The Apple 17 series is here – and Apple didn't just launch the long-rumored iPhone Air. The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max contain what Apple says is its best camera yet, with up to 48MP resolution on all three rear camera lenses and a larger, square-shaped sensor on the front camera.
Apple CEO Tim Cook says the newest iPhone series is "unlike anything we've ever created." While part of that is due to the launch of the iPhone Air, the iPhone Pro and Pro Max are also redesigned from the ground up. In fact, Apple is so confident about its camera capabilities that it filmed the entire September 09 Apple launch event on an iPhone 17 Pro.
As previously rumored, the camera bar on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max looks different than earlier models, with a camera bar that takes up most of the width of the back of the iPhone itself. The three cameras sit on the left with the flash and LiDAR sensor on the right.
While the iPhone 16 Pro already had two of its rear cameras at 48MP, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max now use up to 48MP on all three rear cameras. The newly designed telephoto camera, which previously topped out at 12MP, uses a teraprism design that allowed Apple to increase the sensor size by 56 percent.
The telephoto camera also packs in Apple's longest telephoto yet. The telephoto camera can shoot at either a 4x 100mm equivalent or a 2x 100mm equivalent, a setting that relies on the iPhone's ability to capture either 24MP or 48MP images. That means the longest 200mm equivalent reach is at 24MP, not 48MP.
Like with earlier models, the 48MP resolution is the max that's used alongside a smaller, more space-friendly 24MP default.
Video wasn't left out of the equation either, with new support for ProRes RAW capture, an Apple-created codec that allows for more flexible edits in post production. A new Genlock feature allows serious iPhone video creators to sync multiple cameras for effects like time splicing and bullet time, which will be supported by a new Blackmagic Pro dock. That list of video features also includes Dolby Vision HDR, 4K120fps, and support for ACES
That rear camera bar also joins a newly redesigned front camera that uses a square sensor. Called Center Stage, the square design is meant for capturing vertical or horizontal selfies without having to rotate the phone itself.
That updated camera bump – which Apple eloquently calls a plateau – doesn't just house the cameras, though. Apple relocated the antenna to the edges of the camera bump, a move that Apple says helps to increase connectivity.
The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max also use the newest A19 Pro Apple silicon, which includes a six-core CPU and a six-core GPU with a neural accelerator built into each GPU core. That powers – you guessed it – on-device Apple Intelligence.
Apple says the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max incorporate more machine learning into the imaging pipeline than any other previous models. The company says the machine learning comes into play at preserving details, reducing noise, and improving color accuracy.
The redesigned camera plateau isn't the only redesigned aspect of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. The smartphones are the first iPhones to use a unibody. Apple says that the one-piece design was made to be light and rigid while also being thermally efficient.
Photographers and videographers will also appreciate that enhanced thermal regulation, as it's part of the equation that allows the Pro and Pro Max models to deliver up to 40 percent better performance than the 16 Pro at intense tasks like photo and video editing.
The iPhone 17 series is slated for a September 19 release, with pre-orders opening on Friday, September 12. The iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,999. That's technically $100 more than the 16 Pro base model, but the base model has more storage at 256GB, and that price matches the iPhone 16 Pro 256GB model. The Pro Max starts at $1,199 / £1,199 /AU$2,199.
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