iPhone 17 Pro Max — all the rumors so far

The iPhone 17 Pro Max should be here in about a month, and it faces a big challenge. The iPhone 16 Pro Max already ranks as one of the best phones you can buy right now, so Apple could be hard-pressed find ways to make the latest version even better.

We're expecting a new processor for this year's iPhones, and the Pro models could be in line to get significant camera upgrades. Early iPhone 17 Pro Max rumors also tip the first major iPhone redesign since 2019’s iPhone 11 with upgrades to the phone’s display and durability.

If Apple sticks to its usual release schedule for fall phones, we're a few weeks away from an iPhone 17 lineup debut. More rumors will likely emerge before then, but here's what we've heard so far about the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

iPhone 17 Pro Max cheat sheet

• New model likely to ship in September with a potential higher price
• New back panel design may stretch the camera array across the top of the phone
• The Dynamic Island cold be smaller on the iPhone 17 Pro Max's 6.9-inch display
• A19 Pro silicon to power the iPhone 17 Pro Max
• Vapor chamber cooling to combat overheating
• 12GB of RAM
• New telephoto sensor could feature higher resolution but a shorter optical zoom
• All iPhone 17 models expected to get a 24MP front camera
• Dual video capture could come to the Pro lineup

iPhone 17 Pro Max: Price and release date prediction

Price may be a touchy subject for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, as uncertainty over tariffs and other economic factors could push up the cost of Apple's new phones. The Wall Street Journal has already reported that Apple is considering a price hike on its iPhone 17 lineup, and at least one analyst is predicting that prices will go up by $50 on the new models. In the iPhone 17 Pro Max's case, that could mean a $1,249 starting price.

If so, it would be the second Pro Max price increase in three years. When Apple introduced the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the cost went up $100 to $1,199, though Apple did include 256GB of storage in that base model.

While we don’t know exactly when Apple will release the iPhone 17 Pro Max, it usually sticks to the same release schedule yearly, as Mark Gurman notes. Typically, Apple unveils new iPhones in the first or second week of September, with pre-orders opening later that week. Release day usually follows a week later. To that end, a report out of Germany has the new iPhones getting a launch event on September 9.

Our iPhone 17 release date report looks at potential dates for the launch of the Pro Max and other models.

iPhone 17 Pro Max: Design & Display

We’re not expecting any major changes with the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s display, but that’s not to say we may not see some things change with the next generation. One rumor claims that the phone could come with a narrower Dynamic Island, thanks to the inclusion of new, slimmer components. Leaker Digital Chat Station specifically calls out a smaller Dynamic Island for the iPhone 17 Pro Max with the help of a "metalens" design for Face ID.

However, analyst Jeff Pu doesn't think that feature will be an iPhone 17 Pro Max exclusive; instead, he says the metalens feature is coming to all iPhone 17 models.

It’s also been claimed that we will see a new “Low-Dialectric TEE display” that promises better performance, energy efficiency and screen durability. Leaker Instant Digital has also claimed that the iPhone 17 series display panel will be made with “a super-hard anti-reflective layer” that will make it “more scratch-resistant than you think.” A more recent report, though suggests Apple is dropping that feature due to production limitations.

As for the design of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, things are starting to clear up. Multiple rumors now indicate that Apple is going to redesign the back of its Pro models.

Early iPhone 17 Pro renders suggest we're getting a two-tone design similar to the one found on Google’s Pixel 9 where the camera array is a different color from the rest of the phone's back. (For what it's worth, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the camera bump won't differ in color from the rest of the Pro model.)

But whatever approach Apple takes to color, it seems the design of that camera array is definitely changing on the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Another set of renders shows the iPhone 17 Pro Max retaining the same triangular camera arrangement as before while relocating the LED flash, microphone, and LiDAR scanner off to the opposite side of the array.

These CAD designs have been transformed into physical dummies, like those shown off by AppleTrack as well as in a hands-on video with an iPhone 17 Pro Max dummy unit. That video, in particular, suggests that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will be 0.5mm thicker than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

There’s been some disagreement among leakers as to whether the iPhone 17 Pro Max will have a titanium frame this year. Some argue that nothing is changing with the iPhone 17 Pro materials, while another report claims that only the iPhone 17 Air will offer a titanium frame.

Color rumors have begun to emerge, with the latest report suggesting both the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max will be available in orange, blue, black and white.

iPhone 17 Pro Max: Performance

Apple’s A-series chips are among the best mobile chips around, and each generation has offered significantly improved performance than its predecessor. We expect that trend to continue with the A19 Pro chipset, which should debut on iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max later in the year.

While there had been rumors that Apple could upgrade to a 2nm process, which would make the A19 Pro even smaller than the 3nm A18 Pro, it now sounds like the iPhone 18 Pro models will be the first to use a 2nm process.

Instead, A19 series chips are now expected to be made using an upgraded version of TSMC’s 3nm process. This should offer improvements to performance and energy efficiency compared to the A18 series, but not to the same extent as adopting a 2nm process would. However, any boost to energy efficiency should mean an even better battery than we’ve already experienced on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

The higher performance could mean a hotter-running chip, but fortunately it seems Apple's thought of that. A vapor chamber cooling system, which uses liquid inside a copper "pipe" to move heat away from a device's most important components, could be added to the iPhone 17 Pro models, hopefully solving the problem. We've now seen leaked photos of the vapor chamber, suggesting that this feature truly is coming to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Finally, Jeff Pu and Ming-Chi Kuo both believe that Apple could include 12GB of RAM in the iPhone 17 Pro Max. That’s a 50% upgrade compared to the iPhone 16 series and would likely be so that Apple can offer even more on-device AI in future incarnations of Apple Intelligence.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max apparently won't get the C1 modem that Apple launched with the iPhone 16e. Only the iPhone 17 Air is supposed to add that component. But the Wi-Fi chip on the iPhone 17 Pro Max supposedly will be a new model built by Apple — a first for the iPhone's connectivity.

iPhone 17 Pro Max: Cameras

Those of you tired of Apple skimping on the camera resolution will be very happy with iPhone 17 Pro Max rumors so far. According to one leaker, Apple may up the resolution of the telephoto lens to 48MP in 2025 — meaning we could see a trio of 48MP lenses on the phone for the first time.

There could be some bad news, though. One leaker agrees that the telephoto lens will feature a 48MP sensor, but that the iPhone 17 Max's camera would only support a 3.5x optical zoom. That's a downgrade from the 5x zoom delivered by the telephoto lens on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

In a more encouraging report, a leaker claims the iPhone 17 Pro telephoto lens will instead offer an 8x optical zoom. Other rumored improvements in that report include a dedicated Pro camera app and another Camera Control button on the top of the phone.

The front camera may also be in line for an upgrade, although the resolution may top out at 24MP, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The Information claims that we may see the first variable aperture lens on an iPhone. But it’s unclear how much control users will have over the aperture and the resulting depth of field.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has also claimed that Apple could specifically court videographers and content creators with iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. While he didn't specify what kind of upgrades to expect, we will likely see a mix of hardware and software upgrades coming with this year's Pro-tier iPhones.

To that, Jon Prosser of Front Page Tech has claimed that both the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will support dual video capture. That allows both the front and rear cameras to record video simultaneously.

iPhone 17 Pro Max: Battery & Charging

We haven’t heard much about the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s battery right now, but if the chips’ rumored efficiency increases prove to be true, then we should see the battery life last even longer. Considering the iPhone 16 Pro Max lasted more than 17 hours in our testing, that would be a pretty spectacular sight to behold.

We’ve also heard rumors that Apple could make iPhone 17 batteries easier to remove, thanks to a new kind of glue. It’s likely that this is the same "ionic liquid battery adhesive” used on iPhone 17, which allows repair technicians to remove the battery with a few volts of electricity. That makes it a lot easier to remove than older adhesive strips, which were awkward and often required solvents to fully remove.

Rumor has it that Apple may be building its own batteries, intending to debut them on iPhone 17s. While we don’t know many specifics about this work, it’s said that Apple wants to offer “significantly improved performance compared to the existing one.” Which you’d expect because the last thing we want is for battery life to get worse. But it’s still a good thing if Apple can pull it off.

In addition to new or Apple-made batteries, a rumor claims that Apple might bring reverse charging to the Pro models of the iPhone 17. Reverse charging lets your phone charge other devices, usually headphones like the AirPods 4. The new feature would potentially offer 7.5 charging, though it's unclear if Apple would try to match the already existing version on Samsung's Galaxy series.

Finally, regulatory filings indicate that an upgraded Qi2 wireless charging standard could be in place by the time the iPhone 17 Pro Max and other models come out. That could boost wireless charging speeds to as fast as 50W.

iPhone 17 Pro Max: Software

Apple is changing the naming convention on its software, going with the year following the software's release instead of a version number. That means iOS 26, not iOS 19, will be the software running on the iPhone 17 Pro Max when the phone lands in the fall.

Thanks to a WWDC preview and releases of both developer and public betas for iOS 26, we know that an interface overhaul dubbed Liquid Glass by Apple is the primary focus of iOS 26, with translucent menus and a glassy look characterizing the new software. There are improved features slated for many existing apps, though, along with the arrival of a dedicated Games app.

Apple Intelligence was a big focus with iOS 18, and while iOS 26 doesn't offer as big a push into AI features, there are some prominent new capabilities. AI will screen your phone calls in iOS 26, offer on-the-fly translations in multiple apps and allow the Visual Intelligence feature to do searches based on content on your iPhone screen. The big Siri revamp isn't likely to show up until 2026, though.

iPhone 17 Pro Max: Outlook

We're getting down to the business end of the iPhone 17 Pro Max rumor cycle, so a lot of potential details have fallen into place. And what we've heard so far sounds pretty intriguing.

Upping the resolution of the telephoto lens would seem like a positive, though that rumor about a shorter optical zoom has us worried. The ability to more easily remove batteries would prove to be invaluable should you ever need to take advantage of it.

I’m unsure about the possible design changes, though all those renders seem to suggest they're happening. At least the new look would help Apple's phones stand out from the rest of the crowd.

More details could emerge in the coming weeks, including firmer ideas about iPhone 17 Pro Max pricing. But we'll soon see how many of these rumors are actual improvements with a likely September event on the horizon.

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone 17 Air rumors — everything we know so far
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