It’s now been a couple of weeks with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I genuinely think this is one of my favorite iPhone upgrades—mainly because of the camera and the overall feel in the hand. In this review I go through the battery life, design changes, camera upgrades, and whether I think it’s a good upgrade from the iPhone 16 Pro Max. I also share a real-life battery test from my day, because I know that’s what everyone actually wants to see. Battery is one of the biggest upgrades this year (Apple says up to 39 hours of video playback vs 33 on the 16 Pro Max), and I can definitely tell there’s an improvement—but for my heavy-use days, it’s still not always enough. That’s why I’ve been bringing the ultra-slim TORRAS MiniMag power bank with me, especially when I’m out using the camera a lot. Design-wise, the huge camera “plateau” doesn’t bother me, but the dual texture back honestly doesn’t feel as “iPhone” to me—especially in silver. What I do love is the new rounded corners; it’s a crazy difference in comfort and grip. And then the cameras: three 48MP cameras, better zoom options (including a really impressive 8x), and an upgraded 18MP selfie camera with Center Stage. Plus, the new built-in cooling system has kept my phone from overheating at all so far, which is a huge win for everyday use and content days.