Technologies

Will the iPhone 17 Be Able to Run GTA 6?

The new iPhone Air and iPhone Pro promise big performance from Apple’s new A19 Pro chips.

Apple held its big annual iPhone event Tuesday, showing off the upcoming ultrathin iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch Series 11, the Apple Watch SE 3 and the Apple Watch Ultra 3. There were a few mentions of video games during the show, but in one sequence showing off the new camera for the iPhone 17, it was hard to ignore that this particular shot looked like something out of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6.

Megan Nash, product manager for iPhone, spoke during the event about the iPhone 17’s new 48-megapixel main camera that Apple calls Dual Fusion, which can take sharp photos at full resolution or take 2x crop-zoomed images at 24 megapixels. Behind her was an iconic backdrop of a strip from Miami that made some GTA fans wonder if maybe Apple was going to announce a deal with Rockstar Games.

A thread on the GTA subreddit titled Did Apple just tease GTA VI on iPhone? appeared shortly after Nash’s sequence in the iPhone event. Most posters on the thread joked and reminded everyone that the fictional Vice City is based on the real Miami. The upcoming GTA 6 takes place in the fictional state of Leonida, a parody of Florida, with one of the cities players can visit being Vice City.

CNET did reach out to Apple and Rockstar Games just in case. Neither company immediately responded to a request for comment.

GTA 6 was slated to come out this year, but Rockstar Games announced in May that it was delayed. The new date is currently set for May 26, 2026. This would mean that if there were an iOS version of the game, it would be playable on an iPhone 17. Even though the new iPhone 17 will come with an A19 chip’s five-core GPU that can improve gaming, it’s unlikely it could run the next GTA game without some modifications.

On the other hand, the iPhone Air, iPhone Pro and Pro Max have A19 Pro chips with a more powerful six-core GPU (at least for the latter two), which Apple said has «MacBook Pro levels of compute … perfect for GPU-intensive AI workloads.» If Apple is comparing the A19 Pro’s performance to that of a MacBook Pro (though which MacBook Pro, specifically, we don’t know), it’s possible GTA 6 could be playable.

GTA 6 is arguably the most anticipated game coming for the current generation of consoles, and there has been speculation that it could be priced at $100. This is much higher than the current price tag of $70 for most games, although Nintendo did start releasing new games for $80 on its Switch 2.

Preorders for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Air will start at 5 a.m. PT on Friday, Sept. 12.

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Hurry to Nab the Baseus Bowie MH1 Headphones for Over Half Off With This Early Black Friday Deal

This deal drops the price of this premium pair to just $47, but this discount ends soon.

High-quality noise-canceling headphones can cost a pretty penny, especially if you are after adaptive ANC, all-day comfort, and a reliable battery life. Most options with all these features sit well over $100, but we just found a way to score a premium pair for less than $50.

Amazon has a solid early Black Friday deal on the Baseus Bowie MH1 headphones. You can get them for 20% off right now, which drops the price to $80. But stack that with the $25 on-page coupon and use the promo code 8JWTGEUN at checkout, and you slash another $33 off. That brings the final price down to just $47, which is a steal considering all the features you are going to enjoy.

The headphones come with cloud-soft protein leather earcups with resilient memory foam for cloud-like comfort. The pair is capable of blocking up to 99.8% of noise with –48 dB deep noise cancellation, and it adapts to your surroundings as needed.

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The 36mm drivers and full-range LCP diaphragms give you clear, rich sound no matter what you listen to. In addition, with Baseus Immersive Spatial Acoustics, the audio surrounds you for a more natural listening experience. For clearer calls, the headphones also pack 5-mic sound sensors with AI-powered voice enhancement and wind-noise reduction. You won’t have to repeat yourself constantly.

Battery-wise, you get up to 80 hours of playtime with ANC off, and 55 hours with it on. A quick 10-minute top-up can also get you up to an additional 10 hours of playback, which is great for when you’re out and about.

HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$200 (save $151)
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones:

$199 (save $150)
Apple AirPods Max ANC Wireless Headphones (USB-C Charging, Midnight):

$500 (save $50)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones:

$329 (save $100)
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones (Black):

$328 (save $72)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

High-end audio gear doesn’t come cheap. This deal takes over 50% off a powerful pair of headphones, making the upgrade easy. It won’t last long, though, so it’s best to snap it up sooner rather than later.

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