iPhone 17 Pro Max Experience the pinnacle of innovation with the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max. Featuring a stunning 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, every image comes to life with vibrant colors and sharp details. Capture your world with the ultimate 48MP triple rear camera system and an 18MP fro...show more
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“For buyers who want the ultimate, no-compromise iPhone and do not mind the heft. Stuff loves the stunning 6.9-inch 120Hz ProMotion screen at 3,000 nits, blistering performance, a superb triple 48MP camera and battery that nears two workdays from the 4,823mAh cell. The catch is the switch back from titanium to aluminium, seemingly to tame heat, plus its sheer size and weight. Verdict: the most complete and capable iPhone Apple has made, massive, heavy and glorious (per Stuff).”
Read full review on Stuff →“Aimed at committed Apple users wanting the biggest, longest-lasting flagship. Praises a premium large OLED, the best iPhone battery yet, faster charging, class-leading video and strong all-round performance. Knocks the controversial aluminium body that scratches easily, a telephoto that underdelivers on its upgrade promise, immature iOS 26 and a charger that is hard to get outside the US. Calls it the most capable iPhone ever, just short on excitement (per GSMArena).”
“A test-bench take for users who value endurance and sustained speed over looks. Notebookcheck measured outstanding battery life, nearly 29 hours of web browsing and well ahead of the predecessor, and praises better thermals from the aluminium chassis plus vapor-chamber cooling; the US SIM-free model packs an even larger cell. The main gripe is design: the full-width camera bump and titanium-to-aluminium switch divide opinion. Summed up as more performance at the expense of design (per Notebookch”
Paraphrased sentiment from owner discussions across Reddit, forums and YouTube. Follow each link for the original thread.
In the iPhone 17 series battery mega-thread, owner reports skew strongly positive on endurance: the Pro Max sips power and many comfortably clear a full day of heavy use into a second day, a clear step up from recent Pro Max generations, with early cycle-count and battery-health readings looking healthy. The dissent is mostly about expectations versus launch hype rather than real-world stamina, and the faster 40W wired charging also draws praise. (per MacRumors Forums)
Read the discussion on MacRumors Forums →Owners in this multi-page first-impressions thread lean positive: battery endurance is the standout, it sips slowly and comfortably lasts beyond a day, and many say silver looks good enough to run case-free. The recurring gripe is the soft aluminium scratching and denting easily, worst at the camera-plateau edges, with marks spotted on store demo units day one; a few find the blue and silver finishes dull and the body more utilitarian than the old titanium. Verdict: great daily driver, but use a
Read the discussion on MacRumors Forums →Common questions about this product, answered.
Is the 2TB storage enough, and can I expand it with a microSD card?
2TB is the largest iPhone storage Apple has ever offered and is the top tier on the 17 Pro Max. It comfortably holds tens of thousands of photos plus hours of ProRes 4K video, which is why it suits heavy shooters. No iPhone has ever had a microSD slot, so storage is fixed at purchase and cannot be expanded later. Pick 2TB if you record a lot of high-bitrate video or want headroom for years; otherwise you can use iCloud for overflow. — PriceJive
Does it work with dual SIM in South Africa, and does it still take a physical SIM?
Yes. The South African iPhone 17 Pro Max keeps a physical nano-SIM tray plus eSIM, unlike the US version which is eSIM-only. You can run dual SIM two ways: one nano-SIM plus one eSIM, or two eSIMs. It stores up to eight eSIM profiles but only two lines are active at once, so you can keep separate work and personal numbers or a local and travel plan on one device. SA carriers Vodacom, MTN and Cell C all support eSIM activation. — PriceJive
Does it come with a charger in the box, and how fast does it charge?
No wall charger or earphones are included; the box has only the phone, a 1m USB-C to USB-C cable and paperwork, so you supply your own USB-C adapter. With a 40W or higher Apple adapter it reaches about 50% in 20 minutes, and it supports MagSafe wireless charging up to 25W on a Qi2.2 charger (50% in about 30 minutes with a 30W+ adapter). The battery is about 4,823mAh on the physical-SIM (international) model sold in South Africa; the eSIM-only US version is slightly larger at about 5,088mAh. Any quality USB-C PD adapter will charge it. — PriceJive
What is the camera setup and how far can it zoom?
The 17 Pro Max uses a triple 48MP rear system: a 48MP main (24mm f/1.78), a 48MP ultra-wide (13mm f/2.2) and a 48MP telephoto (100mm, 4x). The telephoto also delivers 8x optical-quality zoom at a 200mm equivalent, giving a wide 16x total optical range from 0.5x out to 8x in. The front camera is 18MP. In practice that means sharp wide landscapes, true macro, and usable long-range reach without a separate lens, plus high-resolution selfies and video calls. — PriceJive