Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

4.4

Overall Score

4.4/5

The Good Stuff

• Large OLED display with HDR10 & Dolby Vision
• Impressive battery life
• Includes fast charging
• Impressive performance
• Superb quality videos & photos
• Includes 2TB storage model

The Bad Stuff

• Same design as smaller 17 Pro
• Improved telephoto camera not a great upgrade
• Charger not included & available in US only

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

“the iPhone 17 Pro Max is definitely the most capable iPhone to date”

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is officially here, and yeah, it’s still enormous. This year, Apple decided to stop being subtle, giving us a bold aluminum frame and a massive camera ‘plateau’ that looks less like a camera bump and more like a tiny, high-tech landing pad. But don’t let the sheer size fool you; this tank of a phone is packed with an absurdly long-lasting battery (you might actually forget where your charger is) and a game-changing 4x optical zoom. To find out more, let’s check out the review of the new iPhone 17 Pro Max to see if it’s truly the king of the castle, or just the heaviest thing in your pocket.

Overview

It’s time for the new best iPhone ever, the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max to take the platform. Apple finally decided to shake things up this year. They ditched the old ‘Plus’ model for the super-slim iPhone ‘Air’, and finally gave every new iPhone 17 phone a ProMotion screen. Like, it was about time, right?

The new Pro Max has a sleek, brand-new aluminum body, which helps keep the weight down and stops it from getting too hot while gaming or binge-watch. Internally, you get the latest Apple A19 Pro chip, faster charging, and a bigger battery. Storage-wise, the whole line-up starts at 256GB, and if you’re a media hoarder, the Pro Max now has a crazy 2TB option. This thing is also the perfect home for the new iOS 26 with that cool Liquid Glass interface.

The camera also got an upgrade, too. You’re getting a brand-new 18MP selfie camera with Center Stage and a new 48MP telephoto lens with 4x optical zoom. And for the video nerds, you can now shoot up to 4K video with Dolby Vision. Oh, and the new signature color is a vibrant Cosmic Orange. The one thing that didn’t change is the Dynamic Island—looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer for a smaller notch! Overall, it’s a huge update that really changes the game, for better or worse!

What’s to Like

1. Large impressive display

So, the new iPhone 17 Pro Max’s display is huge— like 6.9-inches huge. But to be honestly, it’s pretty similar to last year’s model— same sharp screen resolution and even the same pill-shaped camera cutout. But here’s the cool part: they upgraded the protection with a stronger glass called Ceramic Shield Glass 2. It also has a new anti-reflective coating, which basically means it’s much easier to see outside in bright sunlight. You’ll definitely notice the difference. 

The screen uses that ProMotion tech, which is just Apple’s fancy way of saying the refresh rate is super smooth (like up to 120Hz smooth), but it can drop all the way down to 1Hz to save battery when you’re just looking at a static picture or using the “always-on” mode. In terms of brightness, it has plenty. It gets incredibly bright when you’re outdoors (up to 3,000 nits in peak moments) and can also get super dim at low light, which is great for your eyes.

And with media, Apple’s claims that it’s an excellent, bright display that handles content like HDR movies (Dolby Vision) flawlessly. Oh, and one final thing: the vibration feedback (the “haptics”) when you tap or press things is still fantastic. 

So in the end, you get a large display, with smooth scrolling, better glass protection, and good brightness in any situation.     

2. Impressive battery life with fast charging

They gave the battery a tiny little boost in size—not a massive jump from last year, but hey, we’ll take it. If you get the physical SIM card slot version, the battery’s slightly smaller than the eSIM-only model, but the difference isn’t that much. The important thing is, this phone’s battery lasts pretty well. On average use you get up to 18 hours of battery life, which is actually amazing. So, you’re not going to worry about hunting for a power outlet halfway through the day.

Apple is finally trying to speed things up. They’re now using a charging standard that lets the phone charge much faster. Apple has a new 40W charger that they claim will charge the phone to 50% in 20 minutes, and a full charge from almost dead to 100% took us just 1 hour and 12 minutes. If you get a different charger it won’t be as fast but at least it will charge. The good news is, we found that a bunch of other third-party, high-powered chargers could hit these same fast speeds, too. You don’t necessarily have to buy the Apple-branded one.

Wireless charging is included, and it also gotten faster, too. If you use a MagSafe or a new Qi2 charger, you can get the phone to 50% charge in just 30 minutes. The 17 Pro Max includes smart settings to keep the battery healthy for longer. It can learn when you usually unplug and stop charging at 100% until just before that time. Plus, you can manually set it to stop charging at 80% to preserve the battery lifespan, and you can always check your battery health in the settings.

So you get the iPhone 17 Pro Max with a full day’s battery life, that chargers faster, either using wired or wireless charging. It also comes with settings you can control to help keep the battery going. 

3. Impressive performance

So what’s under the hood? This new iPhone 17 Pro Max comes with the newest, faster performance chip called the A19 Pro. Same chipset in the iPhone 17 Pro. Think of it as the super-smart engine that makes everything run. Performance is noticeably better than last year’s model. In simple terms, things load 10% faster and when you’re doing a lot at once, it’s about 20% faster overall. If you’re upgrading from a two-year-old phone, you’ll feel a huge difference. The graphics part of the chip is a step up, especially with something called Ray Tracing, which makes shadows and reflections in games look way more realistic.

Apple finally added a special cooling system (a vapor chamber) inside. This means when you’re pushing the phone really hard for a long time (like a huge gaming session), it won’t overheat and slow down. They say this makes performance 40% better under stress.

There’s even more things to know. Firstly, you get a nice memory increase of 12 GB of RAM (that’s the short-term memory that keeps your apps running smoothly), which is a welcome increase. Next is the base storage, which is now a larger 256 GB. No more worry about storage space. And if you need a ton more room, the Pro Max even has an exclusive 2 TB option. Lastly, the bottom USB-C port is super quick, meaning transferring big files (like 4K videos) to your PC or external hard drive happens way faster than before.

Basically, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is an impressive performer. It comes with Apple’s top-of-the-line fast processor, with more memory, more storage, and faster speed transfer. It’s really know for its speed and can handle anything you throw at it.  

4. Camera upgrades

Let’s talk about the cameras on the new iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple usually doesn’t change much year-to-year, but this time, they made some improvements, namely: the telephoto (zoom) lens and the front (selfie) camera. 

The telephoto camera gets a higher-resolution sensor at 48 MP instead of 12 MP from last year’s model. The zoom feature is a little less—with now at 4x optical zoom now, down from 5x, however, by sacrificing a tiny bit of reach, the new sensor takes much better, cleaner photos when you use the 4x zoom and even the digital zoom. The quality is simply higher.

The selfie camera comes with a completely new, high-res sensor (which is 18 MP) that’s designed to take full advantage of the space in the cutout. It’s “smart” and can take photos in different sizes (like 4:3 or 1:1 square) without losing its wide field of view, which is pretty clever.

The primary wide and the ultrawide cameras have the same hardware as last year, yet there’s no need for an upgrade as they already had impressive camera sensors great. Now, all three rear cameras can take super detailed 24-megapixel photos, which used to be only for the Main lens. All the rear cameras can also shoot at full 48-megapixel resolution if you want the absolute highest detail.

Overall, the camera upgrades has improved it seems like a solid upgrade that brings better clarity and resolution across the board. 

5. Includes new iOS

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is running Apple iOS 26 right out of the box. Yes, they totally skipped a bunch of numbers to match the year and unify their whole operating system lineup, which is actually a pretty smart move for simplicity. But the real star of the show is the software itself. The biggest, most beautiful upgrade is something called Liquid Glass—this is Apple’s gorgeous new design language, and it’s a total game-changer. Clearly inspired by visionOS, Apple says it makes digital things feel “natural and alive.” And honestly, it does look stunning. Think crystal-clear, liquid-like elements all over the UI with an incredibly dynamic and responsive feel when you interact with the screen.

Plus, the customization options are awesome. You can play around with new fonts, animations, and colors to really make the phone your own. Best of all, they didn’t forget the details—tons of core apps like Photos, Messages, Safari, Maps, and even features like Apple Intelligence and CarPlay got a fresh new look and cool updates! It’s a massive software refresh that makes the entire experience feel brand new and super advanced.

What’s Not to Like

1. Controversial Design

Apple has officially brought back the aluminum frame. They totally dumped the super-tough titanium and steel from the Pro models this time. It really feels like Apple took a major step back here, which feels a lot less premium, less fancy, less exclusive. That’s a shame.

That’s not all. The whole back design changed dramatically, and it’s causing some drama. You’ve got this enormous, rectangular camera section, the aluminum, and then a separate glass piece just for wireless charging. Honestly, all that mixing and matching of parts makes the design look messy, not like the smooth, seamless Apple products we’re used to. To make matters worse, you can actually see little, uneven gaps where the glass meets the metal. Not a good look. 

Now with the soft aluminum frame and the giant camera bump creates a huge headache for durability, because scratches and dents are practically guaranteed. One unlucky drop could easily bend the frame, totally messing up your water resistance. If you risk carrying the 17 Pro Max without a case, that huge camera area is going to look scuffed up super fast. Since this aluminum is way softer than the titanium or steel we had before, you absolutely must case up if you want to keep your phone looking nice.

2. Improved Telephoto Camera not such a great upgrade

Alright, let’s talk about that new telephoto camera. Honestly, after all the hype, it’s a bit of a letdown. We expected more. The 24MP zoom shots are fine, but they’re certainly not what you’d call razor-sharp. If you drop down to the 12MP version of the 4x shots, they might look a tiny bit sharper up close, but the detail still feels artificial, not organic. And don’t even bother with the 48MP mode. Those images are soft and kind of grainy, meaning it’s only worth it if you plan to spend ages fixing them up yourself later.

The new camera doesn’t even look better than the old iPhone 16 Pro. The 17 Pro Max’s 24MP photos look softer when you compare them closely. And if you switch to the 12MP mode? They’re just as good as the 16 Pro’s, not actually better. That’s a major bummer. When you zoom in on people at 4x, the situation doesn’t magically improve. You still get that overdone facial smoothing and highlight fixing, which gives skin tones that extra warm, slightly fake glow. And even the 8x zoom shots are just “alright”—nothing to write home about. In fact, the iPhone 16 Pro might actually produce slightly sharper 8x photos (even if they have a little more grain). So far? No real advantage coming from this “new” telephoto.

3. Limited availability and charger not included

 The “special” 40W charger for the iPhone 17 Pro Max is promising a lot according to Apple. It says that the new charger promises to charge the Pro Max to 50% in 20 minutes. That’s all well and good, but the problem is that the “special” charger is not bundled with the iPhone on purchase. You’re gonna need to buy it separately. And the other thing is that, This new charger is only available in the US. For the rest of us, we’re gonna have to find a good 40W charger, hoping that it will match the charging speed as advertised. 

iPhone 17 Pro Max Alternatives

The new iPhone 17 Pro Max is probably one of the most expensive smartphones in 2025. So if you can’t afford it, I don’t blame you. But don’t give up yet. If you want a cheaper premium option, let’s take a look at some great alternatives to the iPhone 17 Pro Max. 

1. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

2. Apple iPhone 17 Pro

3. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

4. Google Pixel 10 Pro XL

Verdict

You know how the new iPhone 17 Pro Max is supposed to be the best? Well, there’s a lot to like but also a lot not to like. For instance. First off, they made a risky move by switching the body to aluminum. Sure, it keeps the weight down and helps with the phone’s performance overtime, but it makes the phone way more prone to scratches. The mix of materials and those new colors on the back apparently don’t look as sharp as previous models either. It’s just… less lovable.

And the screen? Yeah, it’s amazing and now has a cool anti-glare finish, but the camera cutout (Dynamic Island) is still exactly the same, which is a bit disappointing. We’ve seen this great screen before. We definitely need to give props for the better battery life and faster charging speeds, even if the new charger needed to make it happen has a ridiculous name and protocol.

The camera updates for selfies and zoom photography are nice, no doubt. But here’s the kicker: the upgrade isn’t the giant leap Apple wanted us to believe. Even with all that Apple processing power, the photos are still only “very good to great,” and frankly, some of those Chinese ‘Ultra’ phones are already ahead of the curve in 2025. However, where the 17 Pro Max is absolutely unbeatable is video. Seriously, no matter which lens you use or what conditions you’re shooting in, this iPhone crushes it. Apple’s camera app is also genius for making pro features easy for mainstream users.

Overall, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is definitely the most capable iPhone to date, but it’s shaping up to be one of the less popular ones. Between the questionable new design direction and the fact that iOS 26 is still a little buggy and unpolished (especially that ‘Liquid Glass’ interface), many people will buy it, but maybe not as many will be genuinely hyped. It feels like the improved battery and the new zoom camera have the tough job of carrying this expensive phone all on their own. Hopefully, Apple quickly irons out those software wrinkles soon.

So what’s your take on this new iPhone 17 Pro Max? Is it the ideal smartphone you’ve been looking for? Which one of the features do you like or dislike? And what about the alternatives listed, are you more likely to consider them if the 17 Pro Max doesn’t meet your expectations? If you have anything to say or have to add, you are more than welcome to please add them below. And if you wish to buy it, then click HERE to see you options. That’s all from me. Take care. Until next time 😀