By Holly, Mozillion Team
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 are more different than ever before but how do they compare?
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 15 Pro: Design & Display
Look and feel are always going to be important at this price point and weighing up both smartphones reveals the iPhone 15 Pro to be slightly heavier at 187g versus the iPhone 15 which weighs in at 171g.
Both models have a 6.1 inch OLED screen, which keeps the overall size down compared to the bigger Plus and Pro Max models.
The iPhone 15 Pro’s display does support 120Hz ProMotion though, so scrolling will look smoother on that model compared to 60Hz on the iPhone 15.
The slimmer borders around the display of the iPhone 15 Pro keeps it slightly smaller than the iPhone 15 and the frame on the Pro is made of titanium and glass as opposed to aluminium and glass. Titanium is lighter so whilst the 15 Pro is heavier than the iPhone 15, it is lighter than the 14 and 13 Pro models, and should be more damage resistant.
The iPhone 15 Pro also has an Action button instead of the Mute switch. The new Action button is programmable, so you can set it to do a number of things such as start the camera. The iPhone 15 retains the Mute switch that was found on the iPhone 14 and earlier models.
Both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro have IP68 water and dust resistance and support Face ID for unlocking, making payments, etc.
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 15 Pro: Camera
The big difference here is the 15 Pro has a new 3x zoom and the iPhone 15 does not.
The iPhone 15 and IPhone 15 Pro both have a whopping 48MP (megapixel) main rear camera though, which is a mega (excuse the pun) upgrade from the 12MP main camera on the iPhone 14 and brings the standard model a lot closer to the Pro this year.
These extra megapixels effectively let you take more detailed photos which is great if you are going to print them out at hang-on-your-wall size or want to make detailed edits.
Low-light mode has been improved on both models so shots at night should be better on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Apple has also upgraded Portrait mode – faces (including those of dogs and cats) are automatically recognised and you can now add the portrait effect to any photo after it has been taken.
Camera professionals will be interested to know that the iPhone 15 Pro has an improved sensor and that 3x zoom camera which helps with portrait mode shots and for getting close up on subjects (not as close as with the 5x zoom on the 15 Pro Max though). There are also new focal lengths only available on the iPhone 15 Pro.
Outside of the optical zoom, both models have a digital zoom, with the iPhone 15 supporting 10x and the 15 Pro supporting 15x.
Both phones can also now shoot Super High Res photos at a 24-megapixel resolution too which is a great middle ground between low detail 12MP images and massive 48MP shots.
Video is very similar on both models, but of course the 15 Pro supports that longer zoom. The 15 Pro also supports ProRes video – most folk won’t bother with this due to the massive file sizes for this format, but for pro users it gives them a few more options during editing, such as colour grading.
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 15 Pro: Processing Power
The iPhone 15 features the A16 chipset which is identical to what was under the hood of last year’s iPhone 14 Pro and therefore pretty efficient.
The iPhone 15 Pro takes that power to a new level with the A17 Pro which has more transistors and even better efficiency.
However, it needs to be said that both smartphones are powerful and fast so although a welcome upgrade, it is not a total game changer just yet.
The 15 Pro has 8GB of RAM, whilst the iPhone 15 has 6GB. iPhones are pretty efficient anyway compared to many smartphones, but if you’re someone that likes to do lots of multitasking on their phone, gaming or intensive processes like video editing, then the extra RAM on the Pro is probably worth it.
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 15 Pro: Battery
The iPhone 15 Pro comes with a slightly smaller battery size than the regular iPhone 15 model. You get a 3,274 mAh battery on the iPhone 15 Pro and a 3,349 mAh battery on the iPhone 15. It’s a small difference and Apple have said that the 15 Pro battery life is actually better on the 15 Pro for video streaming and the 15 will go longer for audio streaming. Either way, you should get a good day’s use out of either.
Both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro now boast a USB-C port as standard which replaces the Lightning port that has been used on iPhones for years. USB-C is the same connection port you find on most Android phones, MacBooks, iPads and more so it’s nice to see it standardised on the iPhone 15 too so we can all use the same cable.
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 15 Pro: Summary
Processors aside, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro are pretty similar.
The 15 Pro has its titanium frame, new Action button and 120Hz scrolling but the iPhone 15 weighs less and has had a serious camera upgrade which brings it a lot closer to the Pro in terms of performance.
The iPhone 15 is probably the biggest improvement to the standard iPhone model in a few years so it’s well worth considering, but if titanium, ProRes video, extra RAM for multitasking and 120Hz scrolling are important to you then it may be worth spending the extra cash on the 15 Pro.