iPhone 17 Pro Max: A Review
The iPhone is by no means a new product. In fact, it has now been more than 18 years since the original release of the iPhone. Over those 18 years, there have been 10 different storage sizes, 51 different models, and 35 different color choices across all models.
Each release of a new iPhone brings the possibility of new features. There are years where the year-over-year changes are minimal, and then there are years where the changes are more substantial. And yet, there are some years where there are entirely new models. In the early years, the upgrades were definitely more substantial, but as time has gone on, the upgrades have been a bit more modest.
How often an individual upgrades their phone will depend on their individual situation. Some users will go multiple years between upgrading, while others may upgrade every other year. Still, there are others, like myself, who tend to upgrade every year.
The latest iPhones that Apple introduced are the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. Since the release of the “Pro Max" model in 2019, I have purchased the “Pro Max" version of each iPhone. This year is no different. Specifically, I opted to go with the Deep Blue iPhone 17 Pro Max. I will be covering a number of different aspects about the phone, but before we dive into individual features, let us look at my pre-order experience.
Pre-Ordering
If you were one who tried to order an iPhone in the early years of the iPhone, you will remember the scramble that ensued. There were slowdowns. You would only be able to get them delivered. In the last few years, Apple has been allowing people to save their pre-order information. This includes the device, accessories, payment information, and even cell account information. By pre-saving this, it does make the overall process much faster. You have until about 9 p.m. Pacific Time the night before pre-orders to save your information.
Early on in the life of the iPhone, pre-orders would happen at 12 a.m. Pacific Time. For many, it meant either staying up late or getting up early. Recently though, Apple has begun pre-orders at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
The manner in which I prepare for the pre-order will vary. But typically, to prepare for the pre-order, I have four devices ready to go: my Mac Studio, my MacBook Pro, my iPad Pro, and my iPhone. On the two Macs, I had the Apple website ready to go with the placeholder graphic. On my iPhone and iPad, I had the Apple Store app open and ready to go. I never know which device will be the first to open up. In 2022, it was my iPad Pro; in 2023, it was my iPhone; last year, it was my iPad Pro; this year, my MacBook Pro came up first.
My experience this year was a bit better than last year. Two minutes after pre-orders opened, my MacBook Pro refreshed to show me the full Apple website, and by 4 minutes after the hour, I had ordered a Deep Blue iPhone 17 Pro Max, with an accompanying case for pickup at my local Apple Store, at one of the first slots available. I also received the confirmation email almost immediately after I placed my pre-order.
I am aware that not everyone’s pre-order experience was as smooth. Some people had issues, in particular, pre-order information being deleted, and just general errors with the Apple website. One person who pre-ordered did not think that their order went through, so they placed a second order, only to turn out that the first one did actually go through, and they now had two orders.
It should not be surprising that no pre-order experience will go 100% smoothly for everyone. Given the scale of Apple’s operation and the number of people trying to pre-order, it is remarkable that the system works as well as it does. Now that my pre-order experience has been covered, let us look at my pickup experience.
Schrödinger’s Pickup
Typically, when I pre-order with in-store pickup, I will receive an “Update about your order" email from Apple. This email basically indicates that my pre-order is ready for pickup. I typically receive the email sometime the night before the pickup. Here is a look at the times I received the emails since 2020:
- 2020 - 6:18 p.m. the evening before
- 2021 - 7:10 p.m. the evening before
- 2022 - 5:34 p.m. the evening before
- 2023 - 6:03 p.m. the evening before
- 2024 - 5:38 p.m. the evening before
That did not happen this time. I checked the Apple Store app multiple times after waking up and before my pickup, including at about 7:10 a.m. when I arrived at the Apple Store. This was for my 8:00 a.m. appointment time. I was talking to the person in line ahead of me, whom, coincidentally, I actually also talked to last year. I inquired with him if his orders said they were ready for pickup, and he indicated they were.
Ultimately, I did actually receive the “ready for pickup" email for my iPhone 17 Pro Max at 7:23 a.m. I had the same issue for Apple Watch Series 11. For that one, I got the email saying that my Apple Watch pre-order was “ready for pickup" at 8:06 a.m. This was after the Apple employee had already sent in the request to have my order run out to me. I was actually out of the Apple Store by 8:10 a.m.
Last year when I had multiple items to pick up, the Apple Store let me pick them both up at the same time. It was the same this year as well. However, I told the person in line that if I had to wait until my actual reservation time for my Apple Watch, I would do so, but I preferred not to. After I had picked up my items, it was time to head home and perform the actual setup.
Setup
As mentioned above, I have been fortunate enough to have purchased a new iPhone every year since the launch. With this being the 18th iPhone I have owned, I have become quite adept at setting up a new iPhone and transferring the data from my old iPhone.
There are multiple ways of performing the actual migration. You can transfer directly from iPhone to iPhone, you can back up to iCloud and restore from there, and lastly you can back up to a Mac or PC, and restore from there. I chose to go with the first option, transfer phone to phone directly.
This approach has its positives and negatives. On the positive side, most everything is ready to go after the transfer. The biggest downside is that it can take a while to complete, depending on how much data you have. This year it took just over 2 hours to perform the actual transfer and this was with the two devices connected via a Thunderbolt cable. I am not sure if the phones actually used the wired connection or not.
I started the setup at 9:01 a.m. and it finished at 11:03 a.m. The iPhone 17 Pro Max then restarted. I was prompted to transfer over my phone number, but it did not do anything when I tried to continue. I ended up having to go into Settings and starting the process manually. However, even this seemed to be a bit wonky as it would just spin and not actually proceed. It finally started after the screen went to sleep and I woke the phone back up. At that point, it did actually begin the transfer.
The actual network process of transferring the eSIM from my iPhone 16 Pro Max to my iPhone 17 Pro Max was smooth and works without any issue. I know this is not the case for everyone. Steve Troughton-Smith is actually on day 4 of his SIM not transferring.
One thing that did not transfer over was my Apple Watch. This was not the end of the world because I had a new Apple Watch to set up. I ran into the same issue last year. Ultimately, I ended up setting my new Apple Watch with the backup from my iPhone 17 Pro Max. When I initially got the Apple Watch up and running I was missing two standing hours, and a few hundred steps. After about an hour, these did synchronize from old Apple Watch/iPhone. I honestly would not have cared if they did not transfer over, it was still only about 12:00 p.m., so I could have easily gotten my standing hours in, but the process should just work.
Now that the setup is finished, let us move onto the device itself, starting with the color.
Color
As mentioned above, in its entire lifetime, there have been 35 different color options across all of the iPhone models. One color that has been consistent for the Pro and Pro Max lines has been some shade of gray. It has gone by various names. Sometimes it was called “Space Gray", “Graphite", “Midnight", “Space Black", or “Black"; there has been at least one shade of gray for each model of iPhone; that is except for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. There are only three color options to choose from: Silver, Cosmic Orange, and Deep Blue. That is, there is no dark gray option at all. This is the first time there has not been one, so it is a milestone of sorts.
There is still a dark color, Deep Blue. This is not the first time that Apple has had a “blue" Pro/Pro Max device. In fact, this is the third time. The first “blue" was the “Pacific Blue" with the 2020 iPhone 12 Pro Max. The second was just two years ago, with the “Blue Titanium" iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max is the third.
The “Deep Blue" is the one that I have purchased. I thought about getting the Cosmic Orange, but because I pass down my iPhones, I do ask the person who will be receiving the phone, what color they would prefer, and they opted for the Deep Blue.
The Deep Blue is a dark blue. Unlike with the Midnight Apple Watch, Deep Blue cannot be mistaken for being black. The back of the Deep Blue iPhone 17 Pro Max is actually two shades. There is the Deep Blue of the body and the slightly different shade of the Ceramic Shield.
Out of the three Pro Max shades of blue, the Deep Blue is the darkest shade. The “Blue Titanium" of the iPhone 15 Pro Max has hints of gray, meanwhile the “Pacific Blue" is, as the name implies, more of a shade of water blue, probably the blue of the Pacific Ocean.
Overall, I like the Deep Blue color, it a nice dark shade of blue and it can be mixed and matched with a variety of cases to create a look that you want. On the topic of cases, let us look at a couple of those next.
Cases
When you purchase an expensive device, it is natural to want to protect it. With an iPhone, one of the ways to do this is to put it in a case. I, like many others, do just that. A case can be more than just protection, though; it can also be used as a fashion piece. Personally, I do not go in for fashion, particularly when it comes to my iPhone.
Apple actually has six different case options for the iPhone 17 Pro Max. This includes three from Beats: a rugged case, a standard case, and a kickstand case. Along with the three options from Beats, there are also options with the Apple branding. The Apple-branded options are a clear case, a silicone case, and a TechWoven case. I have only purchased two of these, the Apple silicone case and an Apple TechWoven case. Let us look at both in turn, starting with the silicone case.
Silicone Case
One of the types of cases that Apple has had for most of the life of the iPhone is the silicone case. These cases are typically made of a soft silicone and come in a variety of colors. The color options vary from year to year. For the iPhone 17 Pro Max, there are six different color options available from Apple. These are:
- Neon Yellow
- Purple Fog
- Orange
- Terra Cotta
- Black
- Midnight
When I buy a case, I generally try to get a case that is as close to the color of the device as I can. I do this mostly because it is what looks best to me. I say this not to deter someone else from choosing a different color, but personally, I prefer the colors to be close together. On one hand, someone might argue that this is a “fashion choice", but it is not how I see it.
The Apple silicone is designed to wrap around the sides and back of the device. This offers some decent protection on its own; however, the sides are a bit more rigid to provide even more protection. The corners are also rigid to provide protection should you drop your iPhone on the corner.
The outside edge of the case extends beyond the screen. This is designed to protect the screen while your device is face down. Of course, this will not protect your screen if it hits something directly impacts the screen.
With the new camera plateau that spans the entire back of the phone, the cut-out matches. This means that the cut-out covers the entire plateau, but there is a rigid lip that extends just beyond the edge of the lenses. This provides some protection when you place your phone on a surface.
There is one addition to this year’s Apple cases. In the lower left and lower right corners, there are two holes. These two holes are designed for another accessory, the Crossbody Strap. I opted not to get one of these because I do not see myself using one. I can see the utility for many, not only as a fashion option but also in practical use cases, particularly for those out in the field where removing their phone from their pockets repeatedly could become cumbersome.
When your iPhone 17 Pro Max detects a compatible MagSafe case, a MagSafe animation will appear on the screen that matches the color of the case. In my case, it is a Midnight Silicone case, since that is the closest to the Deep Blue of the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Just because I could, I tried putting my iPhone 16 Pro Max into the Silicone case for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and it does indeed fit. It is not nearly as snug as the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but that is to be expected since the iPhone 17 Pro Max is 0.4mm taller, 0.4mm wider, and 0.5mm thicker. However, even with the difference in dimensions, there is no risk of having the iPhone 16 Pro Max falling out of the iPhone 17 Pro Max case. In fact, there is even more of a pronounced lip due to the difference in depth between the devices, which can add a bit more protection. There is one last thing to be aware of: the back camera area on the iPhone 17 Pro Max is larger, so there will be a bit more of the back exposed, but it will fit on last year’s iPhones.
So, if you need a replacement for your iPhone 16 Pro Max case, you can get the iPhone 17 Pro Max case. The Silicone case is not the only case type that Apple has; they have had some high-end cases in the past, and they have another one this year.
High-End Cases
For many years, Apple had more than just the silicone cases. They also had leather cases. In order to help with their Apple 2030 program, Apple’s approach to being carbon neutral by 2030, they opted to no longer sell leather products.
At the iPhone 15 Pro Max announcement, Apple announced a new, higher-end iPhone case, called FineWoven. To quote from the 2023 announcement:
To further reduce impact on the planet, Apple will no longer use leather in any new Apple products, including iPhone accessories. Apple is introducing a new FineWoven Case with MagSafe and FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe, made from a durable and elegant microtwill with a soft, suede-like feel. The material is made from 68 percent post-consumer recycled content and has significantly lower carbon emissions compared to leather.
The FineWoven case was, to put it bluntly, panned. Many felt that the FineWoven case was not durable, scratched too easily, and was easily stained. Due to this, many felt that it did not warrant the “premium" price of $59.00.
My personal experience with the FineWoven case was that it was too slippery. Less than 24 hours after putting the FineWoven case on my iPhone 15 Pro Max, I dropped the phone, so I immediately swapped it out for the silicone case.
Last year with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, Apple did not have a higher-end case. Instead, they offered the standard Apple silicone case, as well as a couple of Beats-branded cases. This year, Apple is back with a higher-end case, called “TechWoven".
TechWoven Case
The TechWoven case is Apple’s second attempt at a high-end non-leather case. According to Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro newsroom post:
The TechWoven Case has a new technical woven fabric that uses multiple colored yarns, creating a dimensional texture and rich depth of color, while a protective coating provides resistance to scratches and stains. TechWoven cases will be available in five colors: black, blue, purple, sienna, and green.
From the list of colors, you might have surmised that I opted for the blues, and you would be correct. The blue is a different shade from the deep blue of the iPhone 17 Pro, but it still works well with the iPhone 17 Pro Max nonetheless. Just as with the silicone case, there are two holes in the bottom corners of the TechWoven case that can be used with the crossbody strap, should you prefer to use one for your iPhone.
In my time using the TechWoven case, it definitely does not feel as slippery as the FineWoven case. I actually think the texture created by the yarn provides a bit more grip for the case. The TechWoven case does feel a bit more premium than the FineWoven case did. It is the case that I am using as of this posting. I think I will continue to use it, but I do have the Apple silicone case waiting in case this one ultimately ends up not working for me.
There is one issue that I have noticed with the case, and that is that not all cables will fit properly. As an example, the USB-A to USB-C cable that I have in my car for CarPlay takes a bit more effort to make sure it is seated properly. I may end up looking for a different cable just to make it easier, but I have not yet decided on that yet.
For those who would prefer a leather case, there are plenty of options available from third parties. I suspect Apple will not be bringing back the leather cases themselves. Now that cases have been covered, let us check another feature of the iPhone 17 Pro Max: the weight.
Weight
Even though I have purchased an iPhone every year since 2007, I have not held onto all of my old phones. I have passed most of them down to family members. However, I do have a few older phones, including the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G, and the iPhone X. When I go back and pick up one of those devices, the first change that I notice is the screen size, particularly when picking up the original iPhone or iPhone 3G. The screen size on those is nearly 1/2 the size of the screen on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, 3.5 inches as compared to 6.9 inches.
The second thing that I notice is the weight difference. The original iPhone is only 135 grams, or 42% lighter than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. However, the lightest iPhone Apple has created in its history is the iPhone 5, which came in at 112 grams, which would be 52% lighter than the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
As you might expect, the iPhone has steadily gotten heavier over the years. There are a couple of factors to this. The largest factor being the battery, but the increase in battery size is partially in response to the screen size increasing over time.
I could list out all of the weights, but it might be easier to see the weight of the more recent iPhones, starting with the iPhone X. I am including both the iPhone XS and XS Max, as references, since there was only the single iPhone X, screen size of 5.8 inches.
| Phone | Weight (ounces) | Weight (grams) |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone X | 6.14 | 174 |
| iPhone XS | 6.24 | 177 |
| iPhone XS Max | 7.34 | 208 |
| iPhone 11 Pro Max | 7.97 | 226 |
| iPhone 12 Pro Max | 8.03 | 226 |
| iPhone 13 Pro Max | 8.46 | 240 |
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | 8.47 | 240 |
| iPhone 15 Pro Max | 7.81 | 221 |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | 7.99 | 227 |
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | 8.22 | 233 |
As you can see, ever since the iPhone X, the largest physical iPhone got steadily heavier, until the switch to Titanium with the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The iPhone 15 Pro Max the weight dropped 8%, as compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max. However, the weight has once again increased over the past two years, but it is still lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
While one might think that Apple has a single model of iPhone across the globe, that is not necessarily true. As an example, there is a Dual Nano-SIM model in China, and a Dual-SIM (Nano-SIM and eSIM) in Italy and Germany, and likely other European countries. Meanwhile, in the United States, there is a Dual e-SIM model.
Each of these models has a different weight. The models sold in China, Italy, and Germany are 231 grams. Meanwhile, the Dual e-SIM model is 233 grams. This is counter to what you might expect, but the reason for this is because Apple has filled the Nano-SIM slot in the U.S. model with more battery.
In fact, the additional battery provides 2 additional hours of battery in eSIM-only models. This is not just for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but also for the iPhone 17 Pro.
Even though there is a difference between the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, I do not notice the difference in day-to-day usage. This is likely due to a combination of the increase in phone and the case. I would rather have the iPhone be a bit heavier and have the increased battery than not.
Let us now switch to the external design of the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
External Design
One area of an iPhone that can change from year to year is the external design. Quite often, any changes are subtle and minor. However, this year, the changes are a bit more substantial. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is not physically larger than the iPhone 16 Pro Max, at least in terms of screen size, because both have 6.9-inch screens.
If you hold the iPhone 17 Pro Max without a case, and compare it to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, you may notice that the edges along the back of the iPhone 17 Pro Max are a bit more rounded. This is a result of some of the internal changes, more on that in a bit. With the more rounded corners, it does feel a bit nicer in the hand.
Let us move onto another feature, the cellular antennas.
5G Cellular
Along the top of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, you will see an area that is made of a different material. This is actually where the antennas for the Millimeter Wave, or mmWave, antenna are located. Cellular waves do not work well through metal. Therefore, in order to accommodate mmWave, the area at the top is a piece of glass that will allow the mmWave radio to communicate properly with the cell towers.
Beyond the mmWave antenna, the remaining cellular antennas are along the outside edge of the device. Again, this is to allow for the best reception possible.
There is another change, but this one might not be noticeable at first, yet it has significantly changed. That item is the screen, so let us look at that next.
Screen Changes
It is possible that users of an iPhone will use the Camera Control button, the Action button, the power button, or even the volume buttons throughout the day. Even if they do not use these, it is entirely possible that they will want to see what is being displayed, and the way to do that is to look at the screen.
The screen of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, like all other Face ID phones, has an edge-to-edge display. The edges of the screen match the radii of the corners of the iPhone. Since the iPhone 12 Pro Max, Apple has used a product they call Ceramic Shield for the screen. The iPhone 17 Pro Max uses its successor, named Ceramic Shield 2.
Ceramic Shield 2
Ceramic Shield 2 is an improved version of the standard Ceramic Shield glass that has been on past iPhones. According to Apple, the Ceramic Shield 2 is significantly harder than its predecessor, which results in the glass being harder to scratch and should be more resistant to everyday micro scratches than the original.
The second improvement to Ceramic Shield 2 is that the screen should now be clearer and more legible in bright situations. This is made possible through a new multi-layer bonding of the glass, as compared to previous models.
The second change that you might notice is that the back is not glass. In fact, it is made of what Apple calls “Ceramic Shield". Ceramic Shield is a glass-composite that is designed to be tougher than regular glass. The reason for this is that the ceramic being tougher than glass, it is able to stand up to harsher treatment.
The new screen should be useful for many, but that covers the front and part of the back of the phone. There is another item on the back that is a bit more noticeable, the Camera Plateau.
Camera Plateau
When Apple introduced the iPhone 7 in 2016, there was a slight change: a small camera bump. The reason for this was to provide room for the better camera module. The slight camera bump on the iPhone 7 did not affect many, for two reasons. The first is that the bump was not all that prominent. The second was that a lot of people put a case on their iPhone, so the case could easily accommodate the small camera bump.
As newer iPhones have been introduced, the camera bump has slowly gotten larger. With the iPhone 11 in 2019, Apple put the camera on a slightly raised area of the back. As the cameras have gotten larger, the area needed for the cameras has gotten larger. This camera area, which some refer to as the “Camera Mesa", provides an area where the lenses for the camera can be located, along with other camera-related features, like the LiDAR sensor and the flash.
With the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the Camera Mesa appears to be made of sapphire, the same material that protects the camera lenses from scratches and dust.
With the iPhone 17 Pro Max, the camera area has extended across the entire width of the back. This area is referred to as the Camera Plateau. There is no glass around the lenses; instead, there are specific holes carved out of the aluminum case. The flashlight and LiDAR sensor are on the opposite side of the cameras, which should provide a bit more area for them.
The Camera Plateau is a first for the iPhone line, but there seems to be a good reason for Apple manufacturing it this way. The iPhone 17 Pro Max runs iOS 26. All of Apple’s operating systems released at the end of 2025 have been designed to bring the same design language to all of the operating systems. Apple did the same with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max, and the iPhone Air. All of these have a similar Camera Plateau.
The iPhone Air absolutely requires the entire camera plateau because every area of the Camera Plateau that does not house the camera, I used for the logic board. This is entirely within the Camera Plateau. I think that Apple made the decision to unify not only its operating systems, but also to unify the design, and many of the features of various iPhone models released at the same time.
The internal design was eluded to above, but let us now focus on that specifically.
Internal Design
Even when the outside of an iPhone does not change that often, the internals can be radically changed. The reason for this could be to accommodate a new sensor, more battery, or just optimized placement of components within the iPhone. The internals of the iPhone 17 Pro Max have changed significantly.
When Apple introduced the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, it used a new metal, titanium. The benefit of using titanium was that it would be lighter than the previous models, but it would still be strong. This, of course, took some engineering to accommodate the internals, but still be lighter overall.
This year, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple has completely re-engineered the internals. This starts by using a solid piece of aluminum and milling it out to create the frame. This process means that the iPhone 17 Pro Max is the first iPhone to have a unibody design. Having the entire frame be unibody provides rigidity and also durability, and it limits the flexibility of the device.
The unibody design houses all of the components of the iPhone. One of the biggest changes is that there are now camera cut-outs for the lenses directly within the frame. This should add some additional protection of the lenses, since they cannot be shifted within the case. Additionally, it also means that there does not need to be a square to offset the cameras, it can be accommodated in the internal design.
On the topic of interior design, let us look at some of the specific internals themselves, starting with the A19 Pro.
A19 Pro
Apple has been creating its own custom chips since 2011, when they introduced the iPhone 4 with the A4 processor. This was made possible because Apple bought another company called PA Semi, a semiconductor company, back in 2008. Since then, Apple has been customizing the silicon for the iPhone to meet the needs of each of their devices.
One of the benefits of making both the hardware and software for a product is that you will know which processor will be used in which device. This pairing means that you can tune the software for the hardware, but at the same time, you can also customize the software to work specifically for the hardware.
As an example, in the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple increased the size of the screen of the iPhone from a 4-inch size to a 5.5-inch size. This required additional processing power, and Apple needed to make sure that the hardware is capable of handling it.
Every single A-series processor has a variety of subsystems, and the A19 Pro is no different. There is, of course, the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine. For the A19 Pro, the CPU is a 6-core processor, with 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. The 4 efficiency cores have an improved last-level cache, which means that more data can be processed even faster. The processors can run at up to 4.25GHz.
Apple states that they have improved branch prediction. Branch Prediction is a CPU technique for predicting the next instruction, and if you can correctly guess the next instruction, then you can significantly increase the speed, while reducing the battery usage. The additional bandwidth should allow for better branch prediction overall.
Neural Engine
One of the features of the A-series of chips is the inclusion of a dedicated set of chips designed to accelerate the processing of large language models. Apple calls these chips the Neural Engine. The Neural Engine was introduced in 2017 with the introduction of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.
The Neural Engine is used for a variety of functions of the iPhone. This can include Siri, Augmented Reality, Face ID, and most importantly, computational photography of the cameras. The Neural Engine typically contains 16 cores. The A19 Pro has the same number of cores, but there is a new feature, specifically for the GPU.
GPUs
The A19 Pro has a 6-core GPU. According to Apple, they are now using a 2nd generation dynamic cache, as well as having improved math rates. Furthermore, they now have unified image compression, which should improve image processing from the cameras.
One of the other changes for the GPU is the addition of a dedicated Neural Accelerator for each core. A Neural Accelerator is a new addition that is used to help improve processing of Large Language Models (LLMs) when calculations are performed on the GPUs. According to Apple, this means that the A19 Pro has 4x the peak compute performance as compared to the A18 Pro.
In order to gain some of the advantages, there need to be some other improvements. One of those improvements is with the cooling, so let us look at that next.
Cooling
For the longest time, Apple used aluminum for the iPhone. Aluminum is a good overall material to use. This is because it is relatively inexpensive, sturdy, and yet lightweight. Plus, aluminum is recyclable, so manufacturers can use recycled aluminum to build products. Furthermore, aluminum can be good for heat dissipation. However, back in 2023, with the release of the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max, Apple opted to use titanium for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
The big reason for switching from aluminum to titanium was to reduce the weight, but this came with a downside. The downside was that the amount of heat that was dissipated was not as much as it could be. The cooling, while adequate most of the time, could cause slowdowns during intensive tasks.
The A19 Pro in the iPhone 17 Pro Max builds on the A18 Pro and adds some enhancements. Most notably is the new “vapor chamber". This vapor chamber contains de-ionized water, and this is laser welded to the aluminum chassis. This is designed to allow the heat from the A19 to be dissipated more quickly. Ultimately, this should result in higher sustained processing while under heavy loads.
N1 Chip
With their knowledge of how to build custom chips, Apple has been known to introduce their own custom chips for their own use cases. Some examples are the U1 for ultra-precision location and communications, the H1 for headphones, the W1 for wireless headphones, and C1 for cellular modem. To that, we can now add the N1, which is used for networking.
The N1 chip is an Apple custom-designed chip to handle the networking for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, as well as the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air. The N1 is designed to handle the wireless networking, Bluetooth, and Thread connectivity. Specifically, the N1 supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.
These are the latest standards for both of these wireless technologies. According to Apple, “N1 improves the overall performance and reliability of features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop." Only time will tell how well these are actually improved.
With Apple designing their own chips, they can tune the chips to be power-efficient, as well as how much space they will take up, for their requirements. One area where Apple customizes their chips is with the cameras in their devices, so let us focus on that next.
Cameras
I am fortunate enough to be able to buy a new iPhone every year. Do I need these new devices? No, I do not, but it is one of the few things I do spend my money on. In recent years, I have been telling people that I do not buy a new phone every year, but I buy a new camera, and it just happens to also be a phone. I even re-iterated this to the Apple employee who helped me when I picked up my iPhone 17 Pro Max at my local Apple Store. When I first started saying this, it was somewhat in jest, but as time has gone on, I have found it to be true.
One of the features that has been present since the original iPhone has been a rear camera. Apple would improve the camera somewhat regularly, but it was not a major focus for the product. This changed in 2010, when Apple made a big update with the iPhone 4. At this time, they added 720p video recording to the rear camera. This would improve the next year with the iPhone 4S, which added 1080p video recording.
When Apple introduced the iPhone 4 in 2010, they added a new feature: a camera on the front of the iPhone. Each iPhone since then has had a front-facing camera. The iPhone 4 front-facing camera was not of very good quality, at a mere 0.3 megapixels. This was usable for FaceTime and video calls, but not that useful for selfies, plus it would not necessarily be what users would ultimately want to use. The iPhone 5, released in 2012, improved the front camera to 1.2 megapixels.
It was not until the iPhone 7 in 2016 when Apple increased the resolution of the front-facing camera from 1.2 megapixels to 7 megapixels. In 2019, Apple again improved the front-facing camera to 12 megapixels. The front camera has had this same resolution since 2019, but now there has been a big update, so let us glance at the front-facing camera improvements.
Center Stage Camera
The name given to the front-facing camera system has changed over the years. When Apple released the iPhone 5 in 2011, they gave the front-facing camera the moniker of “FaceTime" camera. With the iPhone 6, they changed the name to “FaceTime HD" camera. The iPhone X brought a whole new camera system, one that included Face ID. Therefore, the name of the system also changed, this time to “TrueDepth" Camera. This has been the name for the front-facing camera system on all FaceID phones since 2017. Now, with the iPhone 17 line, and the iPhone Air, Apple is introducing a whole new camera system. This change warrants another new name, due to such a significant change. This time, it is called the “Center Stage" camera.
Apple first introduced Center Stage in 2021 with the 3rd Generation 11-inch iPad Pro, and the 5th generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro. When Apple introduced Center Stage, it indicated that it was an improvement over the standard camera, in that it could automatically detect a person in the frame and the camera would automatically follow the person, so they would remain in the frame. This would be accomplished through the use of machine learning models to detect users and adjusting the camera sensor to attempt to keep people in the frame. This would, of course, have limitations in how far someone could be outside of the frame and still have the Center Stage camera be able to detect them.
Center Stage has been a feature on iPads introduced since 2021, and it even expanded to Apple’s standalone display, the Studio Display. Most recently, it has been added to the M4 MacBook Air and M4 MacBook Pro. Now, Center Stage is making its way to the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the iPhone Air.
Center Stage on the iPhone works much like Center Stage on other devices. The camera on the iPhone 17 Pro Max will automatically detect individuals and it will attempt to keep them in frame. This means that even if you are a bit off center from the camera, it will automatically adjust to keep you in the frame. With the iPhone 17 Pro Max, this is not only applicable to photos, but also to videos. This means that if you are in a video call with someone, your iPhone will attempt to keep you within the frame, even during video calls, while using the front-facing camera. This should make it a nicer experience for many on video calls.
Center Stage on its own is a great addition and will make it easier to take selfies, but there is a bit more.
Landscape Selfies
Many people like taking selfies. Sometimes these are of themselves, but other times they may include others. If there are only two people in the photo, you may be able to take a selfie photo in portrait orientation, but if you attempt to add more people, you will likely need to take a landscape photo, just to be sure to get everyone in the frame.
It is entirely possible to take a landscape selfie; you can simply turn your iPhone. When you do this, the iPhone will automatically adjust the orientation so everyone could possibly be in the picture. There are a couple of downsides to this. The first is that it is possible that you might have to re-adjust where everyone is, just to make sure everyone can be in the photo. The second downside to using your iPhone in landscape mode is that it is not as easy to hold, as compared to holding it in portrait orientation. This is particularly true if you have a larger iPhone, like the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The Center Stage Camera on the iPhone 17 Pro Max can perform an interesting trick to assist with this.
With the Center Stage Camera on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, if you need to take a landscape selfie, you can easily do so by simply tapping on the screen. When you do this, the screen will automatically adjust the orientation. Plus, you do not need to change your grip, or even the orientation of the device. It can all be done without changing your grip. This is not only clever, from a technical standpoint, but it also makes it less likely that you will drop your phone.
The way that this works is quite simple. Typically, camera sensors are at a ratio of 4:3. This means that the sensor is wider than it is tall. This is the most common way to handle things. This is quite useful, but it also limits the framing that can be done, based upon the orientation of the phone. The Center Stage camera changes this in a big way. The sensor is now square, meaning a ratio of 1:1. This provides some significant advantages.
Due to the square sensor, there are now actually four different framing options. One set in portrait and one set in landscape. Along with these two, you can also zoom out to get even more of the background to show. All of this is accomplished by just tapping on the screen to zoom in or out and to switch between landscape and portrait orientation.
The increase in sensor size also means that the actual size of photos can be larger. The new Center Stage Camera is an 18-megapixel sensor. This is an increase from the previous 12-megapixel sensor in the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The last change is related to video, in that videos using the Center Stage Camera are now ultra-stabilized. This is very similar to the “Action Mode" with the rear cameras, in that the iPhone will automatically attempt to stabilize the video, even when the camera is being jostled. Of course, there is a limit to this stabilization, but it should work in many instances.
Examples
When I took some example selfies of one of my parents’ dogs and I looked at the resolution, I was a bit confused about why it was not a full 18 megapixels. Then it dawned on me: the pictures are not square, so they are not using the full sensor area. Of course, the Center Stage Camera is only using a portion of the sensor; therefore, the resolution will not always be the full 18 megapixels. Some of the photos, however, are the full 18 megapixels.
For comparison, here is a 12 Megapixel photo on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
One thing I would like to see is Apple add an option for a square image that could utilize the full 18 megapixels. It may not get used that often, but there might be instances where it could be useful.
The new Center Stage camera is a fantastic addition, and being able to quickly switch between landscape and portrait orientation, all without changing your grip, will provide you with the best options to frame your selfie photos. Being able to take selfies is great for many users, but there have also been some enhancements to the rear-facing cameras as well. Let us tackle those now.
Rear Cameras
In 2014, Apple made the biggest change to the iPhone up until that point. They moved away from having a single iPhone screen size, of 3.5 inches or 4 inches, to having two sizes, a 4.7-inch and a 5.5-inch screen. The larger screen size allowed for more room, which Apple used to improve the camera. In 2016, with the introduction of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple differentiated the models in a unique way. The iPhone 6 Plus had a different camera, specifically that model had Optical Image Stabilization, or OIS, whereas the iPhone 6 did not.
Apple would switch between having the same camera in the iPhones to having different cameras, depending on the year. The different cameras that Apple has used have resulted in various zoom levels, 4K recording, and Slo-mo videos, just to name a few enhancements over the years.
In 2019, Apple did something new with the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, they added a third camera, specifically, the ultra-wide camera. This was in addition to the Main and Telephoto lenses already on the iPhone XS and XS Max. The following year, in 2020, Apple started designating the camera system on the newly introduced iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max as the “Pro camera system". The iPhone Pro and Pro Max became the place where Apple put the most advanced camera technology. This makes sense given that they are the most expensive phones that Apple sells. Plus, it is right there in the name, “Pro", meaning professional, although many might argue that the cameras in the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max were not “professional".
In 2020, with the iPhone 12 Pro Max, all three cameras were 12-megapixel sensors. This remained the same with the iPhone 13 Pro Max in 2021. However, in 2022, with the release of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, Apple increased the Main camera from 12 megapixels to 48 megapixels. This increase in resolution not only improved photos overall but also added the ability to have another zoom level. With the iPhone 14 Pro Max having the options of 0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 3x.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max once again added another zoom level, adding 5x. At the same time, it also added the ability to take 24MP images. The iPhone 16 Pro Max increased the resolution of the Ultra-Wide camera from 12 megapixels to 48 megapixels.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max now brings a new camera system, the “48 MP Pro Fusion camera system". This brings all three of the lenses up to 48 megapixels. This increase in the sensor to 48 megapixels also brings another change, another zoom level. The zoom levels for the iPhone 17 Pro Max are now 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x, and 8x.
Here are the specs from Apple’s iPhone 17 Specifications page:
- 48MP Fusion Main: 24 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second‑generation sensor‑shift optical image stabilization, 100% Focus Pixels, support for super‑high‑resolution photos (24MP and 48MP)
- Also enables 12MP optical-quality 2x Telephoto: 48 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second‑generation sensor‑shift optical image stabilization, 100% Focus Pixels
- 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide: 13 mm, ƒ/2.2 aperture and 120° field of view, Hybrid Focus Pixels, super‑high‑resolution photos (48MP)
- 48MP Fusion Telephoto: 100 mm (4x), ƒ/2.8 aperture, Hybrid Focus Pixels, 3D sensor‑shift optical image stabilization and autofocus, tetraprism design
- Also enables 12MP optical-quality 8x Telephoto: 200 mm, ƒ/2.8 aperture, Hybrid Focus Pixels, 3D sensor‑shift optical image stabilization and autofocus, tetraprism design
- 8x optical‑quality zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 16x optical‑quality zoom range
- Digital zoom up to 40x
As you can see, the Main camera handles both the 1x as well as the 2x zoom. The way that the 2x zoom works is by only using 1/4 of the sensor. The same applies for the 4x zoom and 8x zoom, which utilizes the telephoto lens.
There is one last feature of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, dual camera recording.
Dual Camera Recording
There is one last feature that needs to be covered, and that is Dual Recording. Dual Recording, as the name implies, is the ability to record both the front camera and rear cameras simultaneously. There are many situations where some might find this capability useful. Some examples could include at sporting events, video calls with someone, a quick walkthrough on something, or even going through an event via a video call with others who may not be able to be there in person.
Starting a Dual Recording.
To start using Dual Recording, use the following steps:
- Open the Camera app.
- Tap on the “Video" button to switch to the video camera mode.
- Tap on the “Video" button a second time to bring up the options.
- Tap on “Dual Capture".
- Tap on the “Record" button to begin recording.
Once you tap on Dual Capture, a second window will be overlaid on top of the rear camera display. You can move this window to each of the four corners, depending on your needs.
Actions Available in Dual Recording
While dual recording, you will be able to use many of the standard video functions. This includes using the various zoom levels, taking a photo of the screen, and even pausing the recording. Having this ability means that you will be able to get the exact shot you want. There may be instances when a landscape video would be better, and Dual Recording allows this. You will need to rotate your iPhone 17 Pro Max to do this, but both cameras will adjust the videos.
Should you opt to take a photo of the dual-captured video, it will be a 7-megapixel image with the resolution of 2066 × 3672. This is a lower resolution than a photo you take while recording a standard video. Photos taken while using standard video recording are 8 megapixels with a resolution of 2160 × 2840.
Personally, I do not think I will be using this feature that often, given that I hardly ever use the front-facing camera in general, but there are those where this will be very useful. For context, I looked through my photo library and I use the selfie camera so little that out of 44,332 photos in my photo library, 94 are selfies, or 0.002% of my entire library. For comparison, I have 17,718 screenshots in my library. This is approximately 39.96% of my entire library. Therefore, it is quite unlikely that I will use this, but it is likely going to be useful to others.
Truly Professional Camera Features
There are some features of the iPhone 17 Pro Max camera that 100% truly fall into the “professional" category. These are features that are utilized on movie sets, television commercials, or in other professional contexts. Of course, these features can be used by non-professionals, but they are designed with professionals in mind.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max has a couple of professional features. These include Genlock and Apple Pro Log 2.
Genlock
Genlock is a feature where you take multiple video and audio streams and line them all up so that they all match when stitched together. This is particularly useful for live broadcasts or any situation that uses multiple cameras. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max support Genlock for video.
Apple Pro Log 2
In 2023, with the introduction of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple introduced a color profile called “Apple Log". Apple Log is a color profile that is used within post-production. Log captures more highlight information and shadows and provides additional flexibility for choosing the colors that you want for your video.
The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max now support “Log 2", which is the successor to “Log". According to Apple’s Final Cut Camera 2 newsroom post:
Support for Apple Log 2, giving users the ability to record in an even wider color gamut in ProRes or HEVC with iPhone 17 Pro. Users can apply the Log 2 LUT in Final Cut Pro for iPad and Mac to view and edit their footage with the vibrancy of the original scene.
For those that need the capability, it means that the iPhone Pro and Pro Max really are professional-level cameras. That now covers all of the camera features. Let us switch gears to another area: the battery.
Battery
As mentioned above, Apple used the additional space from the physical SIM module and placed some additional battery in it. The size of the battery has gone from 4,685 mAh in the iPhone 16 Pro Max to 5,088 mAh in the iPhone 17 Pro Max. This represents an increase of 8.6%, and it is the first time the battery in an iPhone has gone above 5,000 mAh.
When you combine the extra battery with the power efficiencies of the A19 and iOS 26, Apple claims that the iPhone 17 Pro Max can get up to 39 hours of battery life while watching videos. This compares to 33 hours on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, or an increase of 18.18%. Additionally, while streaming video, the iPhone 16 Pro Max got up to 29 hours of battery life, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max can get up to 35 hours. This represents an 20.6% increase in streaming video time.
Of course, these values from Apple are for video. Video is not always what people end up viewing on their devices. Typically, they check emails, listen to music, post on social media, play some games, and much more.
Charging Limits
In 2023, Apple introduced a new option with the iPhone 15 line: charging limits. When you set a charging limit, the iPhone will not charge past the limit you set. You can choose between 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 100%. With both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I attempted to limit charging to 90%, but I got anxious about not having the battery charge to 100%. ‘’
The reason that someone would want to enable this is to preserve the battery. Batteries degrade over time, and the main cause of degradation is due to heat. By setting a charge limit, you can limit the heat, therefore possibly increase the battery life of your iPhone.
Now, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, I am going to give a try to setting the charge limit to 80%. For what I do, I am never far from a charger, nor do I need the entire battery life. I set the battery limit a couple of hours after, and as of this writing, I have not changed it from 80%.
Setting a battery limit is not the only option you have with iOS 26; there is a new feature: Adaptive Power Mode. Let us dive into that next.
Adaptive Power Mode
Since 2015, with the introduction of iOS 9, Apple has provided a feature called “Low Power Mode". Low Power Mode is designed to extend the battery life of your iPhone by adjusting certain features. The features adjusted include:
- When video streaming and large downloads are happening, 5G does not turn off on iPhone 12 and 13 models. Otherwise, 5G turns off on most devices.
- Auto-Lock: defaults to 30 seconds
- Display brightness is reduced
- Display refresh rate: limited up to 60 Hz on iPhone and iPad models with ProMotion display
- Visual effects: some effects turn off
- iCloud Photos: temporarily paused
- Automatic downloads: turned off
- Email fetch: turned off
- Background app refresh: turned off
You have the option of toggling on and off Low Power Mode. You can also automatically have it be enabled when you reach 20% battery power remaining. This is good in many situations, particularly when you are low on battery, but it is an all-or-nothing setting.
In iOS 26, there is a new feature that takes Low Power Mode a bit further. That feature is called “Adaptive Power Mode". According to Apple, Adaptive Power Mode:
Adaptive Power helps extend your iPhone's battery life when you use it more. It works automatically in the background, so you don't have to manage it. Adaptive Power uses on-device intelligence to predict when you'll need extra battery life based on your recent usage patterns and then adjusts as needed to help your battery last longer that day*. Adaptive Power doesn't manage performance while you use features that require maximum performance, such as when using camera or playing games with Game Mode on.
Utilizing Adaptive Power mode can be useful in many more situations. Adaptive Power is enabled by default in iOS 26 for iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. It can be enabled on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone 16e. When Adaptive Power is enabled, it can perform the following:
- Make performance adjustments
- Lower screen brightness by 3%
- Limit background activity
- Turn on Low Power Mode when your battery reaches 20%.
Adaptive Power can possibly extend your battery life by automatically adjusting items on your behalf. You can also get notifications for when it is enabled. There is one last power-related feature for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and that is related to fast charging.
Fast Charging
In 2017, with the introduction of the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and iPhone X, Apple introduced a new feature called “Fast Charging". Fast Charging, as the name implies, is a means of being able to charge a meaningful percentage of your battery in a relatively short amount of time. Being able to fast charge a device means that you will likely be able to make it through the rest of the day, or at least until you get to a charger to charge even more.
When Apple introduced the feature, the rates were quoted as “charging up to 50% in 30 minutes with a 20-watt adapter". This is not a bad percentage at all. If you have a half-hour, you can get half your battery charged. The iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro Max, and iPhone 15 Pro Max were able to achieve 50% in 35 minutes. Still a reasonable rate given the larger batteries in these devices. Last year, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, Apple added the ability to fast charge in 35 minutes with the MagSafe adapter and a 30-watt, or larger power adapter.
The iPhone 17 takes this even further. The iPhone 17 Pro Max can charge up to 50% in 30 minutes with a 30-watt adapter and a MagSafe adapter. This is a slight improvement, but that’s not all. Now, the iPhone 17 can charge up to 50% in 20 minutes, with a 40-watt adapter and a USB-C cable. The reason for the discrepancy is because you get better power efficiency when using a cable versus using magnetic charging.
The ability to charge your iPhone up to 50% in 20 minutes can be quite useful should you need to charge your iPhone in a short amount of time.
This concludes all of the features of the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Now, let us move onto the obligatory benchmarks.
Obligatory Benchmarks
One of the things that I always include in my reviews, when appropriate, is a benchmark comparison. I do not purport these to be a definitive representation of real-world experience, but to provide a comparison of comparable devices. Benchmarks can provide a decent comparison for each of the devices, and in particular the generational comparison of each.
If you look at each of my reviews from year to year, you may notice that the devices change over time. The reason for this is that the benchmarks below are for devices that I have on hand, at the time of the review. All of these devices are Apple Silicon devices, spanning from 2020 to 2025.
Note:These benchmarks have been done using the Geekbench 6.5.0 on each of the devices below.
| Device | Chip | CPU Single Core | CPU Multi-Core | GPU (Metal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17 Pro Max (2025) | A19 Pro | 3781 | 9656 | 45958 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2024) | M4 | 3652 | 13475 | 55657 |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max (2024) | A18 Pro | 3489 | 8596 | 31971 |
| 14-inch MacBook Pro (2023) | M2 Max | 2738 | 15171 | 130513 |
| Mac Studio (2022) | M1 Max | 2401 | 12528 | 103804 |
| 6th generation iPad (2021) | A15 Bionic | 2182 | 5533 | 20331 |
| Mac mini (2020) | M1 | 2405 | 8601 | 34422 |
As suspected, the A19 Pro is the fastest in terms of single-core processing. When you compare the iPhone 17 Pro Max to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, you see a modest 11.6% increase in CPU, 14.4% in multi-core performance, and a whopping 31.4% increase in GPU performance. This last one should not be all that surprising because the Neural Accelerators will definitely add to that increase.
Comparing the iPhone 17 Pro Max to the M4 iPad Pro, the single-core performance on the iPhone 17 Pro Max is 3.3% faster, but 37.2% slower in multi-core and 21.1% slower in GPU performance. This actually makes sense because of the architecture difference between the two. Of course, the iPhone 17 Pro Max cannot even come close to the multi-core score for any of the M-Series Max chips, but that is to be expected given that the M-Series Max chips are designed for extensive multi-core tasks.
The most surprising, to me anyway, is that the A19 Pro outperforms the M1 Mac mini, across all metrics. This shows just how far Apple has come in just 5 years of Apple Silicon. CPU and GPU benchmarks are just one type of benchmark. There is a second benchmark that can be done, and that one is related to artificial intelligence.
One of the latest benchmarking utilities is a tool called Geekbench AI, formerly Geekbench ML. According to Geekbench AI developer Primate Labs, Inc.:
Geekbench AI is a cross-platform AI benchmark that uses real-world machine learning tasks to evaluate AI workload performance. Geekbench AI measures your CPU, GPU, and NPU to determine whether your device is ready for today's and tomorrow's cutting-edge machine learning applications.
This will actually be the second year that I have run these benchmarks. Here are the results of me running the Geekbench AI benchmarks. I did not do the CPU calculations on these devices because while AI can run on the CPU, quite often it is handled by the GPU or Neural Engine.
Note:These benchmarks have been done using the Geekbench AI 1.5.0 on each of the devices below.
| Device | Chip | Neural Engine Single Precision |
Neural Engine Half Precision |
Neural Engine Quantized |
GPU Single Precision |
GPU Half Precision |
GPU Quantized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17 Pro Max (2025) | A19 Pro | 5084 | 36334 | 49548 | 9100 | 16567 | 17172 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2024) | M4 | 4940 | 36290 | 51365 | 10049 | 11867 | 11067 |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max (2024) | A18 Pro | 4559 | 33462 | 44879 | 5948 | 7012 | 6770 |
| 14-inch MacBook Pro (2023) | M2 Max | 4078 | 27808 | 30734 | 14324 | 15738 | 14159 |
| Mac Studio (2022) | M1 Max | 3690 | 15101 | 14882 | 11131 | 12516 | 11743 |
| 6th generation iPad (2021) | A15 Bionic | 3169 | 200006 | 21757 | 3368 | 3519 | 3361 |
| Mac mini (2020) | M1 | 3097 | 15142 | 14737 | 5533 | 6486 | 6009 |
Comparing the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, you can see significant improvements. Neural Engine Single Precision is 12.8% faster, while half-precision is nearly 9% faster, and quantized is 10.8% faster. These are modest gains, but welcome. The big changes are with the GPU.
GPU Single Precision on the iPhone 17 Pro Max is up 55.3%, half-precision is up 236.2%, and quantized is up nearly 258%. These are significant gains. Some of this is related to the efficiencies of the A19 Pro, but a vast majority of this is related to the Neural Accelerators in the GPU within the A19 Pro.
In fact, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is now the fastest device I have in terms of Artificial Intelligence tasks that are run on the GPU.
Closing Thoughts
It might not seem like it, but the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a big upgrade over the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The biggest change is related to the cameras. All three sensors are now 48 megapixels and provide 5 different zoom options: 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x, and 8x.
When you use the front-facing cameras, you will see a number of improvements. The camera is now a Center Stage camera system. The first part of this is that the sensor is now an 18-megapixel camera, instead of the 12 megapixels in the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Because the system is a Center Stage camera, it can track you, so you and others in the frame will always stay in frame, up to a point. This is partially accomplished due to the new square camera sensor, but this has another benefit.
The square camera sensor allows the front-facing camera to add a new trick: taking landscape selfies while still holding your phone in portrait mode. This is done by tapping on the screen. Furthermore, you now have two zoom options for your selfies, so you can make sure everyone can get into the photo.
The two camera systems have a new trick: Dual Recording. Dual Recording will record both cameras at the same time. This means that you can comment or have a conversation while still showing what your rear camera is showing. You still have some options with the rear camera, like zooming in or taking a photo.
While the cameras are a big portion, they are by no means the only changes. The place where the camera modules sit is a portion carved out of the all-new unibody design. This aluminum frame is designed to provide rigidity and house all of the chips needed to power the iPhone 17 Pro Max. One benefit of this new unibody design is the inclusion of the vapor chamber.
The vapor chamber is a welded area that contains de-ionized water and is designed to quickly move heat away from the components to the rest of the device. This should not only reduce heat but should also improve performance due to quicker heat dissipation.
One of those pieces that is housed within the unibody is the A19 Pro. The A19 Pro provides even faster processing across the entire system. The GPU in the A19 Pro now has neural accelerators that will speed up large language model processing on the GPU.
One area of improvement is the battery. All of the iPhone 17 models sold in the United States are eSIMs. This means that there is no physical SIM slot, and Apple has taken this space and put in even more battery. According to Apple, the iPhone 17 Pro Max can get up to 39 hours of video playback. If you do indeed need that much battery power, you can utilize a new feature, Adaptive Power Mode.
Adaptive Power Mode is a new iOS 26 feature that will determine how you use your device and reduce some background processes to provide even more battery power to you. This can include reducing background processing, turning off 5G, and even putting your iPhone into low power mode.
Should you need to top off your iPhone’s battery, you can do so even faster with a 40-watt, or larger, adapter and a USB-C charging cable. Now you can go from 0 to 50% in just 20 minutes using this combination of items. The iPhone 17 Pro Max can also support 25-watt Qi charging, so you can get some additional power there as well.
Overall, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a big update, even over the iPhone 16 Pro Max. If you have an iPhone 14 Pro Max, or any earlier device, upgrading to any of the iPhone 17 line of phones would be a great upgrade. If you, like me, buy a new camera that happens to have phone functionality, then you cannot go wrong with the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
