iPhone 15 Pro after three weeks. Four delights and four dismays [TEST]

I’ve already spent three weeks with the iPhone 15 Pro. While I tried not to pass judgment when writing my first impressions, today I know much more about the Apple smartphone. I decided to collect this knowledge and write about four delights and four disappointments related to the new iPhone.

PLUS: You may like this smartphone

Apple refreshed the design of the device. For the first time, titanium was used in the structure, replacing stainless steel. As a result, the iPhone 15 Pro is lighter and slimmer than its predecessor. The housing is still surrounded by an aluminum frame, and the back is covered with textured glass.

Attention is also drawn to the slightly larger camera island and the additional action button, which is placed on the left edge, just above the volume buttons. It replaced the existing bell-mute switch (i.e. the iconic “flick”).

The default function of the action button is to toggle between ringtone and mute (just like a slider). The difference is that we can also assign functions to the new button – e.g. turning on the voice recorder, camera or flashlight, or even switching between focus modes.

When it comes to the design of the new iPhone, in my opinion the biggest positive change is the rounded edges. As a result, the 15 Pro fits perfectly in the hand and is much more comfortable to use than the more angular 14 Pro.

MINUS: The casing has problems with heat dissipation

After the premiere of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, some users reported that both devices heat up significantly – and not only when the processor and graphics system are under heavy load.

During my tests, I did not encounter any major problems with high housing temperatures. However, there were isolated situations when the casing was so warm that it was difficult for me to hold the device in my hands.

Fortunately, Apple responded quickly to user reports. , and then released an update for iOS17. The update numbered 17.0.3 – as Apple assures – “resolve an issue that could cause the iPhone’s temperature to increase excessively.”

And indeed, after the update – during everyday use – the iPhone 15 Pro no longer heats up like a small stove. When playing graphically demanding games, the problem with heat dissipation still occurs, but it is a common problem that affects most flagship smartphones.

ON THE PLUS: No one will offer you a better screen

iPhone 15 Pro has the same display as its predecessor. However, this is by no means a reason to criticize this device. Super Retina XDR (OLED) is probably the best panel we can find in any smartphone today. Okay, Samsung also has something to say here.

In the case of the iPhone 15 Pro, we are dealing with a 6.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1179 x 2556, which offers support for ProMotion technology (adaptive refreshment ranging from 1 to 120 Hz). Its maximum brightness is 2000 nits (1600 in HDR mode). There is also support for technologies such as HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

The so-called Dynamic Island, which first appeared on 14 Pro models. The Dynamic Island houses the True Depth front camera lens and several other sensors. To mask its presence, Apple integrated this area with the notification system and with the applications themselves.

MINUS: A twenty-year-old cable in a box

Another important novelty, which was talked about long before the premiere of the iPhone 15 Pro, is the switch from the proprietary Lightning charging standard to USB-C, a standard used by Apple’s competitors.

This change can only be applauded. Even in the “Apple universe” itself, many devices have been using USB-C for a long time (e.g. iPads and MacBooks). Now all iPhone 15 models join this group, so there will be much less cable juggling in the future.

And speaking of cables, I must unfortunately say that Apple decided on an ugly trick here. The USB-C port in iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max supports the USB 3.1 standard, which offers data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbit/s. The problem is that the cable found in the box with the devices only supports the USB 2.0 standard (this one is over 20 years old and offers a bandwidth of only 480 Mbit/s).

ON THE PLUS: The A17 Pro system is a performance beast

Apple’s mobile processors basically set standards for the industry every year and take first place in benchmarks. It is no different in the case of the A17 Pro system powering the iPhone 15 Pro. This is the first chip from this manufacturer that was made using a three-nanometer technological process.

iPhone 15 Pro GeekBench

Apple boasts that it is 10 percent faster than its predecessor. When tested in the GeekBench 6 benchmark, the A17 Pro scored 2,941 points in the single-core test and 7,357 points in the multi-core test. The results for A16 Bionic were 2,517 and 6,375 points. So it turns out that the Cupertino company is not mincing words, and the actual increase in efficiency is even more than 10 percent.

MINUS: I was counting on longer battery life

iPhone 15 Pro has a 3274 mAh battery. Compared to last year’s battery, we got an additional… 74 mAh, which sounds ridiculous. The problem is that it would be difficult for Apple to fit a larger battery into the case while keeping the device compact.

Despite everything, I hoped that the 15 Pro would offer a better operating time on a single charge than the 14 Pro model – at least due to the use of the A17 Pro chip made in 3 nm technology, which is more energy-efficient than its predecessor.

Theory is theory, and practice is that the battery life is practically the same as in the iPhone 14 Pro. So we’re talking about 18-20 hours of work on a single charge with an SoT (screen-on-time) factor of approximately 5.5 to 6 hours. So it’s decent, but nothing crazy. Especially when we compare it with the Pro Max model, which can easily achieve 7-8 hours of SoT.

A PLUS: The camera is self-contained

A good smartphone camera is one that takes excellent photos in automatic mode, but at the same time offers extensive manual functions for people who have no experience in photography. The camera in the iPhone 15 Pro does both.

We find here a main lens with a 48 MP matrix, an ultra-wide-angle eyelet (which is also responsible for macro functions), and a telephoto lens with three times optical zoom. This is a universal set that works well with portraits, wide frames, night photos and macro photography.

The specifications of individual lenses are as follows:

• main 48 MPf/1.8, 24 mm, 1/1.28″, 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS;
• tele 12 MP, f/2.877 mm, 1/3.5″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom;
• ultra 12 MP, f/2.213 mm, 120°, 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF.

Last year, the main camera allowed you to take photos in 48 MP resolution in Apple ProRAW format (manual mode). In automatic mode, the photos had a resolution of 12 MP, and their quality was improved thanks to the Deep Fusion engine and Quad-Pixel technology.

In the case of iPhone 15 Pro, the situation is slightly different. Photographs taken in auto mode now have 24 MP by default (in the settings we can reduce this value to 12 MP), but we can also use the 48 MP mode – both for HEIF/JPG formats, as well as – and nothing changes here – ProRAW.

It is worth remembering that we are still talking only about photos from the main lens. Macro photos, portraits and wide-angle shots are always saved only in 12 MP resolution. Just like night photos and photos taken with a flash.

MINUS: Limited telephoto lens

As for the mentioned camera, the biggest hardware novelty in this year’s Pro models is an improved telephoto lens with a 5x optical zoom. The problem is that this change only appeared in the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max.

iPhone 15 Pro, on the other hand, has exactly the same telephoto lens as iPhone 14 Pro and only offers three times optical magnification. It seems that the only reason why Apple decided to make such a move is for marketing reasons. Oh well. It’s a pity.

SUMMARY

If you were counting on a revolution, unfortunately I have to disappoint you a bit – iPhone 15 Pro brings a number of changes, but they are more subtle than you might expect. If you have one of the older iPhone models (e.g. iPhone 11 Pro), you will feel a significant difference when switching to iPhone 15. If you use one of the newer models, it is worth refraining from replacing it.