I’ve spent a half-year to the day with Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max, and it has not just held up to the rigorous trials of daily life — it has been worth every penny.
iPhone 15 Pro Max long-term
I’ve spent a half-year to the day with Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max, and it has not just held up to the rigorous trials of daily life — it has been worth every penny.
It was exactly six months ago, to the day, that Apple released the iPhone 15 lineup. Since then, the 15 Pro Max has been our daily driver.
It’s come on vacations, been through major life events, and taken more photos than any other device we’ve owned before it.
There’s this growing sentiment in the space that the iPhone has gotten a little stale. That year-over-year changes are increasingly small and lack the “wow” factor Apple is known for.
We find ourselves in this boat, too, sometimes, but with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it feels different. Six months later, it feels like a notably new experience to me. It’s not perfect, but I haven’t enjoyed an iPhone this much in a long time.
iPhone 15 Pro Max review six months later: Moving to the Max
We’ve been using the 6.1-inch Pro for the past-few generations, but since Apple included the better camera on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, we figured we’d try it again.
One of the first things that caught our attention was how much of a difference the move to titanium made. It’s significantly lighter and hasn’t weighed down our pockets as much as we remembered.
I also missed the larger screen more than we expected, and the battery life was incredible. By late afternoon I still regularly have more than 80% battery life.
Overall, I’m happy I went with the larger size and will probably stick with it again next time we upgrade.
iPhone 15 Pro MaxiPhone 15 Pro Max review six months later: Action Button
One of the biggest new features on the iPhone 15 Pro line is the action button. But even six months later, we’re torn on its utility.
I go through phases where we just… forget it exists. There’s nothing the Action button can do that you can’t already do easily in some other way — like running a shortcut, or opening an app.
Yes, it can be faster for some tasks, but muscle memory is hard to break.
I still mindlessly swipe to the left for the camera, tap the Lock Screen to turn on the flashlight, triple-tap the side button to turn on the magnifier, and change Focus modes directly through Control Center.
Currently, I have it set to open a folder of Siri shortcuts. That grants us quick access to getting our blood glucose value, running the vacuum, feeding the cat, and other frequent tasks.
But that’s only when we remember it exists. Unfortunately, that isn’t that often.
iPhone 15 Pro Max review six months later: Other new features
Action Button aside, there are other changes on iPhone 15 Pro Max to appreciate.
