So, the iPhone 17 series has been receiving overwhelming love all over the world. Pre-orders are up by 19% compared to last year’s iPhone 16 series, and it looks like this is going to be a great year for Apple!
There’s so much to like about the iPhone 17 lineup—well, maybe except for the iPhone Air. I honestly think you should not get the iPhone Air because there are just so many compromises to achieve that slim factor!
Personally, the base iPhone 17 is my favourite, and I am guessing it will win “the phone of the year” award from all the top reviewers! Now, without further ado, let me walk you through my experience with the iPhone 17 Pro and the 17 Pro Max.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Specifications
- Design, build: 163.4 x 78 x 8.75 mm, 233 gm, IP68 rating
- Display: 6.9-inch OLED screen, FHD+, 120Hz refresh rate (LTPO)
- Chipset: Apple A19 Pro (3nm mobile platform)
- Memory: 12GB RAM, 256GB to 2TB storage (non-expandable)
- Software & UI: iOS 26
- Rear Camera: Triple (48MP primary, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto)
- Front Camera: 18MP “Center Stage” camera (Dynamic Island)
- Security: Face ID (via the front camera)
- Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 7 (dual-band), Bluetooth 6, GPS / Glonass / Galileo / BeiDou / QZSS / NavIC, USB-C, 4G LTE, 5G
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Barometer, Dual ambient light, Gyroscope, LiDAR, Proximity
- Battery: 5,088 mAh with 25W wireless charging (no power adapter in the box)
iPhone 17 Pro Max Review
Design
And the first big upgrade here is, of course, the design. And because of this new design, I’m sure lots and lots of users are going to upgrade to the iPhone 17 Pro — even last year’s 16 Pro users.
Personally, I really like this new design – despite the mixed reaction. The back is mostly made of aluminium now, except for this portion, which is glass that covers the wireless charging coil. The frames and these edges are so seamless that they reminded me of my iPhone 6 days.
Apple, however, removed the Titanium frames, which are stronger/ more durable than aluminium, and they can resist scratches/dents better too. But Apple says they have decided to go with aluminium as it helps with better heat dissipation – which I think is a fair tradeoff!
At the back, we have the brand new Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says is better drop resistant and 3x more scratch-resistant. Even in JerryRig’s video, where most phones scratch at level 6–7, the new iPhone 17 series only scratched at level 8.
And on the day I bought the iPhone 17 Pro Max, I accidentally dropped the phone straight onto concrete—surprisingly, nothing happened to the phone. Just a few scuffs! And I have been using the phone without a screen protector, and there are no visible scratches on the display – which is nice!
But online, people are noticing that the Orange and Blue colours pick up scratches on the camera module quite easily. Reviewers are already calling it “scratchgate. Even in my unit, the coating on the edge has already chipped off!
But all in all, this year’s design feels refreshing; finally, it doesn’t look like any previous iPhones, and the smooth curves give it an excellent in-hand feel.
Display
However, the display is practically unchanged from last year—it was already excellent, with one of the best touch responses on a smartphone, one of the best haptics and speaker output, and accurate colour calibration out of the box.
There are only two upgrades. No. 1, we get an Anti-Reflective Glass, which I found to be not as good as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but still a good addition—it works quite well under harsh sunlight. That said, it does come with a trade-off: the 17 Pro Max actually looks a bit dimmer compared to last year’s 16 Pro Max, likely because of this extra layer.
And the second noticeable upgrade is that we can simply turn off PWM dimming entirely, so if you are someone sensitive to low-frequency flicker, you can disable the PWM dimming, and you will notice much less eye discomfort, fewer headaches, and less fatigue when using the phone at low brightness.
Still, I think Apple should have gone with a high PWM dimming solution like we get with almost every Chinese brand! Because when I turn ON the PWM dimming on the 17 Pro, there are slight colour shifts and reduced smoothness at low brightness!
But the reason I think Apple has avoided this new tech is that Apple itself heavily relies on Samsung Display for its iPhone OLEDs, and Samsung itself tends to stick with low-to-mid PWM frequencies on its flagship phone. So, clearly, these two smartphone giants are not risking adopting this newer dimming tech yet.
Battery
And you can see a similar pattern when it comes to the battery, too. While all Chinese brands come with the fancy and more massive 6,000–7,000 mAh Si-Ca batteries, both Apple and Samsung continue to play it safe with a more conventional Li-ion tech.
However, thanks to Apple’s excellent optimisation and a slightly bigger battery this time around, I am still getting like 10-15% better battery life on the 17 Pro Max Vs my 16 Pro Max! I’ve been getting around 8 to 9 hours of screen-on time under heavy use, which comfortably translates to about a day and a half of usage. Meanwhile, my colleague with the smaller 17 Pro manages 7 to 8 hours of SOT, which still gives him a solid full day of use.
Charging speed has improved, too. If you get Apple’s new 40W AVS charger, you can get 50% charge in just 20 minutes. But, if you have an older 65W or a 30W PD charger from Ugreen or Anker, I don’t think you need to go and buy this new 40W charger! You will not see a big difference!
Ok, another new upgrade with this year’s iPhone 17 Pro is the new chip. If you remember, last year there were huge improvements when it came to chipsets – not just from Apple, but from Qualcomm and Mediatek too!
But this year, with the A19 Pro chip, there isn’t a massive leap compared to the A18 Pro. And for day-to-day routine tasks, you won’t notice much difference either.
Although in heavy workloads and gaming, there’s a big improvement thanks to the new VC cooling system. Earlier iPhones only had graphite sheets (very old tech), but now we finally get vapour chamber cooling like on Android phones. This results in:
- Much better sustained gaming performance after 30–40 minutes.. There are no screen-dimming issues, so it’s great for Pro-Gamers!
- Better component health overall, including the battery and logic board, since I noticed temperatures while playing games are now 2–4°C lower compared to the 16 Pro Max, and the heat was spread out throughout the chassis.
OS and Software
And of course, we finally get the stable version of iOS 26. I am someone who has been using this new Liquid Design iOS 26 since its beta release. And, with each beta release in the last 3 months or so, Apple has improved the UI and UX, fixed a lot of tiny bugs, and it’s more stable & functional now!
Plus, for the first time, iOS feels highly customizable, like Android. I can set MP3s as ringtones, there’s a built-in call recording feature, and many Android-like features have finally arrived, including the ability to shoot videos from the front and back cameras!
But one thing Apple still lags behind is with the AI features, especially if you look at where Samsung or Google is!
Apple promised a smarter, more personalised Siri more than a year ago, and a year has passed by and Apple didn’t even talk a bit about it during the iPhone 17 keynote – which I find a bit uninspiring!
I remember Apple pitched this as “AI for the rest of us”, just like when Steve Jobs launched the original Macintosh as “the computer for the rest of us.” But here we are!
Camera
Ok, so how’s the camera on the iPhone 17 Pro? Here, there are basically two upgrades you will notice over the 16 Pro.
First is the selfie camera! It has been upgraded to 18MP, which has a large square sensor and a wide field of view.
While the wide FOV might not be useful for everyone, I’ve found it really handy. For group selfies or vlogging, I used to rotate the phone to fit everything in, but now I can simply switch to the square mode in the camera app and capture photos or videos directly—much more convenient. Even in the regular portrait orientation, compared to the 16 Pro Max, I found selfies to have more detail and are noticeably wider.
Likewise, the zoom lens also got a decent upgrade. Last year, it was a 12MP 5x lens. Now it’s a 48MP 4x lens. And even though 4x might sound like a downgrade, the sensor now is larger, and it shoots in 24MP by default, so the details are slightly better on the 17 Pro. Yet it’s not a huge improvement over last year, as the Apple keynote had us believe!
For portraits, this 4x (100mm) focal length is, however, more practical compared to the old 5x (120mm). You don’t need to stand as far back to capture portraits now.
And overall, the Portrait shots now have better edge detection and better details. That being said, when it comes to portrait photography, I still think Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Vivo X200 Pro.. they are just streets ahead of Apple. Plus, Xiaomi and Vivo’s telephoto cameras can also shoot really good macros, whereas Apple still uses the U/W camera.
The main reason Apple still lags here is that it uses a smaller sensor for the zoom camera. I guess Apple avoids larger sensors because that would make the camera module even bulkier which would make the overall structure of the phone uneven in weight, and less aesthetically pleasing.
As for the Main and Ultra-Wide cameras, Apple has used the same sensor as before. So there is not a huge difference in images, except that the 17 Pro handles highlights and shadows slightly better!
Plus, at night, I noticed lens glare is reduced compared to the 16 Pro Max.
And another strength of iPhones is the colour consistency across all three lenses. That’s something the Pixel 10 Pro also does so well, but all in all, if i have to rate the photography aspect of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, its a solid A-, and in 2025, Chinese phones have taken a lead now; they are collaborating with big Camera companies like Zeiss and Leica, they are using newer and bigger sensors.. And the upcoming X300 Pro and Xiaomi 17 Ultra are going to take the lead even further.
But when it comes to video, Apple is still the king. Compared to the 16 Pro Max, highlight and glare management during low light have improved, but there isn’t a whole lot of difference. In fact, they are almost identical 95% of the time.
Where Apple continues to lead is with the ProRes videos.. It is excellent as alway,s perfect for professional colour grading. Portrait video mode is also superb, switching between lenses while recording is seamless and as I mentioned earlier, selfie videos are fantastic. Video quality overall is unmatched!
iPhone 17 Pro Max Review: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Refreshed design
- Excellent battery life
- New vapor chamber cooling for gaming
- Upgraded 18MP selfie camera with wide FOV
Cons
- Removed stronger titanium frames for aluminum
- Camera module scratches easily
- Minimal main camera improvements
- Disappointing AI features delivery
iPhone 17 Pro Max Review Conclusion
Ok, let me give you my verdict! And I know for a fact that the new iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are going to be bought out by millions and will outsell the last 3-4 generations of iPhone Pro models for sure!
But the sales number is not because of how innovative Apple has been with this year’s Pro iPhones. It’s more about Apple’s ecosystem, brand power, and the overall reliability that keeps users locked in — just like last year, and the year before that, and the year before that.
But overall, I am a little disappointed with this year’s iPhone! Except for the refreshed design and the selfie camera upgrade, Apple didn’t bring a meaningful upgrade elsewhere – there isn’t a huge upgrade in the back cameras as I hoped for, especially when you compare them to how fast Chinese Ultra phones are evolving. And the biggest disappointment has to be the lack of AI features that Apple promised before!
- Meanwhile, check out our review of the iPhone 17 Pro Max
