- Apple / Pocket-lint
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Our top choiceThe iPhone 15 Pro Max is more expensive than the iPhone 15 Pro, and bigger, but it also has a larger display, bigger battery and there's better zoom capabilities.
Pros- Excellent performance
- Great camera capabilities
- Good battery
Cons- Expensive
- Apple / Pocket-lint
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
A superb alternativeThe Apple iPhone 15 Pro is smaller and more compact than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, whilst offering the same performance but it misses out on a couple of features like the 5x zoom.
Pros- Compact design
- Superb performance
- Great camera results
Cons- Only 3x zoom
In the past, the top-of-the-range iPhone Pro models have offered the same hardware and features, with display size and battery capacity being the key differentiators. That's not the case for the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max however, with Apple giving a little bit more love to the larger Pro model this year.
What are the differences between the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and what do you miss out on if you opt for the more compact model? We're here to help you figure it out, and we've reviewed both models too, so we'll also dive into how these two models perform against each other too.
Price, availability and specs
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro is the cheaper of the two models being discussed in this feature, starting at $999 in the US and £999 in the UK. The iPhone 15 Pro Max by comparison, starts at $1199 in the US and £1199 in the UK. Both were made available on 22 September, and they are available globally. They also both come in the same colour options with Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium and Black Titanium on offer. The Natural Titanium doesn't show fingerprints as much as the Blue Titanium in our experience, but you will need to wipe the frames, as you did with the iPhone 14 Pro models, to keep them fresh.
We've dropped a quick glance spec table below, so you can get a rough idea about how these two devices differ, but specs only tell one side of the story - we advise you to keep reading if you want to know exactly how the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max compare.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Apple iPhone 15 Pro SoC A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro Display 6.7-inch, OLED, 2796 x 1290, 460ppi, HDR, 2000nits, 120Hz 6.1-inch, OLED, 2556 x 1179, HDR, 2000nits, 120Hz Storage 256/512GB/1TB 128/256/512GB/1TB Battery 23 hours, 50% in 30 mins 20W wired, 15W MagSafe, 7.5W Qi wireless 23 hours, fast charge 50% in 30 mins 20W wired, 15W MagSafe, 7.5W Qi wireless Ports USB-C USB-C Camera (Rear, Front) 48MP main, f/1.78; 12MP ultrawide, f/2.2; 2x telephoto from main; 12MP 5x telephoto, f/2.8; 12MP front, f/1.9 48MP main, f/1.78; 12MP ultrawide, f/2.2; 2x telephoto from main; 12MP 3x telephoto f/2.8; 12MP front, f/1.9 Dimensions 159.9 x 76.7 x 8.25mm, 221g 146.6 x 70.6 x 8.25mm, 187g Colors Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, Natural Titanium Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, Natural Titanium IP Rating IP68 IP68
Design and build
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max share the same design, though the Max is larger and heavier, as you would imagine. Both have made the switch from polished stainless steel to a matte titanium frame however, which not only makes them lighter than their predecessors, but they look more premium in the flesh too. Flat edges remain - a design feature we have seen since the iPhone 12 models - but the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have a contoured glass rear that makes them both much more comfortable to hold.
The glass is also almost soft-to-touch, which feels great in the hand on both models. Elsewhere, both models have a triple lens camera system in the top left corner of their rears, while the front of the two handsets see slimmer bezels than the iPhone 14 Pro models. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max also both adopt the new customisable Action Button in place of the silent-ringer toggle that we've seen on the iPhone since its debut in 2007. This button has a number of functions - even more so if you are familiar with the Shortcuts app - but you get the same functionality across both models.
Display
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max both adopt the Dynamic Island feature that was first introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro models in 2022. This feature replaced the notch at the top of the display, offering a smart and interactive pill-shaped cutout instead that adapts to what you are doing on your phone. Dynamic Island is much smarter now than it was when it first launched, but like the Action Button, the same functionality is offered across both the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, so you don't get anything extra by opting for the larger model when it comes to this aspect.
What is different between the models however, is the display size. The iPhone 15 Pro has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with a 2556 x 1179 pixel resolution, delivering a pixel density of 460ppi. The iPhone 15 Pro Max meanwhile, has a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display with a 2796 x 1290 pixel resolution, which also offers a pixel resolution of 460ppi. What that means is that while the size is different between the two models, the detail and crispness you get from them both is the same.
They also both have the same technology on board, including True Tone, a P3 wide colour display and Haptic Touch, the latter of which allows you to press and hold on an App icon for example to see a pop-up menu.
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max also both have the company's ProMotion technology on board, which offers adaptive refresh rates between 1Hz and 120Hz. This means they both offer an Always On Display - something else that was introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro models - and a feature that is exclusive to the Pro models, with the regular iPhone 15 models not offering it.
In terms of display brightness, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max both offer a 1000nits typical brightness, with a 2000nits peak brightness, so they are some of the brightest displays in the industry and both are glorious in use. Both deliver colours with plenty of punch and vibrancy, along with deep blacks and bright whites. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the better option when it comes to streaming content as the larger display makes it more enjoyable, but the iPhone 15 Pro is lighter so easier to hold for longer periods of time.
Hardware and performance
Both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max run on the A17 Pro chipset, which is made up of a six-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, and a six-core GPU. There is also a 16-core Neural Engine on board. The chip is built on 3-nanometre transistor technology and it is said to be 10 per cent faster than the iPhone 14 Pro and 20 per cent faster graphically with hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
What that means in reality is that both the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max deliver excellent performance. They are both lightning fast and buttery smooth in their operation, and you won't find any difference between them when it comes to playing games, streaming or day-to-day tasks.
Where there is a difference however, is the battery performance. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is superior in the battery department to its smaller sibling. You'll get around a couple of hours extra from the iPhone 15 Pro Max so that's something to keep in mind if you are on the fence deciding between these two.
Both will see most people through the day and evening, but the iPhone 15 Pro Max won't be red lining by the end of the night, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro will hit that red bar sooner. The two devices support the same charging speeds however, they are both charged via USB-C - which is USB-3 compatible too and allows you to connect an external drive to them - and both support wireless charging as well. You can also charge other devices with a cable using the USB-C port.
Cameras
Aside from physical dimensions, screen size and battery, it is the camera department that the biggest differences can be found between the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Both models have a triple rear camera system which comprises a 48-megapixel main sensor with f/1.78 aperture, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a 12-megapixel telephoto sensor with f/2.8 aperture.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max offers 0.5x, 1x, 2x and 5x optical zoom options however, while the iPhone 15 Pro offers 0.5x, 1x, 2x and 3x. In terms of digital zoom, the iPhone 15 Pro Max tops out at 25x, while the iPhone 15 Pro will go up to 15x.
Elsewhere, however, things are pretty much identical between the two models when you step away from the zoom capabilities. There are features like Smart HDR 5 for photos, Night mode, Night mode portraits and Photographic Styles. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max also both have the ability to adjust focus and depth on photos taken in the regular Photo mode, as well as older images taken in that mode that have a person, dog or cat in them. The only caveat there is that the images have to have been taken on a device that was running iOS 16 or later.
When it comes to video capabilities, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max deliver the same. They both offer 4K video recording up to 60fps, 1080p up to 60fps and they both have Cinematic mode for recording videos with a shallow depth of field in 4K HDR at 30fps. Both also offer log video recording, HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60fps and slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120fps or 240fps.
On the front, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max both have a 12-megapixel sensor with an f/1.9 aperture and that lens also offers up to 4K video recording at up to 60fps and Cinematic mode up to 4K HDR at 30fps.
Conclusion: Should you buy the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max?
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max is the device we would recommend out of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. It may be a little too big and heavy for some, but you get a larger screen, better battery life and a more capable camera system in terms of zoom. It's an exceptional performing device, and it comes highly recommended by us.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
The iPhone 15 Pro is still a great device, however. It might only offer 3x zoom instead of 5x, but you get the same hardware as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, a very capable camera offering, and it is smaller, lighter and more affordable. If you're after the best Apple has to offer currently, it's the iPhone 15 Pro Max you want. But if you want almost everything the company has to offer and in a smaller and slightly cheaper build, the iPhone 15 Pro will serve you well.
