By Holly, Mozillion Team
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are both at the top of their game but is the Pro Max the clear winner? It depends what you want from your phone.
The newest generation of iPhones have arrived and are feature packed with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max at the front of the lineup at the flagship (and most expensive) models in the range. Gleaming with a new titanium design, a new Action button, ProMotion and the most powerful chipset available for an iPhone, there’s a lot there.
With both being Pro models, each of them have an advantage over the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus as you’d expect.
The Pro Max model is the bigger of the Pro and Pro Max, and also adds some extra camera features and a bigger battery, but what else is different – let’s find out.
Design & Display: iPhone 15 Pro vs 15 Pro Max
Both are ‘pro’ iPhone models, but the key difference here is size, with the iPhone 15 Pro Max sporting a 6.7inch super-bright Super Retina XDR display compared to the 6.1inch super-bright Super Retina XDR display on the iPhone 15 Pro (which is the same size as the standard iPhone 15).
A bigger display, means a bigger viewing area of course, but with that (and the bigger battery) comes an increase in weight, with the Pro Max weighing 221g versus the Pro that weighs 188g, almost 18% less.
Both models support a 120Hz refresh rate which is a game changer (quite literally). If you haven’t used a phone with a 120Hz display before, you’ll certainly be impressed with the difference. Animations and scrolling are so smooth that it can feel as though you’re scanning the pages of a book or magazine rather than looking at a smartphone screen.
Both the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max benefit from the new Action button that has replaced the Mute switch on the side of the phone. The Action button can be customised depending on how you want to use it.
Both models also sport Apple’s new titanium finish – this results in both phones weighing less than the previous year’s models and gives them a nice brushed finish.
In terms of colours, both are available in black, white, blue or grey.
In short, both the 15 Pro and 15 Pro max designs are very similar, with the Pro Max being bigger so it is a little harder to use with one hand.
Camera: iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Max
The iPhone 15 Pro improves on the iPhone 15 when it comes to camera setup and the iPhone 15 Pro Max goes one step further still. In fact, the iPhone 15 Pro Max boasts the longest optical zoom ever on iPhone 5x compared with 3x with the iPhone 15 Pro.
This level of telephoto optical zoom is ideal for sports or wildlife photography and the iPhone 15 Pro Max also boasts an innovative tetraprism design with a combined optical image stabilisation and autofocus 3D sensor-shift module. Basically a pro-level photographer’s dream-come-true.
Not to disparage the iPhone 15 Pro however as it still impresses. The 3x telephoto zoom with the iPhone 15 Pro is perfectly suited to portrait photography for example. Beyond the 5x zoom on the Pro Max, the main and ultra wide cameras on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone Pro Max are identical.
When it comes to video, both models can now shoot Spatial video which captures depth information using the ultra-wide and main camera. This will make for 3D style videos that can be viewed on the forthcoming Apple Vision Pro headset.
Processor: iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Max
Both models are powered by the Apple A17 Pro chip and both include 8GB of RAM, which is an increase from the 14 Pro series that had 6GB.
Thanks to the 15 Pro Max’s bigger size, it is also slightly more efficient when it comes to staying cool – something that will be important to mobile gamers.
Both models support iOS 17 so you’ll get all the benefits and features that are included with that, such as Standby Mode, Contact Posters and the new Journaling app.
Battery power: iPhone 15 Pro vs 15 Pro Max
The 15 Pro Max has a larger 4422 mAh battery compared to the Pro which features a 3,273 mAh battery. Even though the Pro Max has a larger display to power, you’ll still probably get a couple of extra hours of use from the Pro Max compared to the Pro before you have to recharge.
20W fast charging is supported on both models and both now support USB-C, with the Lightning port now no longer a feature of iPhones.
MagSafe wireless charging is also supported, up to 15W.
Summary: iPhone 15 Pro vs 15 Pro Max
With so many new features available with the latest iPhone 15 Pro models you are unlikely to be disappointed whichever one you choose but there are definitely differences to note between the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Screen size is probably the most prominent one so it is definitely worth considering what you will be using your smartphone for and how portable you want it to be, the Pro Max is a big phone, whereas the Pro is similar to the standard iPhone 15 in size.
Battery life and the camera set up are also worth noting especially if wildlife and sports photography is your passion as the iPhone Pro Max has that extra zoom power.
Being the bigger of the two, the Pro Max also costs more, but you can save some cash on both if you can buy them refurbished.