Is the iPhone 17 Pro Max worth the price?

For most people, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is probably not worth paying full price for. It’s a premium phone and appears to be excellent, but the better value is usually the iPhone 17 Pro unless you specifically want the biggest iPhone experience.

Buy the iPhone 17 Pro Max if you care most about the largest screen, top-end iPhone features, and keeping the phone for several years. Skip it if your current iPhone is still fast, your main use is messaging/social/camera snapshots, or the Pro Max price would stretch your budget.

The one thing that can change the math: Apple lists trade-in credit for iPhone 17 Pro or Pro Max purchases, with eligible iPhone 8 or newer devices getting $35–$695 off. If your trade-in is near the high end, the Pro Max becomes much easier to justify.