iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Devolution in action
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It's been a few months since Apple released the iPhone 17 generation, and the most exciting device there was the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The latest and greatest smartphone from Apple scored much faster performance, better battery life, and a telephoto camera that's able to zoom farther with much better quality than before.
However, when you put the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 Pro Max side by side, the differences aren't that major. In fact, the older iPhone is just as capable but even more premium.
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Should you upgrade from the iPhone 16 Pro Max to the iPhone 17 Pro Max? If you're a proud owner of one, do you have reason to feel left out from the latest and greatest in the Apple ecosystem?
To answer that, we put either one of those two flagships through our display, performance, battery life, and camera tests to find out which one's better in various scenarios. Ultimatley, we try to answer the question of whether you should upgrade, and spoiler alert, you might want to hold off.
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max differences:
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
| Design | |
| Slightly heavier at 233 gr | Lighter at 227 grams |
| Slightly taller, wider, thicker, and heavier | A bit more compact |
| Two-tone aluminum frame | Single-tone titanium frame |
| Ceramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back | Ceramic Shield front and back |
| Silver, Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue colors | Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, Desert Titanium colors |
| Display | |
| 6.9" OLED with 1-120Hz ProMotion | Same screen |
| 3,000 nits of peak brightness | 2,000 nits of peak brightness |
| Anti-reflective properties | No anti-reflective properties |
| Performance | |
| Apple A19 Pro chipset, 3nm | Apple A18 Pro, 3nm |
| Vapor chamber cooling | No vapor chamber cooling |
| 12GB of RAM | 8GB of RAM |
| 2TB storage option | Maxes out at 1TB |
| Cameras | |
| 48MP F1.8 main camera | Same main camera |
| 48MP F2.2 ultrawide camera | Same ultrawide camera |
| 48MP 4X telephoto with larger sensor | 12MP 5X telephoto with smaller sensor |
| 18MP Center Stage FaceTime camera with square sensor | Standard 12MP FaceTime camera |
| Battery | |
| Larger 5,088 mAh battery | Smaller 4,685 mAh battery |
| Up to 39 hours video playback | Up to 33 hours video playback |
| 40W wired charging: 50% in 20 minutes | 27W wired charging: 50% in 35 minutes |
| 25W MagSafe | Also 25W MagSafe |
| Models | |
| 256GB base ($1,199) | 256GB base ($1,199) |
| Other | |
| Bluetooth 6 | Bluetooth 5.3 |
Table of Contents:
Design and Size
An iPhone with a new look
The large camera island at the back of the iPhone 17 Pro Max certainly makes it stand out in a crowd of older iPhones. If there is one comparison that comes to mind, it's to the Google Pixel series, but those models typically come with a camera bar that is not as wide.
Compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the cameras are still arranged in the same triangle formation, so the new model does not look completely foreign. Apple analyst Mark Gurman suggests that Apple is planning to change the looks of future iPhones much more often in the following years, too.
We are only curious that this new look does not change how well the iPhone weight is distributed. No one likes an unbalanced, top-heavy phone.
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
Thickness 8.75 mm | Thickness 8.25 mm |
The iPhone 17 Pro Max also uses different materials. Gone is the titanium body of recent models, replaced with a new aluminum frame.
Apple's explanation? Aluminum is far better at dissipating heat and works nicely with the new vapor chamber. Strange that the company did not have that realization earlier. Sadly, the particular aluminum metal used on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max is much softer than either stainless steel or titanium, so it scratches way more easily when you drop your phone, even from small distances.
The rear of the camera plateau also scratches easily, especially the raised edges of the camera plateau. Not something one should expect of a premium iPhone in 2025, but here we are. If you pick the iPhone 17 Pro Max, please use a case.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is the easiest iPhone to damage in recent years (Image by PhoneArena)
The new 17 Pro Max body also uses less glass on the back, and the frame itself is a much bigger part of the phone. Hopefully, this means the rear glass will break less often.
The Camera Control and Action Button remain a staple here, with no changes made to them.
In terms of colors, we have two new options: a copper-like orange color and a deep blue hue. Surprisingly, we only have one other color option, the silver one, but no fourth (usually a black) model.
In contrast, the iPhone 16 Pro Max launched only in muted tonalities (Natural Titanium, Desert Titanium, White Titanium, and Black Titanium), so Apple is bringing some color back.
Display Differences
The screen can reach 3,000 nits of peak brightness and fights reflections better
The iPhone 17 Pro Max features a 6.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 120Hz ProMotion, the same size as the 16 Pro Max. Specs-wise, the two devices boast similar hardware specs, which was kind of expected and pretty normal given that last year's iPhone 16 Pro Max scored a display size increase.
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
Screen size 6.9-inch | Screen size 6.9-inch |
Peak brightness ~3,000 nits | Peak brightness 2,000 nits |
While Apple does not say it officially, chances are this new screen uses a Samsung M14 OLED panel, which allows for much higher peak brightness. The 16 Pro Max can get as bright as 2,000 nits, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max can hit 3,000 nits when used outdoors on a sunny day.
Apple upgraded the minimum brightness to go as low as 1 nit on the 16 Pro Max, and this carries over to the 17 Pro Max as well.
Display Measurements:
We also get a new seven-layer anti-reflective coating on the iPhone 17 series.
And while this is not as strong as the anti-reflective screen on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, you can clearly see that it makes a difference in a direct comparison with the iPhone 16 series in the these images from a hands-on video by YouTuber MrWhoseTheBoss.
Performance and Software
Even better performance thanks to a third-gen 3nm chipset
The iPhone 17 Pro Max features Apple's new A19 Pro chipset. This is the company's third-gen 3nm chipset, so polish is definitely the right word for it.
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
Chipset Apple A19 Pro | Chipset Apple A18 Pro |
| Node 3nm | Node 3nm |
RAM 12GB | RAM 8GB |
While the faster processor might not be immediately noticeable in daily use, you could notice the 12GB of RAM inside the 17 Pro Max, a notable 50% increase over the 8GB of RAM on the 16 Pro Max.
Having more RAM helps with multitasking (you can have more apps running in the background without reloading), plus it sets up the 17 Pro Max for the much awaited Apple Intelligence rollout in 2026.
As you can see, the A19 Pro achieves another remarkable jump over the A18 Pro from last year. In single core CPU performance, the iPhone 17 Pro Max with A19 Pro scores nearly 20% higher than the previous model.
And in multi-core CPU performance, the result is nearly 30% higher than the 16 Pro Max. Truly impressive. Both the iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max run on iOS 26, so there is no difference in software.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max comes with a new passive vapor chamber on deck that might greatly help with heat dissipation during intense tasks. The aluminum chassis also dissipates heat well.
GPU Performance benchmarks
Respectively, the iPhone 17 Pro Max fares well in the 3DMark graphics stress test, where it edges past the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Software-wise, we get iOS 26, which introduces the Liquid Glass redesign. Here is a brief look at what iOS 26 looks like.
The recurrent theme is the drastic "Liquid Glass" redesign, which Apple is touting as its most significant visual change in a decade. You can embrace the chaos and enable the "Clear Look" – a fully transparent, glassy theme if you wish, and you will get something that looks a lot like it crawled back from the Windows Vista days, or you can just stick with the more toned-down and traditional style.
The recurrent theme is the drastic "Liquid Glass" redesign, which Apple is touting as its most significant visual change in a decade. You can embrace the chaos and enable the "Clear Look" – a fully transparent, glassy theme if you wish, and you will get something that looks a lot like it crawled back from the Windows Vista days, or you can just stick with the more toned-down and traditional style.
The most practical changes are aimed at communication. A new Call Screening feature arrives to save us from calls about our non-existent car accidents, a public service if ever there was one. This handy filtering will also apply to spammy texts.
Live Translate for calls is also making its debut on iOS. We are cautiously optimistic about this, but let's wait and see if this becomes a game-changer for travel or simply a source of hilarious mistranslations.
Aside from looks alone, there are some genuinely useful-sounding updates. The Camera app is being decluttered to just photo and video by default, a quiet relief for the minimalists among us. And Apple is promising to finally sort out the Photos app mess, making albums easier to find.
Naturally, there are other bits and bobs. You’ll get polls in group chats so that your friends can finally decide on a restaurant and custom backgrounds to liven up your chats. It all sounds perfectly sensible. All of those features are available on both the 17 Pro Max and 16 Pro Max.
Aside from looks alone, there are some genuinely useful-sounding updates. The Camera app is being decluttered to just photo and video by default, a quiet relief for the minimalists among us. And Apple is promising to finally sort out the Photos app mess, making albums easier to find.
Naturally, there are other bits and bobs. You’ll get polls in group chats so that your friends can finally decide on a restaurant and custom backgrounds to liven up your chats. It all sounds perfectly sensible. All of those features are available on both the 17 Pro Max and 16 Pro Max.
Camera
Apple Magic
Bigger sensor for the telephoto camera
Aside from the fact that the camera island on the 17 Pro Max could soon rival the Las Vegas Strip in terms of size, the cameras themselves are getting some welcome upgrades.
The most significant change is the 56% bigger sensor for the tetra-prism telephoto camera. It's now a 48MP sensor, and it is coupled with a 4X zoom lens, a more practical one compared to the 5X zoom on the previous model, which did not work great for portrait snaps.
The main and ultra-wide cameras have unchanged hardware compared to the 16 Pro Max.
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
| Main camera 48MP F1.8 | Main camera 48MP F1.8 |
| Ultrawide camera 48MP F2.2 | Ultrawide camera 48MP F2.2 |
| Telephoto 48MP F2.8 4X 1/2.55-inch sensor (56% larger) 100mm FoV | Telephoto 12MP F2.8 5X |
| Front camera 18MP | Front camera 12MP |
Another surprising but very welcome change is the switch to a square sensor for the front camera. This allows the 17 Pro Max to capture landscape photos while you hold the phone in vertical orientation. Speak about a party trick! It's also a higher-resolution 18MP sensor, so your selfies will have more detail too.
With iOS 26, both the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 Pro Max have scored a new photographic style, dubbed Bright, which delivers a punchy and strong visual style to your photos.
In our custom camera benchmark, the iPhone 17 Pro Max edges past its predecessor with a slightly better camera score, fueled by a slightly better photo result achieved by the main and the zoom cameras.
Main camera
In good lighting conditions, the results are fairly comparable between the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The new model delivers colors that are slightly truer to real life, whereas the iPhone 16 Pro Max is warmer by default.
At lower light, the dynamic range is slightly wider with the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Zoom Quality
Zoom quality at 5X is mostly comparable, but the newer device features slightly better detail.
Ultrawide camera
No major differences between the two ultrawide cameras.
Selfies
Selfies are great on either phone, but the new iPhone's square sensor makes it a breeze to capture landscape or portrait selfies no matter how you hold the phone.
Video Quality
In terms of video, the iPhone 17 Pro Max supports up to 4K@120fps video recording, but that's a fairly niche feature aimed at serious pro users. Quality-wise, there aren't many differences between the two phones.
Apple has also included Dual Capture video, overlaying the camera feed from the rear and front cameras. And with the improved stabilization from the square front camera, this should look even better than on rival Android phones. Keep in mind, though, that Dual Capture video is recorded as one file, so you cannot remove the front camera feed after the recording is done.
When it comes to Pro features, you get ProRes RAW video that allows you to squeeze the most dynamic range out of the camera, and GenLock, which makes syncing between multiple cameras in larger productions much easier. Those are nice features, but they mostly serve a niche professional audience, so we doubt that everyday users will care about them or even notice them.
Battery Life and Charging
Give me more
With a 5,088 mAh battery on deck, it's the iPhone 17 Pro Max that comes with the largest battery on an iPhone. Does this mean it will respectively score better battery life? Not necessarily, it seems. The older model with a 4,685mAh battery seems better optimized, at least for now, and fares better in our battery test.
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
| Battery 5,088 mAh | Battery 4,685 mAh |
Battery Life 39 hours video playback 33 hours video streaming | Battery Life 33 hours video playback 29 hours video streaming |
| Wired charging 40W | Wired charging 25W |
| Wireless charging 25W | Wireless charging 25W |
PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:
In our tests, the iPhone 17 Pro Max currently lasts less than the iPhone 16 Pro Max as it suffers defeat in all our three battery life tests. All tests emulate real usage and are conducted with the displays manually set to approximately 200 nits of brightness.
The other big upgrade on the new model is faster charging speeds. The 17 Pro Max supports 40W wired charge, much faster than the 25W speeds on the 16 Pro Max.
In practical terms, that means you can reach 50% charge in just 20 minutes, a task that used to take 35 minutes on the 16 Pro Max.
MagSafe wireless charging remains unchanged at 25W speeds.
The other big upgrade on the new model is faster charging speeds. The 17 Pro Max supports 40W wired charge, much faster than the 25W speeds on the 16 Pro Max.
MagSafe wireless charging remains unchanged at 25W speeds.
Audio & haptics
Surprisingly, the iPhone 17 Pro Max delivers a slightly inferior audio experience when compared with the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Yes, we know newer is usually better, but on the rare occasion, it's the other way around.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max delivers slightly louder and fuller volume than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Don't get us wrong, the iPhone 17 Pro Max sounds great, with rich and boomy sound that can easily fill a room, but it's the older iPhone 16 Pro Max that has that extra pinch of oomph.
Haptics are pretty much identical on both phones: strong, accurate, and precise, a joy to experience when navigating the interface.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max delivers slightly louder and fuller volume than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Don't get us wrong, the iPhone 17 Pro Max sounds great, with rich and boomy sound that can easily fill a room, but it's the older iPhone 16 Pro Max that has that extra pinch of oomph.
Haptics are pretty much identical on both phones: strong, accurate, and precise, a joy to experience when navigating the interface.
Specs Comparison
Here's how the iPhone 17 Pro Max compares against the iPhone 16 Pro Max specs.
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
| Size, weight 163.4 x 78 x 8.75 mm 233 grams | Size, weight 163.0 x 77.6 x 8.25 mm 227 grams |
| Screen 6.9" OLED 120Hz ProMotion 3000 nits peak brightness | Screen 6.9" OLED 120Hz ProMotion 2000 nits peak brightness |
| Processor A19 Pro 3nm | Processor A18 Pro 3nm |
| Versions: 12GB/256GB 12GB/512GB 12GB/1TB 12GB/2TB LPDDR5 | Versions: 8/256GB 8/512GB 8/1TB - LPDDR5 |
| Cameras: 48MP main 48MP ultra 48MP 4X zoom 18MP front | Cameras: 48MP main 48MP ultra 12MP 5X zoom 12MP front |
| Battery: ~5,000 mAh | Battery: 4,685 mAh |
| Charging: USB-C 40W wired 25W MagSafe 2.0 | Charging: USB-C 25W wired 25W MagSafe 2.0 |
Summary
With the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple once again goes down the path of least resistance in terms of upgrades, giving us just a few noteworthy improvements to last us through 2026, when another iPhone 18 Pro Max will likely rinse and repeat the same scenario.
Sure, we do get better performance, battery life, and faster charging, plus a cool new telephoto camera sensor that delivers much better image quality when zooming in on far objects, but overall, the changes are anything but groundbreaking.
In fact, the switch from titanium to aluminum is a pretty major downgrade that results in a device that's way less durable and feels not as premium as most iPhones before it. A peculiar devolution that feels totally un-Apple-like.
So, should you get the iPhone 17 Pro Max if you're already using the iPhone 16 Pro Max? No. Keep your device and use it for many years to come, as it feels anything but old or slow.
However, if a genie gives you a choice between the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 Pro Max right now, you should go with the newer phone. Just make sure to get a decent case for it.
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