Head to head
Apple iPhone 17vsApple iPhone 17 Pro Max
The short answer
Choose the iPhone 17 Pro Max for the larger screen, battery capacity, battery life per charge and video playback time. Choose the iPhone 17 for lower weight. The iPhone 17 is £400 cheaper at UK RRP (£799 against £1,199). Apple publishes no date for either; its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036 for both, our estimate, not Apple’s.
- Released
- 2025-09-19endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £799Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Released
- 2025-09-19endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Price
- £1,199Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19
1 win for iPhone 174 wins for iPhone 17 Pro Max3 gaps borderline1 difference you won’t notice£400 apart at RRP
Verdict: iPhone 17 Pro Max ahead on 4 rows, iPhone 17 on 1 row
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the iPhone 17 wins on weight (177 g against 231 g); the iPhone 17 Pro Max wins on display size (6.9 in against 6.3 in), battery capacity (4,823 mAh against 3,692 mAh, both from GSMArena), battery per charge (53 h against 41 h) and claimed video playback (37 h against 30 h). 3 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: HDR peak brightness (1,600 nits against 1,200 nits) for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, RAM (12 GB against 8 GB, both from GSMArena) for the iPhone 17 Pro Max and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (5,405 against 4,715, both from 3DMark) for the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The difference in Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) is below the threshold you would notice. Both state the same refresh rate, peak brightness, typical brightness, storage (base), battery lifespan, fast charging and wireless charging. The other 33 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
True to scale
Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.
Body
Display
Platform
Memory
Camera
Battery
Connectivity
Benchmarks
2 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for
Google Mobile Services · AnTuTu benchmark. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.
Questions
Is the iPhone 17 better than the iPhone 17 Pro Max?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the iPhone 17 wins on weight, 177 g against 231 g (both Apple UK); the iPhone 17 Pro Max wins on display size, 6.9 in against 6.3 in (both Apple UK), battery capacity, 4,823 mAh against 3,692 mAh (both GSMArena), battery per charge, 53 h against 41 h (both EU energy label) and claimed video playback, 37 h against 30 h (both Apple UK). Every other row is borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.
Which has the better battery?
The iPhone 17 Pro Max, by a gap you’d notice: battery per charge, 53 h against 41 h (both EU energy label). The iPhone 17 Pro Max, by a gap you’d notice: claimed video playback, 37 h against 30 h (both Apple UK). The iPhone 17 Pro Max, by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 4,823 mAh against 3,692 mAh (both GSMArena).
Which is lighter?
The iPhone 17, by a gap you’d notice: weight, 177 g against 231 g (both Apple UK).
Which has the brighter screen?
Neither: both state 3,000 nits for peak brightness (Apple UK). Both state 1,000 nits for typical brightness (Apple UK). The iPhone 17 Pro Max is brighter, narrowly: HDR peak brightness, 1,600 nits against 1,200 nits (both Apple UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.
Which gets updates for longer?
Apple publishes no date for either; its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036 for both, our estimate, not Apple’s. Sources: Apple’s record from endoflife.date and Apple security releases.
Which is cheaper?
The iPhone 17 is £400 cheaper at UK RRP (£799 against £1,199). Prices from iPhone 17: Apple UK store; iPhone 17 Pro Max: Apple UK store.
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.