iPhone 17: What's new
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The iPhone 17 series includes four smartphones: the iPhone 17, the iPhone 17 Pro, the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the iPhone Air, a model designed for extreme thinness. While Apple's Keynote revealed most of their specifications, a few surprises lurk in their technical specifications.
New camera:
Apple's latest iPhones have seen a change of direction for their front-facing camera/video module. Apple has opted for a new square-shaped sensor—they're usually rectangular—and 18 megapixels, whereas the 16-series iPhones had a 12 MP sensor. This higher resolution, along with a new format, offers a unique, Mac-inspired experience.
The idea is this: by default, the iPhone 17's front-facing module won't take square photos, but rectangular ones in landscape mode, using the central portion of the sensor; the images should therefore maintain a definition of 12 MP. But it will be possible to use only part of the sensor to capture selfies in landscape mode without rotating the smartphone, or to use it to simulate an ultra-wide angle - with the help of AI, Apple specifies. And as with Center Stage on Mac, the selfie camera aims to keep the user in the center of the image, even when they are moving during FaceTime conversations.
The transition to 100% eSIM
This is a real change in the world of telephony. The abandonment of physical SIM cards is now a reality in the Apple world. It began three years ago with the release of the iPhone 14, only compatible with eSIMs, but not in France: in the United States, smartphones and their successors prefer dematerialized SIMs. Geographic segmentation persists, and the iPhone 17 is still offered with a nano-SIM card port in France. However, this is not the case for the iPhone Air Due to space constraints, the ultra-thin smartphone abandons the SIM card tray in favor of 100% eSIM operation, regardless of the region of the world. Good to know for those who plan to invest, and will therefore have to convert their SIM to eSIM with their operator.
A fast charger… but not for everyone
Charging power remains a source of tension for many smartphone owners: like many competing devices (Samsung or Google), iPhones struggle to charge truly quickly. Apple has officially unveiled a new 40W charger with its iPhone 17, called the 40W Dynamic Power Adapter, which is capable of delivering power up to 60W. But don't get too excited: not only does it not mean that the iPhone 17 can be charged at 60W, or even 40W, but this adapter is reserved for Canada, Japan, Mexico, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and the United States.
A new chip for enhanced connectivity
It's in the small print that we see that Apple has revised its copy. The A19 chip, in its classic version as well as its Pro version, includes a module called N1 dedicated to its connectivity. And this is where the iPhone 17 series is interesting: not only is it compatible with Wi-Fi 7 and promises particularly high speeds, but it also supports the very recent Bluetooth standard. One last connectivity thread is worth noting. It concerns users of connected objects, since support for this communication protocol dedicated to home automation is now included in the iPhone 17. In other words, the latest smartphones from Apple will benefit from easier access to the connected objects in the home, and it could be that they can serve as a "hub", that is to say, a base, as the Apple TV 4K, the HomePod (2nd generation) and the HomePod mini have done until now.