Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Apple iPhone 4S

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

iPhone 17 Pro Max compared with iPhone 4S

	AppleiPhone 17 Pro Max	AppleiPhone 4S
Overview
Released
Released	September 2025	October 2011
Display
Screen size
Screen size	6.9″	3.5″
Resolution
Resolution	2868 × 1320 (better)	960 × 640
Sharpness
Sharpness	458 pixels per inch (better)	330 pixels per inch
Panel
Panel	LTPO OLED	LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	120 Hz (better)	60 Hz
Peak brightness
Peak brightness	3,000 nits (better)	500 nits
Display type
Display type	Super Retina XDR OLED display with Dynamic Island	Retina display; 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
Pixel density
Pixel density	460 ppi	326 ppi
Brightness detail
Brightness detail	1,000 nits max (typical); 1,600 nits peak (HDR); 1 nit minimum	500 cd/m² max brightness (typical)
Always-on display
Always-on display	Yes	–
Screen protection
Screen protection	Ceramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back	Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front and back
Display features
Display features	ProMotion adaptive refresh; HDR; True Tone; Wide colour (P3); Haptic Touch; 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical); anti-reflective coating	800:1 contrast ratio (typical)
Performance
Chip
Chip	A19 Pro	A5
Memory
Memory	12 GB (better)	512 MB
Storage
Storage	256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB (better)	8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB
CPU
CPU	6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores	Dual-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A9 (GSMArena); 512 MB of LPDDR2 RAM (iFixit)
GPU
GPU	6-core GPU with Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing	PowerVR SGX543MP2 (GSMArena)
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Cooling
Cooling	Apple-designed vapour chamber laser-welded into the aluminium unibody	–
Cameras
Main camera
Main camera	48 MP (better)	8 MP
Ultra wide camera
Ultra wide camera	48 MP	None
Telephoto camera
Telephoto camera	48 MP	None
Optical zoom
Optical zoom	4× (better)	None
Front camera
Front camera	18 MP (better)	0.3 MP
Main camera
Main camera	48MP Fusion Main, 24 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, 100% Focus Pixels; 24MP and 48MP photos	8-megapixel camera with autofocus, tap to focus, face detection in still images and LED flash
Ultra wide camera
Ultra wide camera	48MP Fusion Ultra Wide, 13 mm, ƒ/2.2 aperture, 120° field of view, Hybrid Focus Pixels	–
Telephoto camera
Telephoto camera	48MP Fusion Telephoto, 100 mm (4x), ƒ/2.8 aperture, Hybrid Focus Pixels, 3D sensor-shift optical image stabilisation and autofocus, tetraprism design	–
Front camera
Front camera	18MP Center Stage camera, ƒ/1.9 aperture, autofocus with Focus Pixels	VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 fps
Zoom
Zoom	12MP optical-quality 2x (48 mm) from the Main camera and 8x (200 mm) from the Telephoto camera; 8x optical-quality zoom in, 2x optical zoom out (16x optical-quality zoom range); digital zoom up to 40x	–
Video recording
Video recording	4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps, and at 100 or 120 fps on the Fusion Main camera; Cinematic mode up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps; Action mode up to 2.8K Dolby Vision at 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p up to 240 fps and 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps (Fusion Main); ProRes up to 4K at 120 fps with external recording; ProRes RAW; Apple Log 2; ACES; genlock; spatial video at 1080p 30 fps; Dual Capture up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps; HEVC, H.264, ProRes and ProRes RAW	HD (1080p) up to 30 fps with audio; video stabilisation
Front video
Front video	4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; Cinematic mode up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps; ProRes up to 4K at 60 fps with external recording; ProRes RAW; Apple Log 2; slo-mo 1080p at 120 fps	–
Camera features
Camera features	Photonic Engine; Deep Fusion; Smart HDR 5; next-generation portraits with Focus and Depth Control; Night mode; Photographic Styles; ProRAW; spatial photos; 48MP macro photography; Adaptive True Tone flash; LiDAR Scanner; four studio-quality mics; Camera Control	Photo and video geotagging
Battery and charging
Battery
Battery	4,823 mAh (better)	1,432 mAh
Video playback (maker's claim)
Video playback (maker's claim)	Up to 37 hours	Up to 10 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Up to 25 W (better)	None
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 33 hours streamed video playback; EU energy label class A, 53 hours per charge, at least 1,000 charge cycles	Talk time up to 8 hours on 3G or 14 hours on 2G (GSM); standby up to 200 hours; internet use up to 6 hours on 3G or 9 hours on Wi-Fi; video playback up to 10 hours; audio playback up to 40 hours; 3.7 V, 5.3 Wh, 1,432 mAh (iFixit)
Wired charging
Wired charging	Up to 50% in 20 minutes with a 40W adapter or higher (sold separately)	Charging via USB to a computer or power adapter
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	MagSafe and Qi2 up to 25W with a 30W adapter or higher; up to 50% in 30 minutes	–
Connectivity
Satellite messaging
Satellite messaging	Yes	–
Mobile network
Mobile network	5G (sub-6GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO; UK model A3526	World phone; UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)
SIM
SIM	Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM); dual eSIM support	Micro-SIM (GSMArena)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO; Apple N1 wireless networking chip	Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 6; Thread	Bluetooth 4.0
Ultra Wideband
Ultra Wideband	Apple second-generation Ultra Wideband chip	–
NFC
NFC	NFC with reader mode; Express Cards with Power Reserve	–
Satellite features
Satellite features	Emergency SOS via satellite; Roadside Assistance via satellite	–
USB
USB	USB-C with charging, DisplayPort and USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); video out up to 4K HDR	30-pin dock connector; 3.5 mm stereo headphone minijack; video mirroring and video out up to 1080p with the Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (sold separately); AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV at 720p
Positioning
Positioning	Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC); digital compass; iBeacon micro-location	Assisted GPS; digital compass; Wi-Fi; cellular
Design
Type
Type	Standard	Standard
Weight
Weight	231 g	140 g (better)
Thickness
Thickness	8.75 mm (better)	9.3 mm
Height × width
Height × width	163.4 × 78 mm	115.2 × 58.6 mm
Water and dust resistance
Water and dust resistance	IP68	–
Materials
Materials	Aluminium unibody (7000-series aluminium alloy)	Glass front, glass back and stainless steel frame (GSMArena)
Colours
Colours	Silver, Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue	White, black
Buttons
Buttons	Action button; Camera Control; side button; volume up/down	–
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529	–
Biometrics
Biometrics	Face ID	–
Sensors
Sensors	LiDAR Scanner; barometer; high dynamic range gyro; high-g accelerometer; proximity sensor; dual ambient light sensors	Three-axis gyro; accelerometer; proximity sensor; ambient light sensor
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers	–
Microphones
Microphones	Four studio-quality mics; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes	–
Software
Operating system
Operating system	iOS	iOS
Software at launch
Software at launch	iOS 26	iOS 5, with Siri
Software updates
Software updates	Security, corrective and functionality updates for at least 5 years after it stops being sold (EU product information sheet)	–
AI features
AI features	Apple Intelligence; Visual Intelligence	–
Safety features
Safety features	Crash Detection	–
In the box
In the box	iPhone 17 Pro Max, USB-C Charge Cable (1 m), documentation; no power adapter	–