The iPhone 17 Pro is the best phone Apple has ever launched — prime specs, long battery life, a crisp display and excellent cameras. The primary three additionally make it an incredible gaming machine, however how nice? I made a decision to check it to seek out out. And if you will discover one other cellphone that does not warmth up when taking part in a graphics-intensive, console-quality recreation like Resident Evil 8, I would wish to see it.
Most video games will play on even the bottom performing telephones. Sport builders need to open their market to as many gamers as they’ll, even when meaning having their video games run gradual and look ugly. However higher specs imply sharper graphics, extra frames per second and an total higher gaming expertise. The iPhone 17 Professional is on the prime of the efficiency rankings amongst all our exams, so it is no shock that the cellphone handles video games nicely. It is quick, highly effective and beats most different handsets in battery life.
And its specs are spectacular. The A19 Professional chip and estimated 12GB of RAM or extra (in response to iFixIt and GSMArena — Apple by no means releases RAM numbers) deal with recreation graphics easily. With a beginning storage of 256GB, homeowners have loads of house to obtain video games, in addition to choices for 512GB and 1TB, or 2TB on the Professional Max, guaranteeing there’s sufficient room for pictures and different recordsdata with giant knowledge footprints.
The iPhone 17 Professional performs loads of video games nicely, and its App Retailer options cellular variations of standard PC video games like Dredge, pictured.
The 6.3-inch show is giant for a “smaller” cellphone, and its 2,622 x 1,206-pixel decision is vibrant. Even higher is its 3,000-nit most brightness, which could be one of many highest amongst telephones offered right this moment, making it straightforward to see in brilliant daylight.
For readability, I have been taking part in video games on an iPhone 17 Professional, that means I miss out on the marginally longer battery life and bigger show of the cellphone’s sibling, the iPhone 17 Professional Max.
Whereas the most recent iPhones recurrently match or overcome their rivals in picture or video high quality, in recent times, Apple has pushed the narrative that each one of its gadgets, giant and small, are able to taking part in the most recent prime video games — one other utilization area of interest that the corporate desires to dominate. That is been true for the small number of console-quality video games which have been ported to iOS, like Resident Evil 8 and Alien: Isolation, full with phone-friendly contact controls. Clearly, this can be a feather in Apple’s cap to carry over competing Android devices, however it additionally reveals off the iPhone’s horsepower.
This yr, the iPhone 17 Professional added one thing on prime of its premium silicon: a vapor cooling chamber that sits on prime of the A19 Professional chip. Whereas gaming telephones have lengthy included these cooling infrastructures, that are usually tiny chambers full of water to vent scorching air away from graphics-processing silicon, that is the primary iPhone to have one. Apple additionally reverted from its titanium body in prior years’ Professional fashions to an aluminum one, which is healthier at venting warmth. This mix permits the iPhone 17 Professional to run video games for longer with out overheating.
The iPhone 17 Professional, left, and iPhone 15 Professional Max, proper, each taking part in Resident Evil 8, round 20 minutes into the sport.
I put these claims to the take a look at, pitting my two-year-old iPhone 15 Pro Max with a titanium body in opposition to the brand new aluminum iPhone 17 Professional with a vapor chamber. Downloading and taking part in the primary 20 minutes of Resident Evil 8, which is heavy on in-game cutscenes and dramatic graphics, with each telephones was illustrative. The older iPhone 15 Professional Max heated up shortly and its glass again was barely toasty beneath my fingertips, whereas the iPhone 17 Professional remained cool till I reached an overlook within the recreation with a pleasant view for a photograph (above), at which level it received heat.
Warmth is essential for gaming: A warmer cellphone drains battery extra shortly, can robotically shut down if overheated and is disagreeable to carry. Whereas a case can insulate fingers from toasty telephones, it could additionally maintain the warmth inside, stopping pure cooling and probably cooking the cellphone.
The iPhone 17 Professional additionally used much less battery, draining 15% within the download-and-play session in comparison with the iPhone 15 Professional Max’s 28% in my informal Resident Evil 8 take a look at. The 17 Professional was additionally noticeably smoother when taking part in the graphically intensive recreation, and whereas there wasn’t a frames-per-second counter, I noticed body fee dips on the older iPhone that I did not on the newer mannequin.
Gaming on the iPhone 17 Professional is even higher with third-party controllers just like the Spine.
What it is wish to recreation on the iPhone 17 Professional
Like different high-end telephones, taking part in video games on the iPhone 17 Professional is a clean expertise. There are quirks, each within the cellphone’s design and software program, that throw some curveballs into the gaming combine — not all of that are unhealthy, however many have an effect on how one can play on the cellphone.
Apple Arcade, which is barely accessible to iOS gadgets, is the primary and most blatant issue that units the iPhone 17 Professional other than different gaming phones. For a $7 month-to-month price, you get entry to a catalog of ad-free video games, lots of that are unique to the service. Whereas the catalog skews family-friendly, it does have a spread of video games throughout a variety of genres, similar to Cult of the Lamb Arcade Version, What the Conflict, PowerWash Simulator and NBA 2K26 Arcade Version. Normally, the standard is increased than the typical recreation on the App Retailer.
The Video games app is a brand new standalone heart for gaming on the iPhone that launched in September with iOS 26. Fact be informed, I am caught in my methods, laboriously swiping via each house display till I get to the app tile for the sport I need to play identical to I’ve finished for the reason that iPhone 4 (my first iOS machine). However the Video games app does robotically acquire each recreation you’ve got downloaded in a simple hub, which is a blessing for individuals who’ve given up on organizing their apps. It additionally alerts you to updates and occasions for downloaded video games and allows you to problem your mates to in-game contests, in addition to indicating what they’re taking part in (which is how I do know when friends succumb to a different time-devouring spherical of Balatro). It isn’t overwhelmingly higher than the opposite recreation facilities on non-iOS telephones, however it’s good to have.
The iPhone 17 Professional’s design has a slight flaw in terms of gaming. Many video games, like Resident Evil 8 and shooters like Name of Obligation: Cellular, require the cellphone to be rotated on its aspect for a widescreen format. When it is oriented horizontally, my proper hand cups the aspect of the handset overlaying the only downward-firing speaker, which noticeably mutes the sport’s audio. Different telephones have better-placed audio system, and a few, just like the OnePlus 15, even blast audio from beneath the show, that means it is not coated up regardless of the place your hand is positioned.
The digicam block (or plateau) is one other design quirk that unexpectedly impacts gaming. This yr’s digicam bump extends throughout the width of the cellphone, and I really feel it beneath my fingers whereas holding the cellphone horizontally. (Vertically oriented video games like Pokemon Go or What The Conflict aren’t affected.) I can curl my fingertips across the lip to get a little bit of grip whereas taking part in, so it is simply an oddity to get used to. Its raised floor is evened out with a case. (I desire Apple’s TechWoven case for the feel beneath my fingers whereas I am gaming.)
The big digicam block makes it troublesome to suit the iPhone 17 Professional into some third-party controllers, like this Spine, with out alteration. (On this case, I pulled out the spacer tab.)
The digicam bump is extra of a difficulty with third-party controllers wrapping across the iPhone 17 Professional. I tucked the cellphone into my Spine One controller after taking off the TechWoven case, which was blocking the USB-C port on the peripheral, and tried to suit the highest finish into the spacing tab — a wedge that may be eliminated and changed with completely different sizes to suit varied telephones. I discovered that the iPhone 17 Professional’s digicam bump stands out too removed from the again of the cellphone to suit the spacing tab. These might be swapped out, however even the smaller tab did not match, so I needed to take away it. Not a deal-breaker, however the digicam bump’s thickness protruding from the again of the cellphone may block its compatibility with some third-party equipment.
Talking of cameras, the Digicam Management button on the underside proper aspect of the cellphone (the place a shutter button could be on a standard digicam as soon as the cellphone is rotated horizontally) is suitably positioned to be a helpful further button for gaming. Alas, as of iOS 26, it could solely be set as a shortcut to open the digicam app or a pair different features, and cannot be put to make use of whereas taking part in video games. That is unlucky, since gaming telephones like these from the RedMagic line have been utilizing capacitive shoulder buttons for years.
As soon as I received it located, the Spine was a dream to make use of with the iPhone, giving me bodily and shoulder buttons I sorely missed. Whereas the contact controls of most video games make them roughly playable on telephones, having controller inputs elevates gameplay considerably. Video games like Useless Cells that profit from quick response occasions are a lot extra pleasant when I’ve the safety of a bodily button beneath my fingers, in contrast to onscreen buttons that my fats thumbs one way or the other discover methods to overlook. Shooters like Name of Obligation Cellular are additionally higher with the Spine than contact controls, as I can goal, bounce, transfer and shoot on the similar time with devoted thumbstick and set off inputs. Quick-paced horror video games like Resident Evil 8 are improved when it is the fright that retains me from taking part in nicely, not mistakenly tapping the improper cluster of onscreen contact controls.
Video games like Useless Cells, pictured, run nicely on the iPhone 17 Professional, however the contact controls are usually not as exact as bodily buttons on a third-party controller.
There are some quirks that even controllers cannot overcome. In contrast to different telephones, the iPhone 17 Professional’s iOS settings are restricted in tweaking its show refresh fee, that means you are caught with no matter 1-120 frames per second the cellphone decides is suitable until you need to manually cap it at 60Hz via roundabout controls (Settings > Accessibility > Movement > Restrict Body Fee). With out an FPS counter, I wasn’t certain how good the efficiency is relative to different handsets. And in contrast to different telephones, I am unable to drop the body fee down a step to 90Hz, in any other case I would need to hope that video games themselves would have FPS limits included of their app settings.
The battery appears about common for a premium smartphone, draining no kind of than comparable gadgets just like the Samsung Galaxy S25. Enjoying a spherical of Name of Obligation Cellular may drain 1-2% at most settings, whereas taking part in Useless Cells for 10 minutes may shave off one other 3%. The cellphone’s 40-watt most recharging is a pleasant improve from earlier iPhones, and whereas it is not as quick because the 80-watt charger included within the OnePlus 15’s field, Apple says it’s going to juice an iPhone 17 Professional 50% of its battery in 20 minutes — which is sweet to prime again up after taking part in video games on the highway.
Fortunately, CNET’s Patrick Holland discovered that to be true in testing. In CNET Labs 30-minute wired charging take a look at, the iPhone 17 Professional went from empty to 74% and the Professional Max from 0% to 69%. By comparability, the OnePlus 15 gained 72% in the identical take a look at. And each of Apple’s Professional telephones nearly hit 50% after 20 minutes, with the Professional including 55% and the Professional Max with 49% in that point.
In the end, the iPhone 17 Professional is a robust gaming machine along with being a top-notch images and videography cellphone. Its premium specs ship clean gameplay, although its design is a combined bag, with an inconvenient speaker and obtrusive digicam block that’s balanced by the heat-managing vapor chamber and good battery life. In comparison with Android telephones, Apple’s software program perks give it a slight edge, with Apple Arcade and the App Retailer’s try-before-you-buy characteristic giving gamers extra choices than within the Google Play Retailer.
There’s nothing revolutionary about gaming on an iPhone 17 Professional, however contemplating every little thing else it does nicely, that it is also gaming machine (and even higher with a Spine or different controller) makes it a severe contender for individuals who need to play on a tool that does every little thing else nicely, too.
Watch this: One Month Later: The iPhone 17 Professional Strikes Again
