The new Action Button and USB-C make this a different Apple flagship, but there’s more to uncover in our iPhone 15 Pro review.
Apple iPhone 15 ProApple iPhone 15 Pro
Apple iPhone 15 Pro review: At a glance
What is it? The iPhone 15 Pro is the smaller sibling to the gargantuan iPhone 15 Pro Max. Compressing Apple’s best mobile technology, including flagship processor and camera capabilities, into a more compact form factor is no mean feat, and the iPhone 15 Pro is the Cupertino company’s leading Android alternative.
What is the price? The iPhone 15 Pro starts at $999 for the 128GB model and costs up to $1,499 for 1TB of storage.
Where can you buy it? iPhone 15 Pro pre-orders started on September 15 and began shipping on September 22. The phone is available directly from Apple and all major carriers.
How did we test it? I tested the Apple iPhone 15 Pro for five days. The review unit was purchased by Android Authority.
Is it worth it? You’ll find a few interesting additions to the iPhone 15 Pro, like the Action Button and USB-C connectivity. However, they don’t move the needle much when lingering annoyances, like slow charging, remain unaddressed. The iPhone 15 Pro is a fine upgrade from an aging model but not one to rush out and buy, especially when Android offers many impressive alternatives. Should you buy the Apple iPhone 15 Pro?
Let’s jump into the two significant changes to an otherwise overfamiliar iPhone design. First, the USB-C port (good riddance Lightning). Finally, we can charge the iPhone 15 series with the same plugs and cables all your other modern gadgets use. The Pro model also boasts fast 10Gbps data speeds over the port, making data transfer much quicker than with Lightning, and DisplayPort for external display mirroring. These benefits are familiar to the Android crowd but propel Apple’s formula into the modern era. However, you’ll have to buy a better USB-C cable than the one Apple supplies to benefit — a cheap decision for a $1,000 purchase.
The second significant addition is the Action Button, and it’s pretty great. I’ve loved mappable buttons and gestures on the occasional Android phone, and in classic Apple form, the iPhone 15 Pro takes an established feature and adds a layer of polish. However, you have to master Shortcuts to make the most of it, such as presenting a menu of options that extend the button’s initial limited functionality. The default Silent, Focus, Camera, Magnifier, Torch, and Accessibility quick access are fine, but why settle for one option when you can have many?
The iPhone 15 Pro is IP68 rated for dust and water resistance.
Apple has also swapped out the chassis for Titanium this year, making the phone 19 grams lighter than its predecessor. I welcome this change, but I feel that the iPhone 15 Pro remains too weighty in the hand. With the same display and camera housing layout, the 15 Pro is tough to tell apart from its predecessors, and the slightly revamped colorways don’t rejuvenate any “new toy” excitement either. While the hardware tweaks are all well implemented, this is fundamentally the same iPhone we already know intimately. Any amount of flair will need to be provided by a colorful case.
Probably not, but it depends on the case. The two phones have similar dimensions, but the iPhone 15 Pro is a few millimeters slimmer, so it’s doubtful that old cases will fit correctly.
iOS 17 brings additional changes, but the core iPhone experience remains faithful to the working formula, and these new features aren’t exclusive to the iPhone 15 series. Some of the more noteworthy additions are FaceTime video messages and reactions, improved autocorrect thanks to a new machine learning model, interactive home screen widgets, the new StandBy lock screen, live voicemail transcriptions, and contact posters — all solid additions.
Now, if you’re eyeballing the iPhone 15 Pro for peak performance, you won’t be disappointed. Apple’s latest A17 Pro chip tops our benchmark table by a notable margin; the phone is frankly overkill for messaging and browsing the web.
