iPhone 17 Ultra May Replace Pro Max, Feature Vapor Cooling

Apple is set to introduce significant changes to its iPhone 17 lineup later this year, including the possibility of an ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air and a potential rebranding of its top-tier model. Typically, Apple has followed it through with the ‘Pro Max’ name for the flagship variant, so it would have been safe to assume that the iPhone 17 Pro Max would have followed suit. Now, though, there are whispers the model will actually be named the iPhone 17 Ultra instead, along with some impressive hardware bumps.

iPhone 17 Ultra May Replace Pro Max Branding, Feature Vapor Cooling and Larger Battery

A report from Naver blogger ‘yeux1122’, citing sources from Weibo in Taiwan, claims that Apple’s top-end iPhone 17 model will be thicker than its predecessor. The apparent increase in thickness could be related to the addition of a vapor chamber cooling system that was reportedly going to be a defining feature of the devices to improve their thermal efficiency.

Apple has seemingly been toying with its ‘Ultra’ branding for quite a while — ultimately, it concluded earlier this year not to rename the iPhone 15 Pro Max to iPhone 15 Ultra, despite speculation from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Gurman also suggested the potential for Apple’s inaugural foldable iPhone to be named the ‘iPhone Ultra,’ an indication of a departure from standard smartphone form. The iPhone 17 Ultra (or Pro Max) should feature a smaller Dynamic Island, enabling a better screen-to-body ratio.

A second major change that may be getting onto the iPhone 17 Ultra is a vapor chamber cooling system, not only on this device but on the iPhone 17 Pro as well. This would allow the A19 Pro SoC to gain its full performance without throttling under heavy load. Apple’s high-end version, meanwhile, is also likely to gain some bulk, perhaps to make room for a bigger battery. This may mean a minor design change for the iPhone 17 Pro lineup to facilitate better battery life and performance.

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