to change it to Chrome. This goes a long way to setting up the default applications on your iPhone to get your favorite apps to always open."
3. 'Unlock' The Best Quality For Your Cameras
One of the most exciting aspects of the new iPhone 17 is the new cameras. The phone comes with three back cameras, which are higher quality than past iPhone models, and users will have all sorts of new features to try out. As it turns out, there's even more you can do when setting up your phone to ensure you're getting the highest quality photos. Everything you'll need will be under Settings > Camera > Formats.
"As these camera systems on the back are very powerful, but by default, not all the right settings are enabled," notes Schuddeboom. "Here, you want to make sure that Resolution Control is turned on. Now these are actually 48 megapixel cameras that you have on the back of your iPhone 17, but by default, it will take 24 megapixel photos. By turning on this Resolution Control setting, we now have the option to capture full 48 megapixel photos."
Schuddeboom adds that while using your camera, you can manually switch it over to 48 megapixels by turning on your camera, clicking HEIF in the top left corner, then switching over to 48 MPs for "the best quality, the most detail-rich photos possible."
