The flagship iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are getting improvements in most parts outside of the design, making them feel brand new. Plus a new near-$4K price if you need a 2TB phone.
It’s September, and whether you’re the tech addicted geeks that we are or whether you’re just an everyday individual who loves their phone, you probably know what September means in technology: new iPhones.
Yes, it’s new iPhone season, and in 2025, we jump another number going from 16 to 17, with all of the exciting tech in the premium and flagship offerings.
Like the last few years with the iPhone range, that’ll see Apple deliver the best tech in the Pro and Pro Max, which this year can be found in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, regular sized and larger models of the range in about their most premium styles ever.
So what’s changed, and are they the best of the best for Apple and every other phone?
New almost everything
For starters, almost everything.
Let’s look at the design which on the surface appears the same to glances, but changes under the hood.
The hardware no longer sports the titanium frame of the previous 16 Pro line, switching to an aluminium unibody with glass on the front and back, both of which are protected by Apple’s Ceramic Shield to make it more scratch resistant. On the front, you’ll find Ceramic Shield 2, while the back sees the first generation of the hardened glass technology, a first for Apple.
Switching to a brushed aluminium unibody has created some space, giving room for a larger battery and allowing the company to integrate the antennas around the design. We’re a little reminded of what Apple built in older models like the iPhone 7, but in a different design and now with glass on the back.
New hardware
Inside of that full aluminium and glass casing, Apple is using a new chip, the A19 Pro, a new 3 nanometre processor capable of delivering up to 40 percent more performance than the A18 Pro in the previous 16 Pro and Pro Max, boosting the graphics and AI-ready Neural Engine, too. And there’s even a hefty cooling system on the inside, with apple using a vapour chamber laser welded to the aluminium casing.
You’re also getting a new communication bit of hardware in the mix, an Apple-designed chip sporting support for Bluetooth 6, WiFi 7, and the smart home technology “Thread”. The newly designed processor could also boost the performance of AirDrop, making that more reliable overall.
Unsurprisingly, 5G is a part of the package, likely using the sub-6 5G in Australia instead of mmWave used in the US. What Apple hasn’t yet said is whether the 17 Pro and Pro Max use its own design of a mobile chip used in the iPhone 16e.
New cameras
But it has talked up cameras, because new cameras are also part of the mix. There’s even a new camera design that feels like it could balance the design a bit better, now with an almost phone-width camera block slightly reminiscent of the camera bar on Google’s Pixel 10 Pro XL, but taller overall.
It is not the same camera system, however, and does look to be really quite versatile.
The combination of cameras is now a proper 48 megapixel stack, providing a 48 megapixel wide, 48 megapixel ultra-wide, and 48 megapixel 4X telephoto, a bit of a drop compared to the 5X from last time, but allowing Apple to do something a little different: extend to 8x by dropping the megapixels.
In the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, the 5X camera was a 12 megapixel module, so you got a slightly longer reach, but it was capped at 12 megapixels. By using a 4X 48 megapixel telephoto camera in the 17 Pro and Pro Max, the 4X runs at either 24 or 48 megapixels, while a switch to 8X will run at 24 megapixels, essentially giving you more reach and a bigger image overall.
It’s a bit of a cheat, but it works, and allows the full 48 megapixel camera system to work together as a 48 megapixel “Fusion” camera.
Up front, there’s a change, too: Apple’s 12 megapixel selfie camera is now an 18 megapixel selfie camera with Centre Stage, the frame centring and shifting technology Apple uses on its iPads.
While the iPad equivalent of Centre Stage is about keeping you in frame during FaceTime and video calls, Centre Stage on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max is more about getting the best shot, working in both portrait and landscape even when held vertically. It means you don’t actually need to switch your phone to landscape to take a horizontal selfie with friends.
Both phones will get some high-res video modes, too, supporting the Dolby Vision HDR they’ve had for years alongside features specific to the “pro” models: ProRes video, ProRes RAW, and support now for Genlock, synchronising video across cameras, something Apple’s Final Cut Camera will be updated to support.
Same difference in sizes
The thing that really stays the same is your voice in sizes: regular and large, because that’s a choice that can affect your pocket in more ways than one.
The specs and feature set stay largely the same between the models, with the differences in screen size, battery size, and price.
For instance, if you want the best iPhone in a more “normal” sized model this year, you want the 6.3 inch iPhone 17 Pro, offering a 2622×1206 screen, a battery life of up to 31 hours, and a price tag starting from $1999.
Meanwhile, the biggest iPhone in 2025 is the iPhone 17 Pro Max, a 6.9 inch model with a 2868×1320 screen, up to 37 hours of battery life, and a price tag from $2199.
Both models get the same ProMotion 120Hz adaptive display technology featuring an always-on display (that you can turn off if you like), and they’ll both also be rated for IP68 water and dust resistance.
And yes, wireless charging is also here, though Apple stops short in calling the 25W MagSafe wireless charging Qi2. It technically is, but it’s just 25W MagSafe for folks looking at the specs.
Pricing and availability
The pricing goes much deeper than those starting prices, of course, with both starting from 256GB storage, but increasing price and storage with 512GB and 1TB offerings for the range, with an extra 2TB offering in the 17 Pro Max.
In Australia, the 17 Pro will come in three price points outside of plans, fetching $1999 for 256GB, $2399 for 512GB, and $2799 for 1TB, while New Zealanders across the pond will see prices for their respective models at $2349 for 256GB, $2749 for 512GB, and $3149 for 1TB.
Move to the iPhone 17 Pro Max and things get a little more costly, starting from $2199 in Australia and $2549 in New Zealand. There are slightly more options, too, so those prices can get a little heftier.
As such, the iPhone 17 Pro Max will cost $2199 for the 256GB mode, $2599 for the 512GB model, $2999 for the 1TB model, and a staggering $3799 for the 2TB edition of the iPhone 17 Pro Max in Australia, making it the first near-$4K iPhone. In New Zealand, that $4K mark is hit, with NZ $2549 for the 256GB iPhone 17 Pro Max, $2949 for 512GB, $3349 for the 1TB, and $4149 NZD for the 2TB iPhone 17 Pro Max.
At those prices, you’re likely going to want to hold onto the phones for as long as possible, and maybe skip an upgrade or two.
Availability for both Australia and New Zealand is from next week, kicking off on Friday, September 19, 2025.
Oh, and that new design almost definitely means the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max won’t support the cases of their predecessors, so you might want to factor a case in with the costs.
