This was unusual. As Apple’s SVP of Hardware Engineering John Ternus talked about Apple’s A19 Pro chip at the keynote, he said, “This is MacBook Pro levels of compute in an iPhone, perfect for GPU-intensive AI workloads.” Never has Apple mentioned a MacBook in an iPhone comparison, since their usual points of reference are previous iPhones to illustrate the forward steps. It is a bold statement to make, considering how powerful any MacBook is, particularly now. Could this mean that the smarter Siri, already delayed, is round the corner?
This Apple silicon in the iPhone Pro line, the A19 Pro has a 6‑core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores, 6‑core GPU with Neural Accelerators, a 16‑core Neural Engine and hardware‑accelerated ray tracing. On the generational references, Apple says the iPhone 17 Pro will be able to deliver as much as 40% more sustained performance, and it is a 3x improvement in the A19 Pro’s GPU compute compared to the A18 Pro from last year. The former, a combination of the new chip’s improvements as well as significantly improved thermal management in the latest generation iPhones. The latter, a hardware and software blend that’s been refined.
A19 Pro: The iPhone 17 Pro’s secret trump card
Two questions. First, is there an AI upgrade in the works, and Apple wants the world to know its latest iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and indeed the iPhone Air (albeit with a 5-core GPU) are absolutely ready for it? Second, is Apple considering a silicon consolidation, and would we see an A-series powered MacBook in the near future? The MacBook Air is due a refresh, for starters. It could even be an extension of the MacBook line, because there was a time in the not too distant past, when the MacBook Air line had two screen size options.
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As someone who has often noted the heating in current generation (as well as previous generation) flagships irrespective of iPhone or Android, Apple’s claims likely come with an understanding that the changes to open up space in the chassis and the laser-welded vapor chamber, have the desired effect in keeping things cool. That may be easier to achieve in an iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, than perhaps an iPhone Air, which will have a lower ceiling for thermal throttling in like-for-like scenarios. Again, we’ll only know for sure, after having put the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone Air through the paces.
All-round upgrades, define a powerful phone
In India, the iPhone 17 Pro is priced at ₹134900 onwards, while the larger iPhone 17 Pro Max is priced ₹149900 onwards. It’s a change this year, Apple having bucked generational inflation last year — a bigger price increase on the Pro, compared with the Pro Max. The iPhone 16 Pro was marked at ₹1,19,900 onwards at launch, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max cost ₹1,44,900 onwards. “Our market assessment indicates that Apple is poised for a strong festive season in India, supported by older-generation iPhones and, more importantly, the all-new iPhone 17 series, which departs from the incremental hardware updates of recent years,” notes Prabhu Ram, Vice President – Industry Research Group, at CyberMedia Research (CMR), in a conversation with HT.
Changes begin with the design, including a new unibody architecture, the switch to a proprietary aluminium material, the use of a Ceramic Shield instead of glass at the back to make it more scratch resistant, and of course, the brightest colour we’ve ever seen on a Pro series iPhone till now. Cosmic Orange, as it is called, will likely be the best-seller for Apple at least in initial months, because it is a step away from the traditionally series, darker colour shades that the iPhone Pro line has always delivered. Expect this colour to be the one of choice, with higher than usual flaunt value (that’s just how things work). The different feeling as you hold it, not the typical metal and glass touch, adds a feeling of freshness.
The camera system on the iPhone 17 Pro line has received serious upgrades. Optical zoom is now 8x (and that’s a focal length of 200mm), which is twice as much as the previous generation. The main wide camera sensor is larger than before, as much as 56%, which should mean a lot more light to work with. The troika on the back are now all 48-megapixels each. While Apple doesn’t release the milliampere figures, they do say the iPhone 17 Pro does have the highest battery capacity in an iPhone — we’ll get to test the real-world performance in the coming weeks. The camera plateau at the back is the most significant redesign — this may grow on you with time.
The Photonic Engine is updated, and Apple says the image pipeline uses more machine learning to preserve natural detail, reduce noise, and provide significantly improved colour accuracy. The 18-megapixel Center Stage front camera is the first time an iPhone is using a square sensor at the front, which means selfies can become a lot simpler for the enthusiasts. The ability to take landscape mode selfies while holding the iPhone in portrait mode is interesting. As is the ability to record video with the front and rear cameras simultaneously, something called Dual Capture.
