New telephoto on the back, square selfie sensor (kind of)
Major camera hardware upgrades from one generation to the next have almost become unthinkable lately, but what we’re seeing on the iPhone 17 Pro Max (and the small Pro) can just about qualify. A new telephoto makes all rear cameras equal in resolution while dialing back the reach a bit makes for better mid-range performance. And an entirely new selfie camera on the front is done in a way that we haven’t seen before.
The new telephoto employs a 48 MP 1/2.55″ sensor, the same nominal resolution and size as the one on the ultrawide camera. It’s paired with a tetraprism lens with a 100mm equivalent focal length and an f/2.8 aperture. Apple prefers to stabilize the sensor instead of the lens, and you’re getting sensor-shift stabilization here – like on the previous-gen telephoto and some five previous generations of main cameras.
So in summary, the new telephoto gives you a larger and higher-res sensor than the previous one (12 MP, 1/3.06″) but sacrifices a little bit of zoom reach – it’s 4x optical zoom on the 17 Pro Max vs. the 5x on the 16 Pro Max. However, that 48 MP new sensor might have potential to be significantly better than the old one beyond their optical zoom levels – Apple is confident enough in its capabilities to offer an 8x shortcut in the viewfinder. We’ll see about that.
The ultrawide camera is the same as last year, and so too is the main unit. Both use 48 MP sensors, and the one on the main camera is pretty big, with a 1/1.28″ optical format. The main camera is also sensor-shift-stabilized.
All three rear cameras now offer 24 MP shooting capability – up until now it was only on the main camera. All three can also shoot in 48 MP too.
Apple’s new 18MP selfie camera is a star attraction that makes a debut across the entire lineup (as is more or less the norm with iPhone selfie cameras). It is an interesting concept for at least a couple of reasons, not the least of which is the octagonal shape of the sensor.
Yes, it’s not really a square, like you would expect from watching the product keynote, but the corners have been shaved off. We aren’t sure exactly why, but it does make sense from a practical standpoint since regardless of the selfie photo orientation, the corners are never getting used. All the while, this might be saving some valuable wafer space in production – enough to warrant what has to be an entirely custom and more difficult to produce imager.
And that’s the other thing, the new sensor is what we would call “multi-aspect”. It is meant to capture selfies in around 18MP resolution in a 4:3 aspect ratio in either portrait or landscape orientation – with the same diagonal field of view. Those shots come out at 4,892×3,672px, but if you want a 1:1 image, you’d get a center crop from the sensor, at 13.5MP.
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iPhone 17 series selfie camera sensor (image courtesy of WekiHome on YouTube)
That is, unless you have the resolution set in the phone (as opposed to the camera app) settings at 12 MP, in which case you’d be looking at 12MP 4:3 shots and 9 MP in 1:1 aspect – that’s rather maniacal and you don’t get a resolution indicator in the selfie viewfinder like you do for the rear cameras.
Anyways, the selfie camera has PDAF. It uses a 20mm f/1.9 lens with OIS.
- Wide (main): 48MP Sony IMX 903 (1/1.28″, 1.22µm-2.44µm), f/1.78, 24mm, dual-pixel PDAF, sensor-shift IS; 4K@120
- Ultrawide: 48MP Sony IMX 972 (1/2.55″, 0.7µm-1.4µm), f/2.2, 13mm, PDAF; 4K@60fps
- Telephoto 4x: 48MP Sony IMX 973 (1/2.55″, 0.7µm-1.4µm), f/2.8, 100mm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift IS; 4K@60fps
- Front camera: 18MP Sony IMX 914 (likely 1.0µm), f/1.9, 20mm, PDAF; 4K@60fps
iOS 26 simplifies the camera interface by bringing Photo and Video modes to the forefront, with other modes accessed by swiping left or right. You might think the other modes have disappeared, but if you swipe sideways from the active mode, they show up – perhaps not the most intuitive implementation.
You swipe up to reveal capture options like flash and exposure – another thing you don’t have a visual clue for so you have to know it’s there. The same menu is also accessed from an icon in the far corner, so the options are available to those who aren’t familiar with Apple’s ways. Some contextual indicators/buttons also show up there, like the auto Night mode crescent, and there’s also an always featured flash toggle there in addition to it being present in the swipe-up menu – it’s a bit of a mess, yes.
iPhone camera app on iOS 26 • Camera settings in Settings
The Camera Control dedicated capacitive touch area/button is present on all the models in the iPhone 17 series. In iOS 26, the feature has been simplified to be more intuitive (supposedly), and you can customize which camera settings appear in the control overlay by double-light pressing the control button and accessing “Customize” within the Camera Control settings. You can now choose your most frequently used options, such as exposure, depth, zoom, or camera switching, making the control button less overwhelming and more efficient.
In keeping with tradition, unfortunately, Apple’s camera settings remain incredibly convoluted and disorganized. With the new camera UI redesign, you can at least quickly access a subset of the camera resolution controls, but not all of them – sorely missing is 12 MP/24 MP switching, which you still operate from the main settings. Most advanced options are still hidden away and utterly disorganized within the main settings menu.
Daylight photo quality
Main camera
The iPhone 17 Pro Max captures more or less the same photos with its main camera as the previous generation, and those are photos that are easy to like if you’re an iPhone user, and now seemingly more universally so too.
Random textures may look a bit too digital, but there’s plenty of detail and the 24 MP default mode looks good on a pixel level despite the 24 MP not being ‘true’ 24 MP. We’re generally liking the colors too, which is not always the case with iPhones – there’s a nice level of pop, and white balance is spot on. Dynamic range is excellent too, and we’re looking at well-developed extremes and a great contrast at the same time.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 24MP
A quick side-by-side with the older generation (represented by the iPhone 16 Pro) shows that the new phone is a bit more expressive with colors and contrast and that’s probably why we like its photos better.
Daylight comparison, main camera (1x): iPhone 17 Pro Max • iPhone 16 Pro
We’re not entirely thrilled with how the iPhone renders human subjects, though. There’s a general softness with facial features that is looking like a deliberate decision to make more flattering portraits, but we’re not really fans of such treatments. Also hard to miss is the iPhone’s stubborn tendency to keep brightly-lit parts of a face from clipping, as much as it can, to a point where faces go needlessly warm and saturated with unrealistic colors.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), Photo mode
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), Portrait mode
The 12 MP mode is a good idea if you want to save some storage space and it’s also delivering great images. In practice, 12 MP is indeed plenty good enough for the vast majority of applications and use cases.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 12MP
At the other end of the spectrum is the 48 MP full-res mode. As before, Apple has one of the better implementations and these shots do actually offer better texture definition – given the right lighting, of course.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 48MP
Moving on to the 2x zoom level, we’re not getting a 24 MP option, but the 12MP shots are pretty great. Detail is nice and sharp, even in foliage and other random textures, and global parameters remain top-notch.
Daylight samples, main camera (2x)
Indeed, the 17 Pro Max shows a meaningful improvement here over the already solid previous generation.
Daylight comparison, main camera (2x): iPhone 17 Pro Max • iPhone 16 Pro
The 2x zoom level with its 48mm-equivalent focal length is better for general people shots than the 1x and the perspective gets nicer as does the shooting distance. The skin softening and questionable dynamic range and color choices remain, though.
Daylight samples, main camera (2x), Photo mode
Daylight samples, main camera (2x), Portrait mode
Telephoto camera
Moving to the new telephoto, the 24 MP shots are good but they’re certainly not pin sharp and have a heavily processed rendition of fine textures. There’s nothing else to complain about, with colors and dynamic range being excellent.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (4x), 24MP
You could make a case that the 12MP versions of the 4x scenes look a little better from up close, but while they do have a certain pixel-level sharpness advantage, detail doesn’t look a whole lot more organic.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (4x), 12MP
The 48 MP mode images are softish and somewhat grainy, but there could be an upside to shooting in full-res if you are doing your own post-processing.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (4x), 48MP
Head-to-head comparisons against the iPhone 16 Pro don’t help the new model’s case too much. The 24 MP shots from the 17 Pro Max look softer at 1:1, and if you’re to grab one of the 12 MP counterparts, they’re about as good as those from the 16 Pro, not better.
Daylight comparison, telephoto camera: iPhone 17 Pro Max (4x) • iPhone 16 Pro (5x)
There’s not much that’s different in photos of people at 4x compared to 1x and 2x, other than the clear head-and-shoulders framing and perspective advantage of the 100mm focal length. There’s still a fair bit of facial smoothening and highlight restoration that results in extra warm skin tones.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (4x), Photo mode
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (4x), Photo mode
8x zoom level shots are good without being overly exciting. Detail is alright, and the global properties remain excellent.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (8x)
But the thing is, the iPhone 16 Pro isn’t doing too bad at 8x either – its photos just might be that extra bit sharper, if a little bit grainier. So far, no real advantage coming from the new telephoto camera then.
Daylight comparison, telephoto camera (8x): iPhone 17 Pro Max • iPhone 16 Pro
We’d have hoped to have seen an improvement in close focusing, but the roughly 85cm of minimum focusing distance on the 17 Pro Max’s telephoto doesn’t make it a viable option for closeups.
Closeups
So as a bit of a detour, the 2x zoom from the main camera is your best bet for closeups on the iPhone 17 Pro (Max). Even though Apple wants you to use the ultrawide camera zoomed in digitally to main camera field of view, we consider that approach impractical because of the short subject distance and the consequences of it (shadows, iffy perspective, disturbing the subject).
The 2x from the main camera, on the other hand, addresses all these aspects and returns very good results. Not 200MP telephoto closeup level of good results, but reasonably close, better than expected, and almost good enough to make you wonder how important that close-focusing tele is (but yes, it is, after all). Now if only Apple would stop pushing the silly ultrawide-based ‘macro’ mode.
Closeup samples, main camera (2x), Photo mode
Ultrawide camera
The ultrawide is pretty good for ultrawide purposes, be they interiors, expansive vistas, or just exaggerated perspectives. Saved at 24 MP, its photos have good sharpness in outdoor scenarios and more or less keep that in dimmer indoor conditions. Saturation is a notch below the other two cameras’ output but not so much as to be dull, and white balance continues to be on point. Dynamic range is quite great as well.
Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 24MP
Comparisons against the previous generation reveal little improvement – you could argue that having the 24 MP shots on the iPhone 17 Pro Max is an advantage all in itself, but we can’t spot a meaningful detail improvement, and if you use the new model’s 12 MP shots below, you’ll see they’re about the same as those from the old one.
Daylight comparison, ultrawide camera (0.5x): iPhone 17 Pro Max • iPhone 16 Pro
Indeed, the 12 MP images from the 17 Pro Max’s ultrawide camera are essentially the same in terms of detail rendition as those from last year’s model.
Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 12MP
Here’s how some of those scenes look when saved at the nominal resolution.
Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 48MP
Selfies
Setting aside the coolness of being able to take landscape selfies with a phone held in portrait (and the actual usefulness of it), front camera photos from the iPhone 17 Pro are not much different from previous generations. Detail is very good and the autofocus means you can do goofy closeups. There can be a bit of that heavy handed highlight restoration and excessive skin tone warming in certain lighting, but overall faces are looking good.
Selfie samples
It’s worth pointing out that the new model’s 18 MP shots come out noticeably wider than on the previous generation – it’s a 20mm vs. 23mm equivalent focal length. That could very well be beneficial in itself, if you want to capture larger groups of people or more of your surroundings.
Selfie comparison: iPhone 17 Pro Max • iPhone 16 Pro
Low-light photo quality
Main camera
In the dark, the iPhone 17 Pro Max wasn’t too keen to engage its auto Night mode in all but a handful of camera/scene combinations. That means you can get 24 MP low-light shots in pretty much all sorts of conditions, unless you specifically opt for the 12 MP mode.
Main camera shots are excellent. They’re packed with detail and the grain that goes with it in the shadows isn’t half bad. Dynamic range is nicely wide, though the iPhone does like to maintain a bit of highlight clipping with some point light sources – it doesn’t hurt. The auto white balance was consistently accurate and color rendition is overall top-notch.
Low-light samples, main camera (1x), 24MP
Here’s how the above scenes look when shot at 12 MP, plus an extra scene where the phone wouldn’t give us a 24 MP shot in full auto.
Low-light samples, main camera (1x), 12MP
There’s not a whole lot of differences between the new and the old model at 1x.
Low-light comparison, main camera (1x): iPhone 17 Pro Max • iPhone 16 Pro
At 2x, the 17 Pro Max does a remarkable job, capturing fine detail like it’s got a dedicated camera at 50mm (and a good one at that).
Low-light samples, main camera (2x)
This is also one of the more easily noticeable improvements over the previous generation.
Low-light comparison, main camera (2x): iPhone 17 Pro Max • iPhone 16 Pro
Telephoto camera
The 4x zoom results aren’t our favorite – they are on the soft side and are pretty grainy, whether you’re shooting in 24 MP or 12 MP. On the other hand, dynamic range is very good, and white balance and saturation are typically spot on (that fourth sample is an outlier).
Low-light samples, telephoto camera (4x), 24MP
Here’s how these scenes would look in 12 MP, plus a couple extra ones without a 24 MP counterpart.
Low-light samples, telephoto camera (4x), 12MP
We were really rooting for the 17 Pro Max against the old model in the low-light telephoto comparison, but we can’t say there’s much of an improvement – in fact, the 16 Pro might just be a little bit better. But really, it’s a toss-up.
Low-light comparison, telephoto camera: iPhone 17 Pro Max (4x) • iPhone 16 Pro (5x)
Zooming in further, the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s shots get softer and noisier. It’s not that they’re unusable, but they’re certainly not particularly impressive from a detail standpoint. Global properties remain great, though.
Low-light samples, telephoto camera (8x)
Neither generation is actually looking too hot at 8x, but they’re so similar that one inevitably wonders where the upgrade is.
Low-light comparison, telephoto camera (8x): iPhone 17 Pro Max • iPhone 16 Pro
Ultrawide camera
The ultrawide camera’s exposures can look a little gloomy (it was, admittedly, a new moon on the night we shot these samples). The photos are also on the soft and grainy side, but we’d still say they’re okay for this type of camera (like it or not, ultrawides are often overlooked, even on ultimate high-end phones).
Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 24MP
The 12 MP variants are also soft, so it’s not like you’d be gaining a lot of pixel-level benefits by shooting in this mode.
Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x), 12MP
We’re also not seeing a generational improvement on this camera – the 16 Pro is as good (or rather, as average) as the 17 Pro Max.
Low-light comparison, ultrawide camera (0.5x): iPhone 17 Pro Max • iPhone 16 Pro
Video recording
The iPhone 17 Pro Max can record video up to 4K at either 60, 30, or 24fps with all of its cameras (the three rear ones, and the front-facing one). The primary camera on the back can also do 4K120, at both 1x and 2x zoom. On our retail European units we also had PAL modes (25fps and 100fps). You get Dolby Vision recording capability in all modes too, plus ProRes and Apple Log 2 options, though you will need to record to external storage for some of the higher fps modes to be able to work.
If you want to capture 4K60 or higher, you must do so in the ‘high-efficiency’ HEVC/h.265 format, while for lesser modes you can choose between that and the AVC/h.264 option.
As before, the iPhone can be set to record Spatial Audio, in which case it will embed two audio tracks – stereo AAC for backwards compatibility and four-channel APAC. Simple stereo and mono options are also available.
Stabilization is always on in all modes (including 4K120) – you can’t turn it off if you have other means of ensuring stable footage.
You can check out the playlist below, which includes multiple video samples.
iPhones tend to set the standard for video quality and that holds true of the 17 Pro Max this year as well. For one, there’s no discernible difference between 24fps, 30fps, and 60fps footage from any of the three rear cameras and that also applies to the 2x and 8x zoom levels. Detail is excellent at all native zoom levels and very good at the ‘made-up’ ones. Contrast is great, dynamic range is nice and wide, colors are pleasantly vibrant.
At night, we get to observe a long-standing problem of Apple camera lenses – internal reflections caused by lights pointing into the phone. These are visible at 1x if you go looking for them and are more obvious at 2x from the main camera, and there’s more of them from the telephoto’s tetraprism at 4x and 8x. At least the ultrawide doesn’t get them. That aside, the main camera footage at 1x is excellent, with wide dynamic range, excellent color, and sharp detail. The ultrawide and the telephoto also deliver very good footage, the 2x is alright and the 8x results are more into usable territory.