00:00The iPhone 17 Pro and the Pro Max are not subtle smartphones.
00:03Apple slapped a giant camera bar, sorry, plateau, across the back and painted it cosmic orange.
00:09It's basically screaming, look at me, I'm new.
00:11But I guess that's kind of the point.
00:13But beyond the bold look, the Pro Max is packing some real upgrades.
00:17We're going to hash those all out in this episode of Buy or Skip for my full review of the
00:21iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.
00:25All right, before I get into the upgrades, let's set the stage with the iPhone 17 Pro and the Pro
00:30Max prices, because it's actually good news.
00:33Despite these rumors and concerns over tariffs and inflation driving up the cost of Apple devices, that didn't happen.
00:39The iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1099, and this is technically a $100 increase over the iPhone 16 Pro's starting
00:45price, but with a higher starting 256 gigs of storage.
00:49The 17 Pro actually is the same cost as a 256 gig 16 Pro.
00:54Then we got the iPhone 17 Pro Max starting at $1199, exactly the same price as the iPhone 16 Pro
01:00Max.
01:01It goes up to a record $1999, but that's for the 2 terabyte configuration, and it's the first iPhone you
01:07can buy with that much storage.
01:09Now, let's look at this design.
01:10Apple took a risk with the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, and I actually think it pays off.
01:14I prefer the wide camera bar to the previous patch, and the two-tone look is refreshing.
01:18Sure, some people are going to hate it, but overall, this is what Apple had to do to not let
01:22the iPhone Air kind of totally steal the show.
01:25And I'll talk about that more later in this video.
01:28The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are made tougher, too, with a ceramic shield 2 front that's three times
01:33more scratch-resistant and a ceramic shield back that protects better against cracks.
01:37Apple raised a lot of eyebrows when it revealed the iPhone 17 Pro would ditch titanium and go back to
01:43an aluminum unibody, but this was actually a really smart move.
01:46If you have an iPhone 16 Pro, or even the iPhone 15 Pro, have you noticed that your phone gets,
01:51like, really hot?
01:52Compared to titanium, aluminum is more thermally conductive and feels cooler in your hand.
01:57Pair that with a vapor chamber cooling system that is designed to minimize heat, and you wind up with a
02:01phone with better sustained performance, which we're going to get into.
02:06Speaking of performance, this is something I've been really excited about during the review period.
02:10It's no secret that performance has been a little bit of a sore spot for iPhones, at least looking at
02:14some flagship competitors.
02:16But the new A19 Pro chip powering these phones is a game-changer.
02:20In my test, the iPhone 17 Pro Max crushed through demanding games like Destiny Rising without breaking a sweat.
02:25On Geekbench and 3DMark, it beats the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and we did a separate graphic stress test where we
02:31run it for 20 minutes, and then at the end, we measured the temperature as well as the sustained performance.
02:36And overall, the 17 Pro Max reliability score was 15 points higher than the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
02:43If you do want to see the whole breakdown of the test results, including the graphics test, I'll put a
02:47link to the full written review in the description.
02:49But overall, we're seeing really impressive numbers, and I think the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Pro should make Samsung
02:55worried.
02:56Is that also the case for the cameras?
02:58Well, this year, Apple has been listening to all of our complaints and is going all in on zoom.
03:02The new 48-megapixel telephoto, which is one of three 48-megapixel sensors on this redesigned camera plateau, gives you
03:09up to 8x optical quality zoom.
03:11Against the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the 17 Pro holds its own up to about 10x, though yes, Samsung still wins
03:18at 40x and the crazy 100x ranges.
03:21What impressed me most was low light.
03:23The iPhone blew away Samsung in a skull and books test shot, where you could actually read the text on
03:28the iPhone's photo.
03:29The new 18-megapixel center stage front camera is also extremely clever.
03:33It automatically widens the landscape when more people jump in the frame.
03:37It's perfect for group selfies, and it makes my job as a photographer on family vacations a lot easier.
03:42As a videographer, it's the front camera again that's the standout.
03:46The new, native dual-capture feature lets you record using front and rear cameras at the same time,
03:51and it's a great way to show your reaction to whatever you're filming.
03:54I found the stabilization and moving shots, like when I'm running, for example, to work very well versus the S25
04:00Ultra.
04:01I did take a lot of photo and video comparisons beyond just what you're seeing here,
04:04so you can find all of those at the same review link in the description.
04:09I got to spend a lot of daytime hours with the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max,
04:13so I can confidently say it's built for bright, sunny environments.
04:16The 6.9-inch OLED hits 3,000 nits of peak brightness.
04:19That's up from 2000 last year, though some of that is also thanks to a new anti-glare layer.
04:24If brightness is your concern when smartphone shopping, I will say the Pixel 10 Pro XL is the absolute winner
04:31in this category.
04:32That phone is basically a portable spotlight.
04:35Battery life, on the other hand, is a big reason to get the iPhone 17 Pro Max or Pro over
04:40the standard iPhone 17 or the new Air.
04:43How long the iPhone 17 Pro Max lasts is genuinely impressive.
04:47In our proprietary web surfing test, it ran for 17 hours, 54 minutes, and 32 seconds.
04:52That's the longest-lasting iPhone we've ever tested.
04:55Out of curiosity, we re-ran the same test on a fully healthy iPhone 16 Pro Max, which lasted just
05:01over 14 hours.
05:02That's roughly a three-hour improvement with the 17 Pro Max.
05:06We were still retesting the smaller iPhone 17 Pro at the time of filming,
05:10so the final results will be in the full review linked in the description.
05:13But early numbers point to a very positive story for battery life across the new lineup.
05:18Apple also finally gave us faster charging, 50% in 20 minutes,
05:22with the new 40-watt brick, sold separately, of course, and linked down below if you want to pick one
05:26up.
05:27For context, in my testing, I got up to 64% in half an hour with the 17 Pro Max,
05:32better than the 55% on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
05:36So yeah, it makes a difference.
05:39Everything I've been saying so far paints a pretty positive picture of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max,
05:44but it's not all good.
05:45It really bugs me the iPhone 17 Pro Max is heavier and thicker than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
05:51But where you're really going to feel and see the difference is versus the iPhone Air.
05:54At the same time we're getting this super thin, almost impossibly light iPhone, we're getting a chunkier Pro.
05:59But if I had to pick one complaint with the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max,
06:03it's how underwhelming the AI experience truly is.
06:06Apple intelligence sounds good on paper, but it doesn't match Google or Samsung.
06:09Features like visual intelligence and smarter shortcuts are nice,
06:13but compared to Google's Gemini Live, which can analyze your screen in real time,
06:16Apple feels behind.
06:18With iPhone, you actually have to screenshot first,
06:20and Siri still won't give you spoken answers back.
06:23Now, iOS 26 itself looks great.
06:25The new liquid glass design gives everything a sleek, modern vibe,
06:28and there are genuinely useful upgrades like call screening and hold assist.
06:32You can even customize messages with polls and backgrounds, which is fun.
06:35But none of that changes the fact that Apple's AI story isn't as strong.
06:39To say there's a lot riding on the new Siri rollout, which is delayed, is an understatement.
06:44The stakes when it comes to AI are only getting higher.
06:46And if you do want to hear more where Apple stands on that,
06:49be sure to check out my interview with Craig and Jaws from WWDC here on the channel.
06:54Now, I know this video is about the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max,
06:57but I can't not talk about the iPhone Air,
06:59especially because it has the same A19 Pro chip.
07:02I've been able to spend some time with the iPhone Air,
07:04and it's totally living up to the promise of being slim, light,
07:07and easier to slip into a pocket compared to the chunkier Pro Max.
07:11If you care most about comfort and minimal bulk,
07:13the Air is the one you'll actually want to carry around every day.
07:16But it just can't keep up in terms of power and features with the Pro and Pro Max.
07:20They give you a full triple camera system with true 8x telephoto zoom,
07:24macro shots from the ultra-wide, and better sustained performance.
07:28The iPhone Air has a single camera and no vapor chamber cooling.
07:31And battery life?
07:32After a 5-hour video rundown test on YouTube over Wi-Fi,
07:35the iPhone Air was down to 81%, which is pretty good,
07:38but the Pro Max was at 88%.
07:40In the same web surfing test I showed the chart for earlier,
07:43maybe you caught that the iPhone Air lasted just over 12 hours.
07:46That's nearly a 6-hour difference in battery life
07:49versus the iPhone 17 Pro Max to take into consideration.
07:52So the Pro Max is still king when it comes to endurance.
07:57So, buy or skip?
07:59If you're on an iPhone 15 or 16 Pro or Pro Max, I'd say it's okay to skip.
08:03For me, though, this is the sweet spot to upgrade
08:05if you're on an iPhone 14 Pro or later.
08:08It is also worth the buy if you want the iPhone
08:10with Apple's best features to offer right now.
08:12Yes, it's heavy.
08:13Yes, the AI is behind.
08:15But between the tougher build, the better cameras,
08:17brighter display, and cooler sustained performance,
08:19this is the Pro and Pro Max that earns its name.
08:22Besides, the kind of Apple intelligence improvements I'm hoping for
08:25should be able to run very well on these phones via a software update.
08:29At least that better be the case.
08:31But I'm curious.
08:31What do you think of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max?
08:34I really want to know if anyone got the iPhone Air instead.
08:37So whichever way you want to go, tell me why.
08:39If you found this review interesting or helpful,
08:41consider hitting that subscribe button and turning on notifications.
08:45Thanks for watching.
08:46For Tom's Guide, this is Mark Spoonhour.
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