The Apple iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max were launched early this morning, bringing the most drastic changes to the body since the iPhone 11. Pre-orders will open in Malaysia on September 12 while sales will be on September 19.
For those who are not sure which model is most compatible with personal needs, here is a list of 10 interesting and disappointing things about this year's iPhone 17 series.
INTERESTING
1. All Models Equipped with 120Hz ProMotion Screen
After being criticized for giving 60Hz screens to the basic iPhone models, this year Apple finally complied with user requests. All four models this year are of the Super Retina XDR OLED type with a ProMotion 120Hz LTPO refresh rate. This will not only make the user experience smoother but will also save battery consumption, especially on the iPhone Air which has a small battery.
2. All Models Come With New A19 Series Chips
Two new chips were introduced, namely the Apple A19 Pro and Apple A19. Both are still 6-core CPUs but have 16-core NPUs. Apple did not equip the iPhone 17 with last year's chip like it did on the iPhone 15. With this, Apple's Intelligence capabilities are comparable to all iPhones this year.
3. Finally 12GB RAM On the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air
Last year, all iPhone models came with 8GB of RAM. This year, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air are upgraded with 12GB of RAM for the first time. With larger RAM, more applications can be launched simultaneously and helps with artificial intelligence processing. DRAM prices are now getting cheaper due to oversupply and there is no reason not to offer 12GB to all phones next year.
4. All-New Design
The last time a major change was made was with the iPhone 11 Pro. The triple camera was introduced and the boxy camera bump on the back immediately became an iconic element of the iPhone so that the device is easily recognizable even from a distance. Originally laughed at because "Steve Jobs didn't design like this" but it started the trend of cameras arranged in three directions on other manufacturers' devices.
Some say that this year's iPhone is copying the Google Pixel trend. You can see the similarities but if we're being honest, the iPhone Air is more like the Google Nexus 6P. The design of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air has also received great criticism on social media but I'm sure like the iPhone 11 design before, it will later be copied by other manufacturers and become the new norm.
5. iOS 26 With Liquid Glass
The new Liquid Glass interface was introduced by bringing back the original iOS skeumorphic UI era which was replaced by a flat design in 2013 through iOS 7. With a glass-like design, the icons look 3D again by reflecting light. When interface elements cover the background, they will be completely obscured by the refraction of light from real glass. Not only has the physical design of the iPhone received major changes, the software has also been completely changed to provide a completely fresh new experience.
6. Bigger Battery
The iPhone 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max and 17 have larger batteries than last year's models. An increase of a few hundred mAh is significant enough to provide several hours of use longer. Last year's iPhone 16 series already had a reputation as one of the longest-lasting devices with batteries. So this year I'm sure it will maintain its reputation. I'm just a little disappointed that the largest battery version of the iPhone 17 Pro did not enter the Malaysian market because it is a model without a physical SIM tray.
7. Faster Charging Up to 60W
This year's iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro support charging up to 60W which is much better than around 25W last year. This is the peak charging power that is reached in an instant allowing the battery to be charged up to 50% in as little as 20 minutes.
Although it is still slow compared to the charging systems of Huawei, Honor, Oppo and Xiaomi, it is a good start and will no longer give Samsung an excuse to continue stubbornly with only 45W chargers next year.
8. 48MP Tri-Camera On iPhone 17 Pro And 48MP Dual-Camera On iPhone 17
The era of different lenses, different sensors ends with the iPhone 17 series. All models this year are equipped with the same 48MP sensor. The iPhone 17 Pro with a 48MP tri-camera, the iPhone 17 with a 48MP dual-camera and the Air with a 48MP mono-camera. On the iPhone 17 Pro, the new sensor replaces the 12MP telephoto lens sensor and on the iPhone 17 it replaces the 12MP ultra-wide sensor.
On paper, more consistent-looking images should be achieved, as I enjoyed when using the Oppo Find X8 Pro with its 50MP tri-camera system. If Apple has said goodbye to the 12MP sensor, other flagship device manufacturers (hello Samsung!) should also migrate to larger sensors.
9. New 18MP Center Stage Selfie Camera
The selfie camera is now given a new name, Center Stage, because it is equipped with a larger 18MP wide-angle sensor. With this new camera, landscape selfies can be taken even when the phone is held vertically. The iPhone 17 series camera's AI system will detect the presence of other people and automatically change the shooting mode for group selfies.
The Center Stage system also has an image stabilization system that allows stable front video recording. In the era of TikTok, Instagram Live and TikTok Live, the front camera with stabilization will further strengthen the iPhone's status as the smartphone of choice for influencers and online content producers.
10. Cooling System on the iPhone 17 Pro
Finally, the iPhone 17 Pro series is the first to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system to ensure high performance can be achieved at all times by the A19 Pro. So far, Apple has not required a standard cooling system on Android because the processors it runs do not require high power. Since the iPhone can run PC games such as Death Stranding and Resident Evil Village, heating issues have begun to be reported by users, so the solution is a built-in cooling system.
The introduction of this cooling system is also interesting when viewed from the perspective of the development of Apple's next devices. Apple is reportedly developing a MacBook with iPhone chips and I'm sure the same cooling system will be used on the laptop as well. For users, this is a positive step from Apple to solve the heating issue and realize the dream of the iPhone being a mobile PC-level gaming console.
This is a list of the 10 most interesting things. I will also publish a list of the 10 most disappointing things shortly. With these two lists I hope to help you decide whether you should buy the Apple iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max or not.