iPhone 17 Pro Max Review: Fast Performance, Better Speakers, Centered Face, and Average Battery Life

For 2025, Apple is introducing 4 new iPhone models (not including the iPhone 16e which I assume is from the previous generation). Each model offers something different: the iPhone 17 is the base model (for now), the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are the main upgrade options, and the thinnest iPhone Air ever is either a compromise or the most innovative design Apple has ever delivered–depending on how you look at it.

My previous phone was an iPhone 16 Pro Max, a device I was happy with even though it wasn’t perfect. In particular, the sound from the device’s speakers–something that is very important to me as a visually impaired VoiceOver user–left a lot to be desired.

Within hours of setting up the iPhone 17 Pro Max on launch day, I shared some initial impressions of the device. Now that I’ve been using the iPhone 17 Pro Max for less than a month, I wanted to expand my thinking further and answer some questions that the initial article couldn’t.

For the 2025-2026 cycle, Apple is giving the iPhone Pro a new design and material changes. The frame of the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max is made from a single piece of aluminum, and this is evident from the feel of the device in the hand. On the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the titanium frame feels smoother than the device’s glass back; in contrast, the sides and back of the iPhone 17 Pro Max feel very similar, to the point that I had to run my finger carefully across the back of the device to feel where the aluminum unibody ends and the glass back begins. The new design is a subtle tactile difference that, to me, makes the iPhone 17 Pro Max feel more cohesive.

While the aluminum unibody is a subtle design change that many might not notice, the ‘plateau’ is anything but. Introduced on the iPhone 17 Pro/Max as well as the iPhone Air, the plateau is the rectangular area on the top back of the phone that houses the camera, processor, and other components. Whereas on the iPhone 15 and 16 Pro/Max, the camera is placed in a small rectangular area surrounding the camera, on the 17 Pro/Max that plateau extends almost the entire width and top third of the device. While this isn’t a huge change in terms of the overall thickness of the device, it’s not revealed by at least some Apple-branded cases (I can’t comment directly on anything else); leaving most of the back of the device unprotected. While I suspect this is due to some of the camera components being located on opposite sides of the plateau, this is disappointing for those who, like me, keep their devices in a case. And of course, there won’t be a flat setup of this or any other modern iPhone on the table, period.

One of my biggest issues with the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the speakers. At low volume, the iPhone 16 Pro Max speakers sound flat; with okay mids and small base and small high end; while at high volume, the speaker has a lot of base and high end, but relatively less in the mid range. Apple has, to a large extent, addressed this issue with the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The bottom speaker (which is now located at the bottom left of the device) is much more consistent across the volume range, especially at lower volume levels. Side by side, there are stark differences between the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Pro Max; with the iPhone 17 Pro Max sounding ‘clearer’ and ‘fuller’. In hindsight, I still think that the speakers on the iPhone 16e have more bass than the iPhone 17 Pro Max (and that’s saying something, as the iPhone 16e costs half as much as the iPhone 17 Pro Max at the time of writing), but unfortunately I only have the iPhone 16e on loan and so can’t now compare it to the 17 Pro Max directly. Regardless of whether the iPhone 16e’s speakers are actually better than the speakers on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, the differences I’m talking about are minimal. If like me, you were dissatisfied with the speakers on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I think you’ll definitely notice improvements in this year’s model.

Performance on the iPhone 17 Pro Max is getting better by leaps and bounds, and this is coming from someone who upgrades every year and as such has seen a lot of new devices running the latest OS. As a blind user, I measure performance based on how quickly VoiceOver responds to touch input and how quickly I can move elements around on the screen. And the iPhone 17 Pro Max excels at both.

VoiceOver is very responsive to touch gestures, even when using voices that don’t have the lowest latency. Upon initial setup of the device, I immediately noticed how much more responsive the default ‘Samantha Compact’ sounds; with VoiceOver responding to touch input almost instantly and without lag when swiping across the screen. While your mileage may vary (Siri Voice 4, for example, still experiences delays when navigating), my previous experience using the ‘Samantha Compact’ voice is that it falls somewhere in the middle in terms of responsiveness; indicating that something in the new phones (either the A19 series processor or an increase in ram to 12 GB on all models except the base iPhone 17) is helping VoiceOver performance.

Another welcome but unexpected feature of the iPhone 17 series is the front-facing Center Stage Camera, which automatically centers your face when making a FaceTime call. I had a chance to test it recently while on the phone with my mom, and the response I got was that I was completely centered. For someone who can’t see, this feature is huge and extremely helpful, as I have no other way to know if I’m centered other than guessing or asking the person I’m talking to (the latter of which I likely won’t do). The Center Stage camera also works when taking selfies and videos, although I can’t comment directly on how well it works in those situations. Likewise, the rest of the camera’s functionality is outside my use case, and thus, my ability to provide a sound opinion. And unfortunately, I don’t have any direct information on whether Aira works better on devices with upgraded cameras (although I’ve tried to find out).

If I have one complaint about the iPhone 17 Pro Max, it’s that so far I haven’t noticed a significant improvement in battery life over the previous generation of the phone; when everything I read indicated that I was meant to be. According to Apple, the iPhone 17 Pro Max offers up to 39 hours of video playback and 35 hours of streaming video playback on a charge. Armed with this hope, I have very high hopes.

On most days, I usually finish the day with between 55 and 60% charge; with 58% seeming to be the number I end up with most often. The lowest I remember buying an iPhone 17 Pro Max so far was 41%.

While these numbers are great, they don’t mean they’re extraordinary for the Pro Max model. In fact, when I wrote my review of the iPhone 16 Pro Max last year, I noted that the lowest I got that phone, with the same amount of use and a similar usage pattern, was a 53% charge. If we exclude the day when the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s battery dropped to 41% (a day that included playing a Facebook live video of a state government press conference for about an hour, which must have drained the battery quite a bit), I’ve still ended a few days below last year’s threshold of 53%. And this happened with screen brightness at 0%, iOS 26’s Adaptive Power settings enabled, and no changes made to the Background App Refresh settings.

To be sure, battery life on the iPhone 17 Pro Max is very good. And when compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max running iOS 26, there is a marked improvement. (In other words: After installing iOS 26 on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I noticed an overall decrease in battery life.) But if we compare out-of-box battery life between the iPhone 17 Pro Max running iOS 26 and last year’s iPhone 16 Pro Max running iOS 18 (that is, the two devices running the original version of the OS that shipped), real-world battery life is about the same from year to year with no significant improvements. And this is a little disappointing, because Apple’s marketing had me expecting something much better on a large scale. Is that good? Yes. Is this good for Pro Max phones? Yes. Is this the best battery life on an iPhone? Yes. This isn’t an improvement over what I saw last year when my iPhone 16 Pro Max was new.

At some point every year, I’m bound to hear the question (either on AppleVis or in person), “What iPhone should I get?” That’s an interesting question and could probably be an entire article (and maybe someday it will be). Meanwhile, here are some thoughts:

While I haven’t used an iPhone 17 or iPhone 17 Pro, my guess is either model, or the aforementioned iPhone 17 Pro Max, will serve you well. Due to the iPhone Air’s single-speaker design and relatively less battery life, I can’t in good conscience recommend it unless you already know which phone you want and don’t mind the compromise.

For most people, I think the base iPhone 17 is probably more than enough. The iPhone 17 has a 6.3-inch screen and offers up to 30 hours of video playback and 27 hours of streaming video playback, which far surpasses last year’s iPhone 16 Pro. My only qualms about the iPhone 17 are based more on ‘maybe’ than fact: the iPhone 17 only has 8GB ram, and the iPhone 17 Pro/Max has the Pro version of the A19 processor and an upgraded camera. Will they really matter in everyday use for most people? Maybe, but chances are, maybe not.

If you want an iPhone Pro, your choice will depend largely on the size of the device you want and how much you can afford to pay. The iPhone 17 Pro has a 6.3-inch screen and offers up to 33 hours of video playback and up to 30 hours of streaming video playback; while the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a 6.9 inch screen and offers up to 39 hours of video playback and up to 35 hours of streaming video playback. Apart from the device/screen size and battery life, everything is the same between the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Both phones will likely be amazing. As the saying goes, “Which ice cream do you want? Chocolate or vanilla? Both are delicious.”

Did you upgrade your iPhone this year? Are you thinking about doing it? Do you have a question about something I didn’t cover? Let me know in the comments!