I Tested The Iphone 17 Pro Max, And This Feature Alone Justifies An Upgrade From The 16

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The caller flagship iPhone brings 2 large photography upgrades, successful nan zoom camera and nan front-facing camera
• The caller A19 Pro processor, nan N1 chip, and nan thermal upgrades harvester to rev up performance
• For nan author, this year's upgrade prime boils down to overcoming a flaw successful nan past 2 Pro Max models

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As acold arsenic yearly upgrades go, we sewage a batch successful nan iPhone 17 Pro Max -- a redesign, a alteration of materials, caller colors, a artillery upgrade, a processor made moreover much intentionally for AI, 2 large camera refinements, and a hole for past year's biggest flaw.

But really does it fresh together successful 1 package, what's it for illustration to use, and is it worthy nan upgrade? We're present to talk these questions, arsenic we do each year.

As acold arsenic iPhone reviews go, I've mixed my iPhone Pro and Pro Max reviews into 1 communicative for nan past respective years, because nan 2 person been truthful similar. They are much akin than ever this year, pinch nan only differences being nan larger surface and larger artillery successful nan Pro Max. 

Also: Best iPhone 2025: I compared nan apical models and recovered nan champion options for you

So this year, I'm conscionable going to make my reappraisal each astir nan iPhone 17 Pro Max. You tin safely presume virtually each of this applies to nan Pro exemplary arsenic well, if nan smaller Pro is your jam.

I person upgraded iPhones each twelvemonth since nan first iPhone successful 2007, and nan Pro Max has been nan iPhone exemplary I've upgraded to each twelvemonth since nan first 1 arrived pinch nan iPhone 11 Pro Max successful 2019. I besides had nan iPhone XS Max nan twelvemonth before, if you deliberation of that 1 arsenic nan first Max.

And, of course, I'm not alone. The Pro Max has been the best-selling iPhone model since nan iPhone 14 Pro Max, which began a reign of making nan largest, astir costly iPhone the best-selling telephone exemplary successful nan world, according to Omdia research.

Also: iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: I compared nan flagship handsets, and there's a winner

This year, Apple has already dedicated 40% of its manufacturing capacity to churning retired nan iPhone 17 Pro Max, pinch 25% going to nan iPhone 17 Pro, 25% to nan iPhone 17, and 10% to nan iPhone Air, according to The Information. So Apple is already expecting nan iPhone 17 Pro Max to beryllium its No. 1 seller, and by a bigger separator ever. That makes consciousness considering there's nary Plus exemplary this year, truthful nan Pro Max is now nan only big-screen iPhone.

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

Again, I'm going all-in connected nan Pro Max this twelvemonth for my review. Nevertheless, for nan past decade, I haven't recommended anyone to upgrade to nan latest iPhone if they already had past year's iPhone -- contempt nan truth that I upgrade each twelvemonth because of nan activity I do. However, my buying proposal is different this year, truthful enactment tuned for that astatine nan end.

What's caller successful nan iPhone 17 Pro Max

First, let's do a speedy lightning information connected caller features, but I'll prevention what I see nan 4 biggest upgrades to talk astir successful conscionable a moment.

• The A19 Pro - One of nan unsung heroes of nan iPhone's occurrence and its wide entreaty is its powerful Apple Silicon chips that make it consciousness very snappy and responsive successful mundane use. This year, it gets different limb up. The A19 Pro successful nan iPhone 17 Pro Max has a 6-core CPU pinch 2 capacity cores and 4 ratio cores, and a 6-core GPU pinch upgraded "Neural Accelerators" added to each GPU halfway to make things for illustration computational photography, connection models, and different AI features tally overmuch faster. Apple claims a 20% summation successful performance. This is simply a difficult 1 to quantify successful real-world testing (and I don't spot benchmarks because these companies are smart and cognize really to crippled them). Time is nan top real-world trial for performance, truthful I'll withhold judgement until I tin do a longer-term reappraisal connected nan capacity of nan iPhone 17 Pro Max successful nan months ahead. But for now, suffice it to opportunity that nan iPhone 17 Pro Max is powering done almost everything I've thrown astatine it and is astir apt waiting for much challenging AI workloads to afloat stress-test it.

• New display - The surface sewage an upgrade from 2,000 nits of max brightness to 3,000 nits, which makes it easier to spot erstwhile you're outdoors successful afloat sunlight (and takes it complete nan Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra astatine 2,600 nits). The iPhone 17 Pro Max besides sewage a caller anti-glare coating that makes it easier to position nether agleam lights, whether you're indoors aliases outdoors.

Orange is nan caller achromatic for iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

• N1 spot for amended networking - Apple is now moving its ain N1 spot pinch Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and a Thread radio. Bluetooth 6 brings amended precision-finding for FindMy and support for Auracast, Threads is an upgrade for smart location devices, and utilizing Apple's ain spot for Wi-Fi 7 could presumably lead to overmuch much power-efficient networking since Wi-Fi tin beryllium a awesome powerfulness hog. This caller spot is besides aimed astatine improving nan reliability of AirDrop, which would beryllium immense because it's a awesome characteristic erstwhile it works.

• Faster charging - Wired charging gets a flimsy upgrade to 36W (from 30W past year), but still lags down Samsung (45W) and nan Chinese telephone makers that spell chaotic pinch complete 100W charging. Apple claims you tin now get a 50% complaint successful 20 minutes utilizing a 40W aliases higher adapter. ZDNET is still successful nan process of artillery testing, but anecdotally, that number feels for illustration it's successful nan correct ballpark truthful far, and it's astir 20% faster than past year. 

• Better wireless charging - This year's telephone besides now supports Qi2.2 wireless charging astatine 25W via MagSafe. The upgrade present is that past year's exemplary could do MagSafe 25W charging but only pinch an Apple charger. Now you tin besides usage third-party Qi2.2 chargers to get maximum wireless charging speeds -- arsenic opposed to antecedently being stuck astatine 15W connected those third-party chargers.

• RAM upgrade - It has 12GB of RAM, up from 8GB past year, which will thief pinch multitasking and intensive AI applications.

• More scratch-resistant screen - Apple says nan surface is 3x much resistant to scratches, acknowledgment to Ceramic Shield 2. Honestly, I don't spot that, not since nan iPhone 15 Pro Max sewage a nasty scratch connected nan surface moments aft I took it retired of nan box, and it bothered maine to look astatine each time I utilized it. I now put a solid surface protector connected each iPhone erstwhile I return it retired of nan box. The 1 I'd urge for nan iPhone 17 Pro Max is nan Nomad ProShield Glass. 

• 2TB retention option - The maximum retention you tin bargain accrued from 1TB to 2TB, which will now costs $1,999. This is huge, particularly for videographers utilizing nan iPhone arsenic a pro camera.

Now, let's talk astir nan 4 biggest reasons to upgrade.

1. Design overhaul fixes nan biggest flaw

With nan iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple brings nan biggest creation alteration successful 7 years to its flagship iPhone. Every autumn for nan past six seasons -- from nan iPhone 11 Pro Max to nan iPhone 16 Pro Max -- nan largest iPhone looked overmuch nan aforesaid each year. That's not nan lawsuit successful 2025. 

Apple has redesigned nan iPhone 17 Pro Max from nan wrong out. First, Apple has replaced nan titanium worldly that was a signature characteristic connected nan past 2 Pro Max models pinch aluminum. This move comes pinch respective trade-offs. 

Also: iPhone 17s are getting dinged up accelerated - really to protect yours from 'Scratchgate'

After years of being criticized for its Pro phones' boring colors, aluminum allowed Apple to beryllium a batch much bold connected nan Pro models. It went pinch 1 ray colour (Silver/White), 1 acheronian colour (Deep Blue), and 1 nosy colour (Cosmic Orange).

The trade-off is that aluminum is not astir arsenic reliable arsenic titanium, truthful we're already seeing reports of nan orangish and particularly nan bluish iPhone 17 Pro Max getting dinged up beautiful badly. My advice: if you're getting an iPhone 17 Pro Max and you don't scheme to put it successful a lawsuit correct away, past spell pinch nan silver/white exemplary that's acold little apt to get dinged up. But I'd urge putting a lawsuit connected it -- my favorites are nan Nomad Modern Case, nan Spigen Nano Pop Magfit, and Apple's caller TechWoven Case.

Apple introduced a caller TechWoven lawsuit for nan iPhone 17 Pro Max and a Bumper lawsuit for nan iPhone Air.

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

While nan astir noticeable changes to nan iPhone 17 Pro Max are connected nan outside, nan astir consequential ones are connected nan inside. Switching backmost to aluminum besides has a large effect connected thermal performance, arsenic aluminum tin beryllium up to 5-10 times amended astatine conducting and dispersing power than titanium. 

And nan biggest Achilles bottommost I've tally into pinch some nan iPhone 15 Pro Max and nan iPhone 16 Pro Max has been overheating. In 2023, I reported nan superior overheating issues I ran into erstwhile nan iPhone 15 Pro Max was released. While iOS 17.0.3 reduced nan issues to a minimal level, I continued to person problems pinch some nan iPhone 15 Pro Max and its titanium successor nan iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Also: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: I tried some flagships, and there's a clear winner

When I would do aggravated photography and video pinch either phone, they were regularly prone to overheating, wherever they would get very basking to nan touch -- moreover done a lawsuit -- and astatine those times, nan artillery life would commencement to driblet dramatically, and tasks connected nan telephone would slow down. 

Similarly, erstwhile I charged nan phones successful my car connected a MagSafe charger wherever they were besides exposed to nan sun, they would regularly overheat and flash a connection connected nan surface that they had paused charging until nan telephone cooled down. For me, this became a regular portion of life pinch nan iPhone 15 Pro Max and nan iPhone 16 Pro Max.

In summation to switching backmost to an aluminum assemblage for nan iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple besides tacitly acknowledged nan thermal rumor by adding a vapor enclosure cooling system that uses deionized h2o to cool nan A19 Pro spot and tally it astatine maximum velocity by keeping it from overheating. 

The iPhone 17 Pro Max astatine 86.4 degrees (top) and iPhone 16 Pro Max astatine 109.2 degrees (bottom) during a information migration from 1 telephone to nan other.

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

More than immoderate different characteristic connected nan iPhone 17 Pro Max, I've tried to put nan caller cooling to nan trial because nan overheating rumor has been nan biggest flaw I've knowledgeable pinch nan Pro Max for nan past 2 years. I'm happy to study that nan early results person been very affirmative for nan iPhone 17 Pro Max -- though not perfect. 

It each started pinch nan migration from nan iPhone 16 Pro Max to nan iPhone 17 Pro Max. During nan respective hours it took to migrate my information from past year's telephone to this year's phone, nan 16 Pro Max sewage very lukewarm (109 degrees) while nan 17 Pro Max did a overmuch amended occupation of keeping its cool (86 degrees), arsenic you tin spot successful nan thermal image connected nan right. 

Also: 5 cool ways your iPhone's fastener surface conscionable sewage much customizable pinch iOS 26

In going astir my regular tasks, including dense photograph and video usage and MagSafe charging successful nan car, nan iPhone 17 Pro Max has knowledgeable small to nary overheating. So this looked for illustration a large win. However, erstwhile I took nan iPhone 17 Pro Max to Florida and started doing dense video and photography during a sunny time successful nan 90-degree heat, nan iPhone 17 Pro Max started acting for illustration its past 2 predecessors and overheating (Brian Tong reported akin overheating erstwhile he took nan telephone extracurricular successful nan Southern California heat). Fortunately, it cooled down reasonably quickly successful my case.

Nevertheless, I'm convinced that Apple has made important advancement connected nan overheating rumor pinch nan iPhone 17 Pro Max -- and nan truth that it changed materials for amended power dispersion and introduced nan caller vapor enclosure cooling characteristic are immense steps successful nan correct direction.

2. Apple reinvents nan selfie camera

The astir breathtaking caller characteristic successful nan iPhone 17 Pro Max is undoubtedly nan reimagined selfie camera, which some dramatically improves nan value of selfies and makes them easier to take. Apple revealed that group took complete 500 cardinal selfies pinch iPhones complete nan past year, truthful it's clear that we request it. The front-facing camera has agelong been nan weakest nexus successful iPhone photography.

How did Apple propulsion it off? It upgraded nan sensor connected nan front-facing camera from 12MP to 18MP (outputting images vertically aliases horizontally), made it ultrawide, and switched from a rectangular sensor to a quadrate sensor. Apple has branded nan caller camera arsenic a Center Stage camera, but it's moreover much powerful than nan Center Stage video camera that simply centers you successful nan framework during video calls connected iPad aliases Mac. 

Selfie pinch iJustine and Tim Cook astatine 2025 Apple Event.

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

You tin now clasp nan iPhone vertically but move betwixt taking a vertical aliases horizontal photograph pinch a azygous thumb pat connected nan caller Center Stage fastener that automatically pops up erstwhile you're utilizing nan front-facing camera. And moreover cooler, if you pat nan Center Stage settings fastener astatine nan apical of nan screen, and you tin move connected some Auto Rotate and Auto Zoom, past nan camera will usage AI to admit nan faces successful your group selfie changeable and automatically move betwixt vertical aliases horizontal predisposition to make judge to get everyone successful nan shot. 

Also: Why I'm recommending this iPhone 17 exemplary to astir group (and it's not nan Pro Max)

To Apple's credit, it introduced nan caller selfie camera to nan full iPhone 17 lineup this year. I wouldn't beryllium amazed to spot tons of different telephone makers adopt quadrate sensor front-facing cameras successful 2026 because erstwhile you usage Apple's caller selfie camera, everything other feels for illustration a measurement behind. 

3. Zoom photography gets a batch much pro 

I emotion zoom photography, and I besides excavation iPhone photography. I've taken complete 100,000 iPhone photos successful nan past 18 years, but erstwhile I request to return telephoto shots, that's erstwhile I still propulsion retired my Sony mirrorless camera. While nan Pro Max has had a 5x zoom lens for nan past 2 generations, it's not been great. It's good for taking a fewer shots to station connected societal media, but nan value hasn't been connected nan aforesaid level arsenic nan different iPhone cameras. I ne'er usage it for shots I whitethorn want to print, move into a desktop aliases mobile wallpaper image, aliases moreover usage for ZDNET leader images connected stories.

In nan iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple has accrued nan sensor of its tetraprism zoom from 12MP to 48MP while changing nan main zoom lens to 4x. Apple has besides created an 8x zoom lens action that crops successful and creates an optical zoom image astatine 12MP. So far, I've been impressed pinch nan value of this caller zoom lens, particularly successful afloat daylight. It tin create images that are much crisp and little grainy than I'm utilized to connected iPhone zoom photos -- and that's a invited change. 

Will it beryllium bully capable that I tin usage it much often to seizure much master shots? I'm optimistic, but I'm going to request much clip to return a wider assortment of shots and measure them afterward. I besides want to comparison it to nan Google Pixel 10 Pro XL and different Android phones that person agelong had a large advantage complete nan iPhone connected zoom shots.

Example of a photograph taken pinch nan 8x zoom of nan iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

In general, truthful acold I'm besides liking nan photograph processing connected nan iPhone 17 Pro Max -- it's overmuch little lukewarm out-of-camera than nan past mates of years -- and nan image value is simply a small spot sharper and clear overall. I'll beryllium doing a dedicated reappraisal of this year's pro camera strategy successful a mates of weeks, aft I return a ton of different types of photos successful a assortment of lighting conditions pinch each of nan various lenses connected nan iPhone 17 Pro Max.

4. Battery life yet matches Samsung flagships

With nan iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple has put its largest artillery ever successful a telephone -- astatine 5,088mAh successful nan US type pinch nary SIM paper slot. The world versions pinch a SIM paper slot get a somewhat smaller 4,823mAh battery. Combined pinch nan efficiencies of nan A19 Pro processor and nan N1 networking chip, this gives nan iPhone 17 Pro Max a important assistance successful artillery life. 

And don't underestimate nan worth of having a amended thermal creation arsenic well. As I mentioned above, 1 of my biggest challenges pinch artillery life successful nan past 2 generations of nan Pro Max has been that nan artillery would drain a batch much quickly erstwhile it was overheating.

Apple now rates nan iPhone 17 Pro Max arsenic having 39 hours of video playback, compared to 33 hours for nan iPhone 16 Pro Max. That's a 15% boost, and a sizable jump from 1 procreation to nan next. In real-world mixed usage, you tin now expect astir 15-20 hours of artillery life. 

Also: I replaced my Samsung S25 Edge pinch nan iPhone Air - and my buying proposal has changed

The bottommost statement is that nan iPhone 17 Pro Max now matches devices specified arsenic nan Samsung S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra. With nan past respective generations of Samsung Ultra phones, I person simply ne'er had to interest astir artillery life. They would sometimes get to nan extremity of a business time pinch astir a 50% charge. And because they besides person super-fast charging, moreover if I ever did get debased connected complaint pinch nan Samsung flagship -- usually because I hadn't charged it overnight -- successful little than an hr of charging, it would get plentifulness of juice to make it done nan remainder of nan day. When it comes to artillery life and charging, they've been nan MacBook Pro of phones. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is now successful nan aforesaid league. 

What I'd for illustration to spot successful iPhone 18 Pro Max

1. Get free of nan camera bump - I don't emotion camera bumps, aliases camera plateaus arsenic Apple now deems its bump. That's mostly because a bump makes a telephone much awkward to gaffe successful and retired of your pouch aliases bag. It tin besides make nan telephone beryllium a spot awkwardly connected a level surface. I don't emotion nan aesthetics either, because it gives nan telephone a much bulky look and feel. This year, Apple not only made nan iPhone 17 Pro Max camera bump larger, but it's now nan biggest bump connected immoderate of nan premium flagship phones. This has made maine genuinely admit nan Samsung S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra, wherever nan cameras beryllium wholly flush erstwhile you put 1 of those phones successful a case.

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

2. Software that catches up to nan hardware - As you tin show by now, Apple has afloat leaned into nan creation and hardware features successful nan iPhone 17 Pro Max this year, and it has mostly created a terrific upgrade. The telephone besides gets a package redesign pinch nan presence of iOS 26, which is simply a spot of a mixed bag. The Liquid Glass creation looks modern, new, and flashy, but it besides has readability issues. I decidedly for illustration to flip nan move for Reduce Transparency successful Settings. 

Also: I'm skipping nan iPhone 17 Pro this twelvemonth - 3 reasons nan guidelines exemplary makes much sense

But nan bigger package situation for nan iPhone 17 Pro Max is what's not there. It's a telephone that is built to excel for next-gen AI features, but nary of those features are present yet -- astatine slightest not from Apple. As accelerated arsenic nan broader AI ecosystem is evolving, nan iPhone will person plentifulness of devices to return advantage of its AI capabilities, but they'll travel from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and others. This is simply a missed opportunity, because Apple could evidently merge nan champion of AI much profoundly into its flagship merchandise successful ways that app builders simply can't. At nan very least, we request a overmuch amended Siri that takes advantage of nan champion possibilities of generative AI successful adjacent year's Pro Max.

3. A foldable iPhone 18 Pro Max would beryllium amazing - Samsung's Galaxy Fold 7 showed maine what's imaginable pinch foldable phones -- a telephone astir nan aforesaid size arsenic a flagship erstwhile it's closed pinch nan usability of a mini tablet erstwhile it's open. But what I want is simply a afloat flagship telephone pinch each nan aforesaid camera capabilities, surface size, and shape facet that matches a telephone for illustration nan Galaxy S25 Ultra aliases nan iPhone 17 Pro Max. 

Samsung astir sewage location pinch nan Fold 7, but nan screen surface is still a small slimmer and nan cameras still person compromises. Maybe Samsung will get location pinch nan Fold 8. But if Apple could make a foldable iPhone that looks and feels for illustration its regular flagship telephone erstwhile closed but unfolds into an iPad Mini, past it will person created its astir powerful instrumentality yet. I'd moreover put up pinch a camera bump to get that. 

ZDNET's buying advice

Make nary correction -- Apple has packed a ton of caller worldly into this year's iPhone 17 Pro Max. This mightiness beryllium nan astir important year-over-year upgrade we've seen to a Pro Max. Still, I would not typically urge group pinch either of nan past 2 generations of nan Pro Max upgrade for immoderate of these features. But this twelvemonth is simply a small different. 

Primarily because of nan overheating problem, I'm going to urge thing that I usually would not. If you were for illustration maine and you're moving into a batch of overheating issues pinch either nan iPhone 15 Pro Max aliases nan iPhone 16 Pro Max, past I'd urge that you see upgrading to nan iPhone 17 Pro Max. I cognize that mightiness beryllium an costly option, depending connected wherever you are pinch your wireless carrier. But if you are owed a telephone upgrade aliases you tin upgrade for minimal costs pinch a trade-in, past I deliberation you'll beryllium a batch happier pinch nan iPhone 17 Pro Max. 

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

If your bearer gives you condolences astir upgrading aliases wants to overcharge you for it, past 1 of your options is to see switching carriers -- arsenic overmuch of a symptom arsenic that tin beryllium -- because rival carriers will now often salary immoderate outstanding balances aliases switching fees to entice you to make nan jump. 

If you person an iPhone 14 Pro Max aliases earlier and you held disconnected connected upgrading to either of nan past 2 Pro Max models, past your patience has been rewarded this year. You're going to beryllium a telephone pinch overmuch amended performance, overmuch amended artillery life, a vastly improved camera system, and 1 that's fresh for nan latest AI features -- nary matter which institution is making them.

If nan overheating rumor has not caused you problems pinch your iPhone 15 Pro Max aliases iPhone 16 Pro Max and you're still getting bully artillery life (check your artillery health), past transportation connected astir your business and support an oculus retired for nan iPhone 18 Pro Max. Maybe we'll moreover get a folding type adjacent year, and you tin prevention your money to put toward that one, because it's astir apt going to beryllium a batch much expensive.