iPhone 17 Pro Max Review
The ‘Pro Max’ line of handsets are some of the most premium smartphones on the market, but it’s rare that one comes along with something truly bold to say. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is different; with a striking redesign and significantly improved telephoto camera, Apple has truly changed the game.
In this review, we’ll dive into these updates and more. Pick up the 17 Pro Max with up to 2TB storage space.
Things we like
• Refreshing two-tone design
• The 48MP telephoto camera produces images with far greater detail
• Excellent performance courtesy of the A19 Pro CPU
Things to consider
• Apple Intelligence is great for creativity, with room to grow on the productivity side.
Release date
The release date of the iPhone 17 Pro Max is 19th September 2025.
Specifications
• Dimensions – 163.4mm x 78mm x 8.75mm
• Weight – 233g
• OS – iOS 26
• Display – 6.9” Super Retina XDR
• Resolution – 2868 x 1320
• Processor – A19 Pro
• Storage – 256GB; 512GB; 1TB; 2TB
• RAM – 12GB
• Rear cameras – 48MP Fusion main; 48MP Fusion ultra-wide; 48MP Fusion telephoto
• Front camera – 18MP
• Battery – Up to 37 hours video playback
• Water and dust resistance – IP68
• Connectivity – Wi-Fi 7; Bluetooth 6; 5G
Design: Maintaining the status quo
If you’ve owned a Pro Max device before, the 17 Pro Max’s design will immediately stand out. The two-tone style represents a significant departure from previous iterations, giving the 17 Pro Max a completely unique identity. Considering that the iPhone hadn’t received a visual shake-up for several years prior, we have to applaud Apple for deciding to go in a different direction.
Another sizeable shift is the move from a titanium frame back to the previously preferred aluminium. The reasons for this are multifaceted – aluminium is lighter but not as strong – so it’s interesting that Apple opted to return to aluminium this time around. Ultimately, though, the 17 Pro Max still feels exceptionally premium without losing that crucial durability.
The final design tweak is on the back, where there’s a larger camera cutout. Given that the triple-camera array on the 16 Pro Max was perfectly acceptable, this change feels like a slight waste of real estate.
Display
Whilst the design of the 17 Pro Max is a move away from the status quo, its display is very much ‘as you were’. You’re getting a 6.9” Super Retina XDR screen complete with the Dynamic Island feature, a 120hz refresh rate, and a 2868 x 1320 resolution. This is a perfect mirror of the 16 Pro Max, but there’s one area that is superior: brightness.
With a higher peak brightness of 3000 nits, the 17 Pro Max’s display is much easy to see in even the brightest environment or midday sun. It generally boosts vibrancy, too, making details and colour levels pop as you move from frame to frame.
As you can tell, there’s not much separating the 17 Pro Max from its predecessor in the display department. Apple did make one additional change, however, specifically with how the phone’s screen is protected. Ceramic Shield 2 is in place to reduce the impact of bumps and scratches to a greater degree than the older version of the technology.
Performance
We’ve always been pretty impressed by performance on Apple’s flagship devices, and the 17 Pro Max is no different in this regard. In fact, the results are quite exciting: the A19 Pro CPU delivers exceptional speeds and visuals with features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing (gamers will undoubtedly like this).
On the topic of gaming, the 17 Pro Max is equipped with a reworked vapour chamber to help keep the system cool during heavy tasks. The cumulative effect of this is improved performance; as the vapour chamber takes effect, the 17 Pro Max should experience less stutter compared to when the temperature is high.
In terms of AI, the 17 Pro Max puts creativity front and centre. Apple Intelligence shines in areas like generating new emojis, writing assistance, and playful personalisation features that make the device feel more expressive and engaging. While its focus leans toward creativity over productivity, these tools are still highly useful, especially for those who value imaginative and personalised experiences in their everyday use.
Software
The iPhone 17 Pro Max comes with iOS 26, which brings a fresh layer of polish to Apple’s operating system. While the update leans heavily into visual refinements, it still manages to make the iPhone feel new again.
Liquid Glass is the feature at the heart of iOS 26, which provides a beautiful glassy effect to the 17 Pro Max’s interface. The lock screen also received some love; the time that’s displayed can dynamically adapt to your wallpaper so it’s always visible.
Beyond the visual glow-up, iOS 26 introduces practical additions like Live Translation and improved call screening. The latter particularly excited us, making it easier to manage calls without immediately needing to drop everything and answer, and helping protect you from spam calls.
Cameras
This handset represented something of a photography milestone for the iPhone range: it’s the first time that the Pro and Pro Max models both have triple-camera arrays. In the 17 Pro Max’s case, this is a combination of 48MP main, ultra-wide and telephoto cameras, and they really dazzled us with the ability to produce exceptional-looking photos.
This has been a given for a while now on iPhones, but moving from 12MP to 48MP for the telephoto camera means there’s less visual distortion when zooming in from a distance. There’s an extra level of vibrancy and detail here that’s noticeable when moving from the 16 Pro Max to the 17 Pro Max.
The 17 Pro Max also comes with some superb video features, such as dual-video recording that enables you to film with the front camera and a rear one at the same time; ideal at concerts if you want to film your reaction and what’s in front of you.
Battery
The reasons for the 17 Pro Max having improved battery life tie back into its design rework. By creating more space and moving to eSIM, there’s more room to include a bigger battery, and help it last longer.
As a result, the 17 Pro Max supports up to 37 hours of video playback and 33 hours of video playback when streaming. This is an increase of 4 hours from the 16 Pro Max in both instances, which is great to see from Apple’s flagship device.
Summary
So, is the iPhone 17 Pro Max a complete reinvention of the iPhone wheel? No, but the areas where Apple has made changes have remained relatively untouched for many years. As such, we can recommend the 17 Pro Max even to those still enjoying its predecessor.
If you’re planning to grab the iPhone 17 Pro Max for yourself, you can easily move your old data across with our step-by-step guide.