Home Phone comparison Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max and Apple iPhone Air - Which is better?

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Apple iPhone Air

n/a out 100
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
VS
88 out 100
Apple iPhone Air
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
Apple iPhone Air

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max Manufactured in September, 2025, with display 6.9 with chipsetApple A19 Pro, vs Apple iPhone Air, Manufactured in September, 2025with chipsetApple A19 Pro. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher battery capacity: 4729mAh vs 3149mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone Air
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Lighter design: 165g vs 221g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.4

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB		 - 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 8/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max and Apple iPhone Air
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
iPhone 17 Pro Max
vs
Apple iPhone Air

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 6.9 in 6.5 in
Resolution 1320x2868 pixels 1260x2736 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 458 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness n/a 3000 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 92.6 % 88.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163 mm (6.42 in) 156.2 mm (6.15 in)
Width 77.4 mm (3.05 in) 74.7 mm (2.94 in)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 in) 5.6 mm (0.22 in)
Weight 221 g (7.8 oz) 165 g (5.82 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Silver		 - White
- Black
- Gold
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor No No
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
92.6 %
Apple iPhone Air
88.9 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max and Apple iPhone Air In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A19 Pro Apple A19 Pro
Max Frequency 4300 MHz 4300 MHz
CPU Cores n/a 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture n/a 4/2.51 ()
Process n/a TSMC
Transistor Size n/a 3 nm
Neural Processor n/a Neural Engine
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
3780
Apple iPhone Air
3756
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
10772
Apple iPhone Air
10670
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)37803756
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)1077210670
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
2112459
Apple iPhone Air
2118157
CPU510033511982
GPU791934790667
Memory367847370651
UX442645444857
NanoReview Score21124592118157

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 12 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity256 GB256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 26 iOS 26

Battery

Volume 4729 mAh 3149 mAh
Max Charging Power 30 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (20 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes
Fast Charging Yes Yes (50% in 30 min)

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8064x6048 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 5x Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Depth		 Standard: 48 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix48 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.6
Focal lengthn/a26 mm
Sensor size1/1.281/1.56
Pixel size1.22 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix48 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.8n/a
Focal length120 mmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix48 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
Pixel size0.7 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a

Front camera

Matrix 24 MP 18 MP
Aperture f/1.9 f/1.9
Focal length n/a 23 mm
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Optical Optical
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor Yes Yes

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.4 6.0
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes No
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM TypeeSIMeSIM
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
3G Bandsn/aUMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*n/aLTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2025 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date September, 2025 yr September, 2025 yr
MSRP ($) 1199 999
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included No No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone Air the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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