Apple’s iPhone 17 series is just a couple of weeks away from debut, with the Cupertino-based tech giant already announcing its hardware launch of the year would be called “Awe Dropping” and would be held on September 9. Just like every year, the spotlight at this year’s iPhone launch will be on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which is all set to replace its predecessor as the best iPhone money can buy. But how much of an upgrade will the new iPhone have? Let’s find out all about rumored upgrades we have for the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Top 7 upgrades expected
1) Largest battery on an iPhone:
The iPhone 17 Pro Max could have the biggest battery that one has seen on an iPhone so far, as the new device is expected to house a 5,000mAh setup, up from the 4,676 mAh battery on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The increase in battery size could also lead to the phone getting a bit thicker, going from 8.25mm to 8.75mm.
2) New Selfie camera:
All-new iPhone 17 series devices are expected to get a 24MP selfie shooter, up from the 12MP lens on the previous lineup. The new lens, while offering improved image quality, is also said to allow for up to 2x more cropping without causing a loss in quality.
3) Triple 48MP lens:
Apple is expected to upgrade the telephoto sensor on the iPhone 17 Pro Max from the 12MP lens on its predecessor to a 48MP lens. This change would mean that the new Pro series iPhones would be the first to get a triple 48MP camera setup.
The new 48MP lens is tipped to come with 3.5x optical zoom instead of the 5x optical zoom on the current iPhones, which could theoretically make it better for portrait shots.
The new iPhone 17 Pro models are also expected to come with support for 8k video recording, a major upgrade from 4K recording support on the iPhone 16 Pro lineup.
4) Fiery orange is the flavour of the month:
Apple could be leaving behind its history of having muted colour options for the iPhone 17 series with the addition of a new fiery orange colour option with the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. Apart from that, the phones are expected to come in black, gray, silver, and a dark blue sheen.
5) Complete design shift:
Apple is expected to ditch its squarish camera island setup on the iPhone 16 Pro Max in favour of a horizontal camera bump that could house the triple camera setup.
This could mark the biggest design shift in Pro series iPhones in years, and the company is also planning to eliminate the use of Titanium on the premium iPhones in favour of a Glass Aluminium finish.
6) Display:
The new iPhone model is expected to feature a 6.8-inch ProMotion 120Hz display as last year. However, there are some leaks about Apple using a scratch-resistant, anti-reflective display coating on the phone, but that may be pushed to the iPhone 18 series next year.
There are also rumors of Apple working on reducing the size of Dynamic Island on the iPhone 17 Pro lineup, which could lead to a more immersive viewing experience on the new devices.
7) Bigger processing power:
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is expected to run on the new A19 Pro chipset based on the 3nm process, which is likely to result in marginal gains in performance and efficiency compared to the last generation. The phone is also expected to come with 12GB of RAM, up from 8GB on the 16 Pro Max.
The upgraded RAM is expected to help power Apple Intelligence features in iOS 26 more smoothly while also helping with multi-tasking.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is also expected to get a vapor cooling chamber for improved heat dissipation and to prevent throttling during high performance tasks.
