This is the difference between the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max

Published on Sep 27, 2023 at 9:43 AM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones

Last updated on Sep 27, 2023 at 2:42 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Kate Bain

iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max?

With stats showing that almost half of us spend between five-to-six hours per day on our phones – the model you pick matters.

And there are some subtle, but important differences between the different models.

READ MORE! Apple responds to reports of iPhone 15 Pro changing color after use

Despite the models sharing new features like a USB-C port, a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip and the ability to take next-generation portraits, Apple’s new iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are more different than ever.

Whether you spend your time taking photos, scrolling your Instagram feed or simply making calls to your friends and family, we’ve broken it down to make choosing a little bit easier.

Size of iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

The iPhone 15 has a 6.1″Super Retina XDR display, the iPhone 15 Pro has a 6.1″Super Retina XDR display as well as ProMotion technology and an Always-On display with iPhone 15 Pro Max sharing these features on a 6.7″ Super Retina XDR display.

The height of the iPhone 15 is 147.6 mm (5.81 inches) with a width of 71.6 mm (2.82 inches), depth of 7.80 mm (0.31 inches) and weighing in at 171 grams (6.02 ounces).

The iPhone 15 Pro stands slightly smaller but is more robust at 146.6 mm (5.77 inches) high, 70.6 mm (2.78 inches) wide, 8.25 mm (0.32 inches) deep and weighs 187 grams (6.60 ounces).

Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the biggest at 159.9 mm (6.29 inches) high, 76.7 mm (3.02 inches) wide, 8.25 mm (0.32 inches) deep and weighing 221 grams (7.81 ounces).

Look

If color is the dealbreaker, the iPhone 15 is available in pink, yellow, green, blue and black.

Meanwhile the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max come in shades of natural titanium, blue titanium, white titanium and black titanium.

The iPhone15 has an aerospace-grade Aluminium with colour-infused glass back and a Ring/Silent switch, while both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are aerospace-grade Titanium with a textured matt glass back and an Action button.

Display

All three share a Dynamic Island – a ‘magical way to interact with your iPhone’.

On all models from iPhone 14 onwards, it allows you to check alerts and current activity in progress – such as recording a Voice Memo or an AirDrop connection and directions from Maps – in the Dynamic Island at the top of the Home Screen or active app.

“The Dynamic Island appears at the top of the screen whenever your iPhone is unlocked,” Apple says.

Both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz and Always-On display that the iPhone 15 doesn’t.

The pixel resolution is 2556×1179-pixel resolution at 460 ppi on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro and 2796×1290-pixel resolution at 460 ppi for the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Camera

The Advanced dual-camera system in the iPhone 15 is upgraded to a Pro camera system with Telephoto on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max for better zooming on Portrait photos.

The iPhone 15 has a .5x, 1x and 2x optical zoom upgrades to a 3x on iPhone 15 Pro and 5x on iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Aside from the zoom options, when it comes to photos, the Advanced dual-camera system with 12MP Ultra Wide oh the iPhone 15 is updated to a Pro dual-camera system with a 12MP Telephoto on the iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max.

Likewise the ƒ/1.6 aperture and Ultra Wide: ƒ/2.4 aperture of the iPhone 15 is upgraded to ƒ/1.78 aperture and Ultra Wide: ƒ/2.2 aperture with Telephoto: 12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

What’s more the sensor-shift optical image stabilisation and True Tone flash of the iPhone 15 is updated to a second generation and Adaptive True Tone flash on the iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max.

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max also feature Night Mode portraits, macro photography and Apple ProRAW features.

The video of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max video function is also superior with ProRes video recording up to 4K at 60 fps with external recording, Log video recording, Academy Color Encoding System and Macro video recording, including slo‑mo and time‑lapse.

The Sensor-shift optical image stabilisation for video of the iPhone 15 has also had a next-gen upgrade for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Battery and performance of iPhone 15 models

The iPhone 15 features a A16 Bionic chip, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine.

Meanwhile the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have an upgrade to a A17 Pro chip and a 6-core GPU.

The iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have a 20-hour, 23-hour and 29-hour video playback respectively.

This is 16, 20 and 25 hours for streamed content respectively and 80 hours of audio playback for the iPhone 15, 75 hours for the iPhone 15 Pro and 95 hours for the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro can achieve a 50% charge in 30 minutes with a 2W adaptor or higher but the iPhone Pro Max will take 35 minutes.

With all three sharing the new USB-C, the iPhone 15 supports USB 2 and both iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max support USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s) for up to 20 x faster transfers.

Storage

When it comes to capacity, both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro have options for 128GB, 256GB and 512GB of storage.

The iPhone 15 Pro also has a 1TB option with the iPhone 15 Pro Max dropping the 128GB option.

Price of iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

The iPhone 15 is retailing at £799, with the iPhone Pro coming in at £999 and the iPhone Pro Maxis selling for £1,199.

Connectivity

Internet connection is also superior for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone Pro Max with Wi‑Fi 6E connectivity compared to Wi‑Fi 6 connectivity on the iPhone 15.

As well as Thread networking technology on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone Pro Max, the GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou of the iPhone 15 has had an upgrade to Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC) on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Sensors

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone Pro Max have an upgrade of a LiDAR scanner, which uses light to measure distances and is also known as laser scanning or 3D scanning. 

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London-based Amelia cut her journalistic teeth covering all things lifestyle, wellness and luxury in the UK capital. Fast-forward a decade and the experienced content creator and editor has put pen to paper for glossy magazines, busy newsrooms and coveted brands. When her OOO is on you can find her spending quality time with her young family, in the gym or exploring the city she loves.