Away from the usual “Apple is not innovative,” “the Pro Max series is an unnecessary waste of money” talk, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a good upgrade from all other iPhone models ever—but that’s what we all expected from it anyway, right? This detailed iPhone 17 Pro Max Review will show you the new stuff in this latest release from Apple.
The refreshed color options, 8x optical zoom, three 48-megapixel rear cameras, and the latest A19 Pro chip are the main upgrades on the 17 Pro Max. Most of the other features and design properties are essentially the same as those of the older models and the base iPhone 17 model.
Oh, how can I forget? Apple used a new material for this model: a single-piece aluminum unibody. You might think that this would lead to faster heat buildup during heavy gaming, but no, Apple once again did a good job, as the iPhone 17 Pro Max doesn’t overheat, at least not as quickly as the older models: You could spend hours using the device and wish it would just overheat so you can justify your grudge, but sadly, you won’t get that justification. Oops.
Okay, enough said for an introduction; let’s get on with the main details, which span the review and unboxing of iPhone 17 Pro Max, the newest flagship smartphone from Apple.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Unboxing (What’s Actually Inside?)
Once you tear the iPhone 17 Pro Max nylon and open the box, what you get in there is:
- Your iPhone 17 Pro Max itself
- A USB Type-C charging and data communication cable
- A SIM ejector that’s neatly attached to the cable wrappings
I got a 20W iPhone charger from the store as a complementary add-on, as they did for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra I bought some months back.
A Refreshed Design We All Never Knew We Needed
I mean, the Pro and Pro Max iPhone series had always come with a titanium and glass body design, which many of us seem to be very comfortable with, but the 17 Pro and Pro Max series introduced an aluminum unibody; this, coupled with the orange color refresh, could easily beguile anyone who sets their eye on the device.
While I have the silver-colored iPhone 17 Pro Max, the newly introduced orange color made the device “bright” and instantly noticeable even from a distance: the camera plateau sits as a showoff. In fact, everything about the 17 Pro Max design is simply saying, “hey! I’m the latest iPhone model, can you see my camera plateau?” Like a lady trying to show you the pockets in her gown, after you complimented her appearance.
Actually, let’s skip the flabbergasting talks and focus on the real things.
So, at the rear of this new design refresh featured by the iPhone 17 Pro Max sits a ceramic shield that consists of nano-ceramic crystals embedded in a glass matrix, and according to Apple, this ceramic shield is 4x more resistant to cracks than the glass back of the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. However, this gives the rear of the device a two-tone pseudo color.
Now, the ostentatious camera bulge, oh sorry, “plateau,” as it prefers to be called, not only houses the tri-48MP rear cameras, but also the A19 Pro chip, allowing Apple to use the lower part of the rear for more battery accommodation; this made the 17 Pro Max come with a bigger and longer-lasting battery. Good stuff!
Introduced with the iPhone 17 Series is the newly baked Camera Control Button that’s neatly positioned on the right side of the smartphone, below the power button. The camera control button is a new button introduced with the iPhone 17 models (17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and 17 Air).
With it, you can control all major camera actions, such as zoom, selfie mode, wide area capture, etc. It is loved by Apple fans world over.
Another amazing introduction with the 17 and 17 Pro Max models is making the action button a standard feature that’s fully customizable based on user’s prefrences. Also, you can assign quick actions to the Apple logo at the back of the phone (as done in the 16 and 15 series). This can be silence, touch, camera, quick launch, etc.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Specifications
| Display and Screen | Screen Size | 6.9 inches |
| Display Features | 3000 nits (peak), Always-on display, 120Hz refresh rate | |
| Screen Protection | Ceramic Shield 2, Anti-reflective coating | |
| Resolution | 1320 x 2868 pixels (~460 ppi density) | |
| Sim and Network | Sim Slot | Nano and eSIM |
| Network Support | GSM, HSPA, LTE, and 5G | |
| Camera | Rear | Triple: 48MP main f/1.8, 48MP ultra f/2.2, 48MP telephoto f/2.8 |
| Front | 18MP, f/1.9, 20mm (ultrawide) | |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@24/30/60/120/240fps | |
| Features | 3D sensor‑shift OIS, 8x optical zoom, 40x digital zoom, Dual-LED dual-tone flash, and HDR | |
| Chipset | RAM | 12GB |
| Onboard Storage | 256GB to 2TB | |
| CPU | Apple A19 Pro (3 nm), Hexa-core (2×4.26 GHz + 4xX.X GHz) | |
| GPU | Apple GPU (6-core graphics) | |
| Technology | 3 nm | |
| Operating System | iOS 26 | |
| Battery | Capacity | 4823mAh |
| Charging | PD3.2, 25W wireless | |
| Features | 4.5W reverse wired charging | |
| Sound and Comms | 3.5mm Jack | No |
| Speakers | Stereo loudspeakers | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth v6.0, aptX HD, GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, USB Type-C 3.2 | |
| Features | Sensors | Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, ultra-Wideband (UWB) support (gen2 chip) |
| Price | USD | $1,500 |
| EUR | €1,370 |
Another Big Device to Keep Your Palms Wide While Holding It
It has always been like this anyway: The Pro Max series has bigger screen sizes. While the 17 Pro model comes in a 6.3-inch display, this Pro Max model steps up to 6.9 inches. Yeah, it’s wide, but if you’ve used, or are about to upgrade from the 13 Pro Max or 15 Pro Max, you won’t feel any noticeable difference when you hold up the 17 Pro Max.
Interestingly, the device reaches 3,000 nits at peak when outdoors, and exhibits very minimal reflections, thanks to the subtle coating over the display. The device features a 6.9-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display with ProMotion adaptive screen refresh technology and offers a peak refresh rate of 120Hz.
Here are the quick display specifications for your learning:
- Super Retina XDR display
- 6.9‑inch all‑screen OLED display
- 2868 x 1320 pixels at 460 ppi
- Always-On display
- ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz
- HDR display and True Tone
- 1000 nits max brightness (typical); 1600 nits peak brightness (HDR); 3000 nits peak brightness (outdoor); 1 nit minimum brightness
- Anti-reflective coating
Nothing here is too different from what we’ve had on the other iPhone Pro Max models, except for the 3,000 nits peak brightness and refreshed anti-reflective coating. You will see everything super clear on this, that’s for sure.
Triple 48 Megapixel Cameras and a Centralized Selfie Camera
To be honest, the main reason many people would choose an iPhone over an equivalent, super high-end Android model is because of the “iPhone camera quality.” Apple really did a great job with its cameras on all iPhones.
On the 17 Pro Max, 48 megapixel sensors were used throughout for the triple sensor layout: wide-angle, ultrawide, and telephoto—supporting triple resolutions: 12-megapixel, 24-megapixel, and 48-megapixel.
One of the interesting things about the camera of 17 Pro Max is the 8x telephoto zoom, which retains good details and clarity in the zoomed image. The portrait mode is now even better on the 17 Pro Max. You already know all the good stuff about iPhone cameras; the major differences on the 17 Pro Max are the bigger sensors, parity sensors, and much better zoom.
I did some quick snapshots in 1X, 2X, and 5X zoom, comparing the output quality with Google Pixel 8 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. The quality across the board is impressive, and most noticeable in the last two, as the latter trumped the former significantly.
The front (selfie) camera is where Apple did another massive upgrade on the 17 Pro Max. There’s an 18MP front-facing camera, but most importantly, it’s called the “Center Stage” camera because it automatically switches to “Landscape” mode (even if you keep the device standing vertically) when multiple people enter the scene. Notwithstanding, you can press an onscreen button to change the orientation, and there are settings to auto-rotate and auto-zoom out for group shots.
Dual Video Capture
Well, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen such a camera feature, but it’s new for iPhones. The 17 Pro Max can record dual video captures, using the rear and front cameras at the same time. This means you can be recording yourself as you walk and also capture the environment around you simultaneously.
Here’s a quick overview of the iPhone 17 Pro Max camera specs:
- 48MP Pro Fusion camera system, shift optical image stabilization, 100% Focus Pixels, ƒ/1.78 – ƒ/2.8 aperture, 120° FoV, autofocus, 8x optical zoom, and 40x digital zoom.
- 18MP Center Stage front camera ƒ/1.9 aperture
- Customizable default lenses; sapphire crystal lens cover
- True Tone flash
- HDR 5
- 4K Dolby Vision video recording
- Cinematic mode up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps
- Dual Capture up to 4K@30 fps
- Spatial Audio and stereo recording
- Wind noise reduction
- Audio Mix
Performance and Battery Analysis
Bigger battery; longer use time, so you think, right? Actually, that’s what it is. A device with a bigger battery capacity would absolutely last longer than one with a smaller battery capacity. So, the iPhone 17 Pro Max comes with a 4823mAh battery that supports 25W wireless charging. It lasts quite long, even on heavy use, and most importantly, it doesn’t overheat the device; I think the A19 Pro chip has a hand in the thermal management, and it’s a really good one, actually.
Having established that the battery lasts long, another thing worth noting is the overall performance of the device; from multitasking to heavy gaming and video streaming, the iPhone 17 Pro Max handled it all swiftly without breaking a sweat. The iOS 26 also tuned up the performance of the 17 Pro Max with seamless fluidness and enchanting animations you can’t help but love.
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max Vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Who comes on top?
Well, I spent a good time here testing the devices across several segments, not to declare a winner, but to make a good comparison of what to expect with the purchase of either of these two monster-spec’d smartphones.
The camera compartment on these two machines is premium and well-built for ease-of-use and better media capturing. Here’s a quick glance at their camera build and lens quality: 
As already stated above, I captured similar photos in 1X, 2X, and 5X. Here’s that of iPhone 17 Pro Max, followed by that of Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra without using filters/enhancements:
As seen in the 5X zoom photo from the two devices above, the little bird hanging on the rooftop was clearly captured. While 15X on Galaxy S25 Ultra had a better view of it, the 5X was just enough to get the necessary details.
Now on to benchmarking, I ran both AnTuTu Benchmark and Geekbench 6 Benchmark, and will be posting the results below:
iPhone 17 Pro Max Vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Results from AnTuTu Benchmark
Below is the AnTuTu Benchmark result of iPhone 17 Pro Max Vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra:
iPhone 17 Pro Max Vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Results from Geekbench 6
Geekbench 6 CPU performance tests:
Geekbench 6 GPU performance tests:
While the Galaxy S25 Ultra outperformed the 17 Pro Max on Antutu, it scored lower on Geekbench 6. Real-life performance of the two devices is impressive, especially on the AI front.
I leave you with the final verdict on your pick between these two monster spec’d smartphones. You can share your view in the comments section below.
My iPhone 17 Pro Max Review and Verdict
While I’m not a big fan of iPhones, I’m super impressed with the features introduced in the 17 series. Although the AI features are nothing compared to what I get with my Google Pixel devices, the camera, premium build, and better battery life make up for it.
It’s completely a good value for money as it offers more than usual with its base model. There’s hardly a reason not to recommend it to anyone shopping for a new smartphone in 2026 and beyond.
