- Apple introduced its iPhone 17 range at yesterday’s Awe Dropping event
- Plenty of new features were revealed during the show
- But there were several important changes that got no airtime
Apple’s ‘Awe Dropping’ event saw the release of the new iPhone 17 range, plus the radically slimline iPhone Air.
But while Apple spilled the beans on almost every aspect of these devices, there were still plenty of details it didn’t announce on stage – here are some of the most interesting but hidden new features in the iPhone 17 lineup.
Faster charging…
Alongside the iPhone 17, Apple has also launched a new ‘Dynamic’ power adapter that costs $39. It’s rated for 40W of power delivery, but it can dynamically ramp up to 60W in short bursts. This enables the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max to be powered up to 50% in around 20 minutes – an improvement over the 30 minutes you’ll get with the iPhone 16 series.
The iPhone 17 devices also support 25W Qi2.2 wireless charging, meaning you won’t need a MagSafe charger to hit these speeds – any compatible third-party accessory can now achieve these rates as well.
…but not for the iPhone Air
Although the advancements above apply to the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the iPhone Air unfortunately misses out. For one thing, it’s limited to 20W MagSafe and Qi2 charging rates instead of the 25W you’ll get with all other models.
As well as that, the iPhone Air’s fast-charging speeds are slower than those of its siblings: you’ll hit 50% after 30 minutes, not 20 minutes.
The return of the MagSafe Battery
The MagSafe Battery magnetically snaps to your iPhone in order to wirelessly juice it up. This accessory only works magnetically with the iPhone Air, however, as the camera bumps of the iPhone 17 models get in the way, meaning they’re not compatible.
That said, the MagSafe Battery is technically compatible with other devices. While the iPhone Air is the only iPhone it works with, Apple says it can be used to “charge smaller accessories via USB-C.” Apple didn’t specify which accessories it works with, but we expect it should be able to act as a battery pack and power up any device that charges over USB-C.
Thwarting spyware and hackers
Apple is hot on security, and that continues in the iPhone 17 lineup. In a blog post, Apple explained how these phones come with a feature called Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE), which is designed to protect against memory corruption exploits.
These vulnerabilities are frequently used by high-end spyware that’s used on a nation-state level. While that means most iOS users won’t be targeted, some most definitely will. To put a stop to that, Apple’s MIE adds hidden tags to every memory block in the iPhone. If something wants to use that memory but doesn’t match the hidden tag, it will be blocked, significantly raising the costs of successful spyware techniques and keeping your iPhone safer than ever.
A fix for screen flickering
Apple uses pulse width modulation (PWM) to control the brightness of your iPhone, and it works by quickly flickering LED or OLED pixels on and off. This causes discomfort for some users in the form of headaches and eye strain, but the iPhone 17 Pro has a way to fix it.
This iPhone has an accessibility setting that lets you disable PWM if you want to. According to MacRumors, it’s only been spotted in the iPhone 17 Pro so far, but it might be extended to other devices in the range.
Feeling the heat
You may have noticed that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max have ditched the titanium frames that last year’s phones possessed and have instead switched to aluminum. Apple mentioned the change at its event, but it didn’t give a reason.
The most likely cause is heat dissipation. Aluminum is far more heat conductive than titanium, meaning it can disperse high temperatures much more quickly and efficiently. Combined with the new vapor chamber in the iPhone 17 Pro devices, that should help them keep cooler than ever when running the powerful new A19 Pro chips.
FineWoven isn’t dead yet
Apple’s FineWoven cases caused a stir when they launched with the iPhone 15 series, and not in a good way, as the products were prone to scuffs and discoloration that rapidly degraded their look and feel. But although Apple hasn’t launched any new FineWoven cases – and seems to have replaced them with a new TechWoven alternative – FineWoven lives on.
It didn’t get any airtime at the iPhone 17 event, but Apple has launched a new set of MagSafe wallets and AirTag key rings made from FineWoven, suggesting that reports of the material’s death have been greatly exaggerated.
No mmWave for all
Apple proudly showed off its C1X chip at the iPhone 17 event, and this modem powers the 5G connectivity every new iPhone comes with. But there was one drawback that Apple forgot to mention.
That’s the fact that the iPhone Air loses out on mmWave functionality. The C1X includes mmWave in the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, and this offers faster speeds compared to regular 5G, but Apple’s thinnest and lightest phone misses out.
Two-tier transfer rates
Want the fastest transfer speeds when sending files over USB-C? You’ll want to stick to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. While these devices offer USB 3 speeds of up to 10Gbps, the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air are far more restrictive.
That’s because they’re limited to USB 2 speeds, which top out at 480Mbps. That’ll result in far slower transfer speeds when you’re using a cable.
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alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake)
