I've Got My Spine, I've Got My Orange Crush: Reviewing the Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max
I’ve been an iPhone guy since day one. Literally. I was an Apple employee when the first iPhone was launched and received a phone as a gift from Steve Jobs. As an Apple fanboy and former employee, Android has never really been on my radar. I’m glad there is competition, and I know people love their Google phones, and that’s great.
Some iPhone upgrades have been massive, while others have not been so much. The annual cycle, tied to major software updates, originally encouraged fans to upgrade annually, causing a frenzy at Apple stores and carriers around the world. As phones improved, became more expensive, and lasted longer, people began to abandon annual upgrades, waiting for a compelling reason or offer to spur them to upgrade.
As an annual upgrader, sometimes I’ve been blown away, sometimes I’ve just been happy to have a cool new phone with a fresh battery. This year, it’s the former. Apple FINALLY released Pro phones in fun colors. In previous years, the Pro model phones were whatever Apple was calling black, white, and silver at the time. With the move back to aluminum from titanium, the company was able to add some colors. And what colors they added. Deep Blue and Cosmic Orange debuted alongside a silver option. No white. No black. For some, not having a neutral option was a shock, but most people entomb their phones in plastic sarcophaguses anyway. I always try to get whatever the “cool” color is that year, and this year, that’s orange. I’m not really an orange guy otherwise, but damn, I love this color. It’s bold, bright, and exciting. It stands out in a crowd. It’s…orange. And I love it.
Hands On
Seeing the phone in person, I was blown away. Pictures don’t do it justice. The Blue is sexy af too. While I KNOW that the phone is heavier, it feels lighter. It feels great in the hand, but as always, the Pro Max is HUGE. The aluminum is cool to the touch and looks incredible. All of the buttons, volume, action, and camera control are here and feel and work great.
The most significant design change, in addition to the color, is the camera plateau, which now extends all the way across the top of the phone, while the cameras are still in the left corner. The plateau and two-tone design give the phone a new and exciting look, more interesting to look at than a slab of flat glass.
Performance
As expected, the phone is incredibly fast. Apps open in a snap, everything is responsive and fun. Games and videos run smoothly, and in my experience, the phone runs cool.
Software
Apple introduced a fresh new interface to this year’s software improvements, called Liquid Glass. They think so much of this new look they jumped from iOS 16 to iOS 26. And despite rumblings that the betas were rough and it was tough to design for, I freaking love it. It looks different, cool, new, and fresh. It’s fast, fun, and fluid.
I did have some issues with crashing on my iPad Pro, but my mini and new phone run it very well.
Should I Upgrade?
If you’re on anything older than a 16, sure. It’s fast, fun, fresh, and new. The 16 series of phones is still fine, of course. If you like orange, do it now.
