New Delhi: Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are here, and the company is calling them its most powerful Pro models yet. Launched on September 9 in Cupertino, these new flagships bring a fresh design, an upgraded chip, new camera systems, and a strong focus on performance and battery life. I went through the announcement today and it felt like Apple wanted to push two things hard — power and durability.
Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said during the launch, “iPhone 17 Pro is by far the most powerful iPhone we’ve ever made, with a stunning new design rebuilt from the inside out to maximize performance and deliver an enormous leap in battery life.”
iPhone 17 Pro: Bigger battery, vapor chamber cooling, and 8x telephoto zoom
A19 Pro chip and better heat management
Both iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are powered by the new A19 Pro chip. Apple says this processor can deliver up to 40 percent better sustained performance compared to the last generation. To handle the heat, the phones come with a vapor chamber welded into a brushed aluminum unibody. Apple explained that the vapor chamber carries heat into the aluminum chassis, spreading it evenly so the phone stays cooler during gaming or editing.
The Pro Max model also gets a bigger battery, and Apple claims it offers the best battery life ever on an iPhone. Charging can hit 50 percent in about 20 minutes if you use Apple’s new 40W Dynamic Power Adapter, which costs $39 (roughly ₹3,400).
New display and durability upgrades
The iPhone 17 Pro comes in 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch sizes with Super Retina XDR displays. Apple has used Ceramic Shield 2 on the front and, for the first time, the back as well. This new glass is said to be three times more scratch resistant and four times more crack resistant than the older back glass. Peak outdoor brightness now hits 3000 nits, making it easier to see the screen under the sun.
Camera changes with 8x zoom
Apple has packed three 48MP rear cameras: Main, Ultra Wide, and a new Telephoto. The Telephoto sensor is 56 percent larger than before and supports up to 8x optical zoom at 200mm — the longest zoom ever on an iPhone. For selfies, Apple has added an 18MP Center Stage front camera with AI tricks like automatically expanding the field of view in group selfies and switching between portrait and landscape.
The phones also support advanced video formats such as ProRes RAW, Apple Log 2, and genlock, a feature used in pro film shoots for syncing multiple cameras.
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max India Price, colors, and availability
Both phones are coming in three new finishes: deep blue, cosmic orange, and silver. The iPhone 17 Pro starts at ₹1,34,900, while the Pro Max starts at ₹1,49,900. Pre-orders open on September 12 and availability begins September 19 in India and more than 60 other countries.