After two years with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and as a user of the Pro Max since 2020, this year I have decided to return to the Pro model, because finally the year I have to change, the small and the big one have the same camera. As the battery seems to me more than enough that of the Pro, that factor was not decisive for me this year.
Returning to the "standard" size is something I have been grateful for. The 15 Pro Max had an "ideal" size, the 12 Pro Max was always a bit uncomfortable for me. The 17 Pro Max is gigantic to me. So in this sense I'm happy. It is a very comfortable size and has small frames, quite comfortable.
I really like the new design. Finally the bottom is symmetrical again, something we lost with the iPhone XS. In the hand I find it more comfortable than the previous versions. Personally I don't think it looks less "premium" than the 15 Pro Max. It looks different, more industrial, more a mechanized metal block. I think people are being a little dramatic in this regard. The area of the cameras seems better to me, it makes the device more stable on the table, with or without a cover.
The grip is more comfortable on the 17 Pro, the edges are somewhat more rounded and there are no joints of pieces where you put your hand or fingers, being more pleasant in hand than the previous models. The material (aluminum) I don't notice it different from the touch of Titanium. Although, I liked the touch of the steel from X to 14 more. But between aluminum and titanium... to the touch I don't notice differences. The aluminum is very soft, and perhaps a little more slippery than the 15 Pro Max I had.
The screen with the new anti-reflective coverage is noticeable compared to previous generations. It is not as good as that of the Samsung S25 Ultra, but compared to what we had, I consider the improvement remarkable.
The battery is good, similar to the one I have with the 15 Pro Max, so in this sense I am more than satisfied.
And now let's go to what matters to us (or to me), the camera.
From 15 Pro Max to 17 Pro, I get three new cameras. The new front camera, the ultra wide angle and the telephoto lens. I went from having a single 48MP camera to having 3 48MP cameras.
I have not been able to test the cameras at night, I will update it in time when I take night photos. During the day, the photos taken with the 1X are practically the same on the 15th and 17th. It slightly improves the interpretation of colors and white balances. In terms of detail and sharpness they are identical.
The ultra wide angle improves a lot, especially in terms of detail and sharpness.
The zoom, 4X - with cut to 8X - I consider it an important improvement in terms of versatility, although in one of the examples I will say that I think the result obtained in the 15 Pro Max is better. However, it is an important improvement, in terms of sharpness and detail, and the white and color balance has also improved.
Compared to the Pixel 10 Pro I have, the 1X is better on the Pixel than on the iPhone. However, I think that the advantage that Google had over Apple or Samsung has been lost. Not changing the hardware in years is noticeable, both in Google and Samsung (I think it's a shame that Samsung will continue to use the same S26 cameras as in the S22, just like Google has the same photographic hardware since the 8 Pro). The ultra wide angle in both is similar, they do not overdeform the images.
However, I'm going to put photo by photo and rate them according to my opinion. On the left is always the 17 Pro and on the right the 15 Pro Max or Pixel.
First photo. Zoom 8X "optical" on the 17 Pro and digital on the 15 Pro Max. In this photo she had a photographic style, hence it looks a little warmer. We observe that the image in the 17 looks brighter and the dark areas look brighter and with less noise. However, when we zoom, despite the fact that there is less noise in the 17, I notice sharper and with a little more detail that of the 15. It may be because of the photographic style, but well, the result is obvious.
If we compare it with the Pixel (8X "optical" on the iPhone 17 and 10X "optical" on the Pixel), we observe that the iPhone has much better detail and sharpness than Google's.
Second photo, 1X. Very similar photos between the 17th and the 15th. An image with a good white balance and exposure. The differences in tone are treated by the photographic style used in the iPhone 17 Pro.
If we compare the same photo with the Pixel, we see that Google's has better sharpness and detail, something very evident when zooming in
Zoom 4x/8x on the 17 Pro and 5x on the 15 Pro Max. You can appreciate the remarkable improvement in sharpness and detail in these photos, in addition to having a better exposure. The colors, again, different from having used a photographic style.
Zoom 4x/8x on the iPhone and 5x/10x on the Pixel. We observe, again, that the zoom of the Pixel looks washed, with little contrast and little sharpness and detail.
Ultra wide angle, a major improvement between the 17 Pro and 15 Pro Max. Notable improvement in sharpness and detail. There is perhaps less distortion in the corners.
Regarding the comparison with the Pixel, a very similar image between the two. The exhibition seems better to me on the iPhone than on Google. The sky looks less burnt on the iPhone.
Zoom 8x in the 17 Pro and 5X in the 15 Pro Max. The improvement in sharpness and detail is appreciated. The more golden and warm tones are an effect of the photographic style used in the 17 Pro.
The maximum zoom in both 40x in the 17 Pro and 25X in the 15 Pro Max. Ask you to appreciate the important improvement in this regard.
Zoom 8x in the 17 Pro and Pixel. We observe again in the Pixel the washed and with little sharpness aspect of the zoom of the Pixel 10 Pro. The detail is worse on the Google Pixel than on the iPhone.
However, the Pixel has its "magic". Applying the AI-powered zoom, the image clearly improves. Both photos are taken in 40X.
Even the 100X, in this case, the Pixel does a perfect job. The zoom of the AI-optimized Pixel is not always perfect, especially with objects, which sometimes invent the coasts too much, but with photos of landscapes and this style it works very well.
I have only compared these last photos between iPhone 17 Pro and Pixel.
1X take. I like the colors of the iPhone better and the background looks less overexposed on the iPhone, but the sharpness and detail is better in the Pixel, as can be clearly seen by zooming.
Photo taken in 2X. The iPhone photography has more realistic colors, even with the built-in photographic style. The Pixel's photography looks somewhat cold compared to reality. Detail and sharpness are better on the iPhone.
Last photo, 8X vs 10X. I see the iPhone better in this case. Better detail and sharpness.
For those interested, I make a small comparison with the Pixel 10 Pro.
In size, the Pixel is larger than the iPhone, although the screen size is identical. The Pixel's thicker bezels are very noticeable visually, in addition to the physical size itself. The screen reflects more than the iPhone. Both panels look very good.
The Pixel heats up much more than the iPhone. The performance in normal tasks is good in both, but as soon as you start to give them a little cane, the Pixel falls short. While it is true that in AI tasks very well, demanding tasks such as photo editing or video games choke him.
The battery is good in both. More or less the same in both.
The sound is better on the iPhone.
Personally, I still prefer Face ID to the fingerprint sensor and Face Unlock.
The Pixel works with MagSafe chargers without any problem, but it gives me the feeling that it heats up more than the iPhone charging that way.
In conclusion, I think the improvement of the 17 Pro is important. From the cameras maybe I expected a little more (for lack of seeing how much it improves at night), but it is a remarkable improvement compared to what I had in the 15 Pro Max.
The new design, controversial as always when Apple modifies it, seems to me unfairly criticized. For tastes the colors, that of course, but I don't think it's a worse finish, nor less premium in the hand than the 15. In fact, in the hand, due to how the glass is located, it is noticeable as if it were "unibody" and the union between the metal and the glass is perfect, at least in my device.
The "plateau" makes the device more stable, with and without a cover, which is an improvement, since the 15 staggered with and without a case quite a bit, making it quite uncomfortable.
The thermal improvement makes the device not heat up so much with the maximum brightness, allowing the screen to last longer with the highest brightness and let the screen look under the sun for longer (in the 15, at 5 minutes under the summer sun, you could barely read, not counting the heat it gave off). The improvement in the anti-reflective panel is appreciated, without being the best on the market.
The Pro's battery makes you not miss the Pro Max.
It's a great device and if you have a 14 Pro or earlier, I think the improvement is important. If you have a 15 Pro, the jump in the cameras is important, but it is not significant. The 15 Pro takes very good photos. Performance, if you use it a lot on the street or use it very intensely for a long time, the 17 Pro greatly improves in sustained performance, thanks to thermal improvements. For everything else, the 15 Pro is still a fully valid phone, with USB-C, Apple Intelligence... which at the moment remains irrelevant to the average user, and in general terms, a great device.
Returning to the "standard" size is something I have been grateful for. The 15 Pro Max had an "ideal" size, the 12 Pro Max was always a bit uncomfortable for me. The 17 Pro Max is gigantic to me. So in this sense I'm happy. It is a very comfortable size and has small frames, quite comfortable.
I really like the new design. Finally the bottom is symmetrical again, something we lost with the iPhone XS. In the hand I find it more comfortable than the previous versions. Personally I don't think it looks less "premium" than the 15 Pro Max. It looks different, more industrial, more a mechanized metal block. I think people are being a little dramatic in this regard. The area of the cameras seems better to me, it makes the device more stable on the table, with or without a cover.
The grip is more comfortable on the 17 Pro, the edges are somewhat more rounded and there are no joints of pieces where you put your hand or fingers, being more pleasant in hand than the previous models. The material (aluminum) I don't notice it different from the touch of Titanium. Although, I liked the touch of the steel from X to 14 more. But between aluminum and titanium... to the touch I don't notice differences. The aluminum is very soft, and perhaps a little more slippery than the 15 Pro Max I had.
The screen with the new anti-reflective coverage is noticeable compared to previous generations. It is not as good as that of the Samsung S25 Ultra, but compared to what we had, I consider the improvement remarkable.
The battery is good, similar to the one I have with the 15 Pro Max, so in this sense I am more than satisfied.
And now let's go to what matters to us (or to me), the camera.
From 15 Pro Max to 17 Pro, I get three new cameras. The new front camera, the ultra wide angle and the telephoto lens. I went from having a single 48MP camera to having 3 48MP cameras.
I have not been able to test the cameras at night, I will update it in time when I take night photos. During the day, the photos taken with the 1X are practically the same on the 15th and 17th. It slightly improves the interpretation of colors and white balances. In terms of detail and sharpness they are identical.
The ultra wide angle improves a lot, especially in terms of detail and sharpness.
The zoom, 4X - with cut to 8X - I consider it an important improvement in terms of versatility, although in one of the examples I will say that I think the result obtained in the 15 Pro Max is better. However, it is an important improvement, in terms of sharpness and detail, and the white and color balance has also improved.
Compared to the Pixel 10 Pro I have, the 1X is better on the Pixel than on the iPhone. However, I think that the advantage that Google had over Apple or Samsung has been lost. Not changing the hardware in years is noticeable, both in Google and Samsung (I think it's a shame that Samsung will continue to use the same S26 cameras as in the S22, just like Google has the same photographic hardware since the 8 Pro). The ultra wide angle in both is similar, they do not overdeform the images.
However, I'm going to put photo by photo and rate them according to my opinion. On the left is always the 17 Pro and on the right the 15 Pro Max or Pixel.
First photo. Zoom 8X "optical" on the 17 Pro and digital on the 15 Pro Max. In this photo she had a photographic style, hence it looks a little warmer. We observe that the image in the 17 looks brighter and the dark areas look brighter and with less noise. However, when we zoom, despite the fact that there is less noise in the 17, I notice sharper and with a little more detail that of the 15. It may be because of the photographic style, but well, the result is obvious.
If we compare it with the Pixel (8X "optical" on the iPhone 17 and 10X "optical" on the Pixel), we observe that the iPhone has much better detail and sharpness than Google's.
Second photo, 1X. Very similar photos between the 17th and the 15th. An image with a good white balance and exposure. The differences in tone are treated by the photographic style used in the iPhone 17 Pro.
If we compare the same photo with the Pixel, we see that Google's has better sharpness and detail, something very evident when zooming in
Zoom 4x/8x on the 17 Pro and 5x on the 15 Pro Max. You can appreciate the remarkable improvement in sharpness and detail in these photos, in addition to having a better exposure. The colors, again, different from having used a photographic style.
Zoom 4x/8x on the iPhone and 5x/10x on the Pixel. We observe, again, that the zoom of the Pixel looks washed, with little contrast and little sharpness and detail.
Ultra wide angle, a major improvement between the 17 Pro and 15 Pro Max. Notable improvement in sharpness and detail. There is perhaps less distortion in the corners.
Regarding the comparison with the Pixel, a very similar image between the two. The exhibition seems better to me on the iPhone than on Google. The sky looks less burnt on the iPhone.
Zoom 8x in the 17 Pro and 5X in the 15 Pro Max. The improvement in sharpness and detail is appreciated. The more golden and warm tones are an effect of the photographic style used in the 17 Pro.
The maximum zoom in both 40x in the 17 Pro and 25X in the 15 Pro Max. Ask you to appreciate the important improvement in this regard.
Zoom 8x in the 17 Pro and Pixel. We observe again in the Pixel the washed and with little sharpness aspect of the zoom of the Pixel 10 Pro. The detail is worse on the Google Pixel than on the iPhone.
However, the Pixel has its "magic". Applying the AI-powered zoom, the image clearly improves. Both photos are taken in 40X.
Even the 100X, in this case, the Pixel does a perfect job. The zoom of the AI-optimized Pixel is not always perfect, especially with objects, which sometimes invent the coasts too much, but with photos of landscapes and this style it works very well.
I have only compared these last photos between iPhone 17 Pro and Pixel.
1X take. I like the colors of the iPhone better and the background looks less overexposed on the iPhone, but the sharpness and detail is better in the Pixel, as can be clearly seen by zooming.
Photo taken in 2X. The iPhone photography has more realistic colors, even with the built-in photographic style. The Pixel's photography looks somewhat cold compared to reality. Detail and sharpness are better on the iPhone.
Last photo, 8X vs 10X. I see the iPhone better in this case. Better detail and sharpness.
For those interested, I make a small comparison with the Pixel 10 Pro.
In size, the Pixel is larger than the iPhone, although the screen size is identical. The Pixel's thicker bezels are very noticeable visually, in addition to the physical size itself. The screen reflects more than the iPhone. Both panels look very good.
The Pixel heats up much more than the iPhone. The performance in normal tasks is good in both, but as soon as you start to give them a little cane, the Pixel falls short. While it is true that in AI tasks very well, demanding tasks such as photo editing or video games choke him.
The battery is good in both. More or less the same in both.
The sound is better on the iPhone.
Personally, I still prefer Face ID to the fingerprint sensor and Face Unlock.
The Pixel works with MagSafe chargers without any problem, but it gives me the feeling that it heats up more than the iPhone charging that way.
In conclusion, I think the improvement of the 17 Pro is important. From the cameras maybe I expected a little more (for lack of seeing how much it improves at night), but it is a remarkable improvement compared to what I had in the 15 Pro Max.
The new design, controversial as always when Apple modifies it, seems to me unfairly criticized. For tastes the colors, that of course, but I don't think it's a worse finish, nor less premium in the hand than the 15. In fact, in the hand, due to how the glass is located, it is noticeable as if it were "unibody" and the union between the metal and the glass is perfect, at least in my device.
The "plateau" makes the device more stable, with and without a cover, which is an improvement, since the 15 staggered with and without a case quite a bit, making it quite uncomfortable.
The thermal improvement makes the device not heat up so much with the maximum brightness, allowing the screen to last longer with the highest brightness and let the screen look under the sun for longer (in the 15, at 5 minutes under the summer sun, you could barely read, not counting the heat it gave off). The improvement in the anti-reflective panel is appreciated, without being the best on the market.
The Pro's battery makes you not miss the Pro Max.
It's a great device and if you have a 14 Pro or earlier, I think the improvement is important. If you have a 15 Pro, the jump in the cameras is important, but it is not significant. The 15 Pro takes very good photos. Performance, if you use it a lot on the street or use it very intensely for a long time, the 17 Pro greatly improves in sustained performance, thanks to thermal improvements. For everything else, the 15 Pro is still a fully valid phone, with USB-C, Apple Intelligence... which at the moment remains irrelevant to the average user, and in general terms, a great device.
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