iPhone 15 Pro Max - one week later

I got my pre-order in by 13:30 on 15/9, not quick enough to secure a launch day delivery. My delivery estimate was 27/9, five extra days 🤬. I X’d (Tweeted) I was hoping for a classic under promise over deliver move by Apple, and so it turned out to be. Late on 22/9 - launch day, I received notification my new iPhone had shipped and would deliver on 25/9. I went straight into irrational delivery tracking mode, to my even greater surprise the carrier was planning to deliver it that day on 23/9. Excited wasn’t the word. They duly delivered my iPhone 15 Pro Max Natural Titanium in the estimated time slot.

I wanted to make an unboxing video, my first fairly cringy effort, which meant I wouldn’t be able to dive straight in. I wonder if the anticipation of setting up the new device meant I rushed the unboxing. Still I did my best and we all have to start somewhere. The results aren't too shabby. You can check out the video here > YouTube

Design

Goodbye stainless steel. Lifting it from the box the first and most obvious thing I noticed was the weight, there's less of it. Moving to titanium for the chassis of the device has reduced the weight by around 10%. The only other time I opted for the max size was the 13 Pro Max in 2021 which I returned after 3 days in exchange for the smaller Pro, not because of the size but the weight. I thought the stainless steal finish on the iPhone 10 > 14 Pro looked great but once smudged with finger prints could slide out of your hands a little too easy, exacerbated by the weight. This isn't an issue at all with the 15 Pro Max. 10% is a big reduction when talking in these terms. The titanium finish can still show some quite subdued smudges but nothing even close to previous models. The improvements don’t end there though, the very subtle rounded edges compared to the sharper design of the 12 Pro > 14 Pro make the iPhone 15 Pro Max a pleasure to use. It really is a beautiful example of industrial design.

A17 Pro

I’ve written about Apple’s Confused Branding due to the A17 Pro. To be quite honest, Apple Silicone is so powerful and efficient that I was never going to notice the jump from the A16. The iPhone is super smooth and runs every app without any issues, but then so did the 14 Pro and 13 Pro and so on. That isn't to say there aren't going to be some new games that take advantage of the power the A17 Pro has to offer. Resident Evil 4 which is allegedly going to cost £60 is one such app Apple spent a few minutes showcasing at their Wonderlust event. Then there's ray tracing. Ray tracing is a more advanced way of rendering light and shadows. It takes a lot of power to run and the fact that we now have it on a smart phone is amazing. I can't wait to see the results on apps that support it.

Cameras

Most high end smart phones have great cameras and the 15 Pro Max doesn’t disappoint. Low light shots are even better than previous generations with a lot less noise. Macro shots are simply outstanding. You’re able to get so close to objects and retain clarity and capture fine detail it’s really quite impressive engineering that manufactures can squeeze cameras this capable into devices this small.

This shot of the was taken in the afternoon. the blue sky is reproduced quite accurately. I won't lie I've always enjoyed trying to capture the really good sky and countryside shots

This photo was taken as the sun was going down a little later in the evening. I think this is a good example because it has a dark area close to the camera with some light greens and the sun off to the left.

Video is an area Apple have tended to stand out. Particularly night time clips where they achieve far less noise than on rival phones, that’s not to say they’re bad, just Apple have done a better job here.

I've always struggled to get good results from zoom, especially video. I think the 15 Pro Max produces some excellent results.

Standard zoom

2x zoom

5x zoom

Macro shots are truly impressive on iPhone 15 Pro Max. You can get so close to subjects and retain details I can't recall being able to capture on previous models.

Portrait mode gets better every year for me. It started out just working great with people. Since object capture was introduced it’s gotten better each year. What was once perhaps a bit of a gimmick, now allows us to capture some great looking images.

Display

The display on iPhone are gorgeous to look at. With true tone and the way Apple calibrate the colour balance, the displays are unmatched in my view. Other manufacturers have great displays but I honestly prefer those on iPhone Pro models. The 120hZ Pro-Motion is a must have. Quite often you hear people say they have to have the Pro iPhone for the camera. For me it’s the Pro-Motion. Once this feature makes its way to the standard models that will make the decision of which to get for my personal phone that bit harder.

Battery

Coming from iPhone 14 Pro, smaller device with a smaller battery, of course the battery life is better. What I can say is using it everyday the way I used my previous iPhone, I usually arrive home with over 60% battery. On my 14 Pro that was somewhere between 40-50%. A sizeable difference and welcome improvement.

USB-C

I’ve never been one to get particularly concerned about the connector. I can understand why it’s so important to some. If you’re doing large file transfers you obviously want to be able to get them done quicker. I get the convenience of being able to charge multiple devices with the same cable. That being said I usually travel with more than one device, if more than one needs charging I need two cables anyway. Therefore I won’t benefit much from this change. One thing I have noticed is some third party cables are too big for the connector cutout on some cases, including Apple’s cases. very few can argue Apple cables out of the box aren't known for their quality or durability. They've changed this up this year by including what at least feels like a more durable braided cable.

Action Button

The Action Button was a wait and see element of Apple’s Wonderlust event for me. We already have this feature on the Apple Watch Ultra although there’s clearly more scope for use on iPhone with more opportunities for customisation. I’ve set it to activate a shortcut which brings up a menu option to select an app or action, my son’s idea and I have to say it works so well I couldn’t be without it after just a week.

In summary

iPhone 15 Pro Max is a delight to use and there’s a lot to like. It’s not aimed at anyone with a 14 Pro Max or 13 Pro max, maybe even 12 Pro Max. The narrow bezel, the lighter titanium frame and excellent display make this the best iPhone I’ve used. I’ve experienced none of the over heating that’s generated so many headlines, there’s always a well publicised negative headline for new iPhone launches. I don’t think there’s a bad colour option this year, even though the pro models always get a different finish and more subdued metallic options, this year Apple have done a great job. I’m pleased with the Natural Titanium finish. At first I thought the colour was less grey than the rumour had suggested, in most lights it’s pretty close.

Thanks for reading.