Apple iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max launched with performance gains and bold new design

Apple’s annual September showcase at the Steve Jobs Theatre is never short on drama, and this year’s “Awe Dropping” event mixed a dose of nostalgia with a leap forward. The show opened with a montage of Apple’s greatest design hits and a nod to the era of Liquid Glass before Tim Cook and team unveiled the new AirPods Pro 3 and Apple Watches.

But the spotlight inevitably swung to the iPhones, as it usually does in Apple’s September events. Apple introduced four new models, including the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the brand-new, ultra-slim iPhone Air. Here’s what you need to know about the latest iPhone 17 series.

iPhone 17: A brighter, tougher everyday iPhone

The Apple iPhone 17 is the most approachable model in the lineup, but Apple hasn’t held back on the upgrades front. Its 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display now hits a blazing 3,000 nits peak brightness, making it one of the most outdoor-friendly iPhones yet.

And, Apple fans can rejoice knowing that ProMotion has finally arrived on the standard iPhone! This enables an adaptive refresh rate that slides all the way from 1Hz (on the Always-On Display) to 120Hz for silky-smooth scrolling.

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Durability also sees a major upgrade with Ceramic Shield 2. Apple says it’s three times more scratch-resistant, and it now carries a seven-layer anti-reflective coating that keeps the screen visible even under harsh sunlight. Combined with slimmer bezels, the iPhone 17 both looks sharper and feels sturdier.

Inside, the phone runs on the new A19 chip, built on a 3nm process. It delivers a 20 per cent performance boost over last year’s silicon. A 16-core Neural Engine powers several Apple Intelligence features entirely on-device, for enhanced security.

Gamers benefit from a five-core GPU, while efficiency improvements translate into what Apple calls “all-day battery life”. If you’re concerned about the iPhone 17 battery, you needn’t be. Apple promises about eight more hours of video playback compared to the iPhone 16, which is mighty impressive. Additionally, plugging it in for 10 minutes of charging gets you up to eight hours of video playback.

The iPhone 17 camera setup has been rethought, too. The back features a 48MP main, a new 48MP ultrawide with macro capability, and a 2x telephoto via in-sensor zoom. Up front sits the star attraction, a new square Centre Stage camera, the largest selfie sensor Apple has ever used. At 18MP, it promises sharper selfies, wider group shots, and ultra-stabilised video.

Throw in the Action Button, and a baseline 256GB of storage, and the iPhone 17 features and specs make it feel like a bigger leap forward than most “non-Pro” updates of the yesteryears.

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max: Meaner, cooler, and longer-lasting

Tim Cook called them “the most Pro iPhones yet… by a lot”. And that really doesn’t feel like exaggeration. The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max introduce an aluminium unibody design, chosen for strength and, crucially, better thermal performance. Inside sits a newly engineered vapour chamber cooling system, laser-welded into the chassis, which lets the latest Apple A19 Pro chip sustain higher speeds without breaking a sweat.

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That new design also changes the typical Apple playbook. A full-width camera plateau dominates the back, with antennas wrapped around its edges, and a dual-island layout (one for the triple cameras, another for the Apple logo) looks unlike anything we’ve seen from Apple in years. Protection comes from Ceramic Shield on both sides, with the front getting the new and improved Ceramic Shield 2. This translates to a four times tougher rear panel, and a 3x more scratch-resistant display.

Performance is where the Pro models really stretch their legs. The A19 Pro combines a six-core CPU with a 6-core GPU, each GPU core housing its own neural accelerator. Sustained performance is up 40 per cent over the iPhone 16 Pro, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing makes console-grade gaming feel native on the iPhone.

Battery life is just as impressive. The Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max now boasts 39 hours of video playback, the longest ever on an iPhone. Charging is still quick; you get 50 per cent charge in 20 minutes with Apple’s new 40W adapter.

Photography and video are equally ambitious. Both the Apple iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models carry three 48MP Fusion sensors, including an ultrawide shooter, a main camera, and a telephoto lens with a tetraprism design that’s 56 per cent larger than last gen. There’s 4x optical zoom, and 8x in-sensor zoom, with digital zoom stretching to 40x.

3D sensor-shift stabilisation keeps shots steady, while the updated Photonic Engine blends machine learning into the capture process for richer colours and detail.

For video creators, the Pro Max is a pocket studio. It supports ProRes RAW capture, Dolby Vision HDR at 4K120, and Apple Log 2. There’s even Genlock, a professional-grade sync feature that aligns multiple cameras frame by frame.

The front camera hasn’t been left behind either. Both models use the 18MP square Centre Stage sensor introduced on the iPhone 17, but with enhanced stabilisation and framing tricks.

iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max: Pricing, colours, and availability

What about the iPhone 17 price, you ask? Well, the spanking new iPhone 17 starts at Rs 82,900 for the base 256GB variant. And iPhone 17 colours? The vanilla model is available in Lavender, Mist Blue, Sage, Black, and White. The iPhone 17 Pro begins at Rs 1,34,900 for the base 256GB model, while the Pro Max starts at Rs 1,49,900.

For the first time, the iPhone 17 Pro Max tops out at a massive 2TB of storage, which is priced at Rs 2,29,900. The Pro and Pro Max models come in Deep Blue, Cosmic Orange, and Silver.

The new lineup will be open for pre-orders starting September 12, post 5:30 PM IST, and available for sale starting September 19. You can head to Croma to pre-book them on September 12, or purchase them post September 19.

With the iPhone 17 series, Apple hasn’t reinvented the smartphone, but it has refined nearly everything that matters. The iPhone 17 makes the entry model feel premium again, while the Pro models lean into aluminum-driven performance, longer battery life, and cameras edging ever closer to DSLR territory. With Apple Intelligence baked into iOS 26, this year’s iPhones aren’t just about faster chips, they mark the start of Apple’s AI-first era.