iPhone 17 Pro: Seven new features are coming later this year – 9to5Mac

This year is set to be big for the iPhone, with a compelling new iPhone SE 4 in the spring and the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air in the fall. But what about Apple’s flagship Pro models? Here are seven new features coming to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max this September.The iPhone’s cameras get better every year, but often Apple’s big improvements focus on the rear cameras.With the full iPhone 17 line, though, Apple will upgrade the front camera from a 12MP sensor to a brand new 24MP sensor, which should bring big improvements. It’s about time for the selfie camera to get closer in quality to the iPhone’s rear camera.Apple will once again upgrade its new iPhones with a new and improved A-series chip. This year that will be the A19 Pro chip.Apple’s very best silicon will be reserved exclusively for the 17 Pro and Pro Max. Though the new 17 Air model is expected to win over a lot of Pro users, it will feature the standard A19 chip—just like the base iPhone 17.The advent of AI has made RAM in Apple’s devices increasingly important. iPhone 15 owners know this better than anyone, since RAM limitations made the device incompatible with Apple Intelligence.Apple plans to give its 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max models 12GB of RAM—the most ever in an iPhone.This is a nice 50% improvement from the 16 Pro’s 8GB of RAM, which is what the standard iPhone 17 and 17 Air will be limited to still.Apple has for years been working on developing two of its own modems: one for 5G, and one for Wi-Fi. Now, both projects are nearing the light of day.The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are expected to use Apple’s new combo Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, and possibly the rest of the lineup too.Only the 17 Air, however, will get Apple’s in-house 5G modem, with the Pro models sticking with Qualcomm’s more advanced modem for another year.Like Apple did with this year’s 16 Pro models, the company is ready to double down on its Pro line as being especially optimized for camera use.The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will reportedly boast a ‘larger rectangular camera bump.’ Presumably this will enable some new benefit.It sounds like the top portion of the Pro models may feature a full-width aluminum design. The bottom half, however, will retain its standard glass back for wireless charging.This is an especially curious one: the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are getting a redesigned frame, with aluminum replacing titanium.Apple just recently introduced titanium to the iPhone’s Pro models in 2023, so the shift to aluminum is interesting. We’ll have to wait to hear Apple’s reasoning for the transition.Finally, the full lineup is expected to get improved cooling systems, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max exclusively boasting a vapor chamber plus graphite sheet.They need to come with it regarding software. Hardware is reaching its peak. Give us some form of split screen multitasking for these increasingly larger screens. No doubt this move is a reflection of Apple Intelligence’s importance to the iPhone’s future. AI not only requires more powerful chips and extra RAM, but better cooling to maintain max performance too.This list of iPhone 17 Pro features reiterates my belief that this year’s purchase decision will be harder than ever.The ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air sounds very exciting. But there might just be too many sacrifices Pro users would have to make to switch over.Which iPhone 17 Pro features are you most excited about? Do you plan to buy the 17 Air or stick with the Pro? Let us know in the comments.FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:Ryan got his start in journalism as an Editor at MacStories, where he worked for four years covering Apple news, writing app reviews, and more. For two years he co-hosted the Adapt podcast on Relay FM, which focused entirely on the iPad. As a result, it should come as no surprise that his favorite Apple device is the iPad Pro.Manage push notifications

Source: https://9to5mac.com/2025/01/24/iphone-17-pro-seven-new-features-are-coming-next-year/