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iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max: What's Exclusive to Apple's Largest Flagship iPhone

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Before Apple unveiled the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, there were rumors suggesting that some features like the upgraded Telephoto camera could be exclusive to the Pro Max. In the past, Apple has limited some capabilities to the Pro Max, so it was a possibility, but the two devices have the same general feature set this year.

iphone-17-pro-orange.jpg

There are a few things that are different, of course, but that comes down to size.

Display

The iPhone 17 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch display, while the iPhone 17 Pro has a smaller 6.3-inch display. The iPhone 17 Pro is smaller and lighter weight than the Pro Max, and easier to use one-handed.

Battery

Since there's more room in the iPhone 17 Pro Max for the battery, it lasts longer. The iPhone 17 Pro offers up to 33 hours of video playback, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max offers up to 39 hours of video playback. It's the longest battery life in an iPhone to date.

Storage

With the iPhone 17 Pro Max, you can get up to 2TB of storage, which is a new upper limit for the iPhone. The iPhone 17 Pro is limited to 1TB. The difference may be due to size and the space inside for storage components.

The 2TB iPhone 17 Pro Max costs $2,000.

There are no other differences between the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, so if you opt for the smaller Pro model, you're only missing out on a larger display size, a longer battery, and the option to upgrade to 2TB of storage.

The iPhone 17 Pro models will be available for pre-order this Friday.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max: What's Exclusive to Apple's Largest Flagship iPhone
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/10/iphone-17-pro-vs-pro-max/
I had mentioned before how I would skip the upgrade if they pulled another 12 Pro Max or 15 Pro Max and gave the better camera to the larger model only. I'm glad they didn't, so will be upgrading from 15 Pro.

If the pattern continues, the 18 Pro Max will get that cool new rumored variable aperture feature, while the 18 Pro will skip it until they "magically" find a way to fit in in the 19 Pro.
 
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winxmac said:
iPhone 11 Pro
0.5x, 1x, 2x

iPhone 14 Pro
0.5, 1x, 3x

iPhone 16 Pro
0.5, 1x, 5x

iPhone 17 Pro
0.5, 1x, 4x

Optical quality is still digital zoom.
Click to expand...
So they basically lied? I’ll admit, I don’t understand the camera stuff. I was all excited for 8x optical zoom. My 14PM is underpowered in the zoom area. I have friends who have latest Samsung phones that have a lot better zoom or at least they appear to.
 
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Black_Mage said:
Am I the only one here who thinks the Pro Max version really doesn't need a bigger screen?
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The bigger display is the primary reason a person buys a pro max. Sure they like the bigger battery, but there are so many other ways to get some extra juice when you need it, but no other ways to get a bigger display on a smaller, non-Max phone. I personally don't want/need to lug the max around but I can see why some might.
 
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sniffies said:
Also, the word Max is exclusive.
Click to expand...
Trademarked and copyrighted worldwide even. Saying “Max” out loud in public would constitutes copyright infringement.
Black_Mage said:
Am I the only one here who thinks the Pro Max version really doesn't need a bigger screen?
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So what do you think needing a bigger screen? iPhone iPad?
klasma said:
Why did they make the larger display exclusive to the Pro Max? :(
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Because, well, that’s their biggest size iPhone? The bezel can’t be shrunk anymore or we are talking about screen being part of the frame, or magical screen in thin air on a 6.3” body.
 
Black_Mage said:
To clarify, I meant that 6.7" was more than enough. I'm not asking why the Pro Max needs to be bigger than the Pro.
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ah, agree. But then again I prefer the smaller pro over the max anyway so I'm not a good judge of this. It wouldn't surprise me if the population of Max fans tends to feel, on the whole, the bigger the better.
 
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maverick22 said:
Sooo, they have the same exact camera capabilities?

I always thought the Max had a slight edge in the camera dept over the Pro.

Sheesh - if I didn’t need a bigger screen to poor vision now that I’m getting older, I would just go for the Pro.
Click to expand...

This year, yeah.

It's pretty hit and miss.
On the 16 they were the same
On the 15 the max had 5x the regular pro had 3x.
On the 13 & 14 same.
On the 12? the max had a larger sensor and 2.5x tele; the reg had 2x
x, x2 & 11 they were the same as eachother.
Yet the 8 which was released same time as the x had dual back cameras on the plus but not on the regular 8.

So flip a coin; it changes year by year.
 
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Another question, does the Max lose any features according to storage size. I know the past couple years, if you didn’t get the 512GB and up storage size, you lost out on… I can’t remember, ProRes was it?
 
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