Every year, Apple announces the next new version of the iPhone with new iterative improvements. But, this year, the changes seem a little more impactful than before.

I upgraded to the iPhone 15 Pro Max after using the 14 Pro Max last year. In this article, I’ll talk about my experience and if the changes in this year’s iPhone warrant an upgrade.

Titanium Body

During the keynote, Apple showed off the new body design that used Grade 5 Titanium instead of the stainless steel used in the previous Pro Max models. They promised that the new frame would be more durable and lighter.

However, when it came to finding out about the durability, the claim wasn’t so true in my case. I dropped my 15 Pro Max from a two-foot height and it got a scratch under the power button. But the phone is significantly lighter than the 14 Pro Max.

Not just that, the shape of the body has slight updates too. The edges this time around are slightly curved which makes it easy to hold the phone for longer periods.

Action Button

When I saw Apple’s keynote event on September 12, the biggest thing that had me excited about the new iPhone was the Action button. However, when I bought my shiny new Natural Titanium 15 pro max, I didn’t use the Action button at all.

That was until I used the translate feature.

So, I visited the Castillo de San Marcos monument in Florida where I met a lot of Spanish speakers. I was looking for Wi-Fi there and met a friendly Spanish person. To talk to him, I used the Action button to open the translate app in a beautifully animated window on the dynamic island.

All I said was “Please help me find a nearby Wi-Fi hotspot.” Within a second, my iPhone translated it to “Por favor, ayúdame a encontrar un punto Wi-Fi cercano.” They then replied with “Puede llamar a Xfinity servicio al cliente teléfono y consigue un pase.” I then was able to call Xfinity’s customer support and get the Wi-Fi pass.

Since then, I’ve mapped my iPhone’s action button to the camera which instantly opens it in video mode whenever I need it. This has allowed me to open the camera before the phone is even out of my pocket.

A17 Pro Processor

Would it even be a new iPhone without a brand-new processor? While the regular iPhone 15 uses last year’s A16 Bionic chip from the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the new iPhone 15 Pro models got the new A17 Pro.

This is the first 3nm chip in any tech product and increases the transistor count from 16 billion to 19 billion. They showed off the power of the new iPhone by showcasing Resident Evil Village. 

When I played the game myself, it blew me away. Just the fact that I was playing an AAA console exclusive on the relatively tiny iPhone was a dream come true. However, the performance isn’t something to write home about.

The game stuttered and the on-screen controls were a pain to play with. Nonetheless, the future of gaming on the iPhone is exciting.

A New USB-C Port

Apple fans have been waiting for Apple to replace the outdated lightning port with USB-C for a long time. Apple finally added USB-C after the European Union passed a law in 2022 that required phones, cameras, and tablets to have USB-C ports before 2025 starts.

So, does the USB-C port make a difference?

For me, the shift from Lightning to USB-C has been huge. Although it still has the same charging speed, I find it extremely convenient to be able to connect a USB directly to my phone and transfer files back and forth. 

The port also supports 3.0 speeds. However, in classic Apple fashion, the cable that comes in the box only supports 2.0 speeds which means that you need to buy a separate cable if you want to enjoy the full speed.

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max also support recording ProRes 4K 60fps video directly to external storage which makes it the best phone to get for a cinematographer.

Camera Upgrades

The iPhone 15 Pro Max features a newer camera system that Apple says is equivalent to 7 different camera lenses in the pocket.

The first lens is the 13mm ultra-wide lens that also has a macro mode. Its lens has an anti-glare coating and features a better night mode. The main camera is 48MP with an f/1.78 aperture. The third lens is a telephoto camera is a periscope lens that has a 5x zoom.

One feature I loved in the new iPhone 15 Pro Max is that I can just take a picture and the depth information and live photos are taken automatically. This means I can just take a picture and turn it into a portrait mode photo later in the Photos app.

Final Verdict

The iPhone 15 Pro Max has had the same general design that debuted with the 11 Pro Max. However, Apple has made enough iterations to that initial design to make this new iPhone the best iPhone to get today.

But, do we recommend it?

The answer depends. If you have an iPhone 13 or 14 Pro Max then the iPhone 15 Pro Max doesn’t have too many changes to warrant a purchase. However, I recommend buying it if you have a 12 Pro Max or lower and are looking for an upgrade.