The iPhone 17 series is all set to make its debut at the “Awe Dropping” event on September 9. The most flashy upgrades to this year’s iPhone lineup will be with the new thin and light iPhone 17 Air along with the iPhone 17 Pro models. While Apple hasn’t revealed any details about the new phones, we have had plenty of leaks throughout the last year that give us a good idea of what to expect from the two devices and how they may stack up against each other.
iPhone 17 Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max
Design:
Both the iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro Max are likely to come with a horizontal camera layout this time around. However, the iPhone 17 Air will likely feature a smaller pill-shaped cutout like the Pixel devices, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max is tipped to get a larger rectangular cutout that could eclipse most of the upper half of the device.
The big difference between these two devices is likely to be in their construction, with the iPhone 17 Air said to weigh around 145 grams and have a thickness of around 5.5mm.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max, on the other hand, could have a thickness of around 7.75mm and would weigh well over 220 grams.
Camera:
Both the iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro Max are likely to come with the same 24MP selfie shooter, with the ability to crop up to 2x images without any detail loss.
The iPhone 17 Air, however, could have a single 48MP camera sensor and lack support for either a telephoto or an ultra-wide angle lens.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is likely to get a major telephoto camera upgrade, with the sensor going up from 12MP on its predecessor to 48MP on the new model. This could mean that the new phone could potentially have a triple 48MP setup on the back.
Display:
Both the iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro Max are expected to come with a 120Hz ProMotion OLED display. The iPhone 17 Pro Max could get a 6.9-inch real estate, while the iPhone 17 Air could come in a 6.6-inch size.
Processor:
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is said to come powered by the A19 Pro chipset based on TSMC’s 3nm architecture. The new processor is expected to result in marginal improvements in performance and battery life compared to the last generation.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Air could come with the A19 chipset, much like the iPhone 17. Both the phones, however, could get support for 12GB of RAM that could help improve multi-tasking related tasks along with running Apple Intelligence-based features.
Battery:
The iPhone 17 Pro Max could come with a 5,000mAh battery, up from 4,676mAh on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Paired with the improvement in the processor and the same screen size, this is expected to result in improved battery life than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to come with a 2,800-3,000mAh battery setup, which could make it the only iPhone 17 model that may not last a full day on a single charge.
Price:
If leaks are to be believed, the iPhone 17 Air could retain the same starting price as the iPhone 16 Plus from last year, which could result in a $899 starting price.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro Max could have a $50 higher starting price than last year due to a rise in internal parts for Apple owing to the US government-induced tariffs. The phone could begin at a starting price of $1,249 in the US.
