Apple iPhone 15 Pro vs. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

Once again, the iPhone Pros come in two sizes, only this year is one of those cases where it seems like there’s more to them than just size and capacity. We are talking about the different telephoto lenses: the iPhone 15 Pro Max is equipped with the new 5x tetraprism zoom, while the 15 Pro sticks to the proven 3x module from before.

But even if this seems to be a main difference, the two models remain more or less differentiated in size and its consequences. So we’ll try to look at the numbers and test results in hopes of helping you decide whether the 15 Pro Max is better suited for you or the regular Pro will be fine.

For starters, you can compare the full spec sheets here or continue directly with our editor’s rating below.

Size comparison

In fact, the main difference is in the size and weight of the two. Apple has kept the display size the same this year, and while the bezels have been refined a bit, the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max retain the same overall dimensions as last year.

More importantly, however, changes in materials (from stainless steel to aluminum and titanium) have meant that each of the two phones has lost 19g in weight. This made the two professionals much easier to manage. The behemoth of a smartphone that is the 15 Pro Max remains quite heavy at 221g, but the 15 Pro, at 187g, is now not only compact but also quite light.

The new titanium frames are probably not as premium as those of the older models, but their rounded edges make the tactile experience more pleasant, to which the recently introduced slight curvature of the display glass (Apple calls it Ceramic Shield) also contributes. contributes.

We’d say the new design touches, along with the weight loss, make the Pro Max less bulky and the Pro a truly pocketable flagship.

The two models are available in the same colorways, so there’s not much to choose from here. Likewise, both feature dust and water resistance to Apple’s standard exceeding IP68 (30 minutes up to 6 meters underwater, compared to the required 1.5 metres).

View the comparison

One of the main differentiators between the Pro and Pro Max is obviously the display size. The Pro Max’s 6.7-inch panel offers about 20% more screen real estate than the Pro’s 6.1-inch unit. So, if you routinely use your phone for things that benefit from a large screen (like watching videos, for example, or maybe playing games), Max is the logical answer. It’s not that the small one makes you feel cramped: Apple scales really well, but in areas where more simply means more, the Max wins.

Aside from size (and resolution), there’s nothing that really divides the two. Both offer essentially the same pixel density (hence the size-to-resolution ratio), and both are impressively bright, just below that 1,800 nits in our tests.

As we’ve come to expect from Apple, both displays are color calibrated and are remarkably accurate. HDR10+ and Dolby Vision streaming are also supported.

Both iPhones offer seemingly impressive adaptive refresh rates, but since Apple isn’t transparent in its implementation, we can only rely on the advertised numbers. For what it’s worth, the smoothness of the user experience is undeniable, but again it’s the same on both models.

Battery life

Returning to the saying “more is more,” the 15 Pro Max’s 4,441 mAh battery capacity promises an endurance advantage over the 15 Pro’s 3,274 mAh cell—that’s a 36% advantage that overcompensates for the larger screen by 20%. .

In fact, the Pro Max takes an easy win here, with significantly higher numbers across all disciplines. Now, keep in mind that just because the larger phone may be able to last longer, that doesn’t mean the small one will leave you stranded in the middle of the day. However, the Max would make more sense if longevity on a single charge was a top priority.

Charging speed

The downside is that the 15 Pro Max isn’t too fast to charge. In our tests with a 20W Apple adapter, we got 46% in 30 minutes on the large phone and 57% on the small one, with a full charge taking 16 minutes longer on the Pro Max compared to the already slow 93 minutes on the Pro.

It’s worth pointing out that charging curves are now dictated more by software than hardware limitations, so they may be subject to change with an iOS update. Additionally, Apple is among those manufacturers that don’t particularly favor fast charging, and that’s one of our long-standing complaints with iPhones.

Both phones support wireless charging, whether you use Apple’s MagSafe puck (up to 15W) or a generic Qi-compatible pad (up to 7.5W).

Test the speakers

Another manifestation of the “more is more” principle, although not as obvious, can be seen in the speakers department. In this case, the 15 Pro Max gets a “very good” rating for volume in our test, alongside a merely “good” 15 Pro.

The Max has a bit more presence in the mids (which probably explains the volume advantage, since “the midrange is where the volume mostly resides”), but either way, both iPhones have wonderful Hybrid stereo speakers, some of the best on the market. the market.

You can compare the sound of the two iPhones under controlled acoustic conditions with the samples below. Just make sure you have headphones on and the volume is turned up.

Performance

Both the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are powered by the same Apple A17 Pro chip. It’s an entirely custom design with a 6-core CPU and a 6-core GPU. One significant difference between the two is the fact that the base version of the 15 Pro only has 128GB of storage, while the 15 Pro Max starts at a much more reasonable 256GB. Both sizes can be specified up to 1TB, while RAM is 8GB on all versions.

Unlike some previous years, we found no significant differences in performance between the two sizes, meaning you’ll get essentially the same performance. It also offers industry-leading performance. What’s not so great is the relatively heavy throttling, particularly in GPU-intensive applications, but even then we didn’t observe a significant difference between the two models.

Apple
iPhone 15 Pro

AnTuTu 10
1,566,329

Geekbench 6
2,922 single-core

Geekbench 6
7,172 multicores

Camera comparison

The main difference between the two sizes of iPhone Pro this year is the telephoto lens: the 15 Pro Max gets the new 5x tetraprism module, while the 15 Pro retains the 3x unit from the 14 Pro. Beyond that, the two share the same hardware and feature the same new 24MP mode on the main camera, as well as intermediate 1.2x and 1.5x zoom levels (28mm and 35mm equivalent focal lengths.

So if we focus our attention on those telephoto lenses first, we’ll notice that in good light, the Max’s native 5x output isn’t much better than the non-Max’s digitally zoomed 5x, if at all.

On the other hand, at the 3x zoom level, the 15 Pro’s 3x telephoto results are substantially superior to the 15 Pro Max’s output, which extends the main camera’s capabilities beyond what can be called a sharp image.

Daylight camera examples, 5x: iPhone 15 Pro • iPhone 15 Pro Max

Daylight camera examples, 3x: iPhone 15 Pro • iPhone 15 Pro Max

The main and ultrawide cameras are the same between the two models, and they produce the same images – they’d be great images, even if Apple’s default processing leaves colors a little dull and random details aren’t as natural as we’d like. In any case, nothing that distinguishes the Pro and Pro Max, really.

iPhone 15 Pro daylight camera examples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 3x

iPhone 15 Pro Max daylight camera examples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 5x

Likewise, in low light, the two phones perform identically and you’ll get the same shots with the main and ultrawide cameras. This is where the Pro’s 3x telephoto lens fails to match the Pro Max’s 5x camera to 5x in darker scenes, but it works great at 3x.

iPhone 15 Pro low-light camera examples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 3x

iPhone 15 Pro Max low-light camera examples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 5x

Here’s a glimpse of how the iPhone 15 Pro’s main camera compares in image quality to that of the iPhone 15 Pro Max in our image comparison tool.

And here’s how the video quality of the iPhone 15 Pro’s main camera compares to that of the iPhone 15 Pro Max in our video comparison tool.

Verdict

This is truly one of the simplest dilemmas to solve – it’s quite simple to choose the right iPhone 15 Pro for you. And it’s not even so much about the Max’s 5x telephoto lens that you’d think would make an easy decision: we think the 15 Pro’s 3x does a good enough job at 5x to make that small hardware difference immaterial.

So, we essentially return to the question of size and the differences that arise from it. Of course, if having an extra-large display is a top priority for you, the Max will satisfy that craving. He will also better solve battery life anxiety, ensuring longer battery life. You could also try adding the slightly louder speakers to that list, but it’s not that the 15 Pro’s speakers aren’t great.

By contrast, the 15 Pro’s slightly faster charging earns it a few points over the 15 Pro Max, but both phones are slow enough to charge that it doesn’t really make a difference. No, the iPhone 15 Pro will serve you for its compact size, which this year goes hand in hand with a reasonable weight for that size. And it doesn’t hurt that the small size is cheaper too ($200/€250).