When considering buying an iPhone 17 Pro, most people will focus on things like battery life, cameras, and design. But there’s one new feature that might be overlooked, but could prove crucial in the future: the vapor chamber cooling system.
Vapor chamber in iPhone 17 Pro is a form of future proofing
This year when comparing iPhone 17 Pro to iPhone Air, I ultimately chose the Air.
I’m overall very happy with that decision. So far after a couple weeks of use, I’ve found that the battery life and camera drawbacks don’t impact me much.
In thinking about other iPhone 17 Pro advantages that I’m missing out on, however, the new vapor chamber gives me pause.
It’s not the kind of feature that will sway shoppers toward a Pro model. But I wonder if that might change over time.
Why? Because iPhone 17 Pro’s vapor chamber makes it more future proof for the AI-heavy workloads that are coming.
Here’s how Apple explains the vapor chamber:
The new internal architecture features an Apple-designed vapor chamber to enhance heat dissipation and performance. Deionized water is sealed inside the vapor chamber, which is laser-welded into the aluminum chassis to move heat away from the powerful A19 Pro, allowing it to operate at even higher performance levels. The heat is carried into the forged aluminum unibody, where it is distributed evenly through the system, managing power and surface temperatures to deliver incredible performance while remaining comfortable to hold.
Essentially, the vapor chamber enables higher performance at more consistent levels, even under duress.
In evaluating this year’s iPhone lineup, I’ve always pegged the Air as the ‘futuristic’ model.
Now, however, I’m wondering if that title is more fitting for iPhone 17 Pro, since it stands best equipped to handle the AI demands of the future.
Apple Intelligence will only keep increasing the iPhone’s workload
AI is becoming more and more critical to the way our devices work. And not just with splashy features like video generation.
iOS 26 may be seen primarily as the ‘Liquid Glass’ update, but it also quietly added 20+ new Apple Intelligence features. And there are two main trends we’ve seen from Apple since its AI offerings launched:
Apple prioritizes running AI locally on-device and it uses AI to improve everyday tasks
The former means that the iPhone needs as much processing power as possible. AI tasks can put a lot of strain on the system.
And the latter means basic features like search, or poll suggestions—which may not seem like “AI features”—will continue to be powered by AI. This should lead to iPhones feeling more capable than before, but it also may bring an increased power cost.
iPhone 17 Pro, with its vapor chamber, stands best positioned to handle all the on-device AI needs of the future with ease.
My iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro would regularly get warm, and slow down, when performing certain AI tasks. So far, my iPhone Air has faired better. But I know that as more and more iOS features rely on AI, that may start to change.
For example, Siri’s big AI upgrades are finally expected to arrive early next year. When they do—and assuming they work well—I imagine my use of Apple Intelligence will increase drastically.
I’d bet that within the next year or two, iPhones with a vapor chamber will demonstrate increased performance advantages than we see right now. And my iPhone Air will start feeling slower by comparison.
Will that future become reality? We’ll find out in time. But for now, I’m reconsidering the importance of the vapor chamber in iPhones of the future.
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