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vsMars
Head-to-head

Apple - iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Apple - iPhone 18 Pro

Last updated · How Mars Score works
iPhone 17 Pro MaxAPPLEILLUSTRATION
Probe A
Apple
iPhone 17 Pro Max
66.9/ 100C
Performance70· 25%
Battery59· 20%
Display72· 18%
Cameras69· 18%
Design50· 8%
Connectivity—· 7%
Operating System86· 4%
iPhone 18 ProAPPLEILLUSTRATION
Probe B
Apple
iPhone 18 Pro
67.0/ 100C
Performance78· 25%
Battery51· 20%
Display66· 18%
Cameras69· 18%
Design58· 8%
Connectivity—· 7%
Operating System86· 4%
The fork

Where they actually differ

The most decisive specs, ranked by how much they matter — before the full spec table.

SpecApple - iPhone 17 Pro MaxApple - iPhone 18 Pro
Wired charging30 W60 W
AnTuTu21000003550000
Front camera12 MP18 MP
Weight227 g211 g
Battery capacity4685 mAh4056 mAh
Screen size6.9 "6.3 "
Quick verdict

Between the iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 17 Pro Max comes out ahead in battery capacity / screen size, while the iPhone 18 Pro wins on wired charging / antutu. Overall, the iPhone 17 Pro Max scores 66.9 and the iPhone 18 Pro scores 67 on our Mars Score.

Buying advice

Which should you buy?

These two are nearly even on the Mars Score (66.9 vs 67). The decision is not about overall quality — both clear the bar — it is about which specific trade-offs fit your use.

Pick the iPhone 17 Pro Max if your top frustration with your current device is running out of charge before the day ends — endurance is the lead spec here. The biggest gaps in its favor are battery capacity, screen size. The single most decisive one: Battery capacity — 15.51% more. 4685 mAh vs 4056 mAh.

Pick the iPhone 18 Pro if you photograph or shoot video regularly and want the better imaging pipeline of the two. Its strongest claims are wired charging, antutu, front camera, among others. The single most decisive one: Wired charging — 100.00% more. 60 W vs 30 W.

Both ship with comparable ram, main camera, refresh rate, so those specs do not separate the two — focus on the differences below.

Bottom line: there is no wrong answer here — match the spec advantages to how you actually use the product. The Mars Score parity says both are well-rounded; the differences are about trade-offs, not quality.

Decision guide

Which should you buy: Apple - iPhone 17 Pro Max or Apple - iPhone 18 Pro?

Apple - iPhone 18 Pro leads the current Mars Score by 0.1 points.The more useful decision is the trade-off behind that result: compare screen size, battery capacity against the way you will actually use the product.

Choose Apple - iPhone 17 Pro Max if…

Apple - iPhone 17 Pro Max has the measurable edge on battery capacity mah, screen size in.

Choose Apple - iPhone 18 Pro if…

Apple - iPhone 18 Pro has the measurable edge on wired charging w, antutu score, front cam mp.

This is a structured comparison of the published catalog values. It is not a claim of identical real-world performance across every workload; use the linked spec drill-downs and methodology page to inspect the inputs.

Why Apple - iPhone 17 Pro Max wins

  • ▲Battery capacity — 15.51% more. 4685 mAh vs 4056 mAh.
  • ▲Screen size — 9.52% more. 6.9 " vs 6.3 ".

Why Apple - iPhone 18 Pro wins

  • ▲Wired charging — 100.00% more. 60 W vs 30 W.
  • ▲AnTuTu — 69.05% more. 3550000 vs 2100000.
  • ▲Front camera — 50.00% more. 18 MP vs 12 MP.
  • ▲Weight — 16.00 g less. 211 vs 227.
Full readout

Spec comparison

Design

SpecApple - iPhone 17 Pro MaxApple - iPhone 18 Pro
Weight227 g211 glead
Thickness8.3 mmlead8.75 mm
Water resistanceⓘIP68IP68
Form factorbarbar

Display

SpecApple - iPhone 17 Pro MaxApple - iPhone 18 Pro
Screen size6.9 "lead6.3 "
Pixel densityⓘ460 ppi460 ppi
Refresh rateⓘ120 Hz120 Hz
Peak brightnessⓘ2200 nits3000 nitslead

Performance

SpecApple - iPhone 17 Pro MaxApple - iPhone 18 Pro
RAMⓘ12 GB12 GB
Storageⓘ512 GBlead256 GB
AnTuTuⓘ21000003550000lead
CPU total clockⓘ20.4 GHzlead20.3 GHz

Cameras

SpecApple - iPhone 17 Pro MaxApple - iPhone 18 Pro
Main cameraⓘ48 MP48 MP
Front camera12 MP18 MPlead
Optical image stabilizationⓘtruetrue

Battery

SpecApple - iPhone 17 Pro MaxApple - iPhone 18 Pro
Battery capacityⓘ4685 mAhlead4056 mAh
Wired chargingⓘ30 W60 Wlead
Wireless chargingⓘ25 W25 W

Connectivity

SpecApple - iPhone 17 Pro MaxApple - iPhone 18 Pro
5G supportⓘtruetrue
Headphone jackfalsefalse
microSD slotfalsefalse

Operating System

SpecApple - iPhone 17 Pro MaxApple - iPhone 18 Pro
OSiOSiOS
Promised OS updates6 years6 years
Reader questions

Frequently asked

Which has better battery, iPhone 17 Pro Max or iPhone 18 Pro?+

iPhone 17 Pro Max has 15.5% more battery — 4685 mAh vs 4056 mAh.

Which is lighter, iPhone 17 Pro Max or iPhone 18 Pro?+

iPhone 18 Pro is 16g lighter — 227g vs 211g.

Is iPhone 17 Pro Max waterproof?+

iPhone 17 Pro Max has an IP68 rating.

Does iPhone 18 Pro support 5G?+

Yes, iPhone 18 Pro supports 5G.

Which has a better camera, iPhone 17 Pro Max or iPhone 18 Pro?+

iPhone 18 Pro has a 48 MP main camera vs 48 MP.

Drill down

Spec-level deep dives

By manufacturer

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