iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max review: Mammoth battery life, superb cameras, and MacBook-like power

It's been a while since we've seen something so different emerge from the Apple Design Team.

Since the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, which debuted in late 2020, the appearance of these flagship phones has remained largely the same — a square camera bump with three lenses, flat sides, and an edge-to-edge screen up front.

Granted, there have been changes — like the introduction of the Dynamic Island, the interactive pill-shaped area at the top of the display that surfaces real-time updates from your apps, two years later — but given that we went from iPhone 5 to iPhone X during the same five-year period, it feels like this shake-up has been overdue.

The good news? It was worth the wait.

iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max feel like the beginning of a new era. Gone is the square camera module, replaced with what Apple calls the "plateau" — a raised area that occupies the top third of the rear panel.

It houses the triple-camera system, still in the same triangular configuration, while the LiDAR depth-sensor for Portrait Mode and Cinematic Mode capture, LED flash, and rear-firing microphone are shifted off to the right. It looks unlike any iPhone we've seen from the team in Cupertino, California before.

As such, there'll be no mistaking that you've got the latest-and-greatest iPhone the second that you pull it out from your pocket or bag.

Best of all, this expanded "plateau" design has (almost) eliminated wobble when using your iPhone face-up on a flat surface. As someone who spends most of the week with an iPhone resting on the desk beside us, this is a big upgrade.

For its new look, Apple has switched to a new material. Or rather, a tried-and-tested material that'll immediately be familiar to long-term iPhone fans. Gone is the titanium frame used on the last two models, replaced with an Apple-designed 7000-series aluminium alloy.

That's the hardest, strongest commercial grade of aluminium available, so it should be pretty durable. For the first time, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max use a unibody design, which means the chassis is machined from a single, solid block of aluminium — like the MacBook lineup.

Why the change?

Aluminium is a lot better at dissipating heat than titanium. Combined with the new vapour chamber, Apple says it's able to strategically move heat away from the components that generate it — like the supercharged new A19 Pro system-on-a-chip — and out of the aluminium structure.

While some will miss the premium feel of the titanium frame, the tradeoff is undoubtedly worth it.

With its new thermal management tricks, Apple guarantees up to 40% better sustained performance from the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max over the previous Pro models.

That's critical when its new A19 Pro offers "MacBook Pro levels of compute in an iPhone," according to Apple Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus.

When it comes to performance, iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are sure to blow your hair back.

Editing 120-frames-per-second slow-motion video filmed in 4K Ultra HD doesn't even cause the 6-core CPU to break into a sweat, and applying complex edits to dozens of high-resolution photos takes seconds. With an entirely new GPU architecture, A19 Pro confidently handles fast-paced games that boast ray-tracing, high frame-rates, and other console-quality visuals.

On-device Artificial Intelligence (AI) tasks, like removing unwanted people from the background of your snaps, are speedier too. Many of these features run on-device, with the improved Neural Engine doing the heavy lifting, so you aren't reliant on an internet connection to use features like Writing Tools and auto-summarisation of your notifications — handy if you're commute is on an underground train, or you're working on a flight.

Whether you're looking for enough headroom to ensure your iPhone will feel snappier for years to come, this new handset will be your sole computing device, or you want to script, shoot, and edit 4K footage on-the-move with your smartphone, the A19 Pro won't disappoint.

Aside from the unprecedented oomph from that chipset, there's another bonus to the switch back to aluminium: fun colours.

Sure, it might seem a little trivial, but after years of being forced to choose between the stunning colours found on the standard iPhone lineup (seriously, did you see those gorgeous Ultramarine and Pink finishes on the iPhone 16 lineup?) and the most complete camera and speediest chipset found on the Pro-level handset, it's brilliant to see arguably the most exciting new finish exclusive to the iPhone 17 Pro series.

Yes, Cosmic Orange is a bold statement — and it's absolutely stunning in the flesh.

Interestingly, the only other available colours are Silver and Deep Blue. The latter is a rich shade of navy that feels supremely premium, but isn't quite deep enough to pass as a replacement for Space Grey, which is absent from the lineup this time around.

Whatever colour you choose, you should feel confident using your iPhone 17 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro Max without a protective case. That's because Apple has developed a new type of toughened glass, dubbed Ceramic Shield 2, which it says is 3x more resistant to scuffs and scratches when protecting the 6.3- or 6.9-inch Super Retina Display XDR, and 4x more resistant to cracks on the rear panel.

Yes, most of the rear case is a cut-out with Ceramic Shield 2 fitted to enable MagSafe charging (for all of its strengths when it comes to removing heat, aluminium is terrible at wireless charging).

It'll take more time with the new iPhone lineup to determine whether Ceramic Shield 2 is good enough to make this the go-to smartphone for those with chronic butterfingers, but even a few days in, there's no sign of the light abrasions we'd usually begin to see from the rivet at the top of our jeans pocket.

Given that iPhone 17 Pro has already journeyed in and out of our pocket hundreds of times, that's a good sign, especially if you're about to sign up for a 36-month contract, or don't plan to upgrade for some time and want everything still looking fresh.

And trust us, you'll want to keep that stunning Super Retina Display XDR screen in great condition. These stunning displays offer cavernous blacks and vibrant colours, thanks to the finely-tuned OLED panel. Apple has increased the maximum outdoor peak brightness up to 3,000 nits, which means you'll never miss a detail even when checking your iPhone 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max in direct sunlight.

There's a new anti-reflection coating on the screen too, which makes a difference, but isn't the transformative how-is-that-even-possible experience found on the MacBook Pro's glare-killing displays.

Last year, iPhone 16 Pro increased the screen size from 6.1- to 6.3-inches while iPhone 16 Pro Max expanded from 6.7- to 6.9-inches, the biggest display ever shipped on any iPhone — and perilously close to the 8.3-inch panel on the iPad mini. Those larger screen sizes remain unchanged this year, so if you're upgrading from an older device, you'll benefit from a bit more screen real estate for your apps, videos, and emails.

You'll also benefit from ProMotion, which intelligently adjusts the refresh rates between 1Hz to maximise efficiency, up to 120Hz for buttery-smooth system animations and fast-paced gameplay. The Always-On display lets you check the time, real-time information on widgets, and notifications at a glance. Unlike many Android rivals, the Always-On experience on iPhone remains in full colour and even keeps a hint of your wallpaper visible.

Fortunately, none of the above has had a detrimental impact on battery life.

Both iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max boast stellar battery life. But the iPhone 17 Pro Max is especially impressive and could easily last two days with Low Power Mode enabled or lighter usage. Even under the strain of testing every feature for this review, it comfortably made it through a day despite us watching Slow Horses, playing games, listening to music and podcasts, sending emails and texts, making calls, and taking a lot of photos and videos.

It's worth noting, the versions of the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max sold in the UK have less battery life than those available in the United States. That's because those handsets are eSIM-only, which enabled Apple to repurpose the space previously used to house the plastic SIM card with a bigger battery.

Unfortunately, you won't be given the choice between an eSIM-only model (with the extra battery) or one with the flexibility of a traditional SIM tray at checkout in the UK. You're stuck with the latter.

While the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max definitely impress with their battery life here in Blighty (Apple's own estimates state 31 hours of video playback on the smaller model, rising to 37 hours on the larger model), both handsets can endure an extra 2 hours before you'll need to find a charger when bought as eSIM-only variants.

Every iPhone 17 Pro model enjoys faster charging — refilling to 50% in just 20 minutes when plugged into a high-wattage plug. There's no plug in the box, but these new models charge via USB-C, so you'll be able to use the same mains plug as your Nintendo Switch, Kindle, MacBook, noise-cancelling headphones, iPad, or dozens of other devices at home.

The camera system on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max might look familiar, but it's been treated to a sizeable upgrade. For the first time, all rear cameras are 48MP, so there's no difference between the main camera, telephoto lens, and ultra-wide.

Of those, it's the telephoto that's enjoyed the biggest upgrade compared with previous models. While iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max offered lossless zoom at 5x, these new models offer an optical-quality 4x and 8x zoom. For keen photographers, that's equivalent to 100mm and 200 mm focal length, respectively.

Altogether, iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max will be able to choose between 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x, and 8x for each shot or video clip. There's also a Macro mode for close-up shots that kicks in automatically when you're within 2cm of a subject. It's a pretty comprehensive camera system, and feels like a more natural progression in zoom compared to the 0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 5x found on the Pro-grade models last year.

There's a dizzying array of picture and video modes available to take advantage of that new all-48MP hardware, from Cinematic Video, which adds a bokeh-style blur you'd usually associate with a DSLR behind your subject in video, Panoramas, Action Mode for GoPro-like stabilisation, Night Mode to eke as much light as possible in gloomy conditions without a blinding LED flash, Dolby Vision HDR video capture, Time Lapse, and future-proofed Spatial Video that records dimension from the scene.

But the biggest upgrade to photography on the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max takes place on the other side of the handset. Apple's new 18MP Centre Stage front camera is an incredible step-up for video calls and group selfies.

For the first time, you can take a landscape photo without adjusting your grip on the iPhone. It's as simple as tapping a button. If you're also someone who is always called upon to takes the group selfie (you do it, you've got the longest arms... etc), this is a game-changer.

Holding the iPhone 17 Pro and, especially, iPhone 17 Pro Max in portrait feels more natural, and the shutter button sits naturally beneath your thumb, compared with the struggle of balancing the handset in landscape, supported precariously on a pinky finger, and trying to work out the best place to look for the finished photo.

Apple will even use AI to automatically change the orientation to fit everybody in-frame based on the numbers in the viewfinder. Video calls benefit from the same technique, keeping your face positioned in frame even as your hand tires or moves around.

You can also capture video from the front and rear camera at the same time. So, you could film your child winning the three-legged race at Sports Day and your reaction from the stands. This seems a little gimmicky and we'd be surprised if your social media feeds are filled with these dual-view videos in the coming months.

Out of the box, iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max arrive with iOS 26 installed, the latest mobile operating system from Apple. It introduces an entirely new design, known as Liquid Glass, which Apple called its "broadest design update ever" when it was unveiled during its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this summer.

As the name suggests, Liquid Glass adds translucency throughout iOS, preventing icons and menus from drawing attention away from whatever you're doing on-screen. There are also lifelike light refractions that react to the movement of the iPhone in your hand and some playful squidgy and springy animations as you tap, swipe, and prod the new Liquid Glass elements.

Not only does this make iOS feel more alive, but combined with the Cosmic Orange colourway available for the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, it feels like the Apple Design Team is actually having some fun.

The new look arrives across all Apple devices at the same time, including iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro, and Apple TV — so iPhone owners should feel familiar with these other platforms. Apple has been slowly unifying its operating systems for some time, but this is the first time we've seen a new design language appear simultaneously across all devices. Few apps are now specific to one platform, with the likes of the Phone and Journal app making the jump from iPhone to Mac and iPad for the first time — handy if you're an iPhone users curious about buying another Apple device.

Elsewhere, Messages borrows a few features from WhatsApp, including typing indicators for every person in a group chat. You'll also be able to send polls and set a custom background to your conversations and group chats, picking between a slew of preinstalled options, photos from your library, or generating a never-before-seen image with Image Playground.

Plugging your iPhone 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max into a compatible infotainment system will bring its new Liquid Glass appearance to CarPlay, too. New features in Apple Maps, which track Visited Places with end-to-end encryption and intelligently learns your daily routes to preemptively provide delay notifications and alternative suggestions, will also be accessible via CarPlay.

iOS 26 isn't exclusive to iPhone 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max. If you own an iPhone 11 or newer, you'll be able to take advantage of many of these features too. However, the laptop-like power of the A19 Pro is sure to offer one of the best experiences with these complex animations and lifelike light refractions.

iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are unapologetically Pro-focused phones.

Several upgrades previously reserved for these pricier models are now standard across the new iPhone lineup, including the colourful Always-On display and silky-smooth ProMotion. Instead, Apple has doubled down on the other elements that separate its Pro-grade models — the performance of its custom-designed chipsets, mammoth battery life, and that incredible triple-camera setup.

Everything is wrapped up in a bold new unibody design with some exciting new colours. Whether you're the designated photographer at family events, want that crisp 8x lossless zoom to get the best possible concert photos, or are thinking about starting out as a content creator, the combination of that incredible camera and the speedy A19 Pro silicon that makes editing Dolby Vision HDR video, slow-motion, and high-resolution photographs a breeze makes this the obvious choice.

While the starting price is £100 more than the most affordable iPhone 16 Pro, the iPhone 17 Pro ships with a minimum of 256GB storage for your photos, videos, and apps. Moving from the entry-level 128GB up to 256GB cost an extra £100 at checkout last year, so while the cost of the 256GB model hasn't increased with this new generation, the price of entry into the flagship Pro-level lineup has.