Apple now offers two flagships that answer the smartphone problem in remarkably different ways: the ultrathin iPhone Air and the feature-stuffed iPhone 17 Pro Max. I audio tested both back to back, pushing them through travel, camera work, gaming and everyday productivity. They’re both great — but one is the savvier purchase for most folks.
Design and build
Three years ago, I predicted Apple would release the iPhone X, but instead it shipped the iPhone 8 and X — so that’s Apple’s name game. The iPhone Air’s shtick is its profile: a mere 5.6mm thick. It feels like something that jumped out of a lab, though it doesn’t bend or creak thanks to Grade 5 titanium edges and Ceramic Shield protection on the front and back. It also features Apple’s second‑generation Ceramic Shield, which it says offers 3x better scratch resistance and lower reflectivity; it is, as with most glass, a fingerprint magnet, though it shrugs off keys and grit significantly better than last year’s glass.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max isn’t about thinness — it’s about strength. It’s bigger and heavier, but its 6.9-inch body is well proportioned for two-handed use, and the extra weight aides heat management during prolonged tasks. If you’re the type who puts a case on your phone, be advised: the Air’s advantage shrinks once you add a millimeter of TPU, though its pocketability still feels a notch better.
Display and brightness
Both have the same Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion for smoother 120Hz refresh. It’s the scale and the headroom. The Air’s 6.5-inch display is crisp and roomy; the Pro Max expands to 6.9 inches and tops out at a searing 3,000 nits. In full sunshine the Pro Max maintains color accuracy and high contrast a little bit better. Anti-reflective tweaks on the Air help mitigate this, but brute-force brightness wins out on the Pro Max in bright light.
Text sharpness, HDR video playback and scrolling smoothness are all top-notch on each. If you work with spreadsheets, photos or timelines on the move, the extra canvas on the Pro Max is productivity you can look at.
Performance and thermals
Both phones feature Apple’s A19 Pro, so single‑threaded bursts are very similar. It is a difficulty that is exacerbated during sustained loading. iPhone 17 Pro Max’s vapor chamber cooling maintains performance so that clocks are higher and sustained for longer during 4K video recording, extended gaming and on‑device machine learning workloads. The Air can throttle after a few minutes under full load — not mortifyingly, but sufficient to shave down frame rates and export times. That consistency means something if your phone is a tool of production and not just a pocket-based communicator.
Cameras and creator tools
And on the iPhone Air hot takes slashing, burning and overthrowing the previous assumptions with an intentionally streamlined proposition: a single 48MP Fusion main camera that provides the equivalent of multiple focal lengths with an FOV of 28mm and 35mm. It’s point‑and‑shoot reliable, with fewer choices between you and a sharp, contrasty image. New for all models is an 18MP Center Stage selfie camera that knows when you’re in portrait or landscape and can subtly follow you without the phone spinning around.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is designed for range and precision: 48MP main, 48MP ultra‑wide, and 48MP telephoto. More importantly, it includes ProRes RAW, as well as support for Log 2 and genlock. Those are not bullet points; they are workflow enablers. ProRes RAW maintains the dynamic range for color grading, Log 2 stretches the color gamut and genlock synchronizes multi‑camera systems. If you’re using the phone with drones or mirrorless bodies on the shoot — a handset becomes a legit B‑cam, then. Genlock is for one of the only things a film school instructors will ever test, the difference between “can shoot” and “can deliver.”
Battery life and charging
Rated endurance differences outright divide: a maximum of 27 hours of video playback on the Air, a maximum of 39 hours on the Pro Max. In actual use, the Air pulls through a dense work day with 10–20% left; the Pro Max usually rattles to midnight with 30–40% left. On travel days full of navigation, tethering, camera work, only the Pro Max allowed me to skip the midday top‑up. Cooler running from the vapor chamber also helps the Pro Max maintain performance without the warm‑hand effect.
Connectivity and storage
The iPhone Air goes eSIM‑only. For most buyers, this is a non‑issue — GSMA says that hundreds of carriers now support eSIM spanning major markets — but if you’re a frequent international traveler, it won’t hurt to check local support before landing. Power users who swap between work and personal numbers will appreciate the convenience of managing more than one eSIM profile without having to change SIM trays.
All storage is specific to the demographic. The Air goes up to 1TB; the Pro Max rises to 2TB, which is meaningful if you record ProRes or maintain offline media libraries. Phone replacement cycles are averaging around three years in U.S. studies by companies such as CIRP and Counterpoint Research, so buying a little more headroom is prudent insurance.
Price and value
Prices begin at $999 for the iPhone Air and $1,199 for the iPhone 17 Pro Max. You are paying the premium for the Pro Max’s larger display, longer battery life, extended camera system and better thermals. If those matter to you most, the extra $200 delivers value each day.
Verdict: I’d Take the Pro Max
The iPhone Air is the most beautiful iPhone Apple has ever made—ridiculously thin, durable, and delightfully easy to shoot with. But when I take a look at the stacked pile of things that matter over years of ownership — stamina, thermal stability, bright outdoor readability and a camera system that can scale from family trips to client work — the iPhone 17 Pro Max takes the lead. It’s the phone I would buy and would recommend to most people who want the best iPhone without compromise.