At its annual fall event, Apple revealed the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, the next high-end phones in its lineup.
In recent years, Apple has used its high-end phones to push the boundaries of technological advancements while retaining standard models with technology from the previous year, likely to reduce costs and provide more incentive to upgrade to higher-end models more expensive. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max continue this tradition.
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max improve on their predecessors with new processors and materials, ditching the stainless steel of previous years in favor of a new titanium frame. They retain the same square sides as previous models since the iPhone 12 (with slightly rounded edges), but have thinner bezels for a bit more glass on the front screen. The screen sizes are still 6.1 inches for the iPhone 15 Pro and 6.7 inches for the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
The iPhone 15 Pro has a more advanced 48-megapixel camera than its predecessor, with a larger sensor. Photos are 24 megapixels by default, and LiDAR scanning improves nighttime and low-light photography. The phones also feature a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera.
But the big news this year is better zoom, even if it’s only available on the largest high-end phone. The Pro retains the 3x telephoto lens of its predecessor, while the Pro Max has a 5x optical zoom – a “tetra prism design” that refracts light multiple times to allow for greater zoom.
High-end Android phones, including Samsung’s Galaxy S series, have had a periscope camera for years. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, for example, has a periscope camera capable of 10x optical zoom.
There’s also another new feature: an action button on the side of the phone that allows you to shortcut certain functions. This button replaces the switch that iPhones have had for years that allows users to turn silent mode on and off.
As the rumor suggested, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max abandon the Lightning port in favor of USB-C, for a USB speed of 10 GB per second.
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are equipped with the A17 Pro Bionic chipset, a 3-nanometer chip that has 19 billion transistors for increased performance. The new six-core GPU is up to 20% faster than the A16 GPU and enables ray tracing. While Apple has highlighted the iPhone 15 Pro’s potential for mobile gaming, the A17 Pro silicon will also benefit augmented reality applications.
All Apple announcements:
The iPhone 15 Pro will launch with iOS 17, which introduces sleep mode allowing the phone to be mounted on a MagSafe mount to make it a full-sized alarm clock.
- iPhone 15 Pro: 1229€
iPhone 15 Pro Max: 1479€
