I used the iPhone 17 Pro Max as my main phone for a little over a month (816 hours), and honestly…it’s been the single best iPhone experience I’ve had in a long time. I came from the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and even from that phone this upgrade has been glorious. The battery is on another level for me—on a typical day I’m seeing 10+ hours of screen time and still sitting around 50–55% by midnight. Even on heavy days with video editing, photos, and a bunch of creator stuff, it’s still hanging in there. Design-wise, I thought the new aluminum unibody with the big glass cutout looked weird in rumors, but in person—especially in silver—I fell in love. iOS 26 has been marvelous on the 17 series for me (with a tiny swipe glitch here and there), and Liquid Glass plus the new lock screen customization and depth wallpapers look so good. The display is a standout: brighter (up to 3,000 nits), better anti-reflective than older iPhones (still not S25 Ultra level), and it just feels smoother. Thermals and connectivity are the real “you won’t know what you’re missing” upgrades. This phone stays cool, doesn’t dim on me outside, and reception/speeds have been a game changer. Cameras are insane—front camera is stupidly innovative, and the 48MP 100mm 4x telephoto is the star—though I do have complaints about minimum focus distance and some lens-switching behavior. It’s expensive, so most people should probably buy the iPhone 17…unless you know you’ll actually use what the Pro Max is offering.