Long-term iPhone users vouch for the handset’s intuitive interface, clean and minimalist design, strong integration with Apple’s other products, not to mention smooth and fast running. The phone is less prone to lag, even in older models. However, many users rue the phone’s poor battery life. Compared to many Android phones that use larger batteries, I reckon iPhones tend to rely on software optimisation, which can sometimes fall short under heavy use.
However, you won’t find any such issues with this year’s flagship model, iPhone 17 Pro Max. There’s a lot of battery life here (it may even last upto two days), and should you need to top it up, there’s also support for both wired and wireless charging. At 6.9 inches, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is easily one of the biggest phones around. But armed with an impressive camera and system spec, it is also one of the best that will surely cultivate deep user loyalty. Let’s check out the details.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max display has rounded corners that follow a beautiful curved design, and these corners are within a standard rectangle. There are slimmer bezels and while the design is similar, it is different with a shift from titanium last year to aluminium this year. This new brushed aluminium unibody design gives it a sophisticated look, though the device is a little thicker and heavier. Rated IP68, the phone is splash, water and dust resistant. The screen is bright and clear with Ceramic Shield 2 protecting it, while the back has a Ceramic Shield to guard against cracks.
Internally, there is the A19 Pro chip that is paired with the Apple-designed vapour chamber to enhance heat dissipation and performance. The A19 Pro runs a 6-core CPU and 6-core GPU, complete with a 16-core neural engine for AI functionality. Everything is fast and super-smooth here – games, video editing, browsing etc. Whether you’re upgrading from an old iPhone or just buying a brand new one, the performance is definitely top-notch here. Apple provides home screen customisation aplenty with more control for icon placement and widgets.
I found Apple Intelligence hugely improved on this model. For instance, you can now translate text and audio on the go with Live Translation; a feature that will help users communicate across languages in messages, FaceTime, and phone. There are Writing Tools for composing messages, while updates to visual intelligence allow users to capture a screenshot and easily search or take action on anything they are viewing on their iPhone screen. There’s a smarter Siri that even understands personal context from your apps like Mail and Calendar. It is much more responsive this year. Trust me, there’s a lot more to explore on the AI front.
Moving on to the cameras, you’re in for a huge surprise. The phone features a three-camera system with a 48MP Fusion Main camera, a 48MP Ultra Wide camera, and a 48MP Telephoto camera; the latter adds to the excitement here. It offers 100mm (4x) optical zoom and enables an 8x optical-quality zoom with the main camera for a 16x optical-quality zoom range. Leaving out the technicalities aside, the range and versatility of the phone is quite solid, providing great wide angle shots and lovely close photos, as well. Spending some time with the cameras will show you how capable the image processing system is over here.
Additionally, the iPhone 17 Pro Max introduces a brand-new Centre Stage front camera that advances the photo and video experience. The Centre Stage front camera features the first square front camera sensor on iPhone, offering a wider field of view and higher resolution – upto 18MP for photos – to capture more detail. Users can now take photos and videos in portrait or landscape while holding their iPhone vertically. For group selfies, the Centre Stage for photos uses AI to automatically expand the field of view and can rotate from portrait to landscape to include everyone in the frame.
There is a stereo speaker system, with one speaker in the earpiece at the top of the phone and a second bottom-firing speaker located on the side of the USB-C port. Together, these two speakers create a stereo sound experience, which also includes spatial audio and Dolby Atmos support.
Key takeaways: A pleasing yet robust design, great cameras, larger battery and solid performance – the iPhone 17 Pro Max gives enough reasons to upgrade, both for existing as well as new users.
SPECIFICATIONS
Display: 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR display
Processor: A19 Pro chip
Operating system: iOS 26
Capacity: 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB
Cameras: 48MP+48MP+48MP (main), 18MP selfie camera
Upto 37 hours video playback
Estimated street price: Rs 169,900 (512GB)
