Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max tie on the OH Rank at a score of 75. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max wins on Screen; Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max wins on Performance. Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max is 0.4mm wider than Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max is the more recent release, from Sep 19, 2025.
EDITORIAL: The most powerful Apple phone until 2025, delivered the best Apple had to offer. It was also the best all around phone on the market in the Fall of 2024, excelling in processor power and video recording while bringing top tier battery endurance, photos, selfies and videos. Apple never offered expandable memory, preferring to charge a lot for larger memory capacity and the use of iCloud. It will probably never include a desktop repacement option either. But this phone's USB C port does provides video-out, waiting for an app that could turn all that processing power into a desktop computer replacement dream⦠Oh, and Apple's iPhone lounch is still the best phone industry event, hands down.
EDITORIAL: Apple decided to introduce an aluminium frame for it's Pro phones after years of promoting steel and titanium as better options. The camera bump now stretches across the top portion of the back to allow for a bigger battery and the new cooling chamber. These make for the biggest design changes in years and its a needed move considering there is much more Android competition in the premium segment. All of the back cameras are now 48MP but photography is not showing improvement over 16 Pro Max while phones from Vivo, Huawei, Vivo and Xiaomi now offer better pics. A new 18MP selfie produces great photos (as did the old one) and iPhone Pros still record the best videos, front and back. New A19 Pro is a good processor but not as powerful as are the latest SnapDragon and Mediatec chips. iOS 26 brings Liquid Glass design language while keeping the fundamentals same. UI design feels a bit outdated with multiple pages of icons and (while labels can now be removed) the overall design is not as flexible as with Android competition.
Both phones here were scored by me, using the same ten categories, with no ads, sponsorships, or manufacturer relationships — this comparison is as objective and honest as it gets.