MAKE way for the King! No not Charles, I’m talking about the new iPhone 15 Pro.
I’ve been testing out latest Apple’s pair of Pro handsets since their big reveal in California last week.
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Walk into any electronics retailer and there are smartphone brands aplenty, but few capture the attention of tech fans and regular punters alike like Apple.
The branding and design are always slick, but the success is much deeper than the iPhone’s good looks.
Apple has built its smartphone empire on delivering extremely powerful phones that (aside from a few historic bumps in the road) just work.
And the iPhone 15 Pro is the new crowning jewel of that empire.
There are two versions: the Pro and the Pro Max, with 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screens respectively.
I’ve been mostly using the larger Pro Max because the bigger screen is worth the size and weight trade-off for me – and it has an important camera upgrade I’ll explain later.
In any case, both devices look largely similar to their attractive 2022 counterparts.
One key difference is that the old stainless steel frame has been swapped out for a new titanium alternative.
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It’s just as strong but makes the phones about 10% lighter, which is a welcome change.
The bezel (that’s the bit around the screen) has also slimmed out a little, making the display feel fuller against the device.
Color options include Black, White, Blue and Natural Titanium – easily my favourite.
The Mute Switch on the side of the phone has vanished, now replaced with an Action Button.
It’s set to silence your iPhone by default, but you can adjust it to do things like launch the camera or turn on the flashlight – or even run custom Shortcuts that you’ve created.
I’ve been using it to quickly turn on Do Not Disturb, but the possibilities are endless.
C THE TRUTH
The bottom of the iPhone might look unchanged, but keen-eyed fans (and anyone following tech news) will know that the Lightning charging port is gone.
Instead Apple is offering up the USB-C, a far better alternative.
The downside is your old Lightning cables won’t work on the new model – recycle them for free at an Apple Store or sell them on if you prefer.
But the massive advantage is that USB-C (which dates back to 2014) is now very popular.
It’s the default cable for most Android phones, and you’ll also find it in new cars, hotels and on plenty of consumer electronics, including headphones.
Apple has also been using it on its iPad and MacBook models, and recently switched to USB-C for the new AirPods Pro too.
So the grand upside is that the new cable will work across most of the gadgets in your life.
It makes things much easier, and means you can finally share cables with your Android pals.
USB-C is generally better than Lightning too, allowing for much faster power delivery and data transfer.
The iPhone 15 Pro has monumental performance thanks to the new A17 Pro chip at its core.
It feels almost unstoppable, and appears to be a best-in-class smartphone processor.
Apple has specifically talked up the chips graphics potential, and has hailed the fact that Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 Remake are coming to the iPhone 15 Pro (at 30 frames per second, a great feat for a smartphone).
It’s easy to imagine a future where the iPhone becomes a very popular option as a gaming machine, especially as it’s so easily paired with a Bluetooth controller (including the PS5’s DualSense joypad).
SNAP AWAY
The camera is exceptional.
It’s now fitted with a 48-megapixel quad-pixel snapper that delivers extremely detailed photos – with particular improvements to low-light photography.
Poor lighting conditions are always a great test of a camera’s capability, and the iPhone allows you to snap brilliant shots even in very dark environments.
Importantly, the images (both at day and in the night) have brilliant colour accuracy, capturing the scene as I’m actually seeing it.
I was also very impressed with how the phone handles lighting generally.
Even in difficult conditions with very dark and bright areas, the photos still came out balanced and true-to-life.
By far my favourite thing about the cameras is the increased optical zoom.
The regular Pro model can now hit 3x optical zoom – as opposed to digital zoom, which is just artificially sizing up and cropping the image.
But the Pro Max has 5x optical zoom, a first for Apple smartphones.
The detail of the images with this 120mm lens is spectacular, with some clever stabilisation work at play to make sure the images stay sharp.
I love snapping photos of birds (a wholesome lockdown hobby that I still can’t shake) and the 5x zoom means I can get better images without having to climb into a bush.
All in all, you’ve got seven lenses to choose from.
There’s the macro lens that kicks in when you’re really close to a subject.
And you can still activate the ultra-wide angle lens too.
Then there are three options on the main 1x zoom (cycled through by tapping the icon): 24mm, 28mm and 35mm.
It gives you some nice options in terms of framing your subject.
Then there’s 2x zoom for a slightly closer snap.
And finally you can enjoy either 3x or 5x zoom depending on whether you bought the Pro or Pro Max.
An iPhone camera has never been so versatile.
And as I said in my iPhone 15 review, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to take a bad photo on iPhone.
Apple has also updated its Portrait Mode so that you shift the focus between subjects after you’ve taken an image.
Low-light performance in Portrait Mode is also better, and there’s now a continuous zoom option too.
The video quality is also tremendous, and the way the focus shifts between subjects in Cinematic Mode is really impressive.
There’s also a new option on the Pro models to capture 3D spatial videos, which can then be watched on the upcoming Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset (if you can afford its staggering $3,499 price tag).
Battery life is enormous, with 23 hours of video playback on the Pro and 29 hours on the Pro Max.
I’ve not even come close to running the Pro Max down in a single day yet.
And that’s with all the additional usage of enjoying a new phone, including downloading apps, trying out fresh features, and endlessly snapping pics.
Apple helpfully notes that the 15 Pro Max has 9 hours of bonus battery life versus the 12 Pro Max, if you’re tempted by a three-year upgrade cycle.
Lastly, the new iPhone 15 Pro runs on iOS 17.
That’s the software update that has also been delivered this week to older iPhone models too.
It’s packed with features, including Live Voicemail transcription, swipe-to-reply in Messages, custom Contact Posters that appear when you call someone, auto-deletion for one-time SMS log-in codes, and back-to-back requests on Siri.
You can also now save offline maps on Apple Maps, and quickly swap contact details using an AirDrop-style feature called NameDrop.
GOLDEN APPLE
So often gadget upgrades are “behind-the-scenes” improvements that aren’t really tangible.
For many users, you might simply not notice the benefits of a new smartphone processor or some subtle camera improvements.
But there are very useful perks with the iPhone 15 Pro models.
The new zoom lenses on the Pro and Pro Max are an invaluable addition to anyone who takes photos (read: everyone).
Apple’s Action Button will get loads of use, and its support for custom Shortcuts means we’ll soon see very inventive ways of using it.
The redesigned titanium frame does genuinely feel lighter, which is great given how large smartphones are these days.
And the usefulness of the switch to USB-C can’t be overstated. It’s a game-changer.
These devices aren’t cheap at $999/£999 for the 128GB Pro and $1,199/£1,199 for the base 256GB Pro Max.
But they’re so crammed full of power and potential that you simply won’t have a bad time with these devices.
If you’re an iPhone camera obsessive, a smartphone gamer, a gadget fan or a general money-bags, there are plenty of reasons to pick up an iPhone 15 Pro.
However, it’s important to remember that the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are also extremely capable devices and come in $200/£200 and $300/£300 cheaper than their Pro and Pro Max counterparts.
So if you’re on a budget and don’t need all of the bells-and-whistles of a Pro model, you’ll get on just fine with the regular iPhone 15.
The Sun says: The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max over-perform by almost every measure – offering class-leading camera and processing performance, an improved but delightfully familiar design, and a very welcome USB-C charging port. It’s the best phone available today. 5/5
The iPhone 15 Pro ($999 / £999) and iPhone 15 Pro Max ($1,199 / £1,199) are available for pre-order now, and go on sale on Friday, September 22.
All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.
Always do your own research before making any purchase.
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