iPhone 15 Pro Reviews: Improvements Go Well Beyond USB-C

[MacRumors]

Apple's new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores this Friday, September 22. Ahead of time, the first reviews of the devices have been shared by select media outlets and YouTube channels.

Key new features of the iPhone 15 Pro models include a USB-C port, lightweight titanium frame, customizable Action button, faster A17 Pro chip, an increased 8GB of RAM, thinner bezels around the screen, and several camera improvements, including an upgraded Telephoto lens with up to 5x optical zoom on the Pro Max model.

• iPhone 14 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Buyer's Guide: 30+ Upgrades Compared

We've rounded up both written and video reviews of the iPhone 15 Pro models below.

Written Reviews

The Verge's Allison Johnson on the USB-C port:

I know we all have a lot of mixed feelings about USB-C, but let me tell you about a beautiful thing that happened: the 15 Pro Max's battery was low, so I unplugged the USB-C charging cable from my MacBook Air and plugged it right into the phone. No searching for another cable. No dongles. Just a USB-C charger powering a USB-C iPhone.

Johnson says the Action button can function as a physical shutter button when the Camera app is open, instead of the volume buttons:

I set the Action Button on the 15 Pro Max to open the camera, which I thought I'd really like. It even acts as a shutter when you use the Action Button to open the camera, and I love a physical shutter button. But it’s a bit of a reach, and after the first week, I’m not finding it any easier than swiping the homescreen to launch the camera and pressing the volume down button to snap shots. I have some other ideas for the Action Button, though, and the beauty is you can experiment with it until you find something you like.

CNBC's Kif Leswing on the titanium frame:

Apple says that the 6-inch iPhone 15 Pro is 187 grams, or 9% lighter than last year's model. The iPhone 15 Pro Max, with a bigger 6.7-inch screen, weighs 8% less. But in practice, it feels like an even bigger reduction. Going back to my old iPhone 14 Pro, it feels like a brick. The weight difference between this year's Pros and last year's is noticeable even with a case.

Tom's Guide's Mark Spoonaeur on battery life:

On our battery test, which involves continuous web surfing at 150 nits of screen brightness, the iPhone 15 Pro lasted 10 hours and 53 minutes. That’s 40 minutes longer than the iPhone 14 Pro and nearly 2 hours longer than the Pixel 7 Pro. We consider 11 hours or more to be excellent.

TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino on the iPhone 15 Pro Max's new 5x optical zoom capability:

And we haven't even started talking about the 120mm tetraprism-enabled 5x telephoto lens. This thing is an incredible achievement in every way. It doesn't just work, it's probably the best camera Apple has ever made.

An example of a photo shot at 5x by Panzarino:

Image Credit: Matthew Panzarino​

Video Reviews

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Article Link: iPhone 15 Pro Reviews: Improvements Go Well Beyond USB-C

 

[MayaUser]

the way usbC is charing other stuff is pretty neat...at least in Apple standards is great

 

[abatabia]

Thank you for this write up. Anything to save me from the YouTube informercials….i mean reviews. I’m still not upgrading.

 

[Fried_Gold]

Yep sure looks like an iPhone.

 

[cocky jeremy]

The new brushed titanium vs old polished stainless steel on the sides is enough by itself for me. This 14 Pro Max is a fingerprint magnet. It's gross.

 

[CosmoPilot]

Many small improvements make for an overall nice upgrade regardless which model you’re upgrading from!

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

That’s why it’s selling 12% faster than pro max 14 did

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Why are they comparing Ultra wide to 5x? Shouldn't it be the 1x shot vs the 5x shot to show me how close 5x is compared to normal? Ultra wide to 5x is more than 5x isn't it?

 

[thenewperson]

No duh. The only ones who made it solely about USB-C were silly nerds on the internet.

 

[gpat]

I know we all have a lot of mixed feelings about USB-C, but let me tell you about a beautiful thing that happened: the 15 Pro Max's battery was low, so I unplugged the USB-C charging cable from my MacBook Air and plugged it right into the phone. No searching for another cable. No dongles. Just a USB-C charger powering a USB-C iPhone.

Woah. Imagine that. Should've been this way since 2017 at least.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Yep sure looks like an iPhone.

The best businesses will be selling pretty much the same product(s) 5, 10, 15, 20etc years down the road. Radical changes usually give undesirable results….Warren Buffett.

 

[BostonQuad]

Johnson says the Action button can function as a physical shutter button when the Camera app is open

Sounds like he doesn't know the volume buttons already function as physical shutter buttons.

Edit: D'oh! As headlessmike pointed out, Johnson is a she, and as MrCubes pointed out, the same paragraph says she went back to using the volume buttons as shutter buttons.

 

[outlawarth]

I've been an Apple fan for a long time but man these "reviews" are starting to bore the life out of me. No disrespect to any of the creators.

 

[SactoGuy18]

This is why I just end up holding out for the iPhone 16. The use of the excellent A17 SoC means not only longer battery life, but also the iPhone 16 will actually support USB 3.2 1x1 (5 Gbps data transfer speed). The iPhone 16 Pro may go to up to USB 3.2 2x2 (20 Gbps data transfer speed).

 

[SilenceBroken]

I too would go straight to Disneyland/Disney California Adventure to test out the camera. It's why I got my wife the Pro Max, for our upcoming WDW trip.

 

[SilenceBroken]

Sounds like he doesn't know the volume buttons already function as physical shutter buttons.

Yeah, that's been a thing for years.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Sounds like he doesn't know the volume buttons already function as physical shutter buttons.

Quite embarrassing for a professional reviewer isn't it

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

This is why I just end up holding out for the iPhone 16. The use of the excellent A17 SoC means not only longer battery life, but also the iPhone 16 will actually support USB 3.2 1x1 (5 Gbps data transfer speed). The iPhone 16 Pro may go to up to USB 3.2 2x2 (20 Gbps data transfer speed).

We still have a year in front of us but I'm willing to betcha 5 bucks that iphone 16 will still be limited to iphone's lightning speeds aka USB 2.0

 

[MacLawyer]

Love the fact that Apple keeps pushing the upgrade features but frankly I'm burned out. Keeping my Watch 7, iPhone 14, and M1 MacBook Air until they drag themselves to the recycling center. 😂

 

[acblue94]

The new brushed titanium vs old polished stainless steel on the sides is enough by itself for me. This 14 Pro Max is a fingerprint magnet. It's gross.

The luxury look is gone. These look basic and even lighter. Doesn’t feel or look premium anymore. Dull.

 

[Rogifan]

I’m curious about the action button…can you use the button to set your phone to mute and then repurpose it for something else? I never take my phone off mute because I usually have my watch on. Is there somewhere in settings or control center to mute/unmute the phone?

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Thank you for this write up. Anything to save me from the YouTube informercials….i mean reviews. I’m still not upgrading.

Yes appreciate the reviews too. I’m upgrading five 14 pro max

 

[vertsix]

These reviews give nothing conclusive on battery life. Anyone found one that does?

 

[MrCubes]

Sounds like he doesn't know the volume buttons already function as physical shutter buttons.

He literally said that he went back to using the volume buttons as shutter buttons in the same paragraph.

 

[adrianlondon]

The difference between the vol and action button for taking a photo is that the action button will also (if so customised) open the camera app.

So, two quick taps of the action button and the phone will open the camera app and take a photo. Nice.

Apple should still allow one to change (or remove) the camera icon on the lockscreen though.