Here's a deep dive into Apple's boldest Pro smartphone in years, where I answer whether the 17 Pro Max is worth the upgrade in 2025.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max comes in three colours - Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue, and Silver
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
Well, it's that time of year when we get a new set of iPhones, and Apple has made 2025 a year when it has truly brought its boldest devices yet. I will be jumping to the iPhone Air, which is a sneak peek into Apple's future devices in a few days, and will also be pushing the 17 review soon, where I will cover why it looks like the greatest upgrade ever for the base iPhones. But, in this review, I will be talking about the iPhone 17 Pro Max in depth, so stick around if you're someone who's still confused whether you should upgrade or not to the latest Pro models.
First things first, the iPhone 17 Pro Max price in India has got a bump this year compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max launch prices. For comparison, the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max prices started at Rs. 119,900 and Rs. 144,900, respectively, at launch. On the other hand, Apple launched the iPhone 17 Pro at Rs. 134,900 and the 17 Pro Max at Rs. 149,900.
In terms of upgrades, there are far too many this year, starting with the design that was due for a refresh for years now. I will cover them one by one, so let's get started.
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max sport an aluminium unibody body
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
The iPhone 17 Pro Max (and 17 Pro) receives a bold redesign we've been waiting for years. Why? Well, the answer is simple: the triple rear camera deco on the Pro models has been the same since the iPhone 11 was released in 2019. Yes, it got several facelifts, but more or less, it remained the same triple camera setup we have been seeing for over five years.
The rear is where all the changes are visible. An all-new camera deco now sits on a camera platform, featuring the LiDAR scanner and LED flash at one end and the triple camera setup on the other. Then, there's a glass housing located at the back, positioned just below the camera housing.
At 231 grams, the 17 Pro Max is heavier than the 16 Pro Max (227 grams)
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
The rear design flow is very unusual for Apple, where you have aluminium, glass, and then aluminium again. For years, Apple has been renowned for its seamless design and intuitive flows. This year, Apple breaks that trend, and personally, I prefer the 17 Pro Max design over the 16 Pro Max for two simple reasons: it looks different, and I like the matte aluminium chassis across the frame. It is less slippery than the 16 Pro Max and 15 Pro Max.
The build has also undergone changes after several generations, which means that nothing will be the same for Pro models - for better or worse - is something to be seen.
The phone gets USB 3.0 support
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
Apple, after hyping titanium frames on the 15 Pro and 16 Pro models, has switched back to aluminium, and this news took some time to sink in. Apple's website says, "Aluminium alloy is remarkably light and has exceptional thermal conductivity."
The forged aluminium unibody design looks good and feels solid in the hands. What Apple has done is laser-weld a vapour chamber to the aluminium unibody structure, allowing it to efficiently move heat away from the A19 Pro chip. Yes, and that brings us to the next big addition to the Pro models - the vapour chamber. Considering the iPhone 16 Pro Max throttles in intensive tasks and gets hot, the new addition should help the 17 Pro models to cool down quickly. It is good to see Apple taking steps to improve the thermal management on its Pro models. This should work out great for gamers, and we'll cover that aspect sometime.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max ditches the titanium or steel build in favour of aluminium
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
Apple has also enhanced the front glass protection, utilising the Ceramic Shield 2, which it claims offers 3x better scratch resistance. The back of the device also receives the Ceramic Shield. Again, a minor but worthwhile upgrade over the 16 Pro models. At 8.75mm, the 17 Pro Max is thick and heavy at 231 grams. Compared to the 17 Pro Max, the 16 Pro Max measured 8.25mm and weighed 227 grams. This makes the iPhone 17 Pro Max the heaviest among smartphones available in the Indian market, even surpassing the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (218 grams) and Xiaomi 15 Ultra (226 grams). The 17 Pro Max retains the IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. Overall, the design this year is slightly curvy, which sits nicely in the hands, unlike the 16 Pro Max, which had a flat design.
The 17 Pro Max gets the same Dynamic Island as seen on the 16 Pro models
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
With Cosmic Orange as the flagship colour, Apple has really pushed the envelope on colour choices this year. The Pro models over the years have all come in muted colours, but Apple this year went aggressive, and the Cosmic Orange is the biggest example. While I don't have any data on which colour was the most popular this year, orange has somehow turned out to be one that people have widely liked - something I observed when I visited the physical Apple store in Saket here in New Delhi.
The refreshed rear camera deco is the biggest highlight of the 17 Pro models
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
The craze for a colour variant is completely unreal and tells you something about Apple that it can pull such tricks out of its hat whenever needed. The other two colours are Deep Blue and Silver. I haven't liked the Cosmic Orange as it is too flashy, while Deep Blue isn't great, as early adopters have shared on social that scratches are most visible in the Blue variant only. I went with Silver, and it looks stunning with a mix of Silver and white (on the glass), and this is one colour you can stick to if you plan to keep the device for a few years, and that can hide scratches (if it manages to pick a few) and looks classy at the same time.
The 6.9-inch screen dominates the front, but what truly impresses is the thin bezels surrounding it. The 17 Pro Max packs thinner bezels than its predecessor. The Dynamic Island remains at the front and hasn't received any cosmetic updates this year. The selfie camera has undergone a massive upgrade, and we will discuss the 18-megapixel selfie camera in more detail shortly.
The iPhone 17 series runs iOS 26 out of the box
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
I won't be wrong in saying that for Apple, the iPhone 17 Pro models are the biggest design refresh since iPhone X.
Jumping to the display. At 6.9 inches, the iPhone 17 Pro Max features the same screen size as the 16 Pro Max. Even the display spec hasn't changed. The new Pro model uses the Super Retina XDR OLED display and a 1320x2868-pixel screen resolution. Furthermore, it features ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates of up to 120Hz, an always-on display, HDR support, and a peak brightness of 3000nits. The Ceramic Shield 2 features an anti-reflective coating that enhances sunlight legibility compared to the 16 Pro Max. With a peak brightness bump, the 17 Pro Max sports the brightest iPhone display yet. The display has rounded corners that follow a beautiful curved design.
Apple says that it switched to aluminium to maximise performance, battery capacity and durability
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
The 17 Pro Max boasts one of the best displays yet, and a significant portion of the credit goes to the protection it receives, along with an anti-reflective coating on top. It is an excellent display for your multimedia needs and gaming, producing crisp colours and sharp text. It is indeed the best I have seen from Apple yet.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is powered by Apple's all-new A19 Pro chip, which currently sits at the top of the company's silicon lineup, powering iPhones. The six-core CPU features two performance cores and four efficiency cores, and also boasts a six-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, a 16-core Neural Engine, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The company has added a vapour chamber to the chassis, which has been laser-welded to the aluminium unibody structure to efficiently dissipate heat away from the chip, allowing for even higher sustained performance. Long story short, if you're into gaming, then the iPhone 17 Pro Max is the phone you should pick.
The iPhone 17 Pro models are the first iPhones to get a vapour chamber
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
I tried a few AAA titles on the 17 Pro Max to see how well it handles games and whether the vapour chamber can do what it's supposed to. I started with GRID Legends, which ran smoothly, and I noticed that the frame rates were mostly stable throughout the approximately one-hour gaming session. Next up, I tried Resident Evil 4, and the way the device handles it is absolutely fabulous. Lastly, I also played Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Mirage, and the 17 Pro Max manages to handle it efficiently despite the upscaling it performs. The best thing is that the vapour chamber and aluminium body never felt as hot to hold as the 16 Pro Max. In terms of gaming, the A19 Pro chip is a major leap for Apple.
It features 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and offers multiple storage options for consumers to choose from, ranging from 256GB to 2TB.
The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max pack an A19 Pro chip under the hood
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
In everyday tasks, you won't be able to see any major advances that the 17 Pro Max brings over its predecessor. It is snappy for opening apps and switching between them. It can handle image and video edits with ease. During the review, I threw a lot at the 17 Pro Max, but the device handles it all with ease and without stress. We ran our standard benchmark suite, and the results are presented below, comparing them to the 16 Pro Max and 15 Pro Max.
| Benchmarks | iPhone 17 Pro Max | iPhone 16 Pro Max | iPhone 15 Pro Max |
| AnTuTu | 239,5000 | 158,7059 | 134,5846 |
| GFX Bench Car Chase | 60fps | 59fps | 59fps |
| GFX Bench Manhattan 3.1 | 60fps | 59.7fps | 60fps |
| GFX Bench T-Rex | 60fps | 59.4fps | 59.99fps |
| 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme | 4277 | 2788 | 2749 |
| 3D Mark Wild Life | Maxed Out | 8942 | 8803 |
| Geekbench 6 | 3484 (single) & 9080 (multi) | 3203 (single) & 7846 (multi) | 2704 (single) & 6478 (multi) |
Call quality is absolutely crisp, and it can latch onto 5G networks even in areas where I noticed devices like the Pixel 10 Pro XL struggling. Talking about 5G download speeds, the iPhone 17 Pro Max can manage quick downloads, and I recently tested this with both Airtel and Jio networks, where I downloaded some movies and episodes of a few shows on the mobile network, and the speeds were consistent, so no complaints in this department, too. For connectivity, the 17 Pro Max features Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support.
The iPhones usually come with the best haptic motors in the industry, and the 17 Pro Max is no exception. I loved the haptic feedback on the phone and had a pleasant time editing long features and reviews on the device while on the go.
The iPhone 17 series sports Liquid Glass that reflects and refracts what's beneath it in real-time
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
The stereo speakers on the 17 Pro Max are loud and offer a balanced output. During my testing, the speakers provided sufficient bass and remained clear for most songs. The speakers complement the stunning display, making this one great for multimedia usage.
Apple's iOS 26 is touted as the biggest iOS update in years, and the new iPhone 17 series, along with Air, runs it out of the box. Of course, the Liquid Glass interface feels fresh, but it will take some time to get used to it. It feels beautiful, and animations are buttery smooth.
The Liquid Glass brings an expressive new design to the overall UI, but you will use it most prominently on your Lock Screen, Home Screen, and Control Centre. This is where all the "get used to" with the new UI will happen the most. On the lock screen with iOS 26, the time dynamically adapts to your photo wallpaper and notifications, keeping your subject in view. When you move your iPhone, your photo comes to life with a new 3D effect. The Search tab, available across apps like Safari and more, is now placed at the bottom for easier access.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max gets Apple Intelligence suite of AI features like Visual Intelligence, Live Translation, Clean UP, Genmoji, and Writing Tools
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
The updated app icons also get the glass treatment, along with colour-tinted looks that you can add. On several apps, including Slack, YouTube Music, and the App Store, among others, the dynamic controls are now placed on top of the Liquid Glass design, which reflects and refracts the surroundings and fluidly morphs to bring more focus to your content. The Dialer app gets an all-new Call screening function that automatically answers unknown callers without interrupting you. Interestingly, once the caller shares their name and the reason for their call, your phone rings, and you can decide whether to pick up. Well, this was the first iOS 26 feature that I disabled on my phone, as I believe it is still not custom-made for Indian users.
The Messages app has now been segregated to show messages from known contacts, unknown senders, transactions, promotions, spam and the recently deleted folder. Of course, I also switched off message filtering, as it started pushing OTP texts out of the default view, making it a few taps away to access OTPs during crucial transactions, which was unnecessary. Notably, you can now add a background to your conversations in Messages, a new feature introduced in iOS 26.
The phone gets Ceramic Shield 2 at the front, while it sports Ceramic Shield at the back for protection from scratches
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
You also get an all-new Games app, which consolidates everything related to gaming apps in one place - a neat addition. The Photos app has received yet another update in the layout, dividing Library and Collections as two main tabs. There are also some minor upgrades, such as the Clock app, which allows you to snooze for a duration between 1 and 15 minutes, a feature that was not previously available.
On the Apple Intelligence front, Apple has integrated its AI into more places to get more things done. As before, Live Translation automatically translates texts in the Messages app, and the feature also displays live translated captions in FaceTime and provides spoken translations for calls in the Phone app. However, this feature is available only in select languages. With Visual Intelligence, the device can now search across the most used apps and can add an event to your calendar. Even when you take a screenshot, Visual Intelligence, an alternative to Circle to Search on iPhones, picks up what's on the screen and even provides some contextual questions. For those who want to try the Apple Music app, the company is giving a three-month free trial with every iPhone 17 and Air models.
The phone gets the Action button and Camera Control physical buttons
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
Overall, iOS 26 is a massive upgrade for Apple devices and is much more than just a cosmetic update that we saw on iOS 18. Of course, Apple still lags behind the competition in the AI race and in how well it is integrated into the system.
The camera department is one where Apple has always focused, and it has given us devices like the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max, among others, that consistently deliver. The iPhone 17 Pro Max takes it one notch above and how!
It gets a new telephoto camera alongside the new Centre Stage selfie camera at the front. Upgrades-wise, the iPhone 17 Pro Max (17 Pro) is the first Pro model to get all rear cameras with equal resolution - 48 megapixels. Apple has finally refreshed the camera UI with iOS 26, and it isn't the familiar one we have seen for years. The main camera interface now features Photos and Videos mode at the top, while other modes are not visible upfront and appear when swiping left or right on the screen. Some camera toggles are located at the top right corner for easy access. There's still the physical Camera Control button to pretty much make the 17 Pro Max the point-and-shoot camera.
Apple gets a 48-megapixel Fusion camera on all three rear lenses
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
Jumping straight to the real-world tests, the primary camera on the 17 Pro Max is as good as the one I tested on the 16 Pro Max. You get crisp photos with a fantastic level of detail and fine textures captured effortlessly. The colours are natural, and even the skin tones are amazing. The wide dynamic range is the best I have seen in phones tested this year.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Daylight Camera Samples (Tap images to expand)
The 17 Pro Max is a capable smartphone for your macro shots and uses the ultra-wide camera to capture scenes. The detail is good, while the colour rendering is also perfect. You can see in the samples below how well the device captures the water droplets on the flower. Fantastic level of detail captured.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Close-up Camera Samples (Tap images to expand)
The new Pro models of iPhones can also capture some good portraits, with natural skin tones and a high level of detail on the face. I really liked the subject isolation and background blur. It is concise and never overstates blur. Compared to a 1x focal length for portraits, the 17 Pro Max manages to capture far more details in 2x.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Portrait Camera Sample (Tap image to expand)
Jumping to the all-new 48-megapixel Fusion telephoto sensor, there's an improvement over the 16 Pro Max on paper and in real-world scenarios. The detail levels in the zoom ranges are great, and there are no issues with exposure and colour rendering. The dynamic range is also excellent—some samples below for your reference.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Telephoto Camera Samples (Tap images to expand)
The ultra-wide sensor has been improved over its predecessor, and the results look crisper. The ultra-wide samples I took came out really well with tons of details and accurate colours. The good thing is that noise levels are controlled in shadow areas, which is a highlight of this sensor.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Ultra-wide Camera Samples (Tap images to expand)
With a dedicated button on-screen for 8x (200mm), the zoom game has really stepped up on the new 17 Pro Max. I really loved smooth zooming while testing, and this included smooth switching between camera modules. Kudos to Apple's R&D team, which has made it flawless this year. It features a 4x optical zoom, compared to the 5x seen on the 16 Pro Max. You can do much more with the 17 Pro Max's zooming capabilities.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Zoom Camera Samples (Tap images to expand)
Switching to low-light and night shots, the 17 Pro Max shines with bright colours. One of the best point-and-shoot smartphones I have tested this year for low-light shots. The detail levels remain high throughout, and the best part is that noise levels are controlled well. In pitch-dark conditions, the 17 Pro Max impresses with good colour rendition and manageable grain. The best thing about the 17 Pro Max is that you don't have to tap any on-screen buttons to switch to low-light mode. It works all automatically. In samples, I noticed excellent dynamic range and pleasing skin tones. The primary camera is the biggest highlight of the 17 Pro Max for low-light samples. Below are some samples for your reference.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Low-light/ Night Camera Samples (Tap images to expand)
The 17 series is bringing the biggest evolution for selfie cameras on iPhones. Selfies can now be taken in landscape mode, while holding it vertically is the biggest flex for someone buying the 17 series, in my opinion. This is one struggle that almost everyone has faced when trying to take selfies with a large group, but struggling to hold the device steady. The 18-megapixel Centre Stage front camera changes the game for iPhones. Fantastic level of detail, and autofocus comes in handy.
Coming to videos, the iPhone 17 Pro Max can record 4K videos at 60fps on all three rear cameras. You also get Dolby Vision and stabilisation support across modes. Over the years, iPhones have gained a reputation for being the default shooting devices for many videos, and they are simply perfect. With the iPhone 17 Pro Max's new zooming capability, the device is now an excellent video companion for videos that require zooming. Quality is top-notch, and stabilisation is never a problem again.
The phone gets an 18-megapixel Centre Stage front camera
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
The iPhone 17 Pro Max impresses in overall battery output across the board. I tested the phone in various conditions, and it returned excellent results almost every time. Spec-wise, it receives a minor upgrade and features a 4832mAh battery, compared to the 4685mAh seen on the 16 Pro Max. Compared to the competition, the 17 Pro Max finally gets improved fast charging support of 40W. Apple claims that the 17 Pro Max can charge up to 50 percent in 20 minutes using the 40W adapter.
In terms of battery usage, the 17 Pro Max is an absolute powerhouse, outperforming the 16 Pro Max. In our HD video loop test, the 17 Pro Max lasted roughly 31 hours of playback time, which is more than what we got on its predecessor. In real-world performance, the 17 Pro Max easily lasts for about 36 hours with over 8 hours of screen-on time. Of course, the battery output will vary depending on usage, and extended gaming sessions will reduce the overall battery life. Apple claims that the 17 Pro Max offers the best-ever iPhone battery life, and I can't agree more.
The 48-megapixel Fusion telephoto camera is a new sensor introduced on the 17 Pro models, featuring an f/2.8 aperture
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
The iPhone 17 Pro Max price starts at Rs. 149,900 for the 256GB model and goes up to Rs. 229,900 for the 2TB storage option. The million-dollar question here - is this the most important iPhone update in a decade? Yes, as it finally brings a refreshed design along with the biggest updates in the camera department, making it an almost perfect iPhone that you can buy and keep for the next 3-5 years.
Who should upgrade to the Pro or Pro Max models? Anyone still using an iPhone 15 Pro Max or older model can plan to upgrade. And, this makes the easiest recommendation I've made all year. Yes, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is the best smartphone the money can buy right now - of course, if your pocket allows. Otherwise, the smaller iPhone 17 Pro is far better than the 16 Pro and packs enough upgrades.
For the first time, Apple has introduced a 2TB storage option for the 17 Pro Max globally
Photo Credit: Mohit Dawar/ Gadgets 360
It offers a design refresh that Apple enthusiasts have been waiting for years, and also brings updates to the cameras that are worth your money. Additionally, iOS 26 and battery improvements are far bigger. This is a phone that should appeal to content creators and anyone who needs raw laptop power on the go.
Talking about alternatives, the iPhone Air is definitely the first choice as it gives a sneak peek into where we are headed from an Apple device perspective. The iPhone 16 Pro Max still does everything that the 17 Pro Max promises, minus a few things. However, I'm really excited about the iPhone 17, as it packs some of the biggest updates that Apple has introduced this year on the entry-level models, making it the best you can expect for under Rs. 100,000.
For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.