Apple juice: 17 reasons to buy or not buy the iPhone 17 Pro Max
Izvestia was one of the first companies in Russia to test the most anticipated new product of 2025, the flagship iPhone 17 Pro Max. The smartphone turned out to be significantly more ergonomic and energy efficient than last year's flagship. At the same time, Russians will not get access to all the functions of the Apple device again. The editors found 17 reasons to buy a gadget or refrain from doing so. For more information, see our article.
No. 1 — for
The updated camera unit has transformed from a familiar "island" into a more austere and at the same time stylish rectangle. Due to its ergonomics, the case is better perceived in terms of style. It made it possible to place larger sensors, so photo and video shooting became better: more details, more light, better ergonomics. In fact, this unit has been upgraded more than the iPhone 16 Pro Max compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
No. 2 — against
The main factor that consumers may refrain from buying is the cost of the device in the Russian Federation. For example, in one large online store, the price for the initial 256 GB iPhone 17 Pro Max model is about 185 thousand rubles, for the most expensive (2 TB) - about 300 thousand rubles. The recommended retail price from Apple itself is $ 1,200, which in terms of the ruble exchange rate is about 100 thousand rubles. At the same time, even the Pro version is not much cheaper: its price starts from 165 thousand rubles.
No. 3 — for
A record—breaking powerful battery is something that the new product can undoubtedly boast of. Its capacity is 5,088 mAh, which is almost 9% more than last year's model. The flagship is capable of working up to 39 hours in video viewing mode, which is six hours higher than its predecessor. The new smartphone requires significantly fewer recharges: if the iPhone 16 Pro Max had to be charged up to twice a day, then this model does not have such a problem.
No. 4 — against
The specific orange coloring has become a hot topic of discussion on social media. Apple has abandoned the black color for the Pro Max model. The novelty comes in three color options: silver, blue and orange. Some conservative users will be disappointed by the lack of a traditional color for the line, which has become extremely familiar over the years.
No. 5 — for
Perhaps Apple has introduced the world's best selfie camera. The front panel is equipped with a 24-megapixel sensor. She received an updated sensor with better light sensitivity. Plus, AI functions allow you to process photos without loss of quality.
No. 6 — against
Apple Pay, Apple Intelligence, Siri — the smartphone still has many services that are not available to Russians and users who choose Russian. A year ago, Izvestia reported on 16 such functions for the iPhone 16, during which time the situation has not changed.
No. 7 — for
Fast charging has become really fast. Now the device charges up to 50% in 20 minutes, instead of 30 as before. At the same time, to achieve this result, you need a charger with a power of at least 40 watts, and you will have to buy it separately from the basic kit — it does not include any additional accessories or peripheral devices.
No. 8 — against
Lack of support for traditional SIM cards in a number of devices for individual countries. When buying a smartphone through unofficial sales channels, there is a risk of running into a model from the UAE, which has only eSIM technology instead of a physical card slot. For some users, this limitation will become a clear problem.
No. 9 — for
The steam cooling system provides improved heat dissipation under significant processor loads. This means that the gadget is much less likely to overheat and overload, followed by so-called statters, that is, severe system freezes.
No. 10 — against
The Pro Max line does not have a "budget" version, as it did a year ago — with 128 GB of memory on board. The starter model starts at 256 gigabytes. However, there is a downside to this — now the most advanced version with a storage capacity of 2 TB.
No. 11 — for
The new product's RAM has become a definite strength. For the first time, it amounted to 12 GB of RAM, which is enough for comfortable work with multimodal applications and programs that are demanding of system resources. This volume ensures stable and fast operation of the smartphone even under heavy software loads.
No. 12 — against
The phone has become slightly thicker compared to the previous model: 8.75 mm for the new product, 8.25 mm for last year's Pro Max model. The increased dimensions may seem inconvenient, especially since the screen diagonal remains the same as last year's predecessor, at 6.9 inches.
No. 13 — for
The A19 Pro chip has become the real heart of the smartphone, providing significant performance gains. The improved graphics module significantly increases the speed of work in games and applications for 3D graphics. Computing cores provide accelerated processing of complex tasks such as video rendering and batch photo processing. These improvements are achieved without significantly heating the case and reducing energy efficiency, which allows the gadget to perform resource-intensive operations while maintaining a low temperature and long battery life.
No. 14 — against
The smartphone gained extra weight, increasing from 227 to 233 g. Although the difference of 6 g may be slightly noticeable, it is still a compromise: the tactile sensations of the device worsened. It hasn't been this heavy in a long time. This is especially noticeable when compared with the 2023 model, which weighed only 221 g.
No. 15 — for
In the first week of pre-orders, demand for the new model was three times higher than for last year's model. Such an increase in interest shows that Russian users are waiting for each new generation of smartphones from Apple, and the iPhone 17 has become the most anticipated device of this year, the MTS press service reported. The leader in pre-orders was Moscow (35%), St. Petersburg — 6%, Yekaterinburg — 3%, Kazan — 3% and Samara — 2%. It is also known that according to the results of the first week, the Pro Max turned out to be the most popular in the new line (49%).
No. 16 — against
The smartphone has obvious problems when using digital zoom, that is, "zooming in" on a distant object or landscape. At maximum magnification, especially at 40x, the quality of photos is noticeably reduced — noise and loss of detail appear. And the pictures are inferior in quality, for example, to the flagship Samsung Galaxy S25.
No. 17 — for
The case uses aluminum instead of titanium. It is a much lighter material, capable of withstanding high physical and thermal loads. It adds non-obvious advantages to the device: for example, it dissipates heat better than other materials, so it is actively used in the aerospace field. In the new product, aluminum is used, among other things, to frame the panel under the camera block, providing better cooling conditions.
Final impressions
The smartphone is better than last year's model thanks to a more powerful A19 Pro chip and an improved cooling system that reduces heat. All three cameras are now 48 MP, including telephoto and ultra-wide, and the front camera has also been improved. The screen has become brighter (up to 3000 nits) and received a better anti-glare coating. The battery life has increased to 39 hours of video, and faster charging has been added. Versions with up to 2 TB of storage have been added and RAM has been increased to 12 GB.
Obviously, the paying audience will be pleased with the innovations, but Russian prices could still be closer to Europe. At the same time, there are still few real innovations: in fact, the smartphone shows restrained progress, without major improvements, as, for example, it was with the transition from the iPhone 9 to the iPhone X. And support for Apple's advanced AI technology Intelligence for the Russian language has not yet appeared. At the same time, there are still numerous restrictions on the use of services by Russians.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
