The iPhone 15 Pro may look like the lesser model compared to its larger sibling, but there is still plenty to love — especially if you prefer smaller phones.
Apple’s iPhone 15 lineup has proven to be one of the most significant refreshes in quite some time. There are some subtle design changes all around and a whole lot to love.
Though this year’s biggest improvements are found in the iPhone 15 Pro Max, not everyone wants to use the biggest phone there is. Fortunately, the regular iPhone 15 Pro is still quite capable in its own right.About our iPhone 15 Pro review
Our iPhone 15 Pro review was originally published on October 9, 2023, following a little over a week of testing. It was updated by Christine Romero-Chan on October 30, 2023, to include the “one month later” section.iPhone 15 Pro: one month later
I’ve been using the iPhone 15 Pro as my daily driver for over a month now. For the most part, the kinks I had during the first week or so, such as the overheating, have subsided by this point. It still gets occasionally warm, especially when fast-charging or playing games, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Overall, a month later, I’m still enjoying the iPhone 15 Pro quite a bit. I know that it’s been said multiple times, but the switch over to titanium has been one of the best choices Apple has made in some time. This is my primary phone, and the lightweight material really does make a difference in usability, as it is easier for me to use for prolonged periods, unlike its predecessor, the iPhone 14 Pro. Though I use my device with a case, I love that Apple made the edges more curved and not sharp, so they don’t dig into your palm when you go case-less. The titanium design has been fantastic for making the iPhone more ergonomic.
The Action button remains one of my favorite new hardware features. I am the kind of person who puts their phone on mute, and it stays that way indefinitely, so the silent/ringer toggle was never really used by me. I appreciate having the Action button because I can get more out of it now. I still have it set to launch the Camera app because the lock screen shortcut is not always reliable, especially when I need to capture a moment with my daughter. I use it multiple times a day and hope Apple brings it to the base models eventually, too. However, I think Apple really should improve the Action button by giving it the ability to have more than one action assigned to it via double press, triple press, etc.
Speaking of cameras, I’m thoroughly pleased with the results that come out of my iPhone 15 Pro. Whereas I felt like the iPhone 14 Pro had a problem with oversharpening and overprocessing with harsh colors, the iPhone 15 Pro has been faring much better with Smart HDR 5. I’ve taken a lot of photos over the past month with the iPhone 15 Pro, and for the most part, they’ve been looking more natural, realistic, and accurate in terms of coloring. Skies don’t appear as washed-out as before, and skin tones are more spot-on. Plus, the Auto Portrait feature is one I use pretty frequently, especially with my daughter.
Though I’m still disappointed that Apple did not improve charging speeds with USB-C, the switch from Lightning has been great for me. I have way more USB-C cables lying around the house than Lightning, so it’s great to be able to just pick up the nearest USB-C cable I have and plug in my iPhone.
As my most-used gadget, the iPhone 15 Pro has overall been serving me well. I use it constantly throughout the day to stay in contact with my friends and family through iMessage, check personal and work email, send Teams messages for work, check out social media (Threads, Instagram, Facebook, and Mastodon), spend way too much time in Disney Emoji Blitz, use the Disneyland app when I’m at the parks, and more. Everything works without a hitch thanks to the power of the A17 Pro and 8GB RAM.
My battery life has been slightly improved over what I was getting in the first few days, though I wish it was still better. I reach about 30% by 6 to 7 p.m., at which point I have an automation that enables Low Power Mode automatically. This is, of course, with heavy usage — if I have more moderate usage, then I would probably get to 20% to 30% by 8 or 9 p.m.
TL;DR, the iPhone 15 Pro remains an excellent smartphone after a month of daily use.iPhone 15 Pro: design
On the surface, the iPhone 15 Pro looks a lot like last year’s iPhone 14 Pro … which looked like the two generations before it. Apple has kept the same design since the iPhone 12 Pro, with the triple-lens camera system, frosted matte back glass, and stainless steel frame. But the stainless steel also made the Pro models heavy – to the point where it became uncomfortable to use for extended periods of time.
That all changes with the iPhone 15 Pro. Apple has replaced the stainless steel frame with brushed titanium, and yes, it does make a substantial difference. The iPhone 14 Pro weighed 7.27 ounces (206 grams), while the iPhone 15 Pro is 6.60 ounces (187 grams). I held both my old iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro side by side in each hand, and the iPhone 15 Pro definitely feels much more lightweight. Even in a case, the iPhone 15 Pro has never felt too heavy to hold.
The titanium frame also has more rounded edges that meet the front and back glass seamlessly. The result is a much more comfortable feel, as there are no longer any sharp edges that dig into your fingers after prolonged use. Though I still prefer to keep my iPhone 15 Pro in a case due to my own tendency to have butterfingers, the overall new design has made it so much more comfortable to use, even without a case.
I was definitely excited to hear that Apple was using titanium for the iPhone frame, but I didn’t realize how good it would be until I unboxed my iPhone 15 Pro. I really hope that Apple continues to use titanium for future iPhone designs because it really does make a world of difference.iPhone 15 Pro: Action button
Another huge change with the iPhone 15 Pro lineup this year is the Action button. Ever since the original iPhone in 2007, there’s always been a ring/silent switch above the volume buttons. But with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, that has been eliminated in favor of an all-new, customizable Action button.
The default setting for the Action button is a press-and-hold function to enable or disable silent mode. Doing this shows a small pop-up in the Dynamic Island, letting you know that it’s on or off, and you get the same haptics. But leaving it on the default ring/silent action is boring since you can now access that from the Control Center and use the Action button for something else.
To change what the Action button does, go to the Settings app, select Action Button from the menu, and pick what you want to do with it. The other actions, besides enabling silent mode, include:
Turn on a Focus mode
Open the Camera app
Turn on the flashlight
Start a Voice Memo recording
Enable the Magnifier
Run a Shortcut
Launch an Accessibility feature
No Action (disable the Action button)
The user interface for the Action button customization is absolutely gorgeous and one of the best UI interactions I’ve seen from Apple in a while. Some of the actions also have more options to choose from — such as picking a specific Focus mode or launching the Camera into a normal photo, selfie, video, Portrait mode, or Portrait selfie status.
Personally, I’ve been using my Action button for just launching the Camera app into a normal photo. Especially with the Auto Portrait feature of the entire iPhone 15 lineup, I feel it’s a little repetitive to go into Portrait mode in general, but I suppose it works if you want the 2x or 3x zoomed-in portrait.
