The iPhone 17 Professional Max has a brand new design, main digital camera upgrades, a great deal of energy, a vapor chamber, and among the finest battery life you may discover in a cellphone, although the display screen hasn’t been modified a lot.
Execs
- Helpful digital camera upgrades
- A vapor chamber
- Excellent battery life
Cons
- Little change to the display screen
- New design could possibly be divisive
- Larger and heavier than iPhone 16 Professional Max
The iPhone 16 Professional Max stays an excellent smartphone, with extra energy than most customers will want and good all-round specs. However its cameras, efficiency, and battery life cannot match that of the iPhone 17 Professional Max.
Execs
- Iconic design
- Very highly effective
- Nice display screen
Cons
- Solely a 12MP telephoto digital camera
- No vapor chamber
- No 2TB mannequin
iPhones do not at all times get large upgrades over their predecessors, however Apple has actually shaken issues up this yr, making among the largest adjustments to the lineup in a very long time.
Positive, there aren’t any new buttons this time round, however the iPhone 17 Pro Max has had a visible overhaul from the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and there are even greater adjustments behind the scenes.
So is the iPhone 17 Pro Max worth upgrading to? Or should you stick with the iPhone 16 Pro Max? Below, we’ll take a closer look at how these two phones compare, to help you make that decision.
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: specs comparison
You’ll find a detailed look at the specs and features of these phones below – along with their prices – but first, here’s just a brief overview of their specs sheets, so you can see how they compare at a glance.
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
iPhone 17 Pro Max |
iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|---|
|
Dimensions and weight: |
163.4 x 78 x 8.8mm, 233g |
163 x 77.6 x 8.3mm, 227g |
|
Display: |
6.9-inch 120Hz |
6.9-inch 120Hz |
|
Peak brightness: |
3,000 nits |
2,000 nits |
|
Chipset: |
A19 Pro |
A18 Pro |
|
RAM: |
12GB |
8GB |
|
Rear cameras: |
48MP wide, 48MP ultra-wide, 48MP telephoto |
48MP wide, 48MP ultra-wide, 12MP telephoto |
|
Front camera: |
18MP |
12MP |
|
Battery: |
5,088mAh / 4,832mAh |
4,685mAh |
|
Storage: |
256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB |
256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: price and availability
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The iPhone 17 Pro Max was available from September 19, though at the time of writing you might be waiting longer than that, as it’s in high demand.
The iPhone 16 Professional Max, in the meantime, launched in September of 2024, however Apple has now discontinued it, so you possibly can’t purchase it from Apple direct. Shopping for it new from retailers remains to be attainable proper now, but it surely may develop into more and more tough over the following few months except you are pleased to have a look at pre-owned or refurbished items.
As for the associated fee, the iPhone 17 Professional Max begins at $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,149, for which you get 256GB of storage. You too can pay $1,399 / £1,399 / AU$2,599 for 512GB of storage, $1,599 / £1,599 / AU$2,999 for 1TB of storage, or $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,799 for 2TB of storage.
The iPhone 16 Professional Max begins at $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,149, which once more will get you 256GB of storage. So the beginning worth is equivalent – although in observe chances are you’ll properly have the ability to discover the iPhone 16 Professional Max for much less, if you could find it new in any respect.
In the event you transfer up the value brackets then the iPhone 16 Professional Max’s pricing stays equivalent to that of the iPhone 17 Professional Max, outdoors Australia no less than, the place the brand new cellphone is barely dearer. Although word that the iPhone 16 Professional Max tops out at 1TB of storage, so you possibly can’t get a 2TB mannequin.
Winner: tie – except you could find the 16 Professional Max for much less (or already personal it!)
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: design
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The most obvious difference between these phones is their designs, as the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a redesigned back. Here, you get a large camera bump running across the width of the rear, while on the iPhone 16 Pro Max there’s a smaller camera housing in the top-left corner.
The top half of the rear and the sides of the iPhone 17 Pro Max are aluminum, with a glass panel on the bottom half of the back – whereas the whole rear of the iPhone 16 Pro Max is glass, and its sides are titanium.
From the front, though, the two phones look far more similar, as they both have a flat screen with a Dynamic Island at the top. Both phones also have an Action button and a Camera Control key.
Their weights and dimensions do differ, though, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max coming in at 163.4 x 78 x 8.8mm and 233g, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 163 x 77.6 x 8.3mm and 227g. So Apple’s newer phone is slightly taller, wider, thicker, and heavier.
The colors also differ, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max being sold in Silver, Cosmic Orange, and Deep Blue shades, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max is available in Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium.
Some less visible design elements include their water and dust resistance, with both phones having an IP68 rating, and the protection on their screens, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max using Ceramic Shield while the iPhone 17 Pro Max uses Ceramic Shield 2 – which is said to offer three times better scratch resistance.
These are both good looking phones and it will be subjective which you prefer, with our iPhone 17 Pro Max review describing it as having “a recent, presumably divisive look” and our iPhone 16 Pro Max review praising its “iconic design with glorious supplies.”
Nonetheless, whereas the seems themselves are down to private desire, the advance in scratch-resistance alone offers the brand new cellphone a slight benefit right here.
Winner: iPhone 17 Professional Max
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: display
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The iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max both have 6.9-inch 1320 x 2868 OLED screens with a 120Hz refresh charge and 460 pixels per inch decision.
Each have a Dynamic Island, each assist always-on show, and each have a 2,000,000:1 distinction ratio. So there’s actually little or no to decide on between them on this entrance.
Nonetheless, they’re not fairly equivalent. You see, whereas the iPhone 16 Professional Max’s peak out of doors brightness is 2,000 nits, the iPhone 17 Professional Max will increase that to three,000 nits. On prime of that, the iPhone 17 Professional Max additionally has a brand new anti-reflective coating on its display screen.
The result’s that the newer cellphone’s show ought to look much less washed out in vivid daylight, and will decide up fewer reflections.
There hasn’t been a lot in the way in which of display screen upgrades in any other case, however that’s okay – as a result of they weren’t actually wanted. As our iPhone 17 Professional Max evaluate has it “pictures pop and blacks are as inky and darkish as you’ll hope they’d be”.
Winner: iPhone 17 Professional Max
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: cameras
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While the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s screen hasn’t had many upgrades, its cameras certainly have. This phone has a 48 MP f/1.6 main camera (also capable of optical-quality 2x zoom photos), a 48MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree field of view, and a 48MP f/2.8 telephoto camera capable of 4x optical zoom or 8x optical-quality zoom. Where we mention ‘optical-quality’, that’s achieved by cropping into the sensor.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max also has an 18MP f/1.9 front-facing camera with a new Center Stage feature that will rotate between portrait or landscape shots as needed, without you having to change the angle you hold the phone at.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max has similar 48MP main and ultra-wide cameras, but its telephoto snapper is just 12MP, and can only take photos at 5x optical zoom. Its selfie camera is also just 12MP, and lacks the Center Stage feature. But both phones can record video in up to 4K high quality at as much as 120fps.
So the iPhone 17 Professional Max is a considerable improve by way of its telephoto and front-facing cameras, and our evaluate described this as “Apple’s finest digital camera array ever”. The iPhone 16 Professional Max isn’t any slouch right here both, after all, with our evaluate of that saying it has “an important array of lenses” – however the 17 Professional Max does beat it general.
Winner: iPhone 17 Professional Max
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: performance and software
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You’d expect a new iPhone to be more powerful than an older one, and such is the case here, but the upgrades are actually even greater than usual.
First, there’s the bit you’d expect: the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a new A19 Pro chipset, in place of the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s A18 Pro. This provides the generational upgrade in performance you’d expect, but the iPhone 17 Pro Max also has more RAM, with 12GB rather than 8GB, and it features a vapor chamber which helps keep it cool – thereby allowing it to sustain peak performance for longer.
So the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a seriously powerful handset, with our review describing it as “fast and effective in every scenario”. That said, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is still a very powerful phone even a year on from launch, so unless you have really high-end performance demands, you might not notice much difference.
You shouldn’t notice any difference in the software, either, as both of these phones run iOS 26 – although the iPhone 17 Professional Max will most likely obtain software program updates for one yr longer than the iPhone 16 Professional Max now will.
Winner: iPhone 17 Professional Max
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: battery
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While Apple doesn’t detail the capacity of its phones’ batteries, certifications have revealed that the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a 5,088mAh cell in the US and a 4,832mAh one elsewhere. The difference is because the phone is eSIM-only in the US, so there’s space for a larger battery.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, meanwhile, has a 4,685mAh battery wherever you buy it, so it’s a lower capacity, and that translates to worse life.
Apple claims the iPhone 17 Pro Max will last for up to 37 hours of video playback between charges, while the figure for the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 33 hours.
Our own tests similarly found that the new model lasts longer, and it charges faster too, with a 40W or higher charger able to juice it to 50% in around 20 minutes, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max will take around 35 minutes to reach the same level of charge.
But while the iPhone 17 Pro Max is the clear winner for battery life, the iPhone 16 Pro Max still has many phones beat, so neither handset should disappoint on this front.
Winner: iPhone 17 Pro Max
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: verdict
This may not be a huge surprise, but the iPhone 17 Pro Max is an upgrade over the iPhone 16 Pro Max in every category above other than price, with everything from its chipset to its RAM, its cameras, its screen brightness, and its battery life all improved over the previous model. Plus there’s the new vapor chamber, which should improve performance.
The display hasn’t been massively upgraded, admittedly, and the new design could prove divisive, but in most ways the new model is a better phone, and Apple hasn’t even had to raise the price to achieve this.
Whether it’s worth buying if you already have the iPhone 16 Pro Max is more debatable, and you might want to read our full iPhone 17 Pro Max review earlier than deciding. However of the 2 it’s clearly the higher cellphone, and when you’re rocking a handset that’s just a few years previous then upgrading to the iPhone 17 Professional Max ought to make an evening and day distinction.
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