iPhone 18 Pro Max vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: Differences, Specs and US Price Confirmed by Apple
Researched and fact-checked for DigitalDocuTV. US market, USD. Apple pages last checked October 13, 2026.
iPhone 18 Pro Max vs iPhone 17 Pro Max comes down to what Apple has actually confirmed. The iPhone 18 Pro Max went on sale on September 18, 2026 at $1,299 in the US, $100 more than the iPhone 17 Pro Max's $1,199 launch price. This article sets out the differences, specs and price changes listed on Apple's own pages, what stayed the same, and what Apple has not published. It does not rank the phones or say whether the upgrade is worth the price. Performance, battery life and camera quality have not been independently tested here, so every performance, battery and charging figure below is an Apple claim, not a measurement.
iPhone 18 Pro Max vs 17 Pro Max at a glance
- Price: the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299 (256GB), $100 more than the iPhone 17 Pro Max's $1,199 launch price, about 8.3%.
- Availability: the 18 Pro Max is sold on Apple's US store. The 17 Pro Max is no longer on Apple's US store.
- Chip: A20 Pro replaces A19 Pro.
- Main camera: the 18 Pro Max has a new 48MP main camera with variable aperture. The 17 Pro Max has a fixed ƒ/1.78 aperture.
- Battery rating: Apple rates video playback at up to 45 hours, against up to 39 hours for the 17 Pro Max.
- Unchanged: display size and resolution, dimensions and IP68 rating are the same on both.
iPhone 18 Pro Max price and availability (US)
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | iPhone 18 Pro Max | |
|---|---|---|
| Launch price (256GB) | $1,199 | $1,299 |
| Pre-orders opened | September 12, 2025 | September 12, 2026 |
| On sale | September 19, 2025 | September 18, 2026 |
| Sold on Apple US store (Oct 13, 2026) | No | Yes |
Current iPhone 18 Pro Max US prices (unlocked, Apple Store, October 13, 2026):
| Storage | Price |
|---|---|
| 256GB | $1,299 |
| 512GB | $1,499 |
| 1TB | $1,899 |
| 2TB | $2,499 |
- These are the unlocked ("Connect on your own later") prices. Carrier offers and trade-in credits can change what a buyer pays, and Apple's page lists no carrier prices.
- Prices exclude sales tax.
- Apple's page lists the 6.9-inch iPhone 18 Pro Max under its "iPhone 18 Pro" purchase page. Each configuration's page title names the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Apple's lineup page shows a "from $1,199" price covering both the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. The iPhone 18 Pro Max's own starting price is $1,299.
- The 17 Pro Max is not on Apple's US store, so there is no current Apple price for it. Apple's launch announcement gave only the $1,199 starting price for the 17 Pro Max, so its 512GB, 1TB and 2TB launch prices are not covered here.
iPhone 18 Pro Max vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: what changed (specs and differences)
All items below are from Apple's pages. Performance and battery items are Apple's own claims and ratings.
| Feature | iPhone 17 Pro Max | iPhone 18 Pro Max |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | A19 Pro | A20 Pro |
| GPU | 6-core with Neural Accelerators | 7-core with Neural Accelerators |
| Neural Engine | 16-core | Dual 16-core (32 cores total) |
| Main camera aperture | ƒ/1.78, fixed | Variable: ƒ/1.48, ƒ/1.8, ƒ/2.8, ƒ/4.0 |
| Video playback rating | Up to 39 hours | Up to 45 hours |
| Streamed video playback rating | Up to 35 hours | Up to 40 hours |
| Wired fast charge claim | 50% in 20 minutes (40W adapter or higher) | 50% in about 15 minutes (60W-capable adapter or higher) |
| Wireless fast charge claim | 50% in 30 minutes (30W adapter or higher with MagSafe) | 50% in 30 minutes (35W adapter or higher with MagSafe) |
| Weight | 233 g | 249 g |
| Colors | Silver, Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue | Black, Silver, Glacier, Burgundy |
| Recycled aluminum in enclosure | 50% | 85% |
| Operating system at launch | iOS 26 | iOS 27 |
What Apple says about the A20 Pro:
- Its GPU is "up to 40 percent faster than A19 Pro."
- It has "50 percent more memory bandwidth than A19 Pro."
- Its 32 Neural Engine cores deliver "double the AI processing power of A19 Pro."
- These are Apple's claims. Apple gives no test conditions in its announcement.
Other changes Apple lists:
- Main sensor: Apple says the 18 Pro Max's main camera has "a new sensor that improves image quality." Apple does not publish sensor sizes for either phone.
- Thermal design: Apple says the 18 Pro Max's vapor chamber has "three times more surface area than the previous generation on iPhone 17 Pro" and places the chip beside the memory.
- Dynamic Island: Apple says it is "redesigned to create room for additional information."
- Typical use: Apple rates the 18 Pro Max at up to 30 hours of typical use. Apple's 17 Pro Max spec page does not give a comparable figure.
Further changes listed on Apple's pages (checked October 6–9, 2026, not rechecked October 13):
- Pro controls for aperture, shutter speed, white balance and histogram, and Photographic Styles 3, are listed for the 18 Pro Max and were not listed for the 17 Pro Max.
- Apple Reference Image is listed for the 18 Pro Max and not for the 17 Pro Max. It is opt-in.
- Cinematic mode goes up to 4K at 60 fps on the 18 Pro Max (4K at 30 fps on the 17 Pro Max).
- Video digital zoom goes up to 24x on the 18 Pro Max (15x on the 17 Pro Max).
What stayed the same between the iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 18 Pro Max
Per Apple's spec pages:
- Display: 6.9-inch OLED, 2868×1320 resolution, 460 ppi, ProMotion up to 120Hz.
- Dimensions: 163.4 × 78.0 × 8.75 mm.
- Water and dust resistance: IP68 (up to 6 meters for up to 30 minutes).
- Cameras: 48MP Ultra Wide (ƒ/2.2, 120° field of view), 4x telephoto (100mm, ƒ/2.8), and an 18MP Center Stage front camera (ƒ/1.9).
- Storage options: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB.
- SIM: eSIM only in the US, with no physical SIM.
- Wireless charging speed: MagSafe and Qi2 up to 25W.
- CPU: 6 cores on both.
Apple's pages also list the same connectivity on both phones: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread, a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip and USB-C at USB 3 speeds (10Gb/s). The materials (aluminum unibody, Ceramic Shield 2 front), display brightness (1,000 nits typical, 1,600 HDR peak, 3,000 outdoor peak) and the 48MP megapixel counts for the Ultra Wide and telephoto cameras on the 17 Pro Max were checked October 6–9.
Regional notes from Apple
- In China, Apple Reference Image is not available at launch "because of regulatory requirements."
- In the EU, Apple Reference Image capture is not available at launch, and Siri AI is not initially available.
- Apple lists the 18 Pro Max in 20 other countries and regions from September 25, 2026. Prices outside the US were not part of this check.
What Apple has not confirmed about the iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Battery capacity (mAh): Apple does not publish it. Reports from outlets and certification filings disagree with each other, so none is used here.
- RAM: Apple does not publish it. Outlets report 12GB for both phones based on device data, which Apple has not confirmed.
- Camera sensor sizes: not published for either phone.
- Battery ratings are not measured battery life. Apple tests the two phones in separate programs, with different adapters for charging claims. Video playback ratings apply to eSIM-only (US) models.
- Independent testing: no independent benchmark, battery or camera tests were collected for this article.
- Cellular modem: Apple says its C2 modem is new in this generation. Apple's announcement does not clearly say whether the 17 Pro Max used a different modem, so no modem comparison is made.
- 17 Pro Max availability elsewhere: only Apple's own US store was checked. Carriers and other retailers may still sell it.
- iPhone 18 Pro Max stock and shipping times were not checked.
Sources
- Apple Newsroom, iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max (2026): https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/09/apple-debuts-iphone-18-pro-and-iphone-18-pro-max/
- Apple Newsroom, iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max (2025): https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/09/apple-unveils-iphone-17-pro-and-iphone-17-pro-max/
- Apple Tech Specs, iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max: https://www.apple.com/iphone-18-pro/specs/
- Apple Tech Specs, iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max: https://www.apple.com/iphone-17-pro/specs/
- Apple Support, iPhone 17 Pro Max tech specs: https://support.apple.com/125091
- Apple Store US, iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max prices: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-18-pro
- Apple Store US, current iPhone lineup: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone
