Apple presents iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max with A19 Pro chip

In addition to the completely new iPhone 17 Air, Apple has also presented three fresh versions of its existing model series. There is no Plus model this time. All three are equipped with the A19 or A19 Pro processor, which replace the A18 and A18 Pro and, like these, have two performance and four efficiency cores. Neural accelerators are new in each graphics core. The clock rate is likely to be slightly higher than 4 GHz; however, Apple always remains silent about this value. The 2025 iPhones introduce the N1, a new Apple chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread. All three models now have a front camera with 18 instead of 12 megapixels and the minimum memory capacity is 256 GB instead of 128 GB, as was previously only the case with the Pro Max. Contrary to speculation to the contrary, there is still a SIM slot for the European market – in addition to dual eSIM.

Telephoto sensor with 48 MP for the Pro models

The iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max now have a differently designed back with a camera belt that extends across the entire width and pushes the area for wireless charging via MagSafe slightly downwards from the center. The LED light and LiDAR scanner are no longer located directly next to the three lenses, but at the same height on the opposite edge.

The telephoto lens of the two Pro models has a zoom factor of 4x (instead of the previous 5x), but has a 48-megapixel sensor instead of a 12-megapixel sensor. If you only use the inner 12 megapixels for a photo, you get double the zoom factor as with the main camera, but a lower light yield. For the first time, iPhones with Apple's own camera app can record simultaneously with the front and main camera. This means that the person filming is captured, as well as what they see. Previously, this required an app such as DoubleTake, DualGram or camAround2 and the resolution was limited to 1080p. Apple has given the main camera a new aperture system and expanded the video function. The display is now a maximum of 3000 instead of 2000 nits bright – for a short time outdoors in strong sunlight.

After switching to titanium components for the housing of the Pro models in 2023, Apple is now switching back to an all-aluminum frame. Apple describes the housing as the first unibody for the iPhone. Although it is slightly softer, it is lighter and dissipates heat better. A new vapor chamber also helps with this. Owners of the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max have recently often reported thermal problems with their smartphones. For example, the battery sometimes only charges up to 80 percent due to excessive heating. The battery life is now said to have improved significantly.

The two Pro models transmit with Wi-Fi 7 up to a speed of 2600 Mbit/s, provided the router supports this. The housing and display sizes have changed only slightly. The iPhone 16 Pro already had a 120 Hz display with OLED technology, 6.3 inch diagonal, 2622 × 1206 pixels, Dynamic Island. The iPhone 16 Pro Max had 2668 × 1320 pixels with 6.9 inches. They can be charged with 25 watts via the USB-C socket and charge smaller devices such as the AirPods. They are waterproof to IP68 and are unlocked using Face ID facial recognition.

The Pro and Max are available in the colors "Cosmic Orange", silver and deep blue. The iPhone 17 Pro is now equipped with at least 256 GB of memory and costs 1299 euros. The predecessor with 256 GB was priced at 1329 euros. The iPhone 17 Pro Max with the same memory configuration still costs 1449 euros. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is now also available with 2 TByte storage, while the iPhone 17 Pro remains at 1 TByte.

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iPhone 17, 17 Pro und 17 Pro Max (13 Bilder)

iPhone 17 with improved display

The basic iPhone (without Pro) has a display that has been enlarged from 6.1 to 6.3 inches and now has a brightness of 3000 nits and a variable refresh rate of up to 120 Hertz, which Apple calls ProMotion. This enables smooth scrolling as well as the energy-saving AlwaysOn display.

The iPhone 17 is available in green, blue and purple (called lavender, mist blue and sage by Apple) as well as black and white. It costs 949 euros with 256 GB of memory.

In contrast to the Pro models, the iPhone 17 still has no telephoto camera and no LiDAR scanner. The GPU of the A 19 (without Pro) has 5 instead of 6 cores. The maximum selectable memory size is 512 GB. As with the Pros, Wi-Fi 7 with 2600 Mbit/s, USB-C, Dynamic Island, the camera control button and Face ID remain.

All three iPhone models mentioned can be pre-ordered from Friday, September 12 and will be available from Friday, September 19.

(jes)