The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the seventeenth-generation flagship iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The devices were unveiled alongside the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus during the Apple Event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, on September 12, 2023. Pre-orders began on September 15, 2023, and the devices were made available to the general public on September 22, 2023.
History
Many rumors had stated that the iPhone 15 Pro Max might have been renamed as the iPhone 15 Ultra, as Apple had previously introduced the Apple Watch Ultra; however, shortly before the event, new rumors suggested that they would stick with the "Pro Max" name for the 6.7-inch model.
Design
The iPhone 15 Pro is the first major redesign since the iPhone 12 Pro, featuring rounded edges and slightly curved display and back glass. The enclosure of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max is made of grade 5 titanium, unlike the aluminum construction of the iPhone 15 and previous generation models. The display bezels have also been reduced from 2.2mm to 1.55mm. The phone is available in four colors: natural titanium, blue titanium, white titanium, and black titanium. It is also the first iPhone since iPhone X to not come in the gold color option.
Specifications
Hardware
Like the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, the 15 Pro and Pro Max replace the proprietary Lightning connector with USB-C to comply with the European Union mandating the use of this connector in smartphones with Directive (EU) 2022/2380 in 2022. Apple had already started to introduce USB-C to its handheld devices beginning with the third generation iPad Pro, released in 2018.
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max support AV1 video hardware decoding.
Chipset
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max feature the A17 Pro system on a chip (SoC). It is built on TSMC's N3B fabrication process. It features a redesigned Apple-built graphic processing unit (GPU) which adds hardware-accelerated ray tracing; during the reveal event, Apple announced that games such as Death Stranding, Resident Evil Village and the upcoming Assassin's Creed Mirage - all games originally designed for consoles and PCs - would come to iOS in the future.
Charging and transfer speeds
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max use USB-C with USB 3.2 Gen 2 transfer speeds (est. up to 10Gbps / 1.25GBps), an improvement over the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 15/15 Plus base models which only have USB 2.0 transfer speeds (est. up to 480 Mbps / 60MBps).
Video output
All iPhone 15 models have support for DisplayPort Alternate Mode over USB-C video output with HDR up to 4K resolution.
Previous iPhone models (from iPhone 5 until iPhone 14 Pro) had a maximum supported resolution of 1600 x 900 (slightly less than 1080p) with the Lightning Digital AV Adapter due to technical constraints of the Lightning connector.
Action button
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max feature an Action button, replacing the mute switch. The function of the Action button can be configured by the user. By default, the Action button toggles silent mode. Other options include opening the camera, recording a voice memo, or toggling a focus mode.
Software
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max launched with iOS 17.
Detailed specs
Criticism
Hardware issues reported
Some owners claimed that their iPhones were suffering from overheating issues, reportedly reaching temperatures as high as . Apple has also said that the phone's titanium frame "does not contribute to the heating issue." In addition, Apple stated the cause of iPhones overheating was due to a software bug. Apple has attempted to address the overheating issue with iOS 17.0.3.
Some owners have found that power banks designed for USB-C devices are not working correctly with the iPhone. Some banks will not charge the iPhone at all or the iPhone will attempt to charge the power bank instead.
Some owners of BMW vehicles using its wireless charging system with the iPhone have found the NFC chip in charge of Apple Pay and also digital car keys stops working.
Some iPhone 15 Pro Max users specifically are reporting that the back glass is very fragile and the frame scratches easily. This is mostly caused by the back metal plate not attached to the back glass.
During durability testing, the iPhone 15 Pro Max rear glass has shown a tendency to break if two thumbs are put behind the phone and force is applied to it.