Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max review: Debatable design, undeniable performance

Greatest Costs At the moment: Apple iPhone 17 Professional Max

Apple flipped the script a bit of with its iPhone launch this 12 months. Normally, we get a daily iPhone mannequin, a Plus and a few new iPhone Professional fashions. This time round, the Plus has been swapped for a brand new tremendous slim iPhone Air and the 2 iPhone 17 Professionals have had a design overhaul. 

That contemporary design is a bit of like Marmite. You would possibly find it irresistible, and most of the people I ask appear to. Or, like me, you would possibly really feel a bit of uneasy in regards to the dual-texture end and miss the modern look of the earlier iPhone Professional. When you’re searching for one of the best of every part Apple has to supply from its smartphones although, the iPhone 17 Professional fashions are it.

With a beginning worth of £1,199 for the iPhone 17 Professional Max nevertheless, and a high worth of £1,999 should you go for the brand new 2TB mannequin, is Apple’s largest and greatest iPhone well worth the cash? I’ve been utilizing it since earlier than it went on sale and that is what I’ve discovered.

Design & Construct

• Aluminium body with glass, IP68 rated
• 231g; 8.75mm thick
• Ceramic Protect 2 entrance, Ceramic Protect again

The Apple iPhone 17 Professional Max seems to be very completely different to its predecessor. Over the previous few weeks, it’s grown on me, although I do suppose it’s a extra masculine and rugged design, and it seems to be as if it already has a case on it. Consequently, it definitely seems extra ‘Professional’ however I personally desire the subtlety and class of the iPhone Air and the common iPhone 17. 

Nonetheless, design is subjective and, as I mentioned at first of this evaluation, nearly everybody I converse to loves its new design. I’m reviewing the Deep Blue iPhone 17 Professional Max right here, however I even have the Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Professional, and that’s positively extra putting.

The Silver mannequin reveals up the dual-material end on the rear probably the most, whereas the Blue does one of the best job of hiding it. Controversially, there’s no black mannequin this 12 months for both the iPhone 17 Professional or the iPhone 17 Professional Max. 

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Apple has additionally switched from the titanium body that you simply’ll discover on the iPhone 16 Professional Max to aluminium. Aluminium makes up the body itself, which has flat edges and properly rounded corners, together with the digicam housing on the rear. There are nonetheless three lenses within the high left nook, however the LiDAR sensor and the flash module have moved to the fitting facet. It’s now very chunky on the high however surprisingly it’s not top-heavy and after I balanced it on my finger, it didn’t tip.

Beneath that full-width digicam housing, which Apple is asking a “Plateau”, is a glass panel that’s considerably color matched however not completely. That’s what creates that dual-texture look, which some will actually like and others would possibly discover a bit of jarring. As with the iPhone 16 Professional, there’s a customisable Motion Button on the top-left edge, which I personally use to launch WhatsApp, whereas the touch-sensitive Digicam Management button is positioned on the underside proper edge. 

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On the iPhone 17 Professional Max particularly, I discover myself utilizing the Digicam Management button commonly because it’s positioned within the good place for my thumb to open the digicam and snap a fast image one-handed. Talking of one-handed, the iPhone 17 Professional Max is not any small system and until you’ve gotten bigger arms, it’s extra snug to make use of with two. It’s heavy as effectively – heavier than final 12 months’s titanium iPhone 16 Professional Max. 

I feel the titanium was extra sturdy – I used my iPhone 16 Professional Max for a 12 months and the body doesn’t actually have a dent in it, regardless of being dropped a number of occasions. The iPhone 17 Professional Max has already picked up a scuff on the body, although fortunately the display screen survived regardless of touchdown at an ungainly angle.

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.9-inch, 120Hz, 2868 x 1320, OLED
• 3000 nits peak brightness
• Stereo audio system

The iPhone 17 Professional Max has a 6.9-inch show and it’s wonderful. It’s a wrestle to succeed in the highest of it when utilizing it with one hand, however it’s fabulous for every part from watching your newest Netflix binge to studying the information. The distinction is nice with inky blacks, brilliant whites and loads of pop from the colors, whereas viewing angles guarantee every part stays wanting good even should you tip your telephone otherwise you’re utilizing it mendacity down. Element is superb too, with crisp textual content and notably sharp app icons and notification bubbles.

The ProMotion expertise makes for a splendidly clean scrolling expertise due to the help for refresh charges as much as 120Hz. Whereas that’s, after all, helpful for gaming, I additionally discover it when studying the information or scrolling by social media. It’s commonplace on each flagship and mid-range telephones, but it surely’s nonetheless refreshing to have (see what I did there?).

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All of that may be mentioned in regards to the iPhone 16 Professional Max, however the place the iPhone 17 Professional Max ups its recreation is its enhanced brightness. Just like the iPhone 17, iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Professional, the iPhone 17 Professional Max encompasses a peak brightness of three,000 nits. It signifies that after I was utilizing this system in a really sunny Hawaii, the bump in brightness was excellent at chopping by reflections. 

There’s higher safety on the iPhone 17 Professional Max too, with Ceramic Protect 2. Apple says that is thrice higher for scratch safety than the earlier Ceramic Protect on the iPhone 16 Professional Max. That’s troublesome to quantify with out getting my keys out, which I’m clearly not going to do, however I can say I’ve but to scratch the display screen in my month of testing, so both the claims are holding up or I deserve a medal. 

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I can’t end this part with out sparing a thought for Dynamic Island. Once more, it’s not new, having launched three years in the past now, but it surely’s a function I’ve actually come to understand over the previous few years. I exploit it commonly when controlling my music whereas doing one thing else on the display screen, or ending calls and timers so. I’m thrilled this function has remained.

When it comes to audio system, there’s no change from the iPhone 16 Professional. You get stereo audio system positioned on both facet of the USB-C port. They’ll’t compete with a good Bluetooth speaker however should you’ve forgotten your headphones and also you need to hearken to a video, voice word or pop a telephone name on speaker, they’ll greater than do the job.

Specs & Efficiency

• Apple A19 Professional
• 12GB RAM
• As much as 2TB storage

Below the hood, the iPhone 17 Professional Max runs Apple’s most superior processor to this point, the A19 Professional. It’s constructed on a 3nm course of and it delivers a clean and constant efficiency. Apps open extremely shortly, switching between numerous duties is not any difficulty and there isn’t a lot as a stutter whether or not gaming or modifying photos. 

Benchmark-wise, it sits beneath the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 that’s set to energy among the upcoming Android flagship telephones however in real-world use, the iPhone 17 Professional Max leaves little to be desired. 

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There’s a vapour chamber inside for the primary time in an iPhone and this definitely appears to assist with warmth dissipation when utilizing it for longer intervals of time. After an hour of gameplay on the iPhone 17 Professional, it was noticeably cooler than my iPhone 16 Professional Max operating the identical recreation. 

Elsewhere on the specs entrance, the iPhone 17 Professional Max comes with 256GB of storage as a place to begin. When you want extra, there’s a 512GB mannequin, a 1TB mannequin and solely for the iPhone 17 Professional Max, a 2TB mannequin too.

I’ve the 2TB mannequin as my evaluation unit however should you’re uncertain how a lot storage you want, I’ve 65,000 photographs, 2,500 movies and 263 apps put in on my telephone and I’ve 1.84TB left. Apple doesn’t specify RAM, however the iPhone 17 Professional Max is believed to have 12GB of RAM. 

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There’s additionally a brand new N1 chip contained in the iPhone 17 Professional Max, which handles wi-fi networking. It helps Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, and it’s designed to enhance the general efficiency and reliability in issues like utilizing AirDrop with different workloads or utilizing a number of purchasers linked to your iPhone hotspot. I can’t say I observed a distinction from the iPhone 16 Professional Max, however importantly, I’ve had no networking issues both.

iPhone 17 Professional Max benchmarks

Cameras

• 48Mp primary, f/1.78 sensor
• 48Mp ultra-wide, f/2.2 sensor
• 48Mp telephoto, f/1.78 sensor
• 18Mp, f/1.9 entrance digicam with Centre Stage

The iPhone 17 Professional Max has a triple rear digicam system made up of a 48-megapixel primary sensor, 48-megapixel extremely huge sensor and a 48-megapixel telephoto sensor.

The iPhone Professional fashions have all the time been famend for his or her photograph and video talents and the newest iPhone 17 Professional Max follows go well with. Photos taken by all three lenses are excellent, with glorious color accuracy and consistency throughout them, together with beautiful element.

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You’ll get spectacular photographs in each good lighting and low lighting too, with the iPhone 17 Professional Max delivering the identical level and shoot method iPhone has lengthy been identified for. It’s actually troublesome to take a nasty photograph so, whether or not you’re trying to take a photograph of your canine, your youngsters, or a panorama image of a beautiful sundown, it’s simply executed right here. I

f you’re extra of a seasoned photographer, there’s a lot for you too, with eight focal lenses to flick between, from Macro to 200mm. The photographs produced are 24-megapixel by default, although should you do need the complete 48-megapixel decision, you possibly can change this in settings.

The 8x optical zoom on the iPhone 17 Professional Max is good too, permitting you to get that little bit nearer to a topic than you might earlier than. Element is superb and it’s good for capturing one thing like a landmark a bit of additional away. 

The entrance digicam has additionally been improved for the iPhone 17 Professional Max, with an 18-megapixel sensor that includes the identical Centre Stage expertise you’ll discover on the iPad and MacBook. That expertise means you keep within the body in selfies and video calls even should you transfer round. The framing will adapt robotically if extra folks be a part of as effectively. 

What’s extra spectacular nevertheless, is the sq. sensor that means that you can take a horizontal or vertical selfie with out rotating your telephone. As a substitute, there are buttons on the backside of the viewfinder when utilizing the entrance digicam that let you toggle between orientations.

It leads to a lot better selfies general, not simply when it comes to element from the improved decision however as a result of everybody is aware of precisely the place to look. 

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Elsewhere, when in video mode, the entrance digicam and rear digicam may report concurrently utilizing a brand new Twin Seize function. This works effectively in use and is nice for issues like sports activities occasions or concert events the place you need to movie your response alongside what’s occurring.

Battery Life & Charging 

• As much as 37 hours
• 40W wired charging
• 20W wi-fi charging help

The iPhone Professional Max has all the time been the iPhone to select should you’re after one of the best iPhone battery life, though I’ve all the time thought the common iPhone Plus mannequin was the silent killer on this division. That’s not an possibility this 12 months so fortunately the iPhone 17 Professional Max does a sterling job, as its predecessors did earlier than. 

Apple claims that this mannequin will final for 37 hours of video playback and, whereas I don’t have time to observe video for practically 40 hours to check it, I can attest to the truth that this telephone will see you thru a day and night with none drama. I begin my days round 6am and I put my telephone again on cost round midnight and I didn’t finish any day with beneath 20 per cent.

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Battery life is, after all, user-dependant however throughout evaluation intervals, I’d say {that a} telephone is used greater than normal: there’s digicam testing, operating benchmarks and attempting out the varied new options. I’d think about that almost all customers could be okay to go away charging their iPhone 17 Professional Max till the following morning.

Talking of charging, Apple nonetheless hasn’t upped charging speeds to match the likes of OnePlus or Xiaomi, however the iPhone 17 Professional Max does have sooner wi-fi charging and sooner wired charging. With a 40W adapter, you may get 50 per cent cost in 20 minutes, which will definitely be sufficient to get you a cab residence on the finish of the night time.

As has been the case for a number of years now, the telephone not comes with a charging adapter, so that you’ll must supply your personal. There’s additionally help for 20W wi-fi charging, or 30W MagSafe charging.

Software program & Apps

• iOS 26
• Normally 7 years of software program updates

The Apple iPhone 17 Professional Max runs on iOS 26, which brings with it a number of new options, in addition to most likely the most important software program design shake-up since iOS 7. The redesign is named Liquid Glass and it sees extra translucent icons, apps and menu bars which were created to imitate layers of glass, although it isn’t unique to the iPhone 17 Professional Max.

All the opposite newest iPhone fashions additionally run iOS 26, as do older iPhone fashions way back to the iPhone 11. Interplay with the interface is extra fluid and it seems to be a bit of like operating a magnifying glass over textual content.

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Alongside the brand new design, iOS 26 brings numerous new options, from the power to vary your alarm snooze length (a private favorite of mine), to a redesigned Telephone app and a simplified Digicam app. It’s also possible to add backgrounds to Messages, there’s a brand new Video games app and there are options similar to Auto Combine within the Apple Music app, which mixes one music into the following so there’s no pause in your music. 

There are some Apple Intelligence options too, similar to clever actions in Shortcuts to create higher automations and Visible Intelligence for assist understanding what’s in your display screen. This implies you possibly can screenshot an occasion and Visible Intelligence will detect the date and ask if you wish to add it to your calendar, which you are able to do with a single faucet.

All of it works effectively sufficient and whereas we’re nonetheless ready on the smarter Siri to compete with the likes of Gemini Reside, the software program expertise on the iPhone 17 Professional Max is, general, an incredible one.

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There are a selection of native apps preinstalled, however you possibly can ditch any that you simply don’t need and substitute them with others do you have to want. I’d advocate sticking with Apple’s personal apps the place you possibly can. Most of the new software program options apply on to these native apps, so that you’ll get a greater expertise.

Apple doesn’t specify how lengthy its software program help will final, however it’s normally round seven years. The iPhone 17 Professional Max ought to see you thru until 2030 and past.

Worth & Availability 

The Apple iPhone 17 Professional Max was introduced on 9 September and went on sale on 19 September. It is available in three color choices of Silver, Deep Blue and Cosmic Orange and 4 storage choices of 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB, with costs beginning at £1,199. The 512GB mannequin prices £1,399; the 1TB prices £1,599; and the 2TB mannequin prices £1,999. 

It’s that can be purchased from numerous retailers, together with Apple itself, Amazon, Very and networks including EE and Vodafone.

Within the US, costs begin from $1,199 for 256GB of storage and you should buy from numerous retailers together with Apple itself.

Must you purchase the Apple iPhone 17 Professional Max?

The Apple iPhone 17 Professional Max is an outstanding telephone that leaves me little or no to complain about. The twin-texture design won’t be to everybody’s style and the Max is giant and heavy, whereas the aluminium doesn’t really feel as sturdy as final 12 months’s titanium body. However that’s just about it.

The iPhone 17 Professional Max has a superb show, efficiency is excellent, whereas the entrance and rear cameras are incredible. The battery life is excellent too, lasting a day and night with out a difficulty. 

It’s costly, after all, however should you’re contemplating the iPhone 17 Professional Max, you already know that. It’s the most important and greatest iPhone Apple has to supply and whereas the smaller iPhone 17 Professional has critical competitors from the common iPhone 17 this 12 months, nothing in Apple’s line-up can compete with the iPhone 17 Professional Max, and that features the thin iPhone Air.

Specs

• iOS 26
• 6.9-inch, 1-120Hz LTPO AMOLED show  
• Apple A19 Professional 
• 12GB RAM  
• 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB storage  
• 48Mp, f/1.78, OIS primary digicam  
• 48Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digicam  
• 48Mp, f/1.78 telephoto digicam  
• 18Mp, f/1.9, selfie digicam
• As much as 37 hours battery 
• 40W wired charging  
• 20W wi-fi charging 
• Stereo audio system  
• IP68 water and dirt resistance  
• Ceramic Protect again 
• Ceramic Protect 2 entrance
• 5G  
• 163.4 x 78 x 8.75 mm 
• 231g