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Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max review: I've got one big reason to recommend a year-over-year upgrade

While I don't usually advise upgrading to the flagship iPhone if you have last year's model, there's one particularly hot factor to consider in 2025.

Nevertheless, I'm convinced that Apple has made significant progress on the overheating issue with the iPhone 17 Pro Max -- and the fact that it changed materials for better heat dispersion and introduced the new vapor chamber cooling feature are huge steps in the right direction. Jason Hiner/ZDNETIn general, so far I'm also liking the photo processing on the iPhone 17 Pro Max -- it's much less warm out-of-camera than the last couple years -- and the image quality is a little bit more sharp and clear overall. Software that catches up to the hardware- As you can tell by now, Apple has fully leaned into the design and hardware features in the iPhone 17 Pro Max this year, and it has generally created a terrific upgrade.

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