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With iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple may finally grant this years-old wish

This fall Apple will launch four new iPhones, including the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air. But with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, the company is leaning hard in the opposite direction, and thus fulfilling the wish of many users over the years for the most battery life possible.

iPhone 17 Pro Max battery getting bigger than ever

In a year where a thinner, lighter flagship iPhone is being introduced, Apple isn’t forgetting the age-old request for a model that does the opposite.

Do you want the most possible battery life in your next iPhone? Apple’s about to grant that wish with the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Current Pro Max models already boast impressive battery life.

That was true before the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which got larger than before and packed extra battery life too. The changes Apple made to the Pro line last year even made my smaller iPhone 16 Pro’s battery feel just right.

But the 16 Pro Max offers, per Apple’s website, up to 33 hours of video playback with its massive battery.

This is up from the 29 hours quoted for the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

And this year, it’s getting even better.

Battery life

Rumors have indicated the iPhone 17 Pro Max is getting thicker to make space for a larger battery.

Is current battery life not good enough? I’d argue it’s plenty, but I’m not the Pro Max’s target customer.

Perhaps inspired by the Apple Watch Ultra’s popularity, it seems Apple will give many users exactly what they want: the biggest battery possible.

This is partly why I believe we could see this year’s Pro Max rebranded as iPhone 17 Ultra.

Top comment by GetChada

Liked by 2 people

If you’re not the target customer DON’T argue anything!

33hrs sounds great but that never pans out in reality

I want to use my phone as I always do as much as possible for everything and never need to plug it in until I get home again!

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Whether that happens or not, though, Apple plans to offer flagship models for two very different customer preferences.

Want thin and light? iPhone 17 Air is the answer.

Prefer a beast of a phone with over-the-top battery life? This year’s iPhone 17 Pro Max will make that happen more than ever before.

Do you want more battery life on your iPhone? Or would you prefer a thinner model? Let us know in the comments.

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Avatar for Ryan Christoffel Ryan Christoffel

Ryan got his start in journalism as an Editor at MacStories, where he worked for four years covering Apple news, writing app reviews, and more. For two years he co-hosted the Adapt podcast on Relay FM, which focused entirely on the iPad. As a result, it should come as no surprise that his favorite Apple device is the iPad Pro.