Apple iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max first impressions: It’s all about performance

Note: This article was first published on 10 September 2025 and is republished now that the phones are available in retail. Read our iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max review here.

Performance is the theme of this year’s iPhones. Apple wants this year’s iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max to be its most performant phones ever, and it has made some big changes to make that happen.

To start, there’s a new camera bump. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max both now have a horizontal camera bump that stretches across the entire width of the phone. After years of having square camera bumps, this new look is equal parts refreshing and unnatural. There’s a whiff of Google Pixel about it.

The upside to this sizeable bump is that Apple has more space for the internals – stuff like the battery, chip, and cooling system. The battery is larger, allowing for up to 37 hours of video watching on the iPhone 17 Pro Max and up to 31 hours on the smaller iPhone 17 Pro. That yields at least 12% to 14% increase in the published uptime against their respective predecessors, which is definitely appreciated in our hyperconnected world as we spend more time consuming and creating through our phones.

Speaking of size, the new phones feel chunkier. Delving into the spec sheet confirms my suspicions; this year’s models are 0.5mm thicker and oh-so-slightly heavier. They are not vastly thicker and heavier, but if you are as sensitive as I am, you’ll feel the difference.

In terms of finishes, you have three: Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue, and Silver. Cosmic Orange is an unusually vibrant colour for a Pro iPhone, and is the one you want if you are the flamboyant type. It reminds me of Thai milk tea. Deep Blue is very dark and almost black, while Silver reminds me of last year’s White Titanium. My pick of the trio is Cosmic Orange.

The phones are powered by the new A19 Pro chip. In these phones, you get 6 CPU cores and 6 GPU cores – one more GPU core than the iPhone Air’s A19 Pro chip. To maximise its performance, it has a vapour chamber cooling system, which is laser-welded to the aluminium chassis (no more titanium) for better heat dissipation. Apple claims this allows for up to 40% better sustained performance.

Unfortunately, during my short time with the phone, I wasn’t able to tell if the A19 Pro was faster than its predecessor. The phones certainly feel powerful and responsive, but then you could say the same for just about any new iPhone.

The camera system has been improved in a few ways. You still have three cameras, but they are now all 48MP Fusion cameras, which is Apple’s way of saying the cameras can now more convincingly simulate multiple focal lengths. The telephoto camera, in particular, is now a 4x unit, but because it’s a Fusion camera, Apple says it can deliver optical-quality 8x photos. Digital zoom is up to 40x. We’ll need more time with the cameras to know if they can live up to these claims.

The front camera is the new 18MP Centre Stage camera, which uses a square sensor so it can do interesting things like dynamically frame your photo regardless of its orientation. This means you can take landscape selfies even if you are holding the phone upright in portrait orientation. I had a go and it works well. I can see how it can make taking selfies easier.

In terms of displays, not much has changed. Both phones’ screen sizes are unchanged, so the iPhone 17 Pro has a 6.3-inch display, while the Pro Max has a larger 6.9-inch display. They are still high-quality Super Retina XDR displays, but have a higher peak brightness of 3,000 nits. This is especially useful if you are taking photos or shooting videos outdoors in bright sunlight.

Folks who prioritise performance over everything else should be happy with the new Pro iPhone this year. I think it’s interesting that Apple isn’t shying away from making its Pro iPhones a tad thicker and heavier if it means they can deliver better performance. Stay tuned for my full review to find out just how powerful they are and how long their batteries last.

Availability and pricing

The iPhone 17 Pro starts at S$1,749, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at S$1,899. Pre-orders begin on the Apple Store on 12 September 2025, 8 PM Singapore Time.

General availability and retail sales will begin on 19 September and the phones come in three colourways: Silver, Cosmic Orange, and Deep Blue.

Here’s the complete pricing table: