What we expected it to be, but what we didn't expect, was a redesigned slice of Apple silicon that powers only the Pro and Pro Max models of Apple's newest iPhones. iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will feature the same A16 Bionic chip that powers the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be powered by the same A16 Bionic chip found in the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but the more rugged versions of Apple's newest phones will feature the new A17 Pro chip, Apple's smallest ever.

The company spent a good portion of today's iPhone 15 time talking up the promise and potential of an iPhone with this new chip, and we learned a lot about how Apple's most advanced iPhone chip works yet. Here's what we know so far about Apple's A17 Pro chip.

The A17 Pro will only be found in Apple's new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max smartphones, which will be available for pre-order on September 15 and begin shipping on September 22.

In terms of pricing, expect to pay a premium for this chip. iPhone 15 Pro will cost at least $999 and will be available with 128GB of storage. iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $1,199 and comes with 256GB of storage. storage.

The full specifications of the new A17 Pro chip are not yet known, but Apple told us a lot about how it works and what's inside during the iPhone 15 Pro promotion.

The most notable detail is that the A17 Pro is manufactured on a 3-nanometer process, which is (quite simply) better than the 4-nanometer process used to manufacture the A16 chip in the iPhone 14 Pro and new iPhone 15, It means that more transistors can be put on the chip.

Apple claims this is the "industry's first 3-nanometer chip," and this is the first time we have seen a chip manufactured on the 3nm process in a device that can actually be purchased (iPhone 15 pre-orders will begin later this week).

The A17 Pro has the same six-core CPU as its predecessor, consisting of two high-performance cores and four efficiency cores, but Apple claims that it is up to 10% faster due to architectural improvements. The 16-core Neural Engine is also claimed to function up to twice as fast as the previous model when tackling NPU-centric tasks such as AutoCorrect

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The A17 Pro also has a new dedicated AV1 decoder. We can also expect faster file transfer speeds via the new iPhone 15 USB-C port that the EU has allowed Apple to add, and the possibility of outputting HDR video to an external display at up to 4K resolution and 60 frames per second.

Apple's other big story about this chip is the redesigned GPU. This GPU will have six cores (up from five in the A16) and is touted to be up to 20% faster than the A16's GPU. It claims that this is faster and more efficient than software-based ray tracing, up to four times faster than software-based ray tracing performed on the A16, for example.

For those who may not know, ray tracing was the hottest new feature in video game graphics a few years ago. Simply put, it is a means of dynamically rendering light in a more accurate way by calculating how each ray of light moves and bounces through the scene. This is a very demanding task that allows for more realistic and believable environments to be rendered, with light and shadows changing as the environment changes.

The fact that ray tracing was a major topic of discussion at Apple's iPhone event shows that the company continues to give at least lip service to the importance of games on its platform. With game developers from Capcom and Ubisoft making cameo appearances during the event, it is easy to assume that game developers are eager to embrace the iPhone's gaming potential.

If we are talking about free-to-play mobile games, Apple certainly operates one of the most popular gaming platforms in the world, but the company appears to be aiming the iPhone 15 Pro at a more demanding audience. At its September event, Apple showed off a number of major console games running on the iPhone 15 Pro's A17 Pro chip, including recently released and upcoming titles such as "Resident Evil 4," "Resident Evil: The Village," and "Assassin's Creed Mirage." The titles included recently released and upcoming titles such as "Resident Evil 4," "Resident Evil: The Village," and "Assassin's Creed Mirage.

The company said that the redesigned A17 Pro GPU uses mesh shading to more efficiently render detailed environments, while MetalFX technology utilizes the GPU and Neural Engine to upscale game graphics for more efficient performance ( In other words, it claims to initially render at a lower resolution and run faster, then intelligently "upscale" the graphics in real-time to make them look better).

It would be great to see Resident Evil run smoothly on the iPhone, which is not surprising considering Capcom has worked closely with Apple, including successfully running Resident Evil Village on the MacBook Pro. More impressive is that upcoming releases like "AC Mirage" will run on the iPhone, but we'll have to wait until we actually touch the new A17 Pro-equipped models to see how well the latest games actually run. [Apple is touting the A17 Pro chip as an exciting breakthrough in smartphone chip design, and while I am perfectly happy with my aging iPhone 13 Pro, I can see the appeal of having such a powerful phone in my pocket.

However, it remains to be seen if Apple's decision to redesign the GPU will make a big difference in everyday cell phone use. Being able to pull out your phone and play Resident Evil while waiting for the train sounds novel and fun, but what really matters is the everyday experience of using your phone.

Will this remarkable new A17 Pro chip bring meaningful improvements in battery life? Will it make the phone snappier and more responsive, even if it extends the life of the phone by three to four years? Will the faster neural engine be better at understanding that when I put my Bluetooth earpiece in my pocket to talk to someone, the garbled noise I hear through my jeans should not be interpreted as a license to start calling anyone I want from my contact list? Would it be better in.

I'll have to wait until I actually use it to find out.