Joe Maring / Digital Trends
If you want the sound iPhone money can buy in 2024 , you have two options : the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max . They have the same chipset , similar display technology , nearly superposable cameras , etc . It ’s a really close conflict , save for the fact that the iPhone 15 Pro is $ 200 cheaper .
It might be tantalizing to save some immediate payment and choose the iPhone 15 professional , but I recommend you fling for the larger ( and more expensive ) iPhone 15 Pro Max . Why ? allow me explain .
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
It’s a big iPhone you won’t hate using
The iPhone 14 Pro Max was my iPhone of option for a good dower of 2022 and 2023 . However , I finally downgraded to the smaller iPhone 14 Pro . Why ? The Pro Max role model was too damn big and heavy . Thankfully , this has not been an number with the iPhone 15 Pro Max — and it all has to do with Apple ’s titanium pattern .
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is a whopping 20 grams lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro Max , and you really feel that dispute . The iPhone 15 Pro Max is n’t a lowly phone by any mean , but it does n’t palpate like an unwieldy brick like its precursor did . The lighter body is also joined by smooth sharpness around the video display , giving the iPhone 15 Pro Max a softer , more welcoming in - hand flavour .
I ’ve been day by day - driving the iPhone 15 Pro Max since September , and not once has the phone felt too cumbersome — something I ca n’t say about any late Pro Max iPhone models . I agree that Apple overdid it withits titanium advertising , but it really does make a big difference . If you ’ve always wanted a larger iPhone but have been put off by the size and weighting , the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the first without those problem — and it ’s fantastic .
iPhone 15 Pro Max 5x telephoto cameraJoe Maring / Digital Trends
The 5x telephoto camera
Although Apple ordinarily limits differences between the Pro and Pro Max iPhones to expose and stamp battery sizing , the iPhone 15 Pro Max has another big reward over the iPhone 15 professional : its telephoto camera .
If you get the smaller iPhone 15 Pro , you get a 12MP telephotograph camera with 3x optical zoom . It ’s ok , but it ’s almost identical to the telephoto television camera on the iPhone 14 Pro . The iPhone 15 Pro Max ’s telephoto camera is still 12MP , but it ups the optical rapid climb to 5x .
Although the raise from 3x to 5x is n’t a game - changer , there is a obtrusive jump in quality . Our iPhone 15 Pro Max camera test affirm this , with the 5x telephoto camera capturing much sharper , more detailed pic than Apple ’s older 3x camera . It ’s not a night - and - twenty-four hours difference , but there is a unclouded advantage to the iPhone 15 Pro Max if you take a lot of zoomed - in pic .
iPhone 15 Pro Max 5x telephoto cameraJoe Maring / Digital Trends
As someone who ’s been using the telephone set for over six months , I ’ve loved get the extra zoom at my disposal . Whether I ’m snarl pic of concert , squirrels trying to slip nutrient from my birdfeeders , etc . , the added flexibleness the 5x zoom lends to my photography can be really special at times .
So much room for activities
This may seem like an obvious one , but it ’s a perk worth highlighting . If you get a bigger iPhone , you get a bigger showing . Who would have imagined ?
Joking apart , the upgrade from a 6.1 - inch screen on the iPhone 15 Pro to a 6.7 - column inch covert on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is a substantial one . You have more way to watch movies , romp games , graze the web , and so on . Even as someone who has a soft place in his ticker for pocket-size earpiece , there ’s no denying the convenience that comes with a bigger display .
When I watch YouTube videos , I get a bigger canvas to really savour what I ’m follow . When playingMarvel SnaporCall of Duty Mobile , the extra room for controls and other gameplay elements is hard to live without when returning to a little phone . Even things like framing a picture in the Camera app , browsing sites on Safari , or scrolling through TikTok look well on the bigger filmdom . This used to come with the swop - off of having to put up with an uncomfortable phone , but as I mentioned above , the titanium design means that ’s no longer an issue .
iPhone 15 Pro Max 5x telephoto cameraJoe Maring / Digital Trends
More battery is always a good thing
The big size of the iPhone 15 Pro Max does n’t just mean you get a bigger show ; the other benefit is a larger electric battery . Apple does n’t officially disclose battery size , but in our testing , there ’s a pretty clear battery vantage if you fling for the Pro Max or else of the Pro .
The iPhone 15 Pro can easily get through a normal sidereal day on a single charge . In ouriPhone 15 Pro review , Christine recover she was getting from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. with anywhere from 30 to 20 % shelling remaining . On more vivid days , the iPhone 15 Pro can duck to 50 % assault and battery by noon .
After over six calendar month with the iPhone 15 Pro Max , I incline to attain 50 % battery remaining around 5 post meridiem most daytime — often with a couple of hour of screen time thanks to YouTube , Marvel Snap , Safari , TikTok , Instagram , and other apps . This is also with anApple Watch Ultra 2and anOura Ringconnected to the telephone , plus the always - on display enable .
iPhone 15 Pro Max 5x telephoto cameraJoe Maring / Digital Trends
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is n’t the most telling smartphone in 2024 if battery life is your number - one priority ( you should look at theSamsung Galaxy S24 UltraorOnePlus 12instead ) , but it will always last longer than the iPhone 15 Pro .
Is it worth an extra $200?
Now we get to the million - dollar doubt — or , more specifically , the $ 1,199 question . TheiPhone 15 Pro Maxhas some vindicated advantages over the iPhone 15 Pro , but is it really worth $ 200 more ? I ’d contend that it is .
The larger screen , bigger battery , and more advance telephoto television camera are all fantastic — and the fact that you may get those fringe benefit in a smartphone you may comfortably use is incredible . But that ’s not all . While the iPhone 15 Pro does have a cheaper start toll of $ 999 , that only gets you 128 GB of storage — a tiny act by 2024 standards . Meanwhile , the iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $ 1,199 and commit you 256 GB as the default option storage amount .
If you already know you ca n’t live with 128 GB of storage , you ’ll realistically be look at the 256 GB conformation for the iPhone 15 Pro , which increases the price to $ 1,099 . At that point , it really just makes sense to spend another $ 100 on the Pro Max .
iPhone 15 Pro Max 5x telephoto cameraJoe Maring / Digital Trends
Does all of this think the iPhone 15 Pro is abadchoice ? Not at all . It ’s still one of thebest iPhonesyou can buy , and if you personally opt smaller phones , you may be fine with its lesser battery aliveness and worse telephoto photographic camera in telephone exchange for its more stocky size . But if you ’re open to a crowing phone and have a small bit more cash to pass , it ’s unvoiced not to urge going all out with the iPhone 15 Pro Max .
iPhone 15 Pro Max 5x telephoto cameraJoe Maring / Digital Trends
iPhone 15 Pro Max 5x telephoto cameraJoe Maring / Digital Trends
