iPhone 17 Pro Max Review: There’s been a flurry of interest around the iPhone 17 series and the iPhone Air. In fact, it was after a while that so many people called me for recommendations on upgrades during the launch week itself. Interestingly, a lot of these people seem to be using the iPhone 13 series, and are itching for an upgrade. That is why I looked at the iPhone 17 Pro Max primarily from the lens of an iPhone user upgrading after a few years. Orange is the new black With the iPhone 17 Pro series, Apple has underlined how easy it is to create a headturner device by just playing around with the colours. The cosmic orange has created more buzz around a phone than anything else has in years. While the silver and deep blue are more traditional colours, everyone wants to take a look at the orange because they love it or love to hate it. What a marketing coup for Apple. But the colour is too loud for me, and I preferred to take it around in one of the cases from Apple that mutes the orange a bit. There is a new crossbody strap that can make everyone take notice of your phone again, but I would use that when I’m out on a hike or being a tourist doing very touristy things. Also, the back of the cosmic orange iPhone is dual-toned with the unibody aluminum chassis blending into a lighter ceramic shield. So, it is not like you are getting bright red orange throughout. For those upgrading, the new, larger camera plateau will be a differentiator from the earlier experience. Without a cover, this is a significant bump. The volume and action buttons are on the left, while the power and camera buttons are on the right. While just a few grams heavier, the iPhone 16 Pro Max does feel lighter in comparison. One big change that Apple is rolling out this year is iOS 26, which comes pre-loaded in all new iPhones. I am old enough to associate liquid glass design sensibilities with Windows Vista, but younger people will actually find this refreshing. If you are upgrading, muscle memory will get in the way, and you will be looking for familiar buttons and animations. While you do get used to all this transparency in a day or two, you will also encounter screens that will make you squint to read the text. Despite the rough edges, which should get sorted out with the first couple of updates, the liquid glass feel on a metal phone is fun and contemporary. The customisation features on the homepage are getting better, and now everyone literally has their own version of the iPhone. A cooler phone, but still more powerful As someone who has been using the iPhone 16 Pro Max for a year, which was till weeks back the most powerful smartphone I have used, it was tough to figure out how the iPhone 17 Pro Max was better with its A19 Pro silicon. Everything is already so fast that in regular usage, it is hard to differentiate the improvements. In fact, I have been saying this about flagships for a few years now. If you are upgrading from an iPhone 13, then the change will blow your mind. This is way faster and powerful than anything you would have held in your hands. One major change with the iPhone 17 Pro series is how Apple has now added vapour cooling to ensure the phone has better thermals. While everyone will associate this with gaming, I think this is more focused on the large user base shooting professional videos with the iPhone Pro series now. You can shoot long clips in 4K, and this phone will still stay cool. Even if you push the envelope and edit the long video on the phone, it won’t complain. And, of course, you can use it for top-end gaming too. Another impact of this cooler phone is how the battery now lasts longer, as it is not wasting energy. It is not that the earlier iPhones were heating up, but this one is actually cooler. In the 10-odd days I used this phone, shooting multiple aspects of my home state, the iPhone 17 Pro battery lasted well over 18 hours on a full charge. A zooming good camera, again Over the past few years, I have encountered people who use the iPhone Pro models primarily as a camera that lets them do whatever they want wherever they are. There were a few things that they couldn’t do with the iPhone, like the extra zoom, and it seems Apple has worked on that front this time. The big change in the iPhone 17 Pro cameras is the 8X digital zoom. When you compare numbers, Apple does not come close to Samsung or Vivo flagships, but the fact is that this 8X zoom is iPhone quality and good enough for professional use. The digital zoom can go up to 40x with different levels of pixellation depending on the light. I could capture a kingfisher relishing a freshly caught fish along the mangroves in Kozhikode, with the digital zoom causing a bit of pixellation due to the low light But when I trained the camera on the Arabian Sea, I could see a boat with the naked eye, nor the 1x camera captured. At 24x zoom, I could see the colours of the boat and the strong Kerala sun reflected off it. Another aspect of the video camera that I noticed was the audio quality. As unseasonal rains made it a wet Puja season in Kerala, the iPhone 17 Pro Max captured the sounds of the rain with all its nuances and reality, even for those watching my Instagram Lives. The iPhone 17 Pro offers eight different cameras, all with a different framing that is ideal for your requirements — there is the 0.5x ultrawide, 1x with 24mm, 28mm and 35mm, 2x, 4x and 8x. This versatility is what endears this camera to those who still live by still photography like me. While smartphone cameras do colours so well these days, the iPhone still gives it the most natural feel. And for those who like playing with tones to create a distinct style of their own, there are enough options that come in natively now. However, the muscle memory aspect will kick in a bit here, too, as with the camera app, your options are now hidden a layer below. Should you upgrade? Yes, if you are a Pro user who will squeeze out the best of the iPhone camera and processor in every sense. If you love to shoot photos and videos, or do it as part of your work, there is no better option out there. And if you have been doing it with an iPhone older than the iPhone 15 Pro, then this definitely is a worthy upgrade. For those on newer iPhones, you could wait another year to see a significant jump in your experience. You can still upgrade if the 8X camera is something you want to try out. This is the perfect smartphone for creative people who want to have Pro powers wherever they are.
