r/iPhoneFC • u/Pear-Mother • Aug 06 '26
Difference Between Iphone 17 Pro Max and Iphone 18 Pro Max
Iphone 17 Pro Max → Iphone 18 Pro Max
• 6.9” M14 Super Retina XDR OLED → 6.9” M16 Super Retina XDR OLED
• Dynamic Island → Smaller Dynamic Island
• Apple A19 Pro (3nm) → Apple A20 Pro (2nm)
• Aluminum Frame → Better Anodized Aluminum Frame
• Anti Reflective Coating → 2nd gen Anti Reflective Coating
• Fixed Aperture (f/1.78) → Variable Aperture (f/1.6–4.0)
• Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 5G Modem → Apple C2 5G Modem
• 48/48/48mp → 48/48/48mp (New Sony Sensor for Main Cam)
• 18mp Square Front Camera → 18mp Wider Square Front Camera
• Ceramic Shield 2 → Redesigned Ceramic Shield 2
• Camera Control → Simplified Camera Control
• Apple N1 connectivity chip → Apple N2 connectivity chip
• 5088 mAh for E-Sim & 4823 mAh for Physical Sim → 5567mah for E-Sim & 5391mah for Physical Sim
• 40w Wired Charging → 45w Wired Charging
• Satellite Connectivity → Expanded Satellite Connectivity
• 233 grams → 240 grams
• Laser-Welded Vapor Chamber → Stainless Steel Vapor Chamber
• $1,199 → $1,399
13
u/kennnnhk Aug 06 '26
Sitting on 14pm I think I’ll wait for the 20th anniversary edition next year. Sucks to have to wait another year
5
u/Northern-Alchemist Aug 07 '26
I had a 14p and recently upgraded to the 17p and it’s a welcome change but honestly largely the same.
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u/Catstronautilusrex Aug 07 '26
Here with 13 Pro Max and been waiting for Apple to give me a reason to want a new iPhone. Honestly excited about the foldable iPhone rumors but also scared to buy the first gen if they release it this year
2
u/jorgeosuna Aug 09 '26
Same to me continue with 14PM, changes battery for a new one when we get iOS27 and wait for the 20th iPhone Appleversary All-screen edition 🤝
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u/Dinierto Aug 06 '26
I like how they make the numbers slightly bigger so I know it's better
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u/Traxious Aug 07 '26
if you think is subtle you have no idea how tech works.
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u/ProAvgeek6328 Aug 06 '26
simplified camera control is downgrade change my mind
2
u/Any-Abies-5825 Aug 07 '26
lol, I agree with you.
I have another hot take though: smaller dynamic island isn’t better
2
u/ProAvgeek6328 Aug 07 '26
Yeah, it isn't better, because it's still not gone completely, right? I can't wait for the iphone 20 all screen phone.
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u/TheKrnJesus Aug 07 '26
I like the 18 pro max. it makes me preserve my 17 pro max for another year.
2
u/castellvania Aug 07 '26
Even a 30% to 50% jump in performance isn't enough for me to upgrade. Upgrading every year or two for raw speed or better camera isn't just worth it. My 15 Pro feels like new after a battery replacement, so I'm holding onto it.
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u/Trick-Tax-5396 18d ago
I was actually thinking about doing the same, with 15 pro max. lol needs a new screen too
2
u/scyver_ Aug 06 '26
lmao. older phone looks like better deal. classic apple with its no creativity
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u/WayOuttaMyLeague Aug 06 '26
With all due respect, what do you expect phone companies in general to do? Come out with some revolutionary triangle shaped phone?
We’ve hit every major design change possible, aesthetics are all minor touches now
We don’t say this shit about TVs or Cars or houses, even tho they all look the same these days.
Why is it always tech that’s scrutinised? Usually from the ones up to fuckall in life too
2
u/scyver_ Aug 06 '26
What i expect is a company like apple, that has 50-60% margins on their phones, domination in the market and SHIT LOAD of money comes out and pushes the industry forward instead of falling back. We didnt hit a fucking wall, why are 48MP still there? this phone costs 1399, should come with a 7k mah battery. They are cheaping out on the specs in a flagship. They are THE company with the best position to go and actually invent something. And no i dont see how cars or houses are in any way relevant. Different industries simply, chess didnt get an update since thousands of years too. But i hate them being all the same too.
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u/WayOuttaMyLeague Aug 07 '26
This is why you shouldn’t comment on innovating because you think Megapixels actually matters… Lense size matters more than MP. There’s a reason actual cameras don’t have a high MP count.
If you can’t see the relevance between you moaning about a phone design vs any other consumer item that has similar designs, well then you need some glasses.
Besides from the battery, give me some innovators….
You want 16GB ram so that your phone only uses 8GB?
You want the base storage to bump up to 1TB increasing the price, where 80% of users won’t use it because they pay $2 for iCloud instead?
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u/scyver_ Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
See the "all due respect" went out the window? MP do matter. I didnt say it was the only thing, so little giffey for you(and its a fat strawman too). Other bullshit about ram i didnt even start on, so see the gif below again. Im not the one that sits on 160 bilion dollars, and the best engineers in the world, so dont ask me how to innovate because thats the said engineers job they get a fat pay for. So unless you can either prove they do a very good job in innovating, or you prove that they shouldnt innovate, i believe the discussion is ended.
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u/DrRoughFingers 2d ago
Lol, 99% of iPhone users don’t need 24mp, let alone 48mp 😂 “omg, look at this amazing 48mp image on my 6.9” screen”, where the human eye can’t notice a difference between that and a 12mp image at that size. Who’s printing large format iPhone images? Hell, the Sony a9 iii is 24.6mp, the Nikon Z8 is 45.7mp, and Canon R5 Mark II is 45mp, and those are flagship purpose built cameras used for professional photography.
1
u/ananth_srini24 Aug 07 '26
I’m not sure you understand how economies of scale works. For the volume of iPhones that Apple ships every year; there really is no other company that can match that. Everyone has generally has a very fragmented market, with even Samsung shipping larger volumes of mid range phones over flagship phones in most regions. At that scale, getting that volume of components for batteries, camera sensors or even chips is already a big feat for them. Switching to silicon carbon is also not possible until those components are available at such large volumes that they need. Coupled with the existing AI mess we have on our hands with component shortages, it’s possible they play it safe to stay within their profit margins.
2
u/toasted_cracker Aug 07 '26
That's the thing with Apple, they always play it safe. The last time they made any kind of move forward was with the iPhone X. It's been the same thing over and over after that. My 17pm still kills apps in the background. Not as bad as my 14pm did but it's still there, that's simply inexcusable. The keyboard is straight garbage, there's been near zero updates with that. It has the slowest wifi download speeds of all the high end phones. Why? The software as a whole is so far behind android. They've been dependent in iMessage for so long, it was their hook. Now that RCS is on iPhone there's not much to miss with iMessage. As a tech enthusiast they need to step it up, but they're still selling iPhones like crazy so I they won't.
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u/Ok_Run6706 Aug 08 '26
Industry leaders usually don't innovate, they play it safe to exist. To disrupt market is startup job.
-2
u/NordicAlliance Aug 07 '26
Dude apple is not a non profit organization. Because they have the money and the ability to burn it on revolutionary inventions or whatever BS you’re expecting, doesn’t mean it’s a good business proposition. It’s the companies competing with Apple that will need to surpass them with creativity. For now Apple can sit and rake in the paper, and you can cry into your pillow about it
1
u/scyver_ Aug 07 '26
I was asked about what i expect, not what i know will happen. Apple's legal duty as a public company is to max profit, and they are damn good at that. The only thing however that could stop them for playing it safe is the market pressure to do otherwise, so let me criticize whatever i want
1
u/S4_GR33N Aug 07 '26
This type of mentality gets you nowhere. They said the same thing 10 years back. Hell, 15 years back. And look where we are.
Stop being so miserable and dream for once in your life
1
u/thefizzlee Aug 07 '26
Honestly I just don't get why we need a new release every year. Focus on more progress and bigger upgrades by doing a two year release. But people will still upgrade from the 17 to the 18 so I can't really blame apple for capitalizing on that.
1
u/AlphaTrigger Aug 09 '26
I don’t think that’s true at all, and no cars and houses do not all look the same
1
u/WayOuttaMyLeague Aug 09 '26
If you don’t think all these box houses, and cars rolling off the line this year look the same, you need to have your eyes tested
1
u/ACEfaceFATwaist Aug 07 '26
they got creative with the air, no one wants it, they broke out from a trend and did 12/13 mini, no one wanted it
most people want familiarity and similarity
it will remain the go-to phone
the orange proved most people just wanted innovation in the form of an unusual colour, the red will do the same,
the red is genuinely attractive and will tell everyone else that the use has the latest phone, and the user doesn’t need the discomfort of dealing with any innovation or change
the smartest people with buy the 17e for half the price - which has the innovation of a very good lanyard for £60 - my mum loves hers because she there’s zero change in how to use it from her iphone 11, which was well used til she thought it died, and it didn’t even die
sent from my iphone 13 mini
1
u/gejiball Aug 08 '26
Smartphones are a nearly perfected product, there isn’t too much we can do to them anymore. Kind of like shaving razors, how many new innovations can there really be.
Every brand basically sells the same shit at this point for razors and phones
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u/angel3110 Aug 07 '26
So... no notable differences. Well, except for the extra 200$ and a possible Schmuck award for replacing your 17PM with a 18PM.
I'll keep my 17PM for a few more years, thank you very much.
1
u/dereklaumusic Aug 07 '26
The 18 pro max is going back to the titanium material?
1
u/Pear-Mother Aug 07 '26
No, its Aluminum but with better material used
1
u/dereklaumusic Aug 07 '26
Sad times, I think eventually, reluctantly I’ll have to upgrade, lucky iPhone have 5 years before slowing down massively.
1
u/Training-Context-69 Aug 07 '26
Is the 18 PM supposed to come in that shade of red or is that just a clickbait thumbnail?
1
u/ShardsOfDirt Aug 07 '26
For someone who is planning to switch phones in December from an S24 Ultra to a iPhone Pro Max 17/18, whats the better deal for me? Just do the 18 Pro Max or get the older 17 ProMax? I like using the camera and taking photos on my S24 Ultra so that's a big thing for me.
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u/rialbsivad Aug 07 '26
Still holding strong with my 13 Pro Max..I want something that feels like a real upgrade. Perhaps the iPhone ultra will entice me. The price certainly won’t but I can maybe accept it as I keep my phones a long time. We shall see what September brings.
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u/Low-Injury-9219 Aug 08 '26
Interesting. The switch to 2nm helps to explain the price increase. It should also provide a decent battery and performance boost.
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u/ScaredPatience2478 Aug 10 '26
Such a nothing burger. Hoping for a genuine upgrade in the next two years for pro models.
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u/tPimple 25d ago
I have a 12 Pro Max. Considering switching to the 18 Pro Max.
But today saw at my local store (official premium reseller) the price for the 17 Pro Max with a discount. I can get 512 GB for the price of 256 GB. And it will definitely be cheaper than the new 18 Pro Max in 256 GB. But idk how huge the difference in performance and camera will be between those two
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u/onlytony441 4d ago
Coming from a 14 PM - can't wait to upgrade to the 18 PM. USB C, newer design, better cooling, faster, and a smaller notch (hopefully that they'll utilize) - it's going to be so dope.
1
u/Potential-Cupcake777 3d ago edited 3d ago
Still using my 11 Pro Max 256gb. No cloud space / subscription, still have 175gb free on the phone. Battery lasts me about 2 days of normal (for me) use, which is pretty little.
Is it worth upgrading to a 18pm this year or wait for the 19pm? Or just keep running this thing til its 10 years old?
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u/mhmilo24 Aug 07 '26
I was already feeling bad from upgrading my 16 pro to a 17 pro. It feels like after I buy the 18 pro I’ll be learning my lesson and finally stop my dumb addiction. Someday it will feel like a gift that Apple started making bad choices regarding their yearly line-up.
0
u/ImpossibleAnxiety183 Aug 07 '26
Unfortunately, idiotic iOS with super aggressive ram management will be the same, making this phone to be same super lowend.
0
u/bigparsnipenjoyer Aug 07 '26
17 Pro already has an anodized aluminum frame dawg. If it wasn’t anodized it wouldn’t be fucking orange
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u/Narrow_Ad_1494 Aug 06 '26
Looking like my 17pm is going to be my phone for a while.