iPhone 15 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro: Not exactly two peas in a pod
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Intro
Which one should you go for: the bigger iPhone 15 Pro Max which comes with naturally a larger screen, but also a bigger battery and brand new 5X zoom camera, or instead choose the more petite iPhone 15 Pro, which provides the advantages of a manageable size, lower weight and still offers the same performance and pro features?
In this article, we go over all the differences big and small between the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro, and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each of the models. How much longer battery life do you really get on the 15 Pro Max? Is the new 5X zoom camera such a big deal? Are there differences in performance with the larger 15 Pro Max chassis?
These are some of the question we answer below, but we also touch upon the price differences, and please keep in mind that the iPhone 15 Pro Max now starts at the quite steep price of $1,200, while you can have a base iPhone 15 Pro model for $200 less than that.
iPhone 15 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro differences:
- Pro Max has 6.7-inch screen, Pro has 6.1-inch one
- Both have A17 Pro chip
- Both have 8GB RAM
- Pro Max has much larger battery
- Similar charging speeds of around 20W
- Same main and ultra-wide cameras
- Pro Max has 5X zoom, 15 Pro features 3X zoom
- Both get USB-C port
Now, in late 2024, we've already got the annual successors to both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 15 Pro. The new iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro improve the experience by coming with faster new chips, an improved photography experience with new Photographic Styles and a new Camera Control button, as well as support for Apple Intelligence.
However, we don't feel that iPhone 15 Pro Max users should upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The situation is slightly different for iPhone 15 Pro users, as the successor device has longer zoom and could be an appealing upgrade.
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Design and Display Quality
Both Pro models weigh less than previous generations, but one is still very compact, and the other is not
These two are both 'Pro' iPhones, which means that they both have a few advantages over the regular iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus models.
First is the all-new titanium frame on both the 15 Pro and Pro Max. It has a brushed finish and the material itself is very durable and lightweight. We don't think durability is the main benefit (after all, most iPhone accidents involve broken glass rather than the frame), but the reduced weight certainly is.
The iPhone 15 Pro weighs 188 grams, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max weighs 221 grams. This means the Pro Max is nearly 18% heavier, so the difference is there, but just not as huge as with previous models.
| Weight | iPhone 15 Pro series | iPhone 14 Pro series |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | 188 grams | 206 grams |
| Pro Max | 221 grams | 240 grams |
Both models also get slimmer bezels around the screens compared to the previous generations, for a more modern look, and they are a tiny bit narrower too. One other subtle change is they have slightly contoured edges rather than perfectly sharp edges as on the previous models, which makes them just a bit more comfortable to hold.
We ought to say: these smaller changes make a difference. I, personally, would not consider the Pro Max in previous years because of the size and weight, and for the first time this year, I have second thoughts about it.
The rest of the look is familiar and shared on the two: a matte glass finish on the back of both of them.
Oh, and both have one brand-new button: the Action button! It's located where the mute switch used to be, right above the volume keys. By default, it's set to silence the phone, but you can assign it to start the camera, a voice memo, or something else, or even run custom actions from the Shortcuts app. Currently, you have to hold the button to use it, a simple press will not do anything, and that sounds like a reasonable measure to prevent accidental presses.
We should say, however, that this button is quite challenging to reach on the bigger Pro Max model specifically.
Then, the obvious design difference is the one in size: the iPhone 15 Pro Max remains an extra-large phone that is difficult to use with one hand and not at all comfortable to carry in a pocket. The iPhone 15 Pro, on the other hand, is way more compact and is far easier to operate with one hand.
We should also mention the new USB-C port. You can use any standard USB-C cable to charge either phone, so that's great.
The only tricky part is when you want to transfer files. Both the Pro and Pro Max support USB 3 fast transfer rates of up to 10Gbps, but you need to purchase a USB 3-compatible cable to use these faster transfer rates. It's not a huge expense and most people probably won't need it anyway, but you should know that the cable that comes in the box is only USB 2 rated, so it has slower transfer speeds.
iPhone 15 Pro Colors
Finally, we have the following color choices:
- Titanium Black
- Titanium White
- Titanium Blue
- Titanium Gray
What's notable here is that Apple has ditched the vibrant colors and the gold color option altogether, and replaced them with more muted tonalities. Most people we talked to are not crazy about these colors, but the Gray version emerges as the fan-favorite.
Display-wise, both devices are Dynamic Island-clad owners of Super Retina XDR displays with support for 120Hz ProMotion, which makes everything oh-so-smooth. According to our benchmark tests, the two have rather similar properties, like similar maximum and minimum brightness, color accuracy, and contrast. Either one is a gem to look at, so you're mostly sacrificing screen real estate if you go for the iPhone 15 Pro, the rest is similar.
Performance and Software
Same awesome A17 chip on both, same performance
Both the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are powered by the same Apple A17 Pro chip.
This is the first ever 3nm chip on a smartphone, a big technological leap over the 4nm chips used earlier. The new density allows for a whopping 19 billion transistors, 3 billion more than the previous generation. This is especially true for gaming as you have a new 6-core GPU that is way more powerful, while for CPU performance, you get a 10% increased speed when using the two high-performance cores.
The 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max also get 8GB of RAM, an improvement over the 6GB RAM in the 14 Pro series. However, the type and speed of the RAM memory has not changed, it's the same LPDDR5 type as before. Thanks to this RAM bump, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are compatible with Apple Intelligence, which should arrive in the fall of 2024 along with iOS 18.1.
As per the PhoneArena benchmark tests, there aren't any major differences in the CPU-heavy Geekbench single- and multi-core tests. However, there's a significant difference in the graphics performance as indicated by the 3DMark Extreme stress test: the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a slight superiority in one of the tests and the iPhone 15 Pro in the other, so it all evens out.
PhoneArena Performance Benchmarks:
While we have quite a few differences in hardware, both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro run on the very same iOS 17 software.
iOS 17 might not bring ground-breaking changes, but it does bring quite a few new features. The Phone, Messages, and FaceTime apps get a ton of new features for once, and autocorrect is also finally getting a lot better!
The Phone app now supports new Contact Posters which is basically a picture you set for yourself and others see full-screen when they receive a call from you. You also have NameDrop, another super cool new trick where you just bring two iPhones close to exchange contacts. Then, in the Messages app you now have stickers and live stickers, which you can create from Live Photos, adding a personal touch.
Others on the iOS 17 new features list are Standby Mode, which turns your iPhone into a mini home hub while it’s charging, plus you get a bunch of smaller improvements too like interactive widgets, mood tracking in the Health app, a brand new journaling app, and more.
iOS 17 might not bring ground-breaking changes, but it does bring quite a few new features. The Phone, Messages, and FaceTime apps get a ton of new features for once, and autocorrect is also finally getting a lot better!
Others on the iOS 17 new features list are Standby Mode, which turns your iPhone into a mini home hub while it’s charging, plus you get a bunch of smaller improvements too like interactive widgets, mood tracking in the Health app, a brand new journaling app, and more.
In the US, all iPhone 15 models come with eSIM only, so keep in mind that you will NOT be able to use a physical SIM with these phones. International models still support the physical SIM feature.
Camera
The 15 Pro Max has a new zoom lens, so it has much better image quality at 5X zoom and beyond
Both the iPhone 15 Pro and the 15 Pro Max have three cameras on the back: you have a main camera, an ultra-wide shooter and a telephoto zoom, but the zoom one is 3X on the 15 Pro and 5X on the Pro Max.
Of course, the new 5X zoom camera is the star of the show on the Pro Max. It's a 120mm equivalent lens, and it uses a fascinating tetra-prism design which bounces light four times before it hits the sensor. And the sensor itself is the first in the world to use 3D sensor-shift stabilization, helping keep things steady and sharp in both zoomed in photos and videos.
Why don't we have the same new camera on the smaller 15 Pro model? It's probably because of space constraints, this module is larger and there is simply not enough space to fit it in the smaller model. But rumors say next year both Pro iPhones will have it thanks to a new and larger design.
All available focal lengths
The main 48-megapixel sensor on both models appears to be the same as in the previous 14 Pro generation, but you do have cool new presets at 1.2X (28mm) and 1.5X (35mm).
Another huge improvement is the new 24MP default picture resolution. Basically, those shots have improved detail, but it's not such a huge difference as you might think. At least the good news is that the file size is not huge at all. A typical 12-megapixel shot file size is around 2MB, and a 24MP image is around 3MB. You can also capture 48MP shots not just in the ProRAW format, but in HEIF or JPEG as well, which is really nice.
Another huge improvement is the new 24MP default picture resolution. Basically, those shots have improved detail, but it's not such a huge difference as you might think. At least the good news is that the file size is not huge at all. A typical 12-megapixel shot file size is around 2MB, and a 24MP image is around 3MB. You can also capture 48MP shots not just in the ProRAW format, but in HEIF or JPEG as well, which is really nice.
There have been some improvements to the ultra-wide camera and the front cameras thanks to an improved Smart HDR algorithm, but in reality the difference compared to previous generations is tiny.
In terms of video quality, the big new upcoming feature is Spatial video, which uses the ultra-wide AND main cameras to capture depth information. You will be able to play that immersive 3D-like video later on the Apple Vision Pro headset. But that feature is only coming with an update later in 2023, so we have not tested it yet.
PhoneArena Camera Score:
In the dedicated PhoneArena Camera test, which aims to test the cameras of each device in different scenarios, the iPhone 15 Pro Max pulls ahead, mostly thanks to its longer telephoto camera. The other cameras are the same and perform differently.
Audio Quality and Haptics
Both iPhone 15 Pro models come with a main bottom-firing speaker and a secondary speaker located in the earpiece.
With the iPhone 13 family, Apple made a big leap in loudspeaker quality, but since then, it has hit a limit, and we haven't seen giant improvements in audio quality this year. The larger 15 Pro Max model, because of its sheer size, has boomier audio than the more compact 15 Pro.
In terms of haptics, Apple has been using the industry-leading Taptic Engine for years, and it will continue doing so in the iPhone 15 Pro series. Expect the same excellent haptics as before, no changes on that front.
Battery Life and Charging
Unchanged battery life, which still means Pro Max is a 2-day phone, Pro is a 1-day affair
The iPhone 15 Pro Max comes with a 4,422 mAh battery, while the iPhone 15 Pro features a battery size of 3,274 mAh. That is a big difference: the Pro Max has a 35% larger battery, which should be a massive difference.
In real life, expect this to translate to around 6 hours of screen time from the 15 Pro, and around 8 hours on the 15 Pro Max. This still means that the iPhone 15 Pro is a one-day phone, while the 15 Pro Max averages around two days on a single charge.
According to our own battery tests, the iPhone 15 Pro Max unsurprisingly pulls ahead thanks to its larger battery. In the PhoneArena web browsing test, which aims to replicate a regular browsing experience, the iPhone 15 Pro Max pulls out around 19 hours and 20 minutes; while the iPhone 15 Pro reaches a bit less than 15 hours. In video, the iPhone 15 Pro Max almost reaches 10 hours, while the iPhone 15 Pro lasts for nearly 7 hours. Finally, in our 3D gaming test, the two devices are surprisingly close to one another.
PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:
With a score of 19 hours and 20 minutes on the PhoneArena web browsing test, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is among the top-scoring phones ever, while the iPhone 15 Pro falls in the middle of the rankings with its nearly 15-hour result. In our YouTube video streaming test, the 15 Pro Max once again comes on top with nearly 3 hours longer video playback.
Charging speeds, however, have not changed on both phones, despite the new USB-C port, and these iPhones are still take their sweet time charging.
Apple officially says both support 20W charging, but with a fast charger, we measured the iPhone 15 Pro reaches 23W, while the 15 Pro Max can charge at up to 25W.
And yes, both have the same MagSafe wireless charging technology, which works at up to 15W.
Specs Comparison
Here is an overview of the specs of the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the 15 Pro:
| iPhone 15 Pro Max | iPhone 15 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Size and Weight | 159.9 x 76.7 x 8.25 mm 221 grams | 146.6 x 70.6 x 8.25 mm 188 grams |
| Screen | 6.7" OLED 120Hz ProMotion | 6.1" OLED 120Hz ProMotion |
| Processor | A17 Pro 3nm | A17 Pro 3nm |
| RAM, Storage | - 8/256GB 8/512GB 8/1TB LPDDR5 | 8/128GB 8/256GB 8/512GB 8/1TB LPDDR5 |
| Cameras | 48MP main 12MP ultra 12MP 5X zoom 12MP front | 48MP main 12MP ultra 12MP 3X zoom 12MP front |
| Battery | 4422 mAh | 3274 mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 27W wired MagSafe | USB-C 23W wired MagSafe |
Don't forget that we have an in-depth iPhone 15 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro specs comparison here with a lot more details. You can also use PhoneArena's comparison tool to compare iPhones.
Summary and Final Verdict
This year, you have one more reason to buy the iPhone 15 Pro Max over the more compact iPhone 15 Pro: the 5X zoom camera. If you plan on using that longer zoom range, and if you care about the longer battery life and larger screen, the 15 Pro Max is a no brainer.
For those who prefer a compact phone, however, not much has changed. The 15 Pro Max still feels quite gigantic and despite the reduction in weight, it is still on the heavy side. Those people would be better off with the more petite iPhone 15 Pro.
So... which camp do you belong to?
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