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Apple finally gave the iPhone 17 Pro a vapor chamber — why this upgrade matters

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By Richard Priday

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iPhone 17 Pro could finally gain this performance upgrade that Android phones have had for years

Leaked iPhone 17 Pro Max diagram reveals a massive vapor chamber inside — here’s what we know

I still don’t like the iPhone 17 Pro’s design, but at least it should improve performance

Apple’s decision to move from a titanium frame to an aluminum one also helps here. The unibody design means the heat can spread across the whole phone more easily.

(Image credit: Apple)
This is why Apple is emphasizing improvements to sustained performance, as well as increased peak performance with the A19 Pro chip. Maximum potential power is one thing, but being able to use that power to use more often is just as important similar to the benefits a four-wheel-drive car has compared to a two-wheel-drive one.
An upgrade almost a decade in the making
As you may have guessed, I’m excited to see what the addition of a vapor chamber will mean for gaming or work on iPhones. But I’m also a mix of relieved and frustrated on the iPhone’s behalf, because the best Android phones have been using vapor chambers for years at this point, and smartphone geeks have been waiting for Apple to catch up.
Samsung introduced its first vapor chamber-cooled smartphone, the Galaxy S7 in 2016. OnePlus first added a vapor chamber to the OnePlus 9 Pro in 2021, while Google, somewhat late to the party, introduced vapor chambers to the Pixel 9 Pro models last year.

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Apple is known for taking its time to adopt new features (AI and Apple Intelligence perhaps excluded). Note how we still don’t have an iPhone Fold, or how Apple only just introduced its 120Hz ProMotion display tech to its basic iPhone 17 model, after even budget Android phones have offered such speeds for the past four or so years. So it doesn’t surprise me that it’s taken almost ten years for Apple to adopt a vapor chamber cooling system, even if I wish it had done so sooner.
Apple’s latest iPhones are often the highest-performing phones available at any given time. But that historic lead has been shrinking of late, with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip found in this year’s top Android handsets proving capable of beating the iPhone 16 Pro and its A18 Pro chip on some tests. Plus, the iPhone’s been known to be a little hot to handle when under severe processing loads for several generations, while rival devices are perfectly usable even at maximum processing.

(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
We’re still testing the iPhone 17 series to see what performance is like outside of the demo area at the Steve Jobs Theater. I’ve not even had the chance to handle one yet. But I have high hopes for the iPhone 17 Pro’s benchmark and endurance scores as a result of the vapor chamber’s introduction. It’s an update likely worth waiting for, even if the new design, reworked cameras and improved battery and charging are more eye-catching on a specs sheet.
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Richard Priday

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Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he’s also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he’s likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.

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