Apple released its 2025 iPhones today. I was able to preorder an iPhone 17 Pro Max, and have spent the last couple hours setting it up. While the selling point of the iPhone 17 Pro Max was the increased battery life (something I obviously have not been able to test yet), I found myself surprised and impressed in other ways.
This year, Apple redesigned the Pro iPhones. The frame of the phone is made from a single piece of aluminum, giving the phone a singular, cohesive feel in the hand. While thermal conductivity is likely the reason Apple went back to aluminum, I find myself really liking the unibody design. Compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max—where there is a noticeable difference in materials between the titanium frame and the back of the device—the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a much more unified and elegant feel.
Another big design change for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max is what apple calls the ‘plateau’. The plateau is a rectangular area that extends slightly from the top-back of the iPhone and houses the cameras, A19 Pro processor, and other components. Where these components used to be, Apple has included a bigger battery. Think of a ‘camera bump’ but more elegant. The plateau extends across almost the entire width of the device and enough down the length to feel like an element of the design—rather than a solution to a problem.
Performance is, in one word, ‘zippy’. Coming from the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which itself runs iOS 26 quite well, I wondered if the iPhone 17 Pro Max would really feel that much faster. The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Even just navigating the setup screen, VoiceOver was noticeably more responsive to my touch gestures. Whether this increased responsiveness is thanks to the A19 Pro processor, the boost to 12GB ram, or a little bit of both, the end result is that the iPhone 17 Pro Max is far and away the most-responsive iPhone I have ever used.
While I have had only very limited time with the device so far, my initial impression is that the speakers on the iPhone 17 Pro Max sound noticeably better than those on the iPhone 16 Pro Max; with more bass and high ends across the range of volume levels. This will likely come as good news to many, as the speakers on the iPhone 16 Pro Max left a lot to be desired. One last note about the speakers for now: the bottom speaker is now on the left of the device, whereas on recent models it was on the right.
Other things will require more testing. I tried taking a selfie with the new front-facing Center Stage camera, but it was unclear to me as a blind user if Center Stage was engaged and working properly. I was not able to test Center Stage with FaceTime yet but hope to do so for the full review. Speaking of calls, my first and only call so far on the iPhone 17 Pro Max was not the best, with a couple momentary dropouts. I have no idea what that was about—was it how I held the phone on my shoulder at that moment, something with my Verizon service, or just a fluke.
As for that all-important battery life? We shall see. I have high hopes.
Watch this space...
Comments
initial testing of iphone 17 ProMax.
Keep testing. I'm looking forward to upgrading to the 17 ProMax in January of next year. I have been on 15 ProMax.
I may get this phone
I may get this Phone depending on reviews I read. Also planning on going into an Apple Store to have a little play around with it.
Re: iPhone 17 Pro Max: Some (Very Early) Initial Impressions
I happen to agree with Michael's impressions and am grateful for them as had I not had one device of my own they would have been a helpful resource in my decision making process to get one. As I did pre-order just as he did I can say I'm very glad to ahve done so and wish everyone the best of luck with their devices whether brand new or old faithful friends.
looking forward to your full review
Looking very forward to your full review. How does Eloquence sound on the new speakers?
Performance
Looking forward to reading the full review, although I don’t like the Max phones myself.
I must admit to being a little sceptical when people say they notice a real performance improvement from last year’s phone to this, particularly when not even talking about something like gaming. I suspect the placebo effect. Even my old 12 mini is still no slouch when it comes to general navigation.
Of course I may be Completely wrong on this front.
My impression
I think the new design is cool, battery life so far is great, but what really impressed me is the cooling, coming from a base model iphone 15 that always got hot with casual use, I can confedently say this the feature I’ll love the most, even inside a case, I could feel it working, hard to explain, but it feels way colder than it should
i unsure to go for the max, or air
i have the 14 pro max at the moment, i am torn between the air, and the max for my new phone the max just big the air just sounds fab but won't it get too hot and of course, the battery life will be a concern with the air.
BSI
Has the BSI improved? On the 16, sometimes dots are simply ignored, or it thinks my fingers are two close together when they're not.
How does Eloquence sound
How does Eloquence sound on the 17 pro max?
Thank you for the quick review
This is really helpful. I do keep wondering about going max at some point, but the reduced pocketability puts me off. It does seem that the standard Pro is punching above battery life too, so maybe that, or even the base 17, will be a step up from my 15 Pro.
I think a backup MagSafe battery in my pocket on longer trips is my go-to.
Also, regarding speakers, I assume it is the same setup on both Pro and Pro Max with no differentiation in speakers as there is in, say, the MacBook Air 13 to 15?
Are you using a case? Did you go for any of Apple’s offerings and the crossbody strap? I’m very interested in those as I still think they could be interesting for vision-based apps or AI as a type of chest mount.
Not as big as it sounds
It’s really not that thick, in fact most people I showed it to say they feel thinner than last year pro max, I think it is mainly because of the curved borders on the back, what I suggest is trying it out in an apple store if possible, you’d be surprised
Agree with everything you said.
I managed to pre-order myself a 17 pro max as well. Got it yesterday, and have loved every minute. It runs faster, cooler, and the battery is brilliant so far.
The Speakers are a very very welcome improvement and I've been enjoying them massively. Things stay open much better as well with the 12GB of RAM so I'm very happy there.
I love the new design as well, and all in all it does feel like a rather big upgrade even from my 16 pro max which will now be sold and hopefully put to good use.
Interesting
After my disappointment with the 16 Pro Max, I went with the base model of the 17, and even it sounds superior to the 16 Pro Max. Glad to hear the speakers sound better in the new Pro Max.
Re: speaker quality
@Brooke,
I believe Michael Hansen did a review of the iPhone 16e, when it first debuted. In his review, he stated that the speaker quality on that device was superior to the speaker quality on his iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Just goes to show that the bigger phones are not always the better phones.