iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Biggest rumored upgrades

An iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max comparison can help you figure out which ultra premium iPhone is the right one for you. We're close enough to the likely date of the iPhone 17 launch event that we can almost taste the new models, but with that new release, we'll also see price cuts on existing phones as retailers try to sell off last year's models.

There's a lot to love about the iPhone 16 Pro Max, but the iPhone 17 Pro Max is all-but guaranteed to offer something a little better, even if it's just the usual suite of enhancements that are easy to predict, like a new chipset and improvements to the already-outstanding battery life. But iPhone 17 Pro Max rumors have also given us an idea of other potential changes coming our way that include new cameras, and even a potential redesign.

It's not clear if that will be enough to warrant shelling out new-phone prices on an iPhone 17 Pro Max —especially if the iPhone 16 Pro Max can put up a strong fight against its predecessor.

Here's a closer look at what the iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max match-up is looking like ahead of the September Apple event based on what we already know, and what the rumors suggest could be happening.

iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Specs

iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Price and release date

The iPhone 16 Pro Max launched at $1,199 last year, which gets you a model with 256GB of storage. That's the same price as the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is unlikely to be any cheaper. In fact we're hearing rumors that Apple may increase the prices this year. U.S. buyers may have to pay more because of tariffs, though there are reports suggesting a more general price increase across the board for iPhone 17 models. It's unclear how much more it will cost, but needless to say the 17 Pro Max will be the most expensive iPhone in the whole lineup.

Of course, so long as the iPhone 17 Pro Max costs less than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which has a $1,299 starting price, Apple's flagship may still prove to be slightly better value in comparison.

iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Design and display

Apple's Pro series phones haven't really changed in the years since they were first released, but this year could be different. Various leaks, including renders and dummy units, suggest that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature an all new back-design — one that extends the traditional camera bump into a full-width camera bar.

The positioning of the camera lenses looks unchanged between the generations, but judging from what we've seen the rest of the camera paraphernalia will move across to the right-hand side of the phone. Including the flash, LiDAR and microphone. It's also been speculated that the back may be two-tone, with the camera coming in a slightly different color or material to the rest of the back glass.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is likely to match the 6.9-inch display found on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, but the newer model may come with a "super-hard anti-reflective layer" that also offers improved scratch resistance. To top that all off there may even be a more slim-line version of the Dynamic Island — made possible by shrunken-down Face ID components.

As for colors, the latest rumors suggest that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will be available in orange, blue, black and white hues. It's unclear whether these will retain the titanium metal from previous phones, like the Desert, White, Natural and Black titanium available for the iPhone 16 Pro Max, as a new rumor suggests that only the rumored iPhone 17 Air will feature titanium sides.

iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Cameras

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is one of the best camera phones, but it's always felt like some of the hardware was lacking. That's particularly true of the telephoto lens, which has been limited to 12MP resolution. But those of you hoping for higher resolution may be in luck: the iPhone 17 Pro Max could offer a 48MP telephoto lens.

If that's the case, and we don't see resolution upgrades on the other two camera lenses, it means we may see a trio of 48MP iPhone cameras for the first time. The downside is that Apple may reduce the optical zoom to 3.5x magnification — down from 5x. That said, a different leaker claims we could see that figure rise to 8x magnification.

As for the front camera, we may not be stuck at 12MP for much longer, either. Reports claim that we may see resolution double to 24MP, though that apparently will be the case with every iPhone 17 model.

The real upgrade might be the inclusion of a variable aperture lens. It's unclear how much control users will get over this feature, but reports claim this will allow iPhone users to create their own natural depth-of-field effects instead of relying on features like portrait mode.

Other rumored features include native dual video capture, a new Pro photography app, and potentially a second Camera Control button at the top of the phone.

iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Performance

Apple's A-series chips are some of the best around, and it's all but guaranteed that the upcoming A19 Pro will be superior to the A18 Pro in many ways. It had been rumored that the chip would be built with TSMC's 2nm process, but now it seems that isn't going to happen.

However that's not to say there won't be advances in manufacturing since last year. The A19 series is expected to use an upgraded version of TSMC's 3nm process, which should help improve performance power and energy efficiency, even if it's not on the same level that switching to 2nm might bring.

It's also claimed Apple will include a vapor cooling chamber this year. The feature is designed to siphon heat away from the phone's most delicate components, which should help keep high performance features running for longer.

Ming Chi-Kuo claims the 17 Pro Max will get an upgraded 12GB of RAM, over the 8GB inside the iPhone 16 Pro Max. That move would help out performance of on-device AI.

iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Battery and charging

The iPhone 16 Pro Max has some of the best phone battery life we've seen, lasting 17 hours and 17 minutes in our custom battery test. Considering battery life figures have only risen over the past few generations, we fully expect battery performance to further improve with the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

We just don't know how much better it will be just yet, and that'll have to wait until we do some testing. But considering we should see extra energy efficiency in the 17 Pro Max, we hope it foes up by a couple of hours at least.

One rumor we have heard is that Apple may use the "ionic liquid battery adhesive" on the iPhone 17 Pro series, after its debut on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus last year. This makes it easier for repair technicians to remove batteries, using a jolt of electricity rather than actual glue.

There's even speculation that Apple could build its own batteries for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, though we don't know any details about them — only that Apple is aiming for "“significantly improved performance." This is also said to coincide with the addition of reverse wireless charging, something iPhones have lacked for years.

iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Software

We know all about iOS 26 at this point, thanks to the multiple beta releases that have happened since WWDC 2025. However we don't know how it might differ on iPhone 17 Pro Max, compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The software will likely launch just ahead of the iPhone 17 lineup's release.

There's a possibility of exclusive software features coming to iPhone 17 Pro Max, which could potentially include brand new Apple Intelligence capabilities. But at this early stage we don't have any idea on what those features might be.

iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Outlook

Based on what we've heard so far, there will be some noticeable changes between the iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Some of those are certainly welcome, like the vapor cooling system, 48MP telephoto lens and the new A19 Pro chipset. However others may prove more controversial, like the stretched-out camera bar on the back of the phone.

Whether all the upgrades will be worth swapping out an iPhone 16 Pro Max for is less clear at this point. While upgrading after a year rarely makes sense, it's all going to come down to exactly what Apple has in store for us. The same is true for anyone considering picking up an iPhone 16 Pro Max in the near future, in the hopes of saving some money.

We won't know for sure until after the iPhone 17 Pro Max has been revealed, and how it performs in our testing lab. So for now, avoid making any purchase decisions — because we don't have too long to wait.

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