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Buyer's Guide: iPhone 17, Air, Pro, or Pro Max? 40 Differences Compared

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Apple's four new iPhones launch later this month, with more differences between the latest models than ever before.

iPhone-17-vs-Air-and-Pros-Feature.jpg

Instead of the familiar split between standard and Pro models, Apple has introduced the new iPhone Air, expanded the feature gap between tiers, and refined each model to serve a clearer audience. The result is a four-device family that ranges from the affordable and practical iPhone 17 to the feature-packed iPhone 17 Pro Max, with distinct trade-offs in size, materials, camera hardware, and battery life along the way. All models share Apple's latest A19 chip platform, meaning performance is fairly consistent across the board, but their designs, display sizes, and camera features are more specialized than ever before.

This guide offers a detailed look at every difference—dimensions, design, cameras, battery life, and pricing—so you can make an informed choice. Whether you prioritize design, photography, or battery life, this year's iPhones are no longer one-size-fits-all devices, and understanding the lineup is key to choosing the best model for you and your budget.

Sizes and Weights

iPhone 17iPhone AiriPhone 17 ProiPhone 17 Pro Max
Height5.89 inches (149.6 mm)6.15 inches (156.2 mm)5.91 inches (150.0 mm)6.43 inches (163.4 mm)
Width2.81 inches (71.5 mm)2.94 inches (74.7 mm)2.83 inches (71.9 mm)3.07 inches (78.0 mm)
Depth0.31 inches (7.95 mm)0.22 inches (5.64 mm)0.34 inches (8.75 mm)0.34 inches (8.75 mm)
Weight6.24 ounces (177 grams)5.82 ounces (165 grams)7.27 ounces (206 grams)8.22 ounces (233 grams)


Designs

iPhone 17iPhone AiriPhone 17 ProiPhone 17 Pro Max
Anodized aluminum framePolished titanium frameAnodized aluminum unibodyAnodized aluminum unibody
Camera plateauCamera plateauCamera plateau
Ceramic Shield frontCeramic Shield front and backCeramic Shield front and backCeramic Shield front and back
6.3-inch display6.5-inch display6.3-inch display6.9-inch display
Available in White, Black, Mist Blue, Sage, and LavenderAvailable in Cloud White, Space Black, Sky Blue, and Light GoldAvailable in Silver, Deep Blue, and Cosmic OrangeAvailable in Silver, Deep Blue, and Cosmic Orange


Battery Life and Charging

iPhone 17iPhone AiriPhone 17 ProiPhone 17 Pro Max
3,692 mAh battery3,149 mAh battery4,252 mAh battery5,088 mAh battery
Up to 30-hour battery lifeUp to 27-hour battery lifeUp to 33-hour battery lifeUp to 39-hour battery life
MagSafe wireless charging up to 25WMagSafe wireless charging up to 20WMagSafe wireless charging up to 25WMagSafe wireless charging up to 25W
Up to 50% charge in 20 minutes with 40W adapter or higherUp to 50% charge in 30 minutes with 20W adapter or higher, or 30W adapter or higher paired with MagSafe ChargerUp to 50% charge in 20 minutes with 40W adapter or higherUp to 50% charge in 20 minutes with 40W adapter or higher


Camera Hardware

iPhone 17iPhone AiriPhone 17 ProiPhone 17 Pro Max
Dual rear camerasSingle rear cameraTriple rear camerasTriple rear cameras
48-megapixel ultra wide camera48-megapixel ultra wide camera48-megapixel ultra wide camera
48-megapixel telephoto camera48-megapixel telephoto camera
0.5x, 1x, and 2x optical zoom options1x and 2x optical zoom options0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x, and 8x optical zoom options0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x, and 8x optical zoom options
LiDAR ScannerLiDAR Scanner
True Tone flashTrue Tone flashAdaptive True Tone flashAdaptive True Tone flash


Camera Features

iPhone 17iPhone AiriPhone 17 ProiPhone 17 Pro Max
Macro photographyMacro photographyMacro photography
Spatial photosSpatial photosSpatial photos
ProRAWProRAW
Cinematic modeCinematic modeCinematic mode
ProRes video recording ProRes video recording
ProRes RAWProRes RAW
Academy Color Encoding SystemAcademy Color Encoding System
Apple Log 2 video recordingApple Log 2 video recording
Genlock supportGenlock support
Macro video recording, including slo‑mo and time‑lapseMacro video recording, including slo‑mo and time‑lapseMacro video recording, including slo‑mo and time‑lapse
Slo‑mo video support up to 1080p at 240 fpsSlo‑mo video support up to 1080p at 240 fpsSlo‑mo video support for 1080p up to 240 fps and 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fpsSlo‑mo video support for 1080p up to 240 fps and 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps


Other Differences
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Article Link: Buyer's Guide: iPhone 17, Air, Pro, or Pro Max? 40 Differences Compared
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/iphone-17-air-pro-or-pro-max/
Can aynone who has more experience with the proRAW give more information how much difference does it make? Considering that either format will be processed to a certain degree, what gets baked in the proRAW and what doesn't?

I would love to go for the lower model, but as a photographer is really hard to move away from the option of a RAW format. But since it isn't exactly RAW, is it really worth it?
 
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I think the regular 17 is the best value by far with 120Hz and 256Gb for same price as 60Hz 128Gb regular 16 last year.

The only think that make may me question about getting the regular 17 is the huge difference in RAM vs the rest of 17 series. 17 has 8GB RAM, 17 Pro / Air 12GB RAM. It's a big jump.
I am fairly confident 17 is the last iPhone with 8GB RAM with potential upcoming 17e and then the default will be 12 GB RAM minimum for all models.

8GB is perfectly enough for the vast majority of users right now but if you are the kind of person who multitask apps a lot or plan to keep your phone at least 4 years it could be the one limiting factor for upcoming iOS 27+ etc features and overall snappiness overtime.
 
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NoIdentity said:
Can aynone who has more experience with the proRAW give more information how much difference does it make? Considering that either format will be processed to a certain degree, what gets baked in the proRAW and what doesn't?

I would love to go for the lower model, but as a photographer is really hard to move away from the option of a RAW format. But since it isn't exactly RAW, is it really worth it?
Click to expand...
More marketing gibberish you skip over..
 
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I think Apple will have a bad time trying to sell the Air at that price point and lack of features. Just $99 more and you get a lot more with the Pro. They should have put at least the camera system of the 17 and stereo speakers and a price point of $899.
Maybe they can fix it with next year version, otherwise I think it will follow the path of the mini/plus.
 
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Lwii2boo said:
The only thing that may make me question about getting the regular 17 is the huge difference in RAM vs the rest of 17 series. 17 has 8GB RAM, 17 Pro / Air 12GB RAM. It's a big jump.

I am fairly confident 17 is the last iPhone with 8GB RAM with potential upcoming 17e and then the default will be 12 GB RAM minimum for all models.

8GB is perfectly enough for the vast majority of users right now but if you are the kind of person who multitask apps a lot or plan to keep your phone at least 4 years it could be the one limiting factor for upcoming iOS 27+ etc features and overall snappiness overtime.
Click to expand...
I'll bet it's all about however much RAM it takes to run an on-device large-language model (LLM) to process our user data in the future. The 17's might be the first fully capable generation, but we won't see it put to use for another year at least.
 
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cardfan said:
Just need a black one. Not sure what Apple is thinking
Click to expand...
Pretty sure they will rotate blue / orange with black / new bold color to create a sort of FOMO/status symbol for those who are purchasing it for flex (cringe way to buy a phone if you ask me ngl). Now that there is a visible "plateau" with most cases, it's a clever way for them to make the shiny new "18 Pro" different than the peasant 17 Pro without doing much. I also think they want to sell as many Air as possible probably because it has the highest margin.

I would think twice before getting orange or blue, get it if you really like it ofc but I feel like most people who will get bored of it pretty quickly especially the orange. On top of that it remains anodized aluminium meaning silver will probably age better to scratches and be the only color available for 18 Pro.

But you only live once so pick what you love tbh, I really miss the black too or at least a dark gray. Silver for me this time for the first time. I feel like blue has a less "muted classy" look than the boring silver that I am looking for.
 
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robertosh said:
I think Apple will have a bad time trying to sell the Air at that price point and lack of features. Just $99 more and you get a lot more with the Pro. They should have put at least the camera system of the 17 and stereo speakers and a price point of $899.
Maybe they can fix it with next year version, otherwise I think it will follow the path of the mini/plus.
Click to expand...
Was kinda thinking they should have just said no to this. Or made it much smaller. A thin mini iphone would be much more appealing. Might've jumped on it.
 
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