iPhone 17 Air vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: Price, Design, Display, Camera and Battery Compared
Apple’s iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro Max are set to launch on September 9, 2025. Here’s a comparison of their design, price, display, cameras, and battery life.
Apple iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro Max will debut at the September 9 “Awe Dropping” event, bringing big changes in design, display, and cameras.

Apple is preparing for the September 9, 2025, "Awe Dropping" event, which will introduce the iPhone 17 series. Highlights include the incredibly thin iPhone 17 Air, which is said to be only 5.5 mm thick, and the feature-rich iPhone 17 Pro Max, which has a huge 6.9-inch 120Hz OLED screen and a 5,000mAh battery. This is a thorough comparison of the cameras, battery, design, performance, and cost.
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- The iPhone 17 Air is anticipated to be the thinnest iPhone ever made by Apple, weighing 145 grammes and measuring 5.5 mm in thickness. It might have a smaller front camera cutout in the shape of a pill.
- The iPhone 17 Pro Max may weigh more than 220 grammes, measure about 7.75 mm in thickness, and feature a larger rectangular camera cutout that takes up most of the back panel.
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- The iPhone 17 Air is probably going to have a 6.6-inch OLED ProMotion screen with a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
- A 6.9-inch OLED ProMotion display operating at 120Hz is anticipated to be included with the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Performance and Processor
The A19 Pro chipset, which is based on TSMC's 3nm architecture, is rumoured to power the iPhone 17 Pro Max. It comes with 12GB of RAM for improved multitasking and AI-powered features.
The iPhone 17 Air is anticipated to run the standard A19 chipset and support up to 12GB of RAM.
The camera
- Both front cameras are 24MP and have a 2x lossless crop zoom.
- The iPhone 17 Air has a single 48MP rear sensor that does not support telephoto or ultra-wide.
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: Likely to feature a triple 48MP setup, with wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto lenses. The telephoto upgrade is significant compared to the 12MP sensor on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Battery
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: Could pack a 5,000mAh battery, an upgrade over the 4,676mAh battery in the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
- iPhone 17 Air: Expected to carry a 2,800–3,000mAh battery, which might not deliver a full day’s charge.
- Price (Expected)
- iPhone 17 Air: May start at $899, similar to the iPhone 16 Plus.
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: Could start at $1,249 in the US, about $50 more than last year’s iPhone 16 Pro Max due to higher component costs.