Apple on Tuesday introduced iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max with a striking new design that delivers a dramatic leap in performance.
Both models feature A19 Pro, the most powerful and efficient chip for iPhone yet, enabling the advanced camera systems, next-level mobile gaming, and Apple Intelligence. Built with an Apple-designed vapor chamber that is laser-welded into a strong, light, and thermally conductive aluminum unibody, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max deliver Apple’s best-ever performance and an enormous leap in battery life.
Three 48MP Fusion cameras — Main, Ultra Wide, and an all-new Telephoto — offer the equivalent of eight lenses, including the longest optical-quality zoom ever on iPhone at 8x, and the innovative 18MP Center Stage front camera takes selfies to the next level.
Both models feature the Ceramic Shield 2 front cover with 3x better scratch resistance, and for the first time, Ceramic Shield protects the back of iPhone. iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are available in three beautiful new finishes — deep blue, cosmic orange, and silver.
Jamie Richards for TechRadar:
[T]o be honest, on first hearing about these changes, I was the furthest thing from a fan. I thought the enlarged camera housing was an uncharacteristic move from Apple’s typically minimalist design departments, and the two-tone effect never quite made sense to me after nearly two decades of sleek, single-color designs.
But looking at the images from our hands-on iPhone 17 Pro preview and hands-on iPhone 17 Pro Max preview, I’ve got to admit that I’ve had a change of heart. That’s partly because the final product is much more refined than the mockups and renders we’d seen previously, but mainly because we now know the story behind some of these design choices… [W]ith the knowledge shared during Apple’s “Awe Dropping” event, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max’s redesigns make a lot more sense.
The camera plateau, for example, has been raised from the rest of the rear panel to give the phone more internal space to fit a larger battery. Considering that the iPhone 16 Pro Max already featured a protruding camera housing, this actually seems like a fairly logical move – we’re long past the point of phones lying flat on tables, and battery life is plainly more important than shaving a few millimeters off of the phone’s thickness.
The two-tone panel has a similar story. The smaller glass area on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max is courtesy of an expanded aluminum chassis, which replaces last year’s titanium rails to offer better heat dissipation. It’s a functional move that also gives the phone a more rugged, industrial appearance… It helps that the “two-tone” effect is really quite a bit more subtle than some tipsters had suggested…
MacDailyNews Take: The new design of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max is meant to maximize performance and deliver a significant leap in battery life – plus they look great!
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