The unibody and digital camera plateau really feel extra important in particular person

Shocking completely nobody, Apple has unveiled the new iPhone 17 series, together with the iPhone Air, which CEO Tim Cook dinner stated on the launch occasion right now freed the corporate as much as make the Professional handsets probably the most Professional ever. Is that declare true or principally hyperbole? Right here at Apple Park, I used to be capable of take a excessive velocity hands-on demo of the iPhone 17 Professional, and although clearly I can not reply that query based mostly on a quick preview of the brand new telephones, I am definitely intrigued.

I made a beeline for the brand new Cosmic Orange mannequin, which by the best way jogs my memory strongly of the Motion Button on the Apple Watch Ultras. I am already very taken with the best way the iPhone 17 Professional appears and feels, and I do not even thoughts the brand new digital camera plateau, however perhaps that is simply because I am a sucker for change.

This is not only a shiny new factor, to be clear. Removed from it. The iPhone 17 Professional that I performed with was the orange model and it has a kind of matte end and a imprecise “smooth contact” really feel in comparison with the iPhone 16 Professional I have been utilizing for a couple of yr. I additionally preferred the blue colour choice, which is barely richer than it seems in images. Whatever the colour, I discovered that the aluminum body and matte end across the edges lent a sturdier really feel general, and I say this as somebody whose iPhone 16 Professional has a big, nasty sequence of cracks as a result of it fell and landed on its edge.

I positively suppose that although there is a slight tradeoff within the general premium vibe to the Professional telephones, the attainable enchancment in sturdiness needs to be value it. Importantly, the again of the iPhone 17 Professional additionally options Ceramic Defend within the paler-hued rounded rectangle half, so it needs to be extra scratch resistant than its predecessor.

Regardless of the brand new unibody design, I discovered the digital camera management button on the fitting nonetheless fairly straightforward to press, though I believe I am extra used to the one on the iPhone 16 Professional and discover it a bit simpler to click on in the intervening time.

Extra importantly, and that is one thing I will must spend greater than an hour with an iPhone 17 Professional to confirm, the redesign ought to assist with battery life. The digital camera plateau now homes many parts, liberating up area in the remainder of the iPhone’s physique for the battery. That, along with the A19 Professional processor’s improved energy effectivity, is meant to make the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max last more than earlier than.

I each detest and am appreciative of Apple’s tendency to give you new phrases for its options, and whereas I cringed barely on the phrase “plateau” to explain the rounded rectangle module on the again of the iPhone 17 Professional, I definitely discover it handy to make use of as a reference. The digital camera plateau incorporates the three 48-megapixel Fusion cameras that Apple described in the course of the keynote, and I can confirm that I noticed digital camera zoom choices that went as much as 8x within the viewfinder. I examined a few of them out briefly at Apple’s Observatory area, zooming up nearer to the Infinity constructing additional away. With out a lot nearer appears on the ensuing photos, I can not vouch for the standard, so all I can say is that the interface stays acquainted to make use of.

I additionally had an opportunity to shortly try the brand new Heart Stage selfie digital camera, and I’ve to say it now is sensible why Apple needed to redesign the digital camera app with iOS 26. To allow new options just like the auto-rotating side ratio or the dual-camera video seize, you may must dive deeper into menus by tapping buttons close to the highest of the display. I did not instantly know the place to seek out these however I am certain I will study over time. For now, a useful Apple consultant standing subsequent to the telephone confirmed me the place every thing was.

Lots of the different attention-grabbing issues concerning the iPhone 17 Professional weren’t straightforward to shortly check, so we’ll have to attend until we will evaluation them to see if the claims Apple makes maintain up. That is issues like improved efficiency with the A19 Professional, higher thermal administration with the onboard vapor chamber, in addition to that touted battery life. I might be curious to see what we study over time concerning the redesign and whether or not it has any influence on name efficiency and repairability, too.

Although I am fairly taken by the brand new look and colour of the iPhone 17 Execs, I’ve to confess I am a little bit envious of my colleague Sam Rutherford, who received to spend some hands on time with the new iPhone Air. Whereas the colours aren’t as interesting in that line, the acute thinness is definitely very seductive. Based mostly on my restricted expertise, the iPhone Air has barely extra rounded edges in comparison with Samsung’s tremendous skinny Galaxy S25 Edge, however it’s best to positively try Sam’s impressions for extra particulars.