Apple’s iPhone 17 Event Recap: New iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods

The iPhone 17 Pro represents a complete redesign, with an aluminum body (a change from last year’s titanium models), Ceramic Shield 2 glass on both the front and back of the phone, and a new thermal system using vapor chamber cooling, which efficiently moves heat away from the components to allow for better performance.

Apple is promising three times the scratch resistance for the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max’s screens (and four times for the back glass), thanks to Ceramic Shield 2. This should add improved durability to the Pro and Pro Max’s ProMotion display, which features an improved 3,000 nits of peak brightness, and what Apple says is double the outdoor contrast.

Under the hood is the A19 Pro chip, which Apple claims has up to 40% better sustained performance than the processor in the iPhone 16 Pro. Apple has also increased the RAM, from 8 GB in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max to 12 GB in the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. That increase in RAM should help with the AI features coming in iOS 26.

Like the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air, the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max also support Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and the Threads protocol, and Apple says its new N1 networking chip will improve the performance and reliability of AirDrop and the Personal HotSpot feature.

With the efficiency improvements of the A19 Pro chip and improved cooling, Apple says the eSIM-only models of the iPhone 17 Pro Max (available in the US and 11 other territories at launch) will provide “the best battery life ever in an iPhone,” though the company isn’t providing a number for now. It did state during its presentation that the improved battery life would allow for up to 39 hours of video playback.

Apple also claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max can reach 50% charge in just 20 minutes using its new 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max (and yes, that’s the adapter’s real name).

As for the camera systems, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max come equipped with an 18-megapixel front-facing camera with support for Center Stage and a wider field of view, along with enhanced, widescreen selfie support. On the back, all three cameras are 48-megapixel lenses, including a 48-megapixel telephoto camera with up to 8x optical zoom and support for 40x digital zoom.

The sensors are 56% larger than the previous generation, for sharper, more detailed images. The telephoto camera leverages an updated photonic engine that preserves natural detail, reduces noise, and improves color accuracy.

As for video, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are adding ProRes Raw and Log 2 support in addition to the Dolby Vision, 4K 120 fps, and ACES support from last year’s Pro models. The new Pro models will also get support for “genlock,” an industry standard used to sync multiple video sources.

The iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,100 while the iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,200 for 256 GB of storage (with a 2 TB configuration available, for the first time). Both models will be available in silver, deep blue, or a striking new orange and will go on sale September 19.