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

Apple iPhone XS Max vs Apple iPhone 17

54 out 100
Apple iPhone XS Max
VS
92 out 100
Apple iPhone 17
Apple iPhone XS Max
Apple iPhone 17

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone XS Max Manufactured in September, 2018, with display 6.5 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic, vs Apple iPhone 17, Manufactured in September, 2025with chipsetApple A19. 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 XS Max
  • Larger display: 6.5in
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 208g
  • Higher battery capacity: 3692mAh vs 3174mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB		 - 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone XS Max and Apple iPhone 17
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:
Apple iPhone XS Max
vs
Apple iPhone 17

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 6.5 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1242x2688 pixels 1206x2622 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.4:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 456 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes
Max brightness 625 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Touch Sampling Rate 120 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 85.4 % 91.1 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone XS Max
657 nits
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
sRGB gamut98.8 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time11.2 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone XS Max]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 157.5 mm (6.2 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 77.4 mm (3.05 in) 71.5 mm (2.81 in)
Thickness 7.7 mm (0.3 in) 8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 208 g (7.34 oz) 177 g (6.24 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Silver
- Gold
- Gray		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor No No
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone XS Max
85.4 %
Apple iPhone 17
91.1 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone XS Max and Apple iPhone 17 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A12 Bionic Apple A19
Max Frequency 2490 MHz 4100 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) n/a
Architecture - 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)		 n/a
Process TSMC n/a
Transistor Size 7 nm n/a
Neural Processor Neural Engine n/a
Graphics Apple A12 GPU n/a
GPU Cores 256 n/a
GPU Frequency 1100 MHz n/a
FLOPS 576 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone XS Max
1310
Apple iPhone 17
3720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone XS Max
3458
Apple iPhone 17
10589
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13103720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)345810589
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone XS Max
700191
Apple iPhone 17
2116678
CPU198067510193
GPU185355792974
Memory152138367866
UX164631445645
NanoReview Score7001912116678
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone XS Max
5703
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Max Surface Temp.45.2 °Cn/a
Stability66 %n/a
Graphics Test34 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5703n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone XS Max]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 4 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 64 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) iOS 26
OS Size 16 GB n/a

Battery

Volume 3174 mAh 3692 mAh
Max Charging Power 18 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Qi (10 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 03:29 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone XS Max
17:28
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Web Browsing06:43 hn/a
Video Playback10:28 hn/a
Games04:11 hn/a
Standby Mode87 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2x Digital
Flash Quad LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length28 mm26 mm
SensorApple iSight Xn/a
Sensor size1/2.51/1.56
Pixel size1.4 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.4n/a
Focal length52 mmn/a
Sensor size1/3.4n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrixn/a48 MP
Aperturen/af/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/2.55
Pixel sizen/a0.7 μm
Stabilizationn/aDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone XS Max
110
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone XS Max
96
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone XS Max
105
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone XS Max]

Front camera

Matrix 7 MP 18 MP
Photo resolution 3088x2316 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 32 mm 23 mm
Sensor BSI CMOS n/a
Pixel size n/a 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Optical
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone XS Max
97
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone XS Max
119
Apple iPhone 17
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) 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 6.0
Bluetooth features SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE
USB type No USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*1n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900n/a
3G BandsHSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
LTE category16n/a
5G SupportNoYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone XS Max
77.2 dB
Apple iPhone 17
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2018 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date September, 2018 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1100 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 799
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 n/a No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 17 the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
2 (50%)
2 (50%)
Total Votes: 4

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