Apple's 2025 iPhone 17 family is all about the cameras, actually
Sure, Apple released a super thin iPhone Air, but the real winners today are phone photographers with the new iPhone 17 range.
So Apple unveiled its new iPhone 17 lineup at its "awe-dropping" event in Cupertino overnight. And there weren't really too many surprises from the product perspective.
The iPhone 17 made its debut, but instead of an iPhone 17 Plus, this year we saw the debut of the iPhone 17 Air.
On the Pro front, we saw the arrival of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.
What I found most interesting about this year's lineup is that Apple has really zeroed in on improving the cameras across the board. That's arguably even more impressive in the Pro models, but worth taking a look at for all the models.
So let's take a closer look at what Apple announced, shall we?
iPhone 17: The workhorse
Last year's iPhone 16 was arguably a better buy for most people compared to the Pro, thanks to its boosted A18 processor.
This year, the iPhone 17 gets the A19 chip, which has a 6-core CPU that's about 1.5x faster than the A15 Bionic chip in the iPhone 13. The GPU is more than double the speed of the A15 Bionic, which is definitely going to help with your mobile gaming sessions.
Apple also dropped a brand new chip in the iPhone 17 family ā the N1 ā which Apple designed as a wireless networking chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread compatibility.
Apple claims all-day battery life thanks to improved power management and the new adaptive power mode in iOS26. There's also fast charging support, able to deliver 50% charge in 20 minutes wth a high-wattage USB-C charger.
The phone itself has seen some design tweaks. It has a 6.3-inch display, though thinner borders than the iPhone 16 and an updated Super Retina XDR display that supports 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate. The screen supports an Always-On mode to show time, widgets and Live activities, and drops down to 1 Hz when not in use.
You get 3,000 nits of peak brightness and Ceramic Shield 2, which promises 3x better scratch resistance and an improved anti-glare finish.
But the big update this year is the cameras. All models, including the iPhone 17, get an updated Center Stage front camera. Unlike on the MacBook Air or iPads, where Center stage is designed to track and keep you in focus, on this year's iPhones it's a square sensor designed to let you take 18MP selfies in portrait or landscape mode without having to rotate the phone.
If you're taking a group selfie, the on-board AI will automatically expand the field of view and rotate the frame to get everyone in the shot.
And on the video front, the front camera now records automatically stabilised 4K HDR video.
Flip around to the back of the phone and there are a pair of 48MP lenses. The main wide Fusion lens offers crisp detail, and a 2x digital zoom that offers near optical quality.
The ultra-wide 48MP lens is 4x the resolution of last year's model, and helps you capture a wide range of vistas or macro shots.
The iPhone 17 will be available in lavender, mist blue, sage, white, and black in 256GB and 512GB storage capacities. iPhone 17 starts at RRP A$1,399.
iPhone Air: The attractive one
Everyone knew Apple was going to announce the iPhone Air. It was leaked ages ago, and here it is, replacing the "Plus" version of the regular iPhone.
Built with a titanium design with a Ceramic Shield back and a Ceramic Shield 2 front, the iPhone Air mirrors a lot of the exciting new specs from the iPhone 17, in a body just 5.6mm thin.
You get the 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate on a 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display, with its 3,000 nits peak brightness. It offers the Always-On functionality, slowing down to 1 Hz refresh rate when not in use.
The Air isn't just the iPhone 17 in a thinner body, though. It comes with the A19 Pro processor, plus the N1 wireless chip and the cellular modem C1X chip, which promises to be faster than the C1 chip in the iPhone 16 Pro, while using 30% less energy.
The iPhone Air offers the same Center Stage camera as the iPhone 16, but around the back only has a single 48MP lens. Through software, Apple makes it feel like four lenses, with a 28mm and 25mm equivalent setting and a 2x zoom setting.
One of the more notable elements of the iPhone Air is that it's the first model to come to Australia that doesn't offer a physical SIM card tray, instead only offering Dual eSIM support. This means you'll need to make sure your carrier supports eSIM before buying one, or at least be prepared to switch providers.
The iPhone Air will be available in space black, cloud white, light gold, and sky blue, starting with 256GB storage, as well as 512GB and 1TB options. iPhone Air starts at RRP A$1,799 inc. GST.
iPhone Pro and Pro Max: The Powerhouse
Oh, yeah, this is the one I'm excited for. The iPhone Pro and Pro Max are effectively the same phone, with a 6.3-inch or 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR display, depending on which you choose.
It has the same ProMotion 120Hz adaptive refresh rate as the base iPhone 17 models too, as well as support for fast charging and the N1 wireless chip.
As you might expect, it's powered by the A19 Pro chipset, which offers a 6-core CPU and a 6-core GPU, plus a larger cahce and more mamory than the A18 Pro. For Apple Intelligence, the GPU works alongside a new 16-core Neural engine, too.
But it's the changes in this year's model that are really exciting. The Titanium body has been replaced with a new brushed aluminium unibody, which improves thermal performance and probably makes it a bit lighter, too. The Ceramic Shield front and rear glass offers better resistance to cracks than previous generations as well.
It's the cameras that really get boosted this generation. Unsurprisingly, the front Camera is the new Center Stage camera that's common across the entire lineup, but around the back there are three 48MP lenses. That includes the telephoto lens for the first time, which has a 4x optical zoom, and through software offers an 8x optical zoom by dropping the megapixels.
The sensor on that telephoto lens is 56% larger too, so it will perform better in low-light conditions. If you want to really take advantage of the cameras, the iPhone 17 Pro series are the first smartphones to support ProRes RAW, Log 2, and genlock, a technique used to precisely synchronise video across multiple cameras and inputs.
The iPhone 17 Pro will be available in double the entry storage, 256GB, as well as 512GB and 1TB. iPhone 17 Pro Max will be available in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and for the first time, 2TB storage capacities. Available in cosmic orange, deep blue, and silver, iPhone 17 Pro starts at RRP A$1,999, and iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at RRP A$2,199.
A quick look at all the prices
| Model | Storage | Australian Price (AUD) |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17 | 256GB | A$1,399 |
| 512GB | A$1,799 | |
| iPhone Air | 256GB | A$1,799 |
| 512GB | A$2,199 | |
| 1TB | A$2,599 | |
| iPhone 17 Pro | 256GB | A$1,999 |
| 512GB | A$2,399 | |
| 1TB | A$2,799 | |
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | 256GB | A$2,199 |
| 512GB | A$2,599 | |
| 1TB | A$2,999 | |
| 2TB | A$3,799 |
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Nick Broughall
Nick Broughall
Nick Broughall
