We’ve stepped into a pretty reliable pattern when it comes to Apple phones: just before you can expect a smattering of AAA-games to launch right in time for Christmas shopping season, so too is a new generation of iPhone inevitable. This year’s standout is the iPhone 15 Pro, the second-most powerful of the four new models.
Part of that reliable pattern, however, is a series of diminishing returns. Every few years, one new model will break through and truly raise the bar for the product line and smartphones in general, and typically the next generation or two will bring smaller updates of that hardware before another major watershed moment.
So, as the middle-lane model of the generation, offering more than the average user may require but not quite packing in all the bells and whistles, where does the iPhone 15 Pro stand in the grand legacy of Apple Smartphones? Let’s break it down.
iPhone 15 Specs
On paper, the iPhone 15 Pro looks a whole lot like its direct predecessor. Its biggest bragging point is the improved A17 Pro bionic chip, which Apple claims is 10% faster than the A16. That’s nothing to sneeze at, in theory; in regular, everyday practice it doesn’t feel like too large a leap. Everything runs a little bit smoother than the iPhone 14 Pro or even the baseline iPhone 13.
That 10% power upgrade does, however, help situate the iPhone 15 Pro as a contender in the gaming market. Apple has been gradually encroaching upon this space over the last few years, even courting Hideo Kojima to bring Death Stranding to Macs. This year’s incremental step forward in power is likely the tip of the spear, alongside a renewed effort to bring more bangers to Apple Arcade. It also means you can play the likes of Resident Evil Village at your easiest convenience, natively from your smartphone.
Results in this department will vary by game; existing mobile games saw only a negligible uptick in performance, but the frontiers are going to expand gradually as developers adjust to having this much power in gamers’ pockets. Although the iPhone 15 Pro is considerably more expensive and less convenient than a next-gen console, breaking out Assassin’s Creed Mirage in a slow waiting room could be a game-changer.
Aside from the processor, most of the iPhone 14 Pro’s specs transferred over 1:1 to the iPhone 15 Pro, and some came with a little improvement. The Pro camera array remains the same (a 48MP Main, a 12MP Ultra Wide, and 12MP Telephoto, plus the 12MP, ƒ/1.9 TrueDepth front camera), but with an improved “next-generation” portrait mode.
Apple’s familiar Camera app allows you to harness the combined might of these lenses, quickly toggling between four optical zoom modes (0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 3x) or zooming to your whim with the use of the touchscreen. Pro models could already take super-high-resolution photos in 48MP, but 24MP is now an option as well if you don’t need the absolute height of resolution.
The already-outstanding Portrait mode has been brought to the “next generation” with improved focus and depth control. Follow the mode’s prompts for composition, and your shots will automatically turn out with better depth-of-field and lighting than simply pointing and shooting—perfect for capturing a special portrait without a DSLR handy.
On top of capturing better portraits the first time around, the iPhone 15 Pro also brings the ability to convert a regular photo into a Portrait Mode one in post-processing. Granted, the camera needs to have recorded depth information when it took the original shot (which it does if it detects a human or pet or if you select a focus point), but it’s still a nice addition for those times when you forgot to change modes before snapping your pic.
One welcome area of growth is the battery. Despite that impressive new A17 chip, the iPhone 15 Pro handles its battery drain a little more efficiently on average. It’s not enough that I could go without charging my phone every night while I’m sleeping, granted. Yet every little bit counts in this department, and an improvement to idle battery drain is huge given the platform’s shift to always-on displays.
Under the hood, the last iPhone Pro was an impressive piece of tech, and the iPhone 15 Pro hasn’t fixed what wasn’t broken. It just doesn’t seem like as much to write home about this year.
iPhone 15 Design
On the exterior, however, the iPhone 15 Pro draws some considerable new lines in the sand. This year brought the death of the Lightning port and the (perhaps inevitable) swap toward USB-C connections. Bad news, your existing Lightning cables will be moot once you upgrade; good news, your new cable will be much more handily replaced.
One change I don’t necessarily welcome, however, is the new Action button. Replacing the silent mode toggle, this new nub lives on the left side above the volume buttons. Silent mode is now toggled (at least by default) by holding this button down. Savvy users can even customize how this button behaves—having it bring up the camera or flashlight, for instance, or even execute a programmed Shortcut.
This is a big win for accessibility, at least, as the Action button can utilize parts of an ever-growing utility suite, like Live Speech or certain vision tools. For that alone it’s a valid addition, but perhaps we needn’t have taken the silent mode toggle away altogether in the process.
The iPhone 15 Pro’s screen is nigh-indiscernible from its predecessor. Both pack brilliant 6.1”, all-screen OLED displays, while you can shell out more cash for a 6.7” on the Pro Max version. Overall dimensions have shifted somewhat between Pro generations, with the new model being a hair shorter and thinner, a hair deeper, and almost 20 grams lighter.
One thing remains odd to me about modern smartphone design, and the iPhone 15 Pro is no exception: the size of the camera arrays. All of that photographic power has to come from somewhere, and therefore you have a bulbous protrudence on the back of your device. Thankfully the camera isn’t throwing off the entire balance of the phone this time, as it did back on the iPhone 13 Pro. Yet, it’s one more reason I took to laying the phone facedown most of the time; not only does that minimize the always-on display’s battery drain, but it actually allows the phone to lay flat.
Application
On the application side, a lot of the slick features of the iPhone 15 Pro were established before its launch in iOS 17. StandBy Mode makes a serious case for the extinction of the traditional alarm clock, audio message transcription is handy when you can’t check that sound file or voice mail right away, contact posters bring a touch of personality to a bland yet mandatory utility, and AirDrop has never been more convenient, to name just a few worthy features.
The Dynamic Island remains a small, intuitive way to incorporate that dastardly little notch at the top of the device. As I said of the previous generation, this adaptive feature leans into a design imperative to squeeze a little more productivity out of the device. It’s little things like seeing a mini visualizer while listening to music or podcasts or being able to quickly hop over to the controls for that media that can make a huge difference in daily smartphone use.
Apple’s mobile devices have been bringing pro-level utility closer to the common user’s level bit by bit for years now, and the A17 chip helps in that endeavour. While I don’t think we’ve seen the full extent of its power just yet, it makes daily usage that much smoother (especially when coupled with those latest standards of wireless communication, and reliable internet service).
All that processing power means that average users can get pro-level results more easily and with less effort. Apple has continued to refine their post-processing suite to utilize the fruits of the camera array’s labours fully. The video mode saw the biggest jump in this department, almost bordering on overkill—the addition of logarithmic video recording puts the “Pro” in the phone’s title, facilitating high-level video editing worthy of the iPad Pro line.
Like its predecessor, the iPhone 15 Pro is a great option for remote play from your next-gen game console. Whether you play on Steam, PlayStation, or Xbox, it can be your Switch-style second screen if you can’t play on your actual TV. Even better, if you’re already investing in this as your smartphone, you can grab a dedicated mobile controller like the Backbone One and potentially forego the need for a PlayStation Portal or Steam Deck altogether.
In fact… if you’re looking to do any substantial gaming on your iPhone 15 Pro, and your games of choice support controllers, the best thing you can do for yourself is to invest in a good mobile gamepad or grip. Touchscreens simply aren’t an efficient or ergonomic replacement for a controller’s thumbsticks or tactile buttons.
Conclusion
So, is it worthwhile to upgrade to the iPhone 15 Pro?
All told, the iPhone 15 Pro doesn’t look like a huge leap forward for the brand—more like a 14.5 Pro, perhaps. It really feels like this was a “training montage” sort of year, making smaller shifts like the jump to USB-C and laying infrastructure for a serious push into the gaming market in 2024.
Yet, that still means it’s an amazing smartphone. The convenience of USB-C connections and the cutting-edge A17 chip are compelling selling points in themselves (unless you’re really loyal to the tangle of Lightning cables in the drawers of your home). If you’re in dire need of a new iPhone, the iPhone 15 Pro is probably the most worthwhile upgrade option—more fully-featured than the regular or Plus model, but without paying considerably more for 0.6” of display on the Pro Max.
If you’re compelled to upgrade early to chase the gaming power, however, it’s likely more prudent to wait and see a little longer. The iPhone 15 Pro makes a strong case for Apple’s future in this sector, but it also depends on the software that the platform can secure. Hello Kitty Island Adventure and ports of games available on multiple gaming consoles are great to have, yet not entirely worth the hardware investment alone.
Of course, if you’re an iPhone devotee and you need to swap horses—either because of your mobile plan, or because your existing phone is giving up the ghost—the iPhone 15 Pro is not likely to let you down.
