Ever since we first found out what the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max would look like, there have been a lot of questions wondering what Apple's game is. I was definitely among them, questioning the sanity of the new design, since the extended camera bar looked absolutely hideous. But there may have been some method to that madness.
Don't get me wrong, it still looks hideous. But at least now that the iPhone 17 Pro has been officially unveiled, we have some context as to why Apple went with this design. Apple was always going to come up with some explanation for the change, but what we've been told makes a lot of sense. In fact, this design could offer the kind of performance upgrade the A19 Pro chipset could never do by itself. Here's how.
It's all about the heat
One of the big things Apple is focused on this year is heat. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are the first iPhones to have vapor chamber cooling systems, which will play a huge part in keeping the phone cool. But Apple isn't stopping there, and has done more to ensure both phones' design stays as cool as possible.
One of the big changes is the decision to ditch titanium in favor of a new aluminum alloy. As Apple pointed out during the Awe Dropping presentation, aluminum is more thermally efficient than titanium — even if it's not going to be as durable.
Considering all the reports of overheating in the iPhone 15 Pro, the first iPhone to include a titanium frame, it's not surprising that Apple went down this route. But it doesn't end there, because it sounds like Apple has taken heat dissipation into other aspects of the overall design.
While the "forged plateau," as Apple is calling it, isn't aesthetically pleasing, Apple claims that it can help dissipate heat from the phone. On top of that, the fact that it's part of the phones' aluminum unibody further helps distribute heat "evenly through the system."
Most importantly, these components all move heat away from the A19 Pro chipset — which is where the performance improvements come into play
High performance over longer periods
Apple has excelled at performance for a long time. The fact that it designs its own chips, which are optimized for use in iPhones, means that accessing high levels of performance power is a lot easier than a more general purpose chip — like a Snapdragon 8 Elite.
Regardless of the design of the phone, all the actual performance is still coming from the A19 Pro chipset. The chip plays an essential role in this equation, but without adequate cooling, it will eventually get too hot to run efficiently — not to mention the fact it will add unneeded stress to internal components.
The vapor chamber and design tweaks are to ensure this doesn't happen. Allowing the chip to run faster and for longer periods of time. As Apple put it, better sustained performance. Why is that important? Because it means that the high performance isn't restricted to short bursts, and can carry on over longer periods of time. Apple says the iPhone 17 Pro's vapor chamber cooling and other tweaks have resulted in 40% better sustained performance than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Pushing your A19 Pro for too long isn't going to kill your phone; there are systems in place to prevent that from happening. But there is a limit to how hard it can go at any given time, and often the limiting factor is the amount of heat. So the faster that heat is transferred away from the chip, the longer that chip can go without starting to slow down.
Bottom line
I still don't like the look of the iPhone 17 Pro or the Pro Max. The extended camera bar is ugly. But at least the oversized plateau does offer a practical purpose, and Apple didn't come up with some half-baked excuse. Still, it remains to be seen how much of an impact the design will have.
At this stage, we haven't actually been able to do any performance testing with the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. However, leaked benchmarks do show an incredible leap in raw performance power — which suggests Apple's various changes have worked. Though we will hold off final judgement until we can do that testing ourselves.
But considering Apple's track record with the A-series chips, it's safe to assume the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are going to be very hard to beat.
More from Tom's Guide
- Google Pixel 10 problems — Pixelsnap accessories are overheating already
- iPhone 17's wireless charging upgrade is actually good news for Android phones — here's how
- I went hands-on with all the new iPhone 17 devices — and this is the one I'd actually buy
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