Apple iPhone 17 Pro VS Xiaomi Redmi K90 Pro Max

Both phones share an IP68 rating and are classified as waterproof, but the real-world protection they offer diverges significantly: the Apple iPhone 17 Pro is rated to a depth of 6 m, while the Xiaomi Redmi K90 Pro Max is rated to just 1.5 m. In practice, this means the iPhone can withstand accidental submersion in deeper water — such as a pool or lake — for a sustained period, whereas the Redmi's rating covers only shallow splashes and brief dunks. For most everyday scenarios both are fine, but for active outdoor or water-adjacent use, the iPhone's depth rating is a meaningful advantage.

In terms of form factor, the two phones occupy distinctly different spaces. The iPhone 17 Pro is considerably more compact — shorter at 150 mm, narrower at 71.9 mm, and with a smaller overall volume of 94.37 cm³ versus the Redmi's 100.37 cm³. The Redmi K90 Pro Max is also slightly heavier at 218 g compared to the iPhone's 206 g. However, the trade-off is that the Redmi is notably thinner at 7.9 mm versus the iPhone's 8.75 mm, which contributes to its sleeker in-hand feel despite its larger footprint.

Overall, the iPhone 17 Pro holds a clear edge in this group: it is lighter, more pocketable, and — most importantly — offers a substantially superior water resistance depth rating. The Redmi K90 Pro Max counters only with its slimmer profile, which may appeal to users who prioritize a thin device over compactness. Neither phone has a rugged build or a foldable form factor, so those are non-factors in this comparison.

Both phones use OLED/AMOLED panels with a 120Hz refresh rate and support for both HDR10 and Always-On Display, establishing a strong shared baseline. Where they diverge is in screen size and sharpness: the iPhone 17 Pro's 6.3″ panel delivers a noticeably crisper image at 460 ppi, while the Redmi K90 Pro Max's larger 6.9″ screen comes in at 416 ppi. That 44 ppi gap is perceptible up close — text and fine detail look slightly sharper on the iPhone — though both exceed the threshold where pixelation becomes visible during normal use.

The Redmi pulls ahead in a couple of meaningful ways. Its 480Hz touch sampling rate — four times the iPhone's 120Hz — translates to noticeably more responsive input, a real advantage in fast-paced gaming or precise stylus-like gestures. It also supports HDR10+ (dynamic metadata for scene-by-scene tone mapping) in addition to Dolby Vision, whereas the iPhone supports only Dolby Vision. The Redmi further includes branded damage-resistant glass, adding a layer of scratch and drop protection that the iPhone lacks in the provided specs.

The verdict here is genuinely split by use case. The iPhone 17 Pro wins on pixel density and compactness, making it the sharper, more pocketable display. But the Redmi K90 Pro Max counters with a larger canvas, superior touch responsiveness, broader HDR format support, and physical screen protection — giving it the overall display edge for media consumption and gaming-oriented users.

Single-core performance is where the Apple A19 Pro asserts itself: a Geekbench 6 single-core score of 3781 versus the Redmi's 3234 means the iPhone responds faster in the everyday tasks that lean on one core — app launches, UI animations, and general snappiness. However, the Redmi K90 Pro Max's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 flips the script in every other dimension. Its AnTuTu score of 4,350,000 dwarfs the iPhone's 2,707,681, a gap too large to dismiss, and its multi-core Geekbench result of 10,059 also edges ahead. With 8 CPU threads against the iPhone's 6, the Redmi is better equipped for sustained parallel workloads like video encoding or large app compilations.

The GPU story is particularly stark. The Redmi's Adreno 830 packs 1,536 shading units compared to just 128 on the Apple GPU — a difference that points to a fundamentally higher ceiling for graphics-intensive tasks like console-quality gaming or GPU-accelerated compute. The Redmi also benefits from more RAM (16 GB vs 12 GB), faster memory at 5,300 MHz vs 4,800 MHz, higher memory bandwidth (85.1 GB/s vs 78.8 GB/s), and notably supports ECC memory — a feature that catches and corrects memory errors, relevant for reliability in demanding workloads. The iPhone's lone hardware edge here is a larger 16 MB L2 cache (vs 12 MB), which helps reduce latency in cache-sensitive operations.

On raw, measurable performance, the Redmi K90 Pro Max holds a clear and broad advantage — higher multi-core throughput, a dominant AnTuTu score, massively superior GPU parallelism, and more headroom in memory. The iPhone 17 Pro's strength lies in its single-core lead, which keeps it feeling exceptionally fluid for typical smartphone use, but users prioritizing peak compute power, gaming performance, or multitasking headroom will find the Redmi's numbers substantially more compelling.

The camera systems here split meaningfully across several dimensions. Starting with the rear triple arrays, both phones offer three lenses with OIS, but the iPhone 17 Pro's main lens aperture of f/1.78 is slightly narrower than the Redmi's f/1.7 — a marginal low-light difference. More practically, the iPhone reaches a wider 13 mm minimum focal length versus the Redmi's 18 mm, giving it a broader field of view for architecture and landscapes. The Redmi counters with 5x optical zoom against the iPhone's 4x, and a longer effective telephoto reach, making it the stronger choice for distant subjects.

Video is where the gap becomes decisive for many users. The iPhone records at 2160p @ 120 fps — meaning 4K at high frame rate, ideal for cinematic slow motion — while the Redmi tops out at 4320p (8K) @ 30 fps, prioritizing resolution over motion fluidity. Critically, the iPhone supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision recording, professional-grade formats that retain far more dynamic range for post-production; the Redmi supports neither. The iPhone also carries a BSI sensor, which improves light capture efficiency, while the Redmi's sensor type is unlisted in the provided specs. Add in the iPhone's manual shutter speed control — absent on the Redmi — and it is clear the iPhone is tuned for users who want granular creative control in both photo and video.

For selfie shooters, the Redmi's 32 MP front camera outresolves the iPhone's 18 MP, though the iPhone's wider f/1.9 aperture versus the Redmi's f/2.2 gives it a low-light advantage. On balance, the iPhone 17 Pro holds the stronger overall camera edge — particularly for video creators and manual photographers — while the Redmi K90 Pro Max is more compelling for zoom reach and high-resolution selfies.

Privacy handling is one of the sharpest dividing lines here. The iPhone 17 Pro offers Mail Privacy Protection, cross-site tracking blocking, and app tracking controls — a layered approach that limits data exposure across email, browsing, and third-party apps simultaneously. The Redmi K90 Pro Max blocks app tracking but lacks both Mail Privacy Protection and cross-site tracking blocking, leaving two common data-collection vectors comparatively open. For users who treat privacy as a priority, the iPhone's toolkit is meaningfully more comprehensive based on the provided specs.

The Redmi, however, pushes back strongly on flexibility and openness. It supports split-screen multitasking, a multi-user system, dynamic theming, and theme customization — none of which the iPhone offers. It can also play games while they download and features an extra dim mode for low-light comfort. Perhaps most significantly, it is listed as free and open source and does not rely on direct OS updates, which appeals to power users and developers who want deeper system access or custom ROM flexibility. The iPhone counters with direct OS updates — meaning faster, guaranteed software support — along with Wi-Fi password sharing and Focus modes for attention management.

Neither OS is a clean winner: the choice is defined by what a user values most. The iPhone 17 Pro is the stronger pick for privacy-conscious users and those who want timely, reliable OS support. The Redmi K90 Pro Max suits users who prioritize customization, multitasking, multi-user setups, and open-source transparency. These are fundamentally different philosophies, and the specs reflect that divide faithfully.

The battery capacity gap between these two phones is extraordinary. At 7,560 mAh, the Redmi K90 Pro Max carries nearly 78% more battery than the iPhone 17 Pro's 4,252 mAh — a difference that, all else being equal, translates directly into significantly longer time between charges. For heavy users, travelers, or anyone frequently away from an outlet, that margin is not a minor convenience; it is a fundamentally different daily experience.

Charging tells a similarly lopsided story. The Redmi's 100W wired charging is 2.5 times faster than the iPhone's 40W, meaning the Redmi can replenish its vastly larger battery in a fraction of the time. Wireless charging follows the same pattern — 50W on the Redmi versus 30W on the iPhone. The Redmi also supports reverse wireless charging, allowing it to act as a wireless power bank for other devices, a feature the iPhone entirely lacks.

This category is a decisive win for the Redmi K90 Pro Max across every measurable dimension: larger capacity, faster wired charging, faster wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging on top. The iPhone 17 Pro has no compensating advantage in the provided specs here. Users for whom battery endurance and charging speed are priorities will find the Redmi's offering in a different league entirely.

The audio specifications for these two phones are identical across every provided data point. Both omit a 3.5 mm headphone jack, relying on wireless or adapter-based listening. Both feature stereo speakers, and neither supports any high-resolution Bluetooth audio codec — no aptX, no aptX HD, no aptX Adaptive, no LDAC. Neither includes a built-in radio.

The absence of advanced wireless audio codecs is worth contextualizing: LDAC and aptX Adaptive are capable of transmitting significantly more audio data over Bluetooth than standard codecs, meaning users of high-quality wireless headphones will not benefit from lossless or near-lossless Bluetooth transmission on either device. Both phones are limited to the same baseline wireless audio ceiling.

This group is an unambiguous tie. Based strictly on the provided specs, there is no audio feature that distinguishes the Apple iPhone 17 Pro from the Redmi K90 Pro Max — every listed capability and limitation is shared equally between them.

Wireless connectivity is largely a tie, with both phones supporting Wi-Fi 7, 5G, NFC, USB 3.2 Type-C, and identical peak download and upload speeds. The meaningful divergence is in Bluetooth: the iPhone 17 Pro's Bluetooth 6 is a full generation ahead of the Redmi's Bluetooth 5.4, which in practice means improved connection stability, reduced latency, and better handling of multiple simultaneous audio or peripheral connections. The iPhone also adds Wi-Fi 6E support — access to the less congested 6 GHz band — which the Redmi lacks, potentially offering faster, more reliable Wi-Fi in dense environments.

On safety and biometrics, the two phones diverge sharply. The iPhone brings emergency SOS via satellite and crash detection — features with genuine life-safety implications for users in remote areas or involved in accidents where cellular coverage is unavailable. It also uses 3D facial recognition for secure biometric authentication, and includes a barometer for altitude and environmental sensing. The Redmi counters with a fingerprint scanner — a fast, reliable biometric method the iPhone omits entirely — and supports dual physical SIM cards, a practical advantage for travelers or users managing separate personal and work lines simultaneously.

Taken together, the iPhone 17 Pro holds the broader connectivity and safety edge: a newer Bluetooth version, Wi-Fi 6E, satellite SOS, crash detection, and a barometer form a notably richer feature set. The Redmi K90 Pro Max answers with dual SIM flexibility and a fingerprint scanner, both of which are meaningful for their target users, but the iPhone's advantages span more dimensions and carry higher real-world stakes.

The miscellaneous specs provided for these two phones are identical across every data point. Both include a video light, and neither features a sapphire glass display, a curved display, or an e-paper display.

This group is a complete tie. Based strictly on the provided specifications, there is nothing here that differentiates the Apple iPhone 17 Pro from the Redmi K90 Pro Max, and no advantage can be assigned to either device.