Apple announced its brand new products to the iPhone lineup at its ‘Wonderlust’ event on September 12 including – iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, taking technology to the next level. The iPhone 15 Pro series features an improved A17 Bionic chip with a 6-Core GPU, capable of handling up to 35 trillion operations in a second.
Here’s what you need to know about the iPhone 15 Pro & iPhone 15 Pro Max:
Display & Design:
The iPhone 15 Pro comes with the same 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR Display with a 2556‑by‑1179-pixel resolution at 460 ppi, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max comes with a larger 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR Display with a 2796‑by‑1290-pixel resolution at 460 ppi, but they now come with slimmer bezels for a more futuristic look. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max offer up to 1000 nits of Brightness (typical) and the number bumps up to 1600 nits while watching HDR content.
When you’re in an outdoor environment, the Brightness can go up to an astonishing 2000 nits. They have a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1, similar to last year’s iPhone 14 Pro. The display on these new models also has Ceramic Sheild, introduced with the iPhone 12 Series in 2020, along with a textured matte glass back. Both these newly announced iPhones have an IP68 water resistance of a maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes.
The limelight falls on the new aerospace-grade titanium enclosure design which is both strong and lightweight. Apple claims, “The premium titanium used on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max has one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios of any metal, making them Apple’s lightest Pro lineup ever”. Due to the new Titanium chassis, the iPhone 15 Pro is around 9% lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro while the iPhone 15 Pro Max is around 8% lighter than its predecessor.
The iPhone 15 Pro weighs 187 grams, which is 9.22% lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro (206 grams) from 2022. The larger iPhone 15 Pro Max on the other hand weighs 221 grams, and is 7.92% lighter than its predecessor – the iPhone 14 Pro Max (240 grams). Both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models are lighter than the iPhone 11 Pro (188 grams) and iPhone 11 Pro Max (226 grams) respectively. Being lighter, this year’s iPhones will be more comfortable to use and hold. Not only are they lighter, but also more Durable due to the new Titanium finish.
The second most noticeable change in the iPhone 15 Pro design is the replacement of the Ring/Silent Switch with the new Action Button, which not only allows you to set your iPhone to ring/silent modes, but also offers customization options, such as quickly accessing the Camera, Flashlight, Focus Modes, Voice Memo, Translate, and more, along with accessibility features. You can even use Siri Shortcuts to run a custom command based on your preferences. Apple says, “A press-and-hold gesture with fine-tuned haptic feedback and visual cues in the Dynamic Island ensure the new button launches the intended action.”
Performance & Battery:
The iPhone 15 Pro & the iPhone 15 Pro Max are powered by the new A17 Pro Chip coupled with 8GB of memory. The 3nm-based A16 Bionic chip has a new 6-core CPU, out of which 2 are high-performance cores, and the other 4 are high-efficiency cores. It has nearly 19 billion transistors and features the new 16-core Neural Engine which can perform 35 trillion operations in a second.
According to Apple, “The new CPU is up to 10 percent faster with microarchitectural and design improvements, and the Neural Engine is now up to 2x faster, powering features like autocorrect and Personal Voice in iOS 17. The pro-class GPU is up to 20 percent faster and unlocks entirely new experiences, featuring a new 6-core design that increases peak performance and energy efficiency. Now with hardware-accelerated ray tracing — which is 4x faster than software-based ray tracing — iPhone 15 Pro offers smoother graphics, as well as more immersive AR applications and gaming experiences. iPhone 15 Pro brings true-to-life gaming to the palm of users’ hands with console titles never before seen on a smartphone, like Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4, Death Stranding, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage.”
A17 Pro also comes with an AV1 decoder along with a new USB Controller, which brings USB 3 speeds to the USB-C Port on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Due to the higher transfer speeds of USB 3, iPhone 15 Pro models can output video at up to 4K 60 fps in HDR. This brings the ability to record ProRes video directly on external storage rather than recording first and then transferring.
In terms of Battery Life, the iPhone 15 Pro offers up to 23 Hours of Video Playback while the larger Pro Max model offers up to 29 hours, which are the same as their predecessors. Apple claims that both these iPhones are capable of All-Day Battery Life. However, do note that actual Battery Life might vary depending on the usage.
Camera:
The iPhone 15 Pro & iPhone 15 Pro Max offer a Triple Camera System, with a Wide, Ultra-Wide, and Telephoto lens coupled with a LiDAR Scanner. The Cameras have received a significant upgrade in this year’s Pro lineup.
Wide: The 24mm 48 MP Wide Camera has a 2.44μm sensor with f/1.78 aperture and is capable of shooting photos in any lighting condition. The iPhone 15 Pro features the second generation of sensor-shift optical image stabilization technology, instead of the first generation found in the regular iPhone 15 models.
Ultra Wide: The 13mm Ultra-Wide Camera with an ƒ/2.2 aperture offers sharper images with better macro photography. The results from the Ultra-Wide Camera are stunning. This new lens can focus at just 2cm, enabling Macro Photography.
Telephoto: The iPhone 15 Pro features a 77 mm 12MP Telephoto camera that has an ƒ/2.8 aperture and allows users to get 3x optical zoom. A 12MP 2x Telephoto option is also available, which is enabled by the quad-pixel sensor which is 48 mm with an ƒ/1.78 aperture, featuring second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization.
The larger iPhone 15 Pro Max, however, provides a 5x Optical Zoom option at 120mm.
Photos taken on the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be 24MP by default for super-high-resolution photos, powered by Photonic Engine and Smart HDR 5. Reviewers are reporting the latter to be a significant improvement over Smart HDR 4. The ability to switch between three popular focal lengths – 24 mm, 28 mm, and 35 mm has been added to the Pro lineup along with support for 48MP HEIF Images. While the iPhone 15 Pro has 3x Optical Zoom with the Telephoto lens, the iPhone 15 Pro Max takes it to the next level and introduces a new Telephoto camera with a tetraprism design for a 5x Optical Zoom option at 120mm. Apple claims that the new Camera System of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is “equivalent of seven pro lenses”. According to Apple, “the new Telephoto camera on iPhone 15 Pro Max has an innovative tetraprism design with a combined optical image stabilization and autofocus 3D sensor-shift module, Apple’s most advanced stabilization system yet.” Due to the new 5x Telephoto lens, the iPhone 15 Pro Max can digitally zoom up to 25x, compared to 15x on the smaller iPhone 15 Pro. Moreover, with any of the iPhone 15 models, you can simply take a normal photo, and convert it into a Portrait in the Photos App.
Still not “Pro” enough for you? iPhone 15 Pro users can record videos in ProRes directly onto an external storage drive at up to 4K 60 fps due to the benefits of the USB-C port with USB 3.2 speeds. It’s worth noting that the option to record ProRes videos in 4K 60 fps recording is only available if you connect an external storage drive. If you want to record ProRes video on your iPhone itself, it will be limited to 4K at 30 fps if you have 256GB of Storage or more. Only the iPhone 15 Pro with 128GB of Storage is further limited to record in 1080p at 30 fps.
Connectivity:
The iPhone 15 Pro & iPhone 15 Pro Max offer superfast 5G Connectivity with mmWave Technology (mmWave only in select regions in the U.S.). It offers 25 sub‑6 GHz bands and 3 mmWave bands on the U.S. models because of the customized hardware design. A second-generation Ultra-Wide Band chip is also included with the iPhone 15 features 3 times more range and introduces the ability to use Precision Finding for Find My friends. They come with a USB-C port so you can charge all your devices with a single cable. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max feature USB 3.2 Gen 2 transfer speeds of 10Gbit per second, which is 20x faster than the USB 2.0 speeds of 480 Mbps on the regular iPhone 15. Do note that you’ll need to purchase a USB 3.2 supported cable in order to take advantage of these speeds as the cable included in the box does not transfer at such a high rate.
The USB-C port on these iPhones can now also reverse charge your AirPods or Apple Watch with 4.5 watts of power delivery. The AirPods Pro has also been updated to feature the USB-C Port for added convenience.
Another feature exclusively available with the Pro models is WiFi 6E technology, also available on the iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 12.9 inch (6th generation), and the 2023 Mac lineup including the new MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
Along with these advancements, the iPhone 15 also extends the functionality of Emergency SOS via Satellite with Roadside Assistance. According to Apple, “Beginning in the U.S., when a user has car trouble and cellular and Wi-Fi coverage are not available, they can now connect to AAA, the country’s largest roadside assistance provider.5 An intuitive interface, including a short questionnaire to capture important details, will transmit the information via satellite so AAA can message with the user directly and dispatch help to their exact location. Access to Roadside Assistance via satellite will be included for free for two years. Service is covered according to AAA membership, but is also available separately for nonmembers.”
Emergency SOS via Satellite will also debut in Spain and Switzerland later this month, as announced by Apple at its “Wonderlust” event.
U.S. Models of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will continue to be available without a physical sim tray and will run on Dual eSIM.
There are two advantages of this new change:
- Better Water Resistance: Fewer Open spaces on the iPhone will lead to better Water Resistance as there will be lower chances of Liquid seeping into your iPhone.
- Protection: If the iPhone ever gets lost or stolen, the eSIM cannot be removed, whereas the Physical Sim can be removed.
Pricing, Colors & Availability:
The new Pro models will be available in four elegant finishes – Black titanium, White titanium, Blue titanium, and Natural titanium finishes. The iPhone 15 Pro starts at $999 for the 128GB variant, $1,099 for the 256GB variant, $1,299 for the 512GB variant, and $1,499 for the 1TB variant. The iPhone 15 Pro will be available to Pre-order on September 15th starting at 5 a.m. PDT and it will be available starting September 22nd.
The larger Pro Max starts at $1,199 for the 256GB variant, $1,399 for the 512GB variant, and $1,599 for the 1TB variant. The iPhone 15 Pro Max will also be available to Pre-order on September 15th starting at 5 a.m. PDT and it will be available starting September 22nd. Notably, the base variant of the iPhone 15 Pro Max costs $100 more than last year’s iPhone 14 Pro Max, which costed $1,099 — but it also comes with 256GB of base storage, so it is not really a price increase but rather the elimination of the 128GB variant.
Environment:
Apple claims that the iPhone 15 has been designed to minimize its impact on the environment even further. They state that the “iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are designed with the environment in mind. As Apple continues to work toward its 2030 goal of making every product carbon neutral — from design to manufacturing to customer use — the company is prioritizing clean electricity across the entire supply chain and designing products with recycled and other low-carbon materials. iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max now use more recycled content, with a 100 percent recycled aluminum substructure and 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery — both firsts for Apple. iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max also include 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets and 100 percent recycled gold in the USB‑C connector as well as the gold plating and tin soldering in multiple printed circuit boards. Both models meet Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency and are free of mercury, PVC, and beryllium. Over 99 percent of the packaging is fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal of completely removing plastic from its packaging by 2025.”
Along with this, Apple has also discontinued selling Leather Accessories for all its products and introduced new FineWoven accessories which use 68 percent post-consumer recycled content. Apple claims that FineWoven has significantly lower carbon emissions compared to leather. Read more about the new FineWoven Accessories here.
The iPhone 15 series is a significant step forward in terms of mobile technology and Apple will continue to improve its iPhone lineup every year. Which model are you planning to get? Let us know down in the comments or tweet/post to us at @appleosophy! Be sure to download the Appleosophy App from the App Store or visit our website to stay updated with the latest Apple News and Deals!
Author: Pururaj Dutta
Pururaj is the Vice President of Appleosophy and Silicon Report, in addition to being the Manager of popular Redfruit Media platforms such as TechPod Social and Apple Summit. His seasoned experience plays a pivotal role in the success of Redfruit Media, contributing significantly to shaping the ever-evolving tech landscape. As a tech aficionado, he enjoys exploring & reviewing new products, and sharing his insights with the community. With an unwavering passion for technology, Pururaj is committed to delivering accurate and insightful information to his readers.
