It’s been six years since the iPhone iPhone 15 And iPhone 15 Pro Not all are different. However, thanks to a few steps of iteration, these smartphones still feel like a big step forward – perhaps not compared to last year’s iPhone, but certainly compared to 2017, or even 2020.
Although I have no idea what’s coming next year, the iPhone 15 feels like the final form of a product that has been through a multi-year cycle. It sees Apple solidifying a potential long-term strategy of treating the cheaper model as a reboot of the previous year’s Pro model, addressing one of the longest-running complaints about iPhones (even if Apple’s hand is forced by regulations), and refining a tried-and-true design.
The iPhone 15, its more expensive siblings, and its strong competitors on the Android side make it clear that, for better or worse (mostly better), we have reached the peak of smartphones.
to set
| Specs at a glance: iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max | |
|---|---|
| a screen | 2556 x 1179 6.1-inch OLED (15 and 15 Pro), 2796 x 1290 6.1-inch OLED (15 Plus and 15 Pro Max) |
| OS | iOS 17.0.2 |
| CPU | Apple A16 Bionic (15 and 15 Plus), Apple A17 Pro (15 Pro and 15 Pro Max) |
| ram | 6 GB (15 and 15 Plus), 8 GB (15 Pro and 15 Pro Max) |
| GPU | Apple A16 Bionic (15 and 15 Plus), Apple A17 Pro (15 Pro and 15 Pro Max) |
| storage | 128, 256 or 512 GB for the 15 and 15 Plus; 128, 256, 512GB, or 1TB for 15 Pro; 256, 512 GB or 1 TB for the 15 Pro Max |
| networks | Wi-Fi 6 (15 and 15 Plus) or Wi-Fi 6E (15 Pro and 15 Pro Max), Bluetooth 5.3, 5G |
| Ports | USB C |
| camera | 48MP main camera and 12MP ultra-wide camera (15 and 15Plus); 48MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide camera, 12MP 3x telephoto camera (iPhone 15 Pro); 48MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide camera, 12MP 5x telephoto camera (iPhone 15 Pro Max); 12-megapixel front camera; 4K HDR video |
| measuring | 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm (15), 160.9 x 77.8 x 7.8 mm (15 Plus), 146.6 x 70.6 x 8.25 mm (15 Pro), 159.9 x 76.7 x 8.25 mm (15 Pro Max) |
| Weight | 171 g (15), 201 g (15 Plus), 187 g (15 Pro), 221 g (15 Pro Max) |
| Starting price | $799 (14), $899 (15 Plus), $999 (15 Pro), $1,199 (15 Pro Max) |
| Other privileges | MagSafe, Face ID, Dynamic Island, Always-on display (Pro models) |
Storage capacities are mostly the same as they were last year, except that Apple removed the cheapest 128GB option for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, raising the minimum price of that phone by $100 to $1,199, which probably doesn’t match up as much as Serendipity with the entry-level price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
The regular iPhone 15 starts at $799 with 128GB of storage. For an additional $100, you can transfer up to 256GB. 512GB for $1099. The iPhone 15 Plus has the same storage options but starts $100 more expensive at $899.
The iPhone 15 Pro starts at $999 for 128GB of storage. 256GB is $1,099, 512GB is $1,299, and there’s a 1TB option at $1,499. The larger iPhone 15 Pro Max costs $200 more per storage size, without the missing 128GB configuration.
Given the high video quality these phones capture, and the increasing volume of mobile gaming, 256GB or 512GB will likely be the sweet spot for most buyers. People who don’t plan to record a lot of videos or play a lot of games will be fine with 128GB, and if you’re one of the crazy people who needs 1TB, you know who you are. (I’m afraid I’m one of you. I have over 500 apps installed and record 4K videos regularly. But that’s not the norm.)
The iPhone 15 still has 6GB of RAM, but the Pros have jumped to 8GB.
Displays
Not much has changed on the display front. The screen sizes are the same – 6.1 inches for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro and 6.7 inches for the iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The screen resolution of these OLED displays is 2,556 x 1,179 pixels and 2,796 x 1,290 pixels respectively.
The Pro models have a variable refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz, while the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus reach a standard refresh rate of 60Hz. In terms of brightness, all four phones typically have a maximum of 1,000 nits, with up to 1,600 for HDR features and up to 2,000 for sunny outdoor situations. Unfortunately, it was overcast most of the time I had these phones, so I didn’t have first-hand experience with that high outdoor peak brightness.
Finally, these are great deals. I didn’t notice any difference one way or another compared to last year, but it’s hard to improve on anything close to perfection. For most people who buy these phones, these will be the highest quality displays they own. Only very high-end OLED TVs and a couple of expensive Android phones can compete with it.
A16 returns, A17 arrives
As for the other internals, the story behind the system-on-chip in the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus is simple: It’s the A16 Bionic chip, the same chip that shipped in last year’s iPhone Pro phones. The A16 isn’t a huge jump over the A15 in the standard iPhone 14 except for one thing: it has a much higher memory bandwidth, which matters a lot for 3D gaming and some camera features.
However, both the iPhone 15 Pro and Max are getting a new chip. Apple called it the A17 Pro, not “Bionic.” For a long time, I looked at Apple’s “professional” label for phones, arguing that most professional photographers didn’t use a phone. But as I’ve spent more time on TikTok over the past year, I’ve realized that “Pro” can easily refer to some of the great creators on that platform and others who like it, so I’m trying to calm the eye-rolling just a little bit.
Manufactured on 3nm technology, the Apple A17 Pro has a hexa-core CPU that promises a 10 percent improvement over the A16 and a hexa-core GPU that promises up to 20 percent faster performance. The GPU now supports mesh shading and hardware-accelerated ray tracing, two cutting-edge graphics technologies that can enable some features typically reserved for PC games or current generation consoles.
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