Just today, the new iPhone 15 (Pro/Max) went on sale worldwide
We finally got a USB-C connector, the most equipped model got a 5x optical zoom
The iPhone 15 series has become cheaper by several thousand between generations, with the Pro Max model the difference is CZK 4,500
One of the most popular and best-selling smartphones went on sale today. We are, of course, talking about the iPhone, this year with the number 15. The model line consists of a total of four phones – the basic iPhone 15 (6.1″) supplemented by the Plus variant (6.7″), and the more equipped iPhone 15 Pro (6.1″) and 15 For Max (6.7″). We are already testing all the news for you in the editorial office, as well as the new Apple Watch Series 9. In this article, I will focus on my immediate impressions of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Lighter, significantly lighter…
The first thing that surprised me after taking it out of the box was the perceived weight. Last year’s iPhone 14 Pro Max weighed 240 grams, this year’s generation weighs 19 grams less thanks to the titanium frame. The number alone doesn’t say too much, however, when you consider that he “lost” almost a tenth of his weight between generations, it’s quite a decent diet.
In terms of dimensions, of course, it is still a real beast (159.9 × 76.7 × 8.25 mm), but with absolutely perfect ergonomics, a well-balanced center of gravity and a firm grip. While the previous generation had quite sharp edges, here Apple has rounded them more, which is much more pleasant to use. By the way, with its dimensions of 146.6 x 70.6 x 8.25 mm, the iPhone 15 Pro is even smaller than the classic iPhone 15 (147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm).
Action button settings
On the left side we find this year’s specialty in the form of an action button, which replaces the previous ringtone switch. However, many more options can be defined for the press – from starting the camera, turning on the flashlight, activating the focus mode, adding a voice note to your own shortcut that can do practically anything. It is a pity that (so far) only one single action can be defined. Adding more functionalities for two/three printing would be even nicer.
iPhone 15 Pro Max (vlevo) vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 15 Pro Max vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max
In past years, iPhones were criticized for having relatively large frames around the display. The situation improved slightly last year (2.2 mm), with the current iPhone 15 Pro/Max, the value was reduced to 1.55 mm. That is very pleasant. Just for comparison, the Galaxy S23 has a 1.95mm bezel, the Galaxy S23+ 1.7mm.
iPhone as a game console?
The Pro model series received the most powerful mobile chipset that Apple has designed so far – the A17 Pro. In addition, it is the very first mobile chipset in the world produced with 3nm technology. It is a 6-core processor with two fast cores and four more economical ones suitable for normal application operation.
Also new is the graphics accelerator consisting of six cores, which has approximately a fifth higher performance than last year. In addition, there is also hardware acceleration for Ray Tracing. In Geekbench v6, I measured 2,991 points in the Single-core test, and 7,565 points in the Multi-core test. Just for comparison, the MacBook Air with the M1 chip achieves around 2,350 points in Single-core, and 8,174 points in Multi-core. So the performance of the Apple A17 Pro chipset is truly impressive. In AnTuTu, the average of three tests reached a value of 1,627,004 points.
Hardware parameters of the iPhone 15 Pro Max
System, chipset and build
Operating system: iOS 17,
chipset: Apple A17 Pro, 3nm, hexa-core,
GPU: Apple GPU (6 jader),
RAM: 8 GB,
internal memory: 128/256/512/1024 GB,
pam. card:
Dimensions: 159,9 × 76,7 × 8,25 mm,
mass: 221 g,
increased resistance: IP68
Display, connectivity and battery
6,7″,
OLED,
distinction: Super Retina, 1290 × 2796 px
5G: ,
NFC: ,
Bluetooth: 5.3,
Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax,
GPS: ,
connector: USB-C
Battery: 4 422 mAh,
fast charging: ,
wireless charging:
Cameras
Main: 48 Mpx, f/1.78, 24mm, 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS,
second: 12 Mpx, telephoto lens, f/2.8, 48mm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom,
third: 12 Mpx, wide-angle, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, PDAF,
fourth: TOF 3D LiDAR scanner, depth sensor,
selfie camera: 12 Mpx, f/1.9, 23mm + SL 3D (depth/biometric sensor), HDR, 4K video
Already at the keynote, Apple showed us how to play AAA titles through the iPhone (Resident Evil, Death Stranding and Assassin’s Creed Mirage), and my colleague Jakub Fišer had the opportunity to try the playable demo at the local Apple presentation in Prague. Somehow, I have the feeling that the gaming market is something that the technology giant will gradually want to focus on more and more. You can see a demo of playing the horror Resident Evil in the attached video.
In the future, it may well happen that iPhones will start to compete with established game consoles such as Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck. Everything will depend mainly on the interest of the developers, however, Apple has already proven to us several times that it can definitely evoke it. Thanks to USB-C, the iPhone 15 Pro can also be connected to 4K displays, on which gaming will be much more comfortable.
Finally with USB-C!
A parameter that we have seen in Android smartphones for years has finally arrived in the Apple camp. Of course, we can’t be talking about anything other than the presence of a USB-C connector, which replaced the now obsolete Lightning. Apple first used it with the iPhone 5, i.e. more than 11 years ago.
It’s good to mention that the USB-C designation only refers to the shape of the connector, not the protocol through which power and data flow through it. Some USB-Cs have different capabilities than others, and unfortunately even Apple doesn’t do much in this regard. While the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus uses the USB 2.0 specification, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max rely on the more modern USB 3.2 Gen 1. The differences between these versions are significant.
Don’t overlook
iPhone 15 and USB-C: everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask
For USB 2.0, the maximum transfer speed is 480 Mbps, for USB 3.2 Gen 1 it is up to 10 Gbps. Therefore, owners of the basic iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will not see any improvement in data transfer speed compared to previous models. Even Lightning ran on the USB 2.0 protocol and handled a maximum of 480 Mbps.
However, beware. The basic package includes a meter cable, which cannot handle 10 Gbps. If you require maximum transmission speed, you will need to purchase a better quality cable with higher throughput. Metrový will cost almost two thousand crowns on Apple’s website.
If you thought that faster charging would come with the “new” connector, unfortunately we have to let the taste go. Even for this year’s generation, the maximum is 27 W. We will of course focus on the battery and endurance in more detail in the upcoming review. Wireless reverse charging is still not available, however, with a power of 4.5 W, you can charge, for example, AirPods, Apple Watch or any other accessory with USB Power Delivery support via USB-C.
Great photos and 5x optical zoom
Apple perfectly managed to confuse the less experienced consumer when presenting the cameras as part of the keynote. Maybe it was on purpose, but quite a few people around me asked me after the presentation where the iPhone 15 Pro has the “seven cameras” that they still see three on the back.
We take pictures with the iPhone 15 Pro Max
For the main sensor with a resolution of 48 Mpx, an aperture of f/1.78, optical stabilization and a focal length of 24 mm (1×), Apple also offers the option of switching to focal lengths of 28 and 35 mm, which adds 1.2× and 1.5× zoom . So do you already understand Apple’s communication strategy? By the way, photos are now saved in 24 Mpx resolution, if necessary, the value can be changed to 12 Mpx in the settings. But if you take pictures in night mode, they will automatically be saved in 12 Mpx.
iPhone 15 Pro Max in blue titanium
A great and very practical novelty is the possibility of additional variable refocusing of an already saved photo. And you don’t even have to shoot in portrait mode. Even if you take photos classically and the software detects a person, an animal or a nearby object in the shot, the picture will be taken normally, but it will add information about the depth of field of individual objects to the .heif file. Thanks to this, you can subsequently turn such a picture into a portrait in the gallery and refocus between individual objects.
The equipment also includes a 12 Mpx wide-angle camera with macro support with a 13 mm focal length and f/2.2 aperture. The third in the order is a 12 Mpx telephoto lens with up to 120 mm focal length and f/2.8 aperture. It offers 5x optical zoom and up to 10x hybrid. But this applies to the iPhone 15 Pro Max I tested, which has a larger sensor and improved stabilization. Any zoom between 2x to 4.9x is hybrid, only 5x is optical.
Tip: all test images in full resolution can be found here
In contrast, the iPhone 15 Pro retains 3x optical zoom and 6x hybrid. Apple has also improved the cover glass of the lenses, which promises better elimination of reflections in the lens (lens flare), especially when taking pictures at night. You can see the improvement compared to last year, but you won’t get rid of them completely.
Video can be recorded in maximum 4K resolution at 60 fps. If you connect external storage to the iPhone via USB-C, the application will offer you the option to save the recording in ProRes format (4K/60 fps, Log), which is a great benefit for advanced content creators. We will focus on camera options in detail in a separate article that will be published after the weekend.
For example, you can connect an SSD drive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max via USB-C
And how did Apple come up with those “seven cameras”? It was just a marketing ploy. It’s simply seven different focal lengths – 13mm (0.5x), 24mm (1x), 28mm (1.2x), 35mm (1.5x), 48mm (2x), 120mm (5×) + macro.
iPhone 15 now, iPhone 15 Pro in a few weeks
Not only the top models have really succeeded for Apple this year. I am not afraid to call even the iPhone 15 a very interesting offer, which practically reaches the level of last year’s iPhone 14 Pro. And it was the basic iPhone 15 that was cheaper by CZK 2,500 compared to last year, and the iPhone 15 Plus even by CZK 3,000. The price also surprisingly dropped for the iPhone 15 Pro, which is exactly CZK 4,000 cheaper.
And while the iPhone 14 Pro Max in the 256GB version started at CZK 40,490, its successor with the same memory will cost CZK 35,990. That is CZK 4,500 less. Show me another manufacturer that has done something like this in the last ten years.
128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB iPhone 15 23,990 CZK 26,990 CZK 32,990 CZK – iPhone 15 Plus 26,990 CZK 29,990 CZK 35,990 CZK – iPhone 15 Pro 29,990 CZK 32,990 CZK 38,990 CZK 44,990 CZK iPhone 15 For Max – CZK 35,990 CZK 41,990 CZK 47,990
As I wrote in this article, the waiting time for the iPhone 15 Pro (Max) is currently between 4 and 8 weeks. With the basic iPhone 15, the situation is completely opposite and it is already in stock today.
You can buy new iPhones from Mobile Emergency. Thanks to the Buy, Sell, Repay service, you can buy them for the lowest monthly installment ever (starting at CZK 557 per month). Learn more here.
Author of the article
Jiří Hrma
Founder and editor-in-chief of SMARTmania.cz, fan of modern technologies and smart home, traveler, lover of electronic music and devotee of extreme sports.
2023-09-22 07:30:00
#impressions #iPhone #Pro #Max #finally #proper #zoom #USBC #great #ergonomics
