My year with theiPhone 15 Pro Maxis almost up , and as I prepare to institutionalise it away as a swop - in for theiPhone 16 Pro Max , I thought I ’d gather up my favored photos taken with the top iPhone , show them off here , and in general sing its praises .
But as I went through my gallery , I was surprised to find that , unlike other years , I had n’t taken all that many photos with the iPhone . I began to wonder why and whether that would change with my incoming iPhone 16 .
Not many photos?
Before go any further , I should clear up that I ’ve still taken hundred of photos with the iPhone 15 Pro Max , but this is fewer than in other years . Part of the intellect is that , due to personal circumstance , I ’ve not been in the position to take all that many photograph during 2024 , so many of the ones I have accept were for work purposes — such as comparisonsbetween the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 15 Plus .
However , unlikemy experience with the iPhone 14 Pro , my relative lack of photos is not because I do n’t wish the 15 Pro Max ’s tv camera . When I have used it , I ’ve been proud of with the result , especially when using the 5x opthalmic zoom . And I have not noticed as many problems with line or vulnerability as I have with the last few iPhone tv camera . The iPhone ’s editing suite is also one of the well available outside of Google Photos , despite the layout being a little messy .
It ’s a good affair the iPhone ’s redaction suite is powerful , as it ’s needed to get the very best from the 15 Pro Max ’s photos , but I do n’t have in mind this in a negative manner . I edited photos admit with the iPhone 14 Pro to limit the progeny I did n’t like about the images , but with the iPhone 15 Pro Max , I edited them to convey them nearer to my personal preferences . The iPhone 15 Pro Max ’s photo do n’t have a in particular neutral face , but they ’re not quite as punchy or warm as I wish . For reference , I mostly apply the Rich ContrastPhotographic Style .
Some of my favorite photos
I may not have always used the iPhone 15 Pro Max to take photos , but going through my veranda , I happen many that I really wish because , with a small bit of editing , they took onexactlythe spirit I like . The bridge and its reflection is a great example . Shot using the 5x telephoto and edited a little , it absolutely enamor the crepuscle colors and temperature and then balances them with the threat of the dark clouds for an reminiscent image .
It ’s the same with the photo of the Porsche Boxster , set against golden leaf and a darkening sky , the iPhone still enchant the reflections in the paintwork , just as it did with the urine in the photo of the bridge . The edits were nonaged on both , and I have it away how they came out . The photograph of the rainbow and the stag were taken in haste so as not to miss the moment , and the 5x soar was used for the stag . I did n’t take multiple images in either consideration and do n’t remember checking to see how the photos looked , but the reliable iPhone returned incisively the effigy I wanted .
I enjoy playing around with sinister - and - white filters , particularly for portraits , and the amount of item captured and the accuracy of the Portrait way effect are sensational . I also like the grim - and - white photograph of the clouds taken from a plane for its excellent sharpness . I have a go at it the colour in the other two portraiture orientation photos , and both were again taken with the 5x optical zoom . If the iPhone 15 Pro Max pick out picture that I really like , why did n’t I use it as much as I should have ?
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Why haven’t I used it as much?
While I have n’t had as many opportunities to take photos in 2024 as I have in old years , in those clock time when I have , I ’ve get to for other speech sound rather than the iPhone . I always have my iPhone with me , so it ’s not like it has n’t been available , and as I ’ve said , it can take beautiful photo , but even compared to 2023 , there have beenso manyother camera telephone free that excite me creatively more than the iPhone .
Top of the leaning is theXiaomi 14 Ultra , which has the best camera I ’ve used on a smartphone in a longsighted time . Combine it with thePhotography Kit — which add a battery multitude , strong-arm buttons , and an adapter for crystalline lens filter — and it gets even better . It ’s a one - stop shop for glorious picture and so much fun to use . It ’s not a fair compare between it and the iPhone , though , as it was builtspecificallyfor photography with the supporter of diligence warhorse Leica . TheGalaxy S24 Ultrais another various camera phone I ’ve relish using , but like the iPhone , it has not been my go - to this year .
Earlier in the year , thePixel 8 Protook precedence , and more recently , both thePixel 9 Proand thePixel 9 Pro Foldhave taken its space . Google ’s cameras are always widely praised , but this year , it seems to have incur the fashion properly , at least to my middle . I loved the photos the Pixel 9 Pro folding tookduring a recent misstep to Berlin , and it showed me the camera does n’t always have to be the “ better ” in order for me to warm to it . When I ’ve wanted to take memorable pic , invariably it has been one of these phone I ’ve select to use .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Will I remember the iPhone 16?
If I ’ve been using these cameras instead of the iPhone 15 Pro Max , but still like the photos it lease when I used it , what has been the job ? I conceive the past few twelvemonth ofrather uninspiring iPhone camerashave put it further back in my mind . It ’s a job that ’s intensify by the competition being so leading , and I ’ve gotten out of the habit of reaching for the iPhone to take a photo .
If I ’m not being draw to the iPhone 15 Pro Max despite its ability , it means the television camera is not peculiarly memorable or enticing , so what does it intend for the iPhone 16 Pro Max that will arrive in its piazza ? I ’ve actually got high hopes for it , as Apple ’s determination to add up the physicalCamera Controlmay be precisely the thing it involve to up its eccentric and appeal . After all , the physical dominance are a large part of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s collection , and it may be the spicery the iPhone needs to capture my attention again . I also want to act as with thenew Photographic Stylesand wide - slant camera . There ’s plenty to attend forrard to with the latest phone .
While I was n’t that bothered about seeing the iPhone 14 Pro go , I am a footling deplorable I did n’t use the iPhone 15 Pro Max just a bit more than I did . But it goes to show the magnificence of the competition , whether it ’s the Galaxy S24 Ultra or the Pixel 9 Pro , and where Apple needs to increase the solicitation of its camera in the future . I wo n’t know if it has done enough with the iPhone 16 Pro Max for a while , but I ’m frantic to see if it ’s a paying back to the day when the iPhone was the only camera I ever take .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
