iPhone 15 Pro Shines Bright as the Ultimate Pocket-Sized Powerhouse

The iPhone Pro model is typically the easiest to recommend from the collection, but with the arrival of the iPhone 15 Pro in 2023, this will be far more difficult.

While the iPhone 15 Pro remains a standout in Apple’s iPhone lineup, with a 120Hz ProMotion display, a triple camera configuration, and Apple’s A17 Pro CPU, it is not significantly different from the iPhone 14 Pro.

That would have been a slightly easier pill to take if Apple had not increased the telephoto camera on the iPhone 15 Pro Max from 3.5x to 5x while keeping the Pro unaltered. You might save a lot of money by staying with the basic iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Plus.

However, while the iPhone 15 Pro may not be a compelling case for iPhone 14 Pro customers to upgrade, it still provides the unique high-end tiny iPhone experience that Apple fans continue to appreciate, and I do not doubt that it will be a popular phone in 2024.

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iPhone 15 Pro KEY FEATURES

While you may argue that the 15 Pro packs more power for its size, similarly designed competing flagships cost substantially less. The slight change in frame design, the use of lighter titanium and USB-C, and the fact that the rear glass is less expensive and easier to replace. An excellent adaptive 120Hz OLED with the best always-on display solution available. Long-time iPhone users will recognize this, with some nice quality-of-life enhancements and excellent long-term update support. Though it lacks the 5x telephoto of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the iPhone 15 Pro’s versatile triple rear camera system produces excellent images in both well-lit and low-light conditions. The iPhone 15 Pro’s 3nm A17 Pro outperforms its Android counterparts, with console-level games presently under development.

APPLE IPHONE 15 PRO UNBOXING

As expected, the iPhone 15 Pro comes in a half-height retail box containing only the phone. The less critical items that remain are a SIM ejection tool, an Apple sticker, and some paperwork. The only packaged accessory that is more useful is the new USB cable (C-C), which is now braided. That should help it endure longer than ordinary Apple cables from the past, though we’re not sure the white fabric will look as good a few weeks later. The cable is also USB 2.0 spec, so if you want the quickest transfer speeds, you’ll need to acquire another one. We’ll now go on to the phone itself.

CAMERA

• 48 MP main, 12 MP ultra-wide, and 12 MP 3x telephoto.
• Now supports ProRes 4K/60fps with external storage.
• Log video is now supported.

In terms of cameras, the iPhone 15 Pro remains true to its predecessor’s (arguably superb) triple-sensor configuration. The phone’s rear features a 48MP primary, 12MP ultra-wide, and 12MP 3x telephoto sensor.

By reserving the 5x optical zoom telephoto camera for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple has created a significant technological gap between its latest Pro and Pro Max iPhones this year, even more, pronounced than the introduction of sensor-shift OIS (optical image stabilization) on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which was absent on the standard 12 Pro. That being said, the iPhone 15 Pro is still one of the greatest camera phones available.

On the front, the iPhone 15 Pro has the same 12MP TrueDepth camera as the iPhone 14 Pro, which is one of the industry’s best selfie cameras, with true-to-life colors, support for some of the iPhone’s more advanced portrait still and video features, and tight integration with social apps and filters found on Snapchat.

Despite the similarities between the camera setup and its predecessor, it differs in some significant ways, particularly through the application of image processing tricks not seen in prior entries in the series. The new default image capture resolution of 24MP is made possible by the 48MP resolution of the main sensor on all four iPhone 15 models (although the 15 and 15 Plus have a smaller, inferior sensor than the Pros).

To achieve that magic number, the 15 Pro combines a 12MP image previously processed by the phone’s imaging pipeline with a 48MP full-resolution photo to optimize clarity, color depth, dynamic range, and so on. Speaking of depth, you can now record portrait pictures after the fact, eliminating the need to switch to portrait mode to add more pronounced bokeh to stills, allowing you to bring your subject to the foreground while blurring everything else.

This functionality is also not binary, with the ability to adjust the degree of bokeh and even tap to refocus between components in the foreground and background after the fact, straight from the Photos app; providing the phone was ability to recognize a portrait-worthy subject with the first place.

Apple told me that the feature can detect people, dogs, and cats, so if you get a new iPhone soon, you may expect to take better photos of your pets. And for those on the Android side of the fence, while phones like the Galaxy S23 can perform similar variable bokeh and refocusing tricks, features like edge detection aren’t nearly as accurate, and images must be captured in the dedicated portrait mode to access the post-capture features. And for those on the Android side of the fence, while phones like the Galaxy S23 can perform similar variable bokeh and refocusing tricks, features like edge detection aren’t nearly as accurate, and images must be captured in the dedicated portrait mode to access the post-capture features.

DESIGN AND SCREEN

• USB-C: poor news for Lightning accessory owners, but otherwise welcome.
• The action button is a potent new hardware component.
• 6.1-inch ‘Retina Super XDR’ OLED panel.
• Protected by Ceramic Shield
• Dynamic Island (now available across all iPhone devices)

Aesthetically, the iPhone 14 Pro was nearly identical to the iPhone 13 Pro. However, Apple has given the Pro line’s most recognized design components (by its standards, at least) a considerable overhaul for 2023, for reasons both within and outside of its control.

When it comes to phones, a millimeter here and a degree there can make a significant impact on how a phone feels, and this is especially true with the changes made throughout the 15 series. The most noticeable cosmetic change is the burnishing away of the previous generation’s sharp edges, giving the 15 Pro a noticeably different (and more pleasant) feel.

The iPhone 15 Pro, like the rest of the line, has flat sides that wrap around the edge of the phone, but there is now minor curving where there was previously an almost zero-degree radius. More crucially, the Pro line includes a new titanium frame, which makes the iPhone 15 Pro substantially lighter than its stainless steel predecessor (Apple’s latest flagship weighs 187g, while the iPhone 14 Pro weighs 206g) while maintaining a reasonable level of strength.

Apple’s Pro iPhones have always been heavy for their screen size, so the 19-gram weight decrease on both the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max is significant for the series. The advantages are perhaps more noticeable on the Pro Max. But, given all Apple has managed to put into the 15 Pro, a weight decrease (making this the lightest Pro model ever) on top is still nice.

The iPhone 15 Pro keeps its predecessor’s superb 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen, as does Apple’s ProMotion technology, which adjusts the refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz based on the material presented.

As previously said, the Dynamic Island digital cutout is also present, albeit this notch is now found on every model in the lineup, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s bezels are largely absent. It’s once again protected by the company’s Ceramic Shield, a translucent layer incorporating ceramic crystals for added protection (though prior experiences with the 14 Pro Max have shown that the material’s scratch resistance is nowhere like as spectacular as its impact resistance).

It’s still a beautiful and responsive screen (with a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits, much like its predecessor). The smaller bezel instantly makes it a more immersive display, and I believe it only suffers when compared to the larger and equally beautiful iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display, especially if streaming movies and gaming are high on your priority list for a new phone.

I also have to commend Apple once more for its amazing use of always-on display technology. Along with having little influence on battery life, the 14 Pro and 15 Pro models are the only ones that provide a full-screen always-on experience with as much detail and glanceable information. It’s a feature I miss when I switch to other devices, even those that have their version of an always-on display.

Simply said, this is the type of display you’d expect to find on one of the greatest phones on the market, and Apple hasn’t messed with a winning formula here, instead improving it slightly with those bezels.

HOW’S THE PERFORMANCE?

Performance is one of the factors that distinguishes the iPhone 15 Pro from not only the standard iPhone 15 but also most other phones on the market. That’s due to the adoption of Apple’s spiffy new 3nm A17 Pro processor, which replaces the Bionic name introduced with the iPhone X’s A11 Bionic.

In benchmarks, I saw single-core CPU scores of 2855 in Geekbench 6, which is higher than the multi-core performance of mid-rangers like the Google Pixel 7a, while multi-core scores are roughly 2000 points more than the top-performing Android smartphones we’ve benchmarked in the last 12 months.

It’s a similar scenario in terms of GPU performance, however, our benchmarking program (quite disappointingly) only supports 60fps on iOS, making it more difficult to demonstrate. As you can see from the table above, the iPhone 15 Pro outperforms almost every other smartphone – except the iPhone 15 Pro Max, of course – with the A16 Bionic coming in close second. This translates to a quick, near-instant experience on iOS, with even minor aspects of the experience, such as animation speed while quitting an app, feeling faster and more responsive than the iPhone 14 Pro I was using until recently. This also applies to social networking use, high-end gaming with advanced graphics, and photo and video editing with quick export times suitable for content makers. Seriously, this phone has handled everything I’ve thrown at it. Because of its high power, your iPhone will remain fast for far longer than any other smartphone, making it an excellent long-term investment.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The slight change in frame design, the use of lighter titanium and USB-C, and the fact that the rear glass is less expensive and easier to replace. Long-time iPhone users will recognize this, with some nice quality-of-life enhancements and excellent long-term update support. The 14 Pro series already had an advantage over its current Android competitors, and the A17 Pro is truly in a class of its own.

The iPhone 15 Pro isn’t the most thrilling upgrade ever, especially when nearly every other iPhone in the iPhone 15 lineup has received a big improvement. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus now include Dynamic Island and a new 48MP main camera, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max adds a stabilized 5x telephoto lens. However, the iPhone 15 Pro lacks any distinguishing new hardware, instead using the same revised design, new materials, and USB-C as the Pro Max.

That being said, the iPhone 15 Pro is a fantastic 2023 smartphone, with a beautiful design that feels wonderful in the hand, a stunning display, and a highly competent camera arrangement. The A17 Pro, in particular, is a standout, providing the finest performance of any smartphone alongside the Pro Max, and the knock-on effect on battery life is greatly welcomed. It just does not provide a compelling reason for iPhone 14 Pro customers to upgrade.

Buy it if...

• Exquisite and now lighter design, water-resistant up to 6 meters deep.
• Outstanding OLED display – extremely bright, color-accurate, and Dolby Vision enabled.
• Excellent speaker loudness, balance, and sound quality.
• Excellent performance.
• Every iPhone includes at least five years of iOS updates.
• Upgraded connection throughout the board, including UWB2.
• USB-C has arrived, and we adore it.
• Outstanding video capture and stabilization, as well as outstanding Pro modes.
• Excellent daylight and nighttime images from all cameras.

Don't buy it if...

• Significantly more pricey than comparable Android solutions.
• There is no charger in the box, and charging is not particularly fast.
• Apple’s iOS restrictions can be discouraging to newbies to the ecosystem.
• Sometimes less sharpness would be beneficial in photo editing.
• Limiting the 5x telephoto to just the Max feels arbitrary (as does the 256GB base storage).
• According to reports, the rear glass is far more likely to shatter than previously.

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