Each time new iPhone fashions roll round, I ask myself two questions: Ought to I improve this yr? And, ought to this be the yr I lastly make the soar to the bigger iPhone Professional Max? Some years it is a tougher alternative, corresponding to when the iPhone 15 Professional Max was the one mannequin with a 5x telephoto digicam. However as we get nearer to the iPhone 17 bulletins, I simply may make the leap.
This is a rundown of among the options rumored for the iPhone 17 Professional Max that I am most inquisitive about.
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Making the case to go bigger
The iPhone Professional Max fashions are tanks in contrast with the remainder of the road — nicely, they don’t seem to be on the toughness degree of the Samsung Galaxy XCover 7 Professional, so possibly they’re extra like strong midsize SUVs. However they’re notable for his or her bigger screens, greater our bodies and particularly for having room for extra of every little thing in an iPhone.
And that features a bigger battery. The Max fashions have already got extra battery area than different fashions, however the iPhone 17 Professional Max might find yourself being virtually half a millimeter thicker, at 8.725mm, in keeping with a Could publish by 9to5Mac. Has anybody ever requested for a extra cumbersome iPhone? Really, sure, sure and sure.
The iPhone 17 Professional Max might get thicker.
Add the brand new Adaptive Energy characteristic in iOS 26, which makes use of AI to distribute energy extra effectively when demand is excessive, and we might see a lift in day by day use earlier than reaching for a charger. (Then once more, Adaptive Energy could possibly be a software program workaround that might imply longer life utilizing the identical bodily battery measurement.)
If you happen to’re already dedicated to carrying a bigger iPhone, a tad extra thickness and heft is not an excessive amount of extra to shoulder.
The again of the iPhone 17 Professional case can also be rumored to shift the Apple emblem down from its present perch. That does not seem to be a giant practical change, but it surely ought to assist soothe of us who select so as to add a transparent MagSafe case, for the reason that emblem will likely be centered throughout the MagSafe space. You’ll be able to’t say Apple does not sweat the design particulars.
A leak on X from Majin Bu purports to indicate an iPhone 17 Professional case, although it is not clear whether or not that is one thing assembled by hand to match rumored specs or is a few iPhone knockoff.
iPhone 17 Professional appears so good pic.twitter.com/P7aFwR5FML
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) July 10, 2025
Deliver on all of the digicam upgrades
We will not discuss in regards to the case with out mentioning the digicam bump, which might develop into a extra expansive digicam island (or possibly on the bigger iPhone 17 Professional Max, will probably be extra like a digicam continent) that stretches throughout the width of the iPhone again, in keeping with CAD renders by Majin Bu. We even received a glimpse of a doable check iPhone 17 Professional within the wild when somebody snapped an image of what appears to be an Apple worker utilizing a telephone with a design that matches many rumors (by way of Cunning Pupy on X).
That expanse could embrace an upgraded 48-megapixel telephoto digicam, which feels overdue for a top-tier digicam system. Granted, it’ll in all probability take additional steps to seize photographs within the full 48-megapixel decision, as is the case with the present major Fusion digicam within the iPhone 16 Professional fashions, the place photographs are “pixel-binned” with a number of pixels grouped collectively to boost mild gathering skill. However given the nice outcomes we have seen from the 48-megapixel digicam within the present fashions — the iPhone 16E leans closely on that decision utilizing its sole rear-facing digicam — extending it to the telephoto digicam would undoubtedly be a win for photographers.
Will the structure and configuration of the cameras change from the iPhone 16 Professional proven right here within the new iPhone 17 Professional Max?
Talking of decision, a 24-megapixel front-facing digicam is anticipated, up from 12 megapixels, so maybe my selfies will look higher. Extra probably, it is to spice up the following rumored characteristic.
Examine Out the iPhone 16 Professional Max’s Cameras, Show and Colours
See all photographs
A movable digicam lens
I am breaking out this digicam rumor individually as a result of it could mark an enormous change within the iPhone digicam system. Based on a publish at MacRumors, the iPhone 17 Professional might have an 8x optical zoom. Not solely that, it is mentioned to have the ability to transfer, so maybe there could possibly be a spread of zoom between 5x and 8x that’s all optical (versus counting on digital zoom to crop and enlarge the picture to suit the identical discipline of view). The 5x zoom within the present iPhone 15 Professional Max, iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Professional Max makes use of a “tetraprism” design to attain its telephoto vary whereas nonetheless protecting the digicam bump modest.
iPhone 16 Professional 5x telephoto digicam
Video recording makes a leap
Cameras on either side will reportedly work along with twin video recording utilizing the built-in Digicam app, a boon for conducting interviews or making response movies the place you wish to see either side of a dialog. Third-party apps have been capable of faucet into this functionality for a while, however have not been out there as a default possibility.
Not as necessary for on a regular basis use, however fascinating by way of advancing the state-of-the-art, the iPhone 17 Professional Max might help 8K video recording, as speculated by MacRumors after studies that 8K was examined for the iPhone 16 Professional. The iPhone is swiftly turning right into a manufacturing video digicam, from options corresponding to 28 Years Later to customized cameras constructed from iPhone tech within the F1 film.
An improved cooling system
Recording video in 4K decision, a lot much less 8K, is a demanding, power-hungry process that results in warmth construct up. In already heat environments, it might even overheat the iPhone and quickly shut it down. So the prospect of a brand new inner cooling structure, whereas being invisible to iPhone homeowners, has me nerding out just a bit.
Based on Majin Bu and others, the iPhone 17 Professional fashions will characteristic a “vapor chamber” cooling system. Because the processor heats up, a small quantity of liquid within the chamber evaporates and condenses in cooler areas and is then handed again to the new areas.
Wi-Fi 7 and quick mobile by way of a brand new Apple modem
That is extra geeky and fewer apparent to on a regular basis telephone homeowners, however that is additionally type of the purpose. The iPhone 16E shipped with Apple’s C1 mobile modem, Apple’s first homebrew mobile {hardware} it has been making an attempt to construct with a purpose to wean its dependence on Qualcomm, which has supplied the modem {hardware} in earlier iPhone fashions.
Nonetheless, the C1 lacks a sooner millimeter wave mobile community and does not help Wi-Fi 7, despite the fact that it is extra conservative about energy utilization (and nonetheless performs nicely), an appropriate trade-off for the price range telephone in Apple’s lineup.
The C1 is Apple’s first mobile modem. We might see a extra succesful C2 chip within the iPhone 17 Professional fashions.
However for the iPhone 17 Professional Max, we’re speaking in regards to the subsequent skilled fashions, and an iPhone Professional in 2025 cannot ship with out the newest, quickest wi-fi expertise. It might be extra sensible to see Apple keep on with Qualcomm for the Professional line than embrace the C1 — however I believe a C2 is coming.
Based on MacRumors, the Wi-Fi 7 compatibility could possibly be supplied by a separate devoted chip designed by Apple.
An orange iPhone 17 Professional Max
You do not have to be an ardent fan of the Netherlands nationwide soccer crew to understand the colour orange. Leaker Majin Bu posted renders of the brand new colour lineup for iPhone 17 Professional fashions, and one in all them is gloriously ginger. Not solely is that this fascinating as a result of orange is orange, however as a result of it could be a departure from Apple’s current line of cool, muted colours for the professional lineup. (There are additionally rumors that the iPhone lineup will embrace a brand new sky blue colour, about which I’ve opinions.) I do not disguise my iPhone in a case, so with the ability to exhibit a daring colour appears like a enjoyable concept.
These aren’t the one iPhone 17 Professional rumors we’re monitoring, however proper now they’re those which have me taking a look at my calendar and wishing September might arrive just a bit sooner.
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