iPhone 15 Pro Max Review: Is it Worth It? | Tom's Guide
The iPhone 15 Pro Max wows with its lighter and strong titanium design, 5x zoom camera boost and powerful A17 Pro chip. And the battery life is killer at over 14 hours in our testing, even with the handset’s 6.7-inch screen size.
The new Action button also comes in handy, letting you assign all sorts of shortcuts. On the software side, iOS 17 gives you access to standby mode, name drop and other fresh iPhone features.
In this iPhone 15 Pro Max review, we discuss whether it’s worth it to upgrade despite the $100 more expensive starting price and relatively slow charging.
The new Action button also comes in handy, letting you assign all sorts of shortcuts. On the software side, iOS 17 gives you access to standby mode, name drop and other fresh iPhone features.
In this iPhone 15 Pro Max review, we discuss whether it’s worth it to upgrade despite the $100 more expensive starting price and relatively slow charging.
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TechTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the first iPhone
00:05 I picked up in a while where I've said, "Whoa."
00:07 And that's thanks to a new titanium design
00:09 that makes this big 6.7 inch flagship wonderfully light.
00:13 Apple also managed to trim the bezels
00:15 while making the phone shorter and narrower,
00:17 resulting in a big screen beast
00:18 that doesn't actually feel all that big.
00:21 There's a lot of other welcome upgrades here,
00:22 including a handy action button
00:24 that lets you perform all sorts of shortcuts.
00:26 You also get the world's first three nanometer processor
00:29 in the A17 Pro with console-like graphics.
00:32 And there's finally a bigger 5X telephoto zoom
00:35 to get closer to your subjects
00:37 and close the gap with Samsung.
00:39 Not everything about the iPhone 15 Pro Max is woe-inducing.
00:42 At $1,199, the device has a $100 higher starting price
00:46 than the last model.
00:47 And while it's nice to see a USB port on board
00:49 and lightning die, the charging is still slow.
00:52 And not everyone will be happy to say goodbye
00:54 to the mute switch.
00:55 So is the iPhone 15 Pro Max worth the upgrade?
00:58 I'll go over all the pros and cons
01:00 in this iPhone 15 Pro Max review.
01:02 The iPhone 15 Pro Max ditches the stainless steel sides
01:07 for a titanium design, and it's a big deal.
01:09 Why?
01:10 Because the space-age grade five titanium Apple uses
01:12 is stronger yet lighter.
01:14 Yes, it's the same titanium used on the Mars Rover.
01:17 The natural titanium color has grown on me
01:19 thanks to its sci-fi vibe.
01:21 The blue titanium is nice, though,
01:23 and you can pick up the phone in silver and black as well.
01:28 The iPhone 15 Pro Max weighs 7.8 ounces
01:30 compared to 8.5 ounces for the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
01:34 I really notice the difference when I have the phone
01:35 in my hand and in my pocket.
01:37 The new Pro Max is also more compact,
01:39 measuring 6.29 by 3.02 by 0.32 inches
01:43 versus 6.33 by 3.05 by 0.31 inches before.
01:48 So while the new iPhone is a tad thicker,
01:51 it's easier to use with one hand.
01:53 It's the first big screen iPhone that doesn't feel like one.
01:57 The iPhone 15 Pro Max feels better, too,
01:59 because of the contoured design.
02:01 The edges are rounded and less sharp,
02:03 so they dig into your hands less.
02:05 Yes, the ringer switch is dead.
02:09 The action button replaces it, and it's one of the best
02:12 and also most frustrating things about the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
02:16 But let me start with the good news.
02:17 The button still silences calls with a long press
02:20 if you have the silent mode setting assigned.
02:22 But in the Settings app, you can configure the action button
02:25 to do all sorts of things, including launching the camera,
02:28 voice recorder, flashlight, translate, and more.
02:31 And you can even pick specific actions from within an app,
02:34 like launching straight into a selfie.
02:36 If you want even more options,
02:37 the action button works in sync with the Shortcuts app,
02:40 so you can assign it to launch any app you want
02:42 with a long press or create shortcuts to do things
02:45 like message a specific contact, which is nice to have
02:49 when I want to let the family know
02:50 I'm on the way or running late.
02:52 My problem with the action button
02:54 is that it supports only one function at a time.
02:56 So if you want to launch the camera,
02:58 you can't use it to also view calls.
03:00 My advice to Apple would be to let people perform
03:03 app shortcuts with a double press
03:05 and keep the long press for silent mode.
03:07 The iPhone 15 Pro Max has USB-C charging,
03:09 and it's about time.
03:10 Apple has finally retired the Lightning port
03:13 after over a decade, which they are clearly being forced
03:16 to do against their will due to EU regulations.
03:19 But I do appreciate not having to carry around
03:21 an extra cable just to charge my iPhone
03:23 since so many of my daily devices use USB-C.
03:26 With this port, you can also charge
03:28 your other Apple gadgets,
03:30 including the newly upgraded AirPods Pro
03:33 with USB-C charging case.
03:35 If you want to transfer photos and videos quickly
03:38 to your Mac or external drive,
03:40 the iPhone 15 Pro Max supports USB 3 for 10 gigabit speeds.
03:45 Although that's not exactly the state of the art,
03:47 several other phones have the newer 3.2 standard.
03:51 There's actually not that much new
03:52 with the iPhone 15 Pro Max's display,
03:54 with the exception of thinner bezels
03:56 around the 6.7 inch OLED panel.
03:58 Apple says you still get 1600 nits of peak brightness
04:01 and 2000 nits outdoors.
04:03 In our tests, the Pro Max hit a max of 1550 nits
04:06 when playing HDR content,
04:08 and the color reproduction remains strong,
04:10 which I noticed when watching the trailer for "Aquaman 2."
04:14 The underwater world's colors looked vibrant
04:16 and the details seemed pretty sharp.
04:18 The ProMotion display continues to offer
04:20 120 hertz refresh rates,
04:22 so you get smooth scrolling and animations.
04:25 And with the always-on display,
04:26 you can still check notifications, the time, and more
04:29 without having to unlock your iPhone.
04:32 I've been using it for the last year
04:33 on the iPhone 14 Pro Max,
04:35 and I like it, even though it uses some power,
04:37 and iPhone 13 Pro owners will definitely want to upgrade.
04:40 Another reason that you might want to upgrade
04:41 from the iPhone 13 Pro is the dynamic island,
04:44 which sits at the top of the display.
04:46 I use this all the time for third-party apps
04:48 like Spotify, United Airlines,
04:50 and for checking the latest status on my Uber ride.
04:53 You can see I can always check my status just like that.
04:58 So even if I go into another app,
05:01 I can still see my status right here
05:03 in terms of how far it is away, so it's pretty convenient.
05:06 The iPhone 15 Pro Max's biggest camera upgrade
05:10 has it playing catch-up to the competition
05:12 when it comes to zoom,
05:13 but it surpasses the best camera phones
05:15 in our low-light testing.
05:17 Sorry, Pixel.
05:18 Let's start with the zoom.
05:19 A new tetraprism lens achieves a 5X optical zoom,
05:22 which is a big jump up from the 3X on the previous model
05:26 and the regular iPhone 15 Pro.
05:28 In our side-by-side testing with the Galaxy S23 Ultra,
05:30 the iPhone 15 Pro Max delivered a sharper
05:33 and warmer pic at 5X,
05:34 but at 25X digital zoom,
05:36 the iPhone shot has more noise
05:38 and less definition than Samsung's.
05:40 It was a similar story with this photo of an FDNY boat.
05:43 At 5X, the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers the crispest details
05:47 both on the boat and in the surrounding water,
05:49 but at 25X zoom, the iPhone falls behind
05:52 both the Pixel 7 Pro and especially the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
05:55 Check out the Never Forget text on the sign.
05:58 What impresses me most
05:59 is the iPhone 15 Pro Max's night mode performance.
06:02 It delivers the most definition in this skull
06:04 and the text on the book spines.
06:06 The Pixel and Galaxy look cloudier,
06:08 especially around the TV.
06:10 And so what about portraits?
06:11 I give the edge to the Pixel 7 Pro
06:13 in this photo taken in Little Island Park
06:15 with the New York City skyline in the background.
06:17 My face and blue shirt pop more.
06:19 However, the iPhone 15 Pro Max
06:21 wins with this selfie portrait
06:23 versus the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
06:25 Samsung's phone smoothed over my face too much,
06:28 while you can really make out my eyes
06:30 and individual strands of hair in the iPhone's pic.
06:32 The iPhone 15 Pro Max takes a deliciously colorful photo
06:36 of this fruit tart,
06:37 but I give the nod to the Pixel 7 Pro
06:38 because the blueberries have a bit more detail.
06:41 In this extreme macro closeup of a white poppy flower,
06:43 the iPhone 15 Pro Max beats the Pixel 7 Pro
06:46 in the very center of the stigma,
06:48 although the petals look pretty good on the Pixel pic.
06:51 Based on my testing,
06:52 the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers breathtaking video quality,
06:55 and the 5X zoom lets you get closer to the action
06:57 than ever before.
06:58 Check out this 4K clip of a yacht on the Hudson River.
07:01 As I zoom in,
07:02 you can make out the reflection of the rippling water
07:04 on the back window as the reeds sway in the foreground.
07:07 The iPhone 15 Pro Max also captured crisp footage
07:10 of a giant St. Bernard in Madison Square Park,
07:12 surrounded by other pups.
07:14 Even with a mix of sun and shadows,
07:15 the video looks clear with even exposure.
07:18 The iPhone 15 Pro Max has the potential
07:21 to be the best gaming phone ever,
07:23 and that's thanks to the new A17 Pro chip.
07:26 Yes, it offers 10% faster CPU speed,
07:28 and it's twice as fast at machine learning tasks,
07:31 but the all-new six-core GPU is the biggest deal.
07:34 You can literally play console-quality games,
07:36 complete with ray-tracing tech,
07:38 for the most realistic lighting effects on a phone.
07:41 On Geekbench, which measures overall performance,
07:43 the iPhone 15 Pro Max notched a single-core score of 2783
07:47 and a multi-core score of 6945.
07:50 That's a substantial leap
07:51 from the Galaxy S23 Ultra's Snapdragon HN2 chip,
07:54 and well above the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
07:57 The iPhone 15 Pro Max's graphics scores
07:59 were just as impressive,
08:00 as it hit 92 frames per second in 3DMark Wildlife Unlimited.
08:04 That's about 25% faster than the iPhone 14 Pro Max,
08:07 and beat the Galaxy S23 Ultra's 87 frames per second.
08:11 We also timed how long it takes to transcode a 4K video
08:14 to 1080p in the Adobe Premiere Rush app.
08:17 The iPhone 15 Pro Max needed just 24.5 seconds,
08:21 compared to 30 seconds for the iPhone 14 Pro Max,
08:24 and 39 seconds for the Samsung.
08:26 The iPhone 15 Pro Max somehow eclipses the epic battery life
08:29 from the iPhone 14 Pro Max in our battery testing,
08:32 which involves continuous web surfing over 5G.
08:35 The new Pro Max lasted a whopping 14 hours and two minutes.
08:39 The previous model endured for 13.39.
08:42 This runtime is also about an hour longer
08:44 than the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
08:46 Unfortunately, the iPhone 15 Pro Max
08:48 still offers the same 20-watt charging speeds.
08:52 Apple says you should get to 50% in 30 minutes,
08:54 but we got to only 41%.
08:57 Other Android phones offer faster charging.
08:59 For example, the Galaxy S23 Ultra got to 57%
09:02 in the same amount of time with its 45-watt charger.
09:05 So what about software?
09:06 iOS 17 brings a number of enhancements
09:08 to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and here's some of my favorites.
09:11 For one, I like that you can leverage
09:13 the always-on display for standby mode,
09:15 which turns your iPhone into a pseudo alarm clock
09:18 and smart display in one.
09:20 I also like NameDrop for quickly sharing your contact info
09:23 with people with just a tap.
09:25 And Live Voicemail will transcribe incoming messages
09:28 for you in real time,
09:29 so you can decide whether it's worth picking up.
09:33 The iPhone 15 Pro Max actually isn't just
09:35 an iterative upgrade for a change.
09:37 You get a stronger and lighter design from titanium
09:39 that makes a big difference in everyday use,
09:41 as well as a smart replacement for the ringer switch
09:44 in the action button.
09:45 Based on my camera testing, the iPhone 15 Pro Max
09:48 arguably offers the best photo quality around,
09:50 especially in low light, and the bigger 5X zoom
09:53 is a great upgrade I've been waiting for.
09:55 Add in the powerful A17 Pro chip for next-gen gaming,
09:58 the USB-C port, and super-long battery life,
10:01 and you have the best iPhone money can buy.
10:03 Yes, the iPhone 15 Pro is good,
10:05 but I'd rather have the longer endurance,
10:07 bigger screen, and bigger zoom.
10:10 For more on the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
10:12 check out my in-depth review on tomsguide.com
10:14 and follow us @tomsguide on YouTube,
10:16 TikTok, Instagram, and more.
10:18 I'm Mark Spoonhauer, and I'd love to hear from you
10:20 about what you think about the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
10:22 Are you gonna upgrade?
10:23 Let us know in the comments.
10:25 (upbeat music)
10:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]