Apple loves to frame existing technology it adopts as new and revolutionary. So, it will be interesting to see how the company will frame this. According to a post on Weibo by user Setsuna Digital, they claim that the iPhone 17 Pro series will utilize a new cooling system—except that it’s not really new.
iPhone 17 Pro cooling system
According to the post, Apple will introduce a vapor chamber to the iPhone 17 Pro series. Vapor chamber technology isn’t new. In fact, many high-end flagship Android smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, use it. The poster claims that this allows the A19 Pro chipset to run at optimal speeds without cutting back on the frequency of the cores due to overheating.
A vapor chamber is a drastic departure from Apple’s current design. The iPhone 16 Pro models feature a chassis made from 100% recycled aluminum bonded to a titanium frame. The chassis also has a graphite-clad aluminum substructure that allows the heat to dissipate more efficiently.
So far, the iPhone 16 models haven’t really suffered from any overheating issues. This is compared to the iPhone 15 series, which had some overheating problems at launch. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of improvements a vapor chamber can bring to the table. We also can’t wait to see how Apple advertises the cooling system for the iPhone 17 Pro.
Other iPhone 17 Pro features
We’ve seen a lot of leaks of the iPhone 17 Pro in the past few months. So far, the consensus is that Apple will redesign the camera module on both the Pro and Pro Max models. Instead of a camera module that sits in the corner of the phone, it now stretches across the entire back of the iPhone.
This is similar to the camera design we’ve seen Google use in its Pixel phones. However, one questionable design is the blank space between the lenses and the flash unit. We’re still extremely puzzled why there is such a large gap. No one really knows why, but hopefully Apple will give us an explanation.
The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will launch later this year. It will be accompanied by the base iPhone 17 model, which based on the leaks won’t have a drastic design change. Apple will also replace the iPhone 17 Plus with a thinner iPhone 17 Air. The Air will feature a single camera design, but its main selling point is its thinness.
