iPhone 15 Pro Max Review: Is it Worth It? | Tom's Guide

  • 7 months ago
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.

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00:00 The iPhone 15 Pro Max ditches the stainless steel sides for a titanium design, and it's
00:04 a big deal.
00:05 Why?
00:06 Because the space-age grade 5 titanium Apple uses is stronger yet lighter.
00:10 Yes, it's the same titanium used on the Mars rover.
00:13 The natural titanium color has grown on me thanks to its sci-fi vibe.
00:17 The blue titanium is nice, though, and you can pick up the phone in silver and black
00:21 as well.
00:22 The iPhone 15 Pro Max weighs 7.8 ounces compared to 8.5 ounces for the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
00:30 I really notice the difference when I have the phone in my hand and in my pocket.
00:34 The new Pro Max is also more compact, measuring 6.29 x 3.02 x 0.32 inches versus 6.33 x 3.05
00:43 x 0.31 inches before.
00:45 So while the new iPhone is a tad thicker, it's easier to use with one hand.
00:49 It's the first big-screen iPhone that doesn't feel like one.
00:54 The iPhone 15 Pro Max feels better, too, because of the contoured design.
00:57 The edges are rounded and less sharp, so they dig into your hands less.
01:03 Yes, the ringer switch is dead.
01:06 The action button replaces it, and it's one of the best and also most frustrating things
01:11 about the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
01:13 But let me start with the good news.
01:14 The button still silences calls with a long press if you have the silent mode setting
01:18 assigned.
01:19 But in the Settings app, you can configure the action button to do all sorts of things,
01:23 including launching the camera, voice recorder, flashlight, translate, and more.
01:28 And you can even pick specific actions from within an app, like launching straight into
01:32 a selfie.
01:33 If you want even more options, the action button works in sync with the Shortcuts app,
01:36 so you can assign it to launch any app you want with a long press, or create shortcuts
01:41 to do things like message a specific contact, which is nice to have when I want to let the
01:46 family know I'm on the way or running late.
01:49 My problem with the action button is that it supports only one function at a time, so
01:53 if you want to launch the camera, you can't use it to also view calls.
01:57 My advice to Apple would be to let people perform app shortcuts with a double press
02:01 and keep the long press for silent mode.
02:03 The iPhone 15 Pro Max has USB-C charging, and it's about time.
02:07 Apple has finally retired the Lightning port after over a decade, which they are clearly
02:11 being forced to do against their will due to EU regulations.
02:15 But I do appreciate not having to carry around an extra cable just to charge my iPhone, since
02:20 so many of my daily devices use USB-C.
02:23 With this port, you can also charge your other Apple gadgets, including the newly upgraded
02:28 AirPods Pro with USB-C charging case.
02:32 If you want to transfer photos and videos quickly to your Mac or external drive, the
02:37 iPhone 15 Pro Max supports USB 3 for 10 gigabit speeds.
02:41 Although that's not exactly the state of the art, several other phones have the newer
02:45 3.2 standard.
02:47 There's actually not that much new with the iPhone 15 Pro Max's display, with the
02:51 exception of thinner bezels around the 6.7-inch OLED panel.
02:55 Apple says you still get 1600 nits of peak brightness and 2000 nits outdoors.
02:59 In our tests, the Pro Max hit a max of 1550 nits when playing HDR content, and the color
03:05 reproduction remains strong, which I noticed when watching the trailer for Aquaman 2.
03:10 The underwater world's colors looked vibrant and the details seemed pretty sharp.
03:15 The ProMotion display continues to offer 120Hz refresh rates, so you get smooth scrolling
03:20 and animations.
03:21 And with the Always-On display, you can still check notifications, the time, and more without
03:26 having to unlock your iPhone.
03:28 I've been using it for the last year on the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and I like it, even
03:32 though it uses some power, and iPhone 13 Pro owners will definitely want to upgrade.
03:37 Another reason that you might want to upgrade from the iPhone 13 Pro is the Dynamic Island,
03:40 which sits at the top of the display.
03:42 I use this all the time for third-party apps like Spotify, United Airlines, and for checking
03:47 the latest status on my Uber ride.
03:50 You can see I can always check my status just like that.
03:55 So even if I go into another app, I can still see my status right here in terms of how far
04:00 it is away.
04:01 So it's pretty convenient.
04:04 The iPhone 15 Pro Max's biggest camera upgrade has it playing catch-up to the competition
04:08 when it comes to zoom, but it surpasses the best camera phones in our low-light testing.
04:13 Sorry, Pixel.
04:14 Let's start with the zoom.
04:15 A new tetraprism lens achieves a 5x optical zoom, which is a big jump up from the 3x on
04:21 the previous model and the regular iPhone 15 Pro.
04:24 In our side-by-side testing with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the iPhone 15 Pro Max delivered
04:28 a sharper and warmer pic at 5x, but at 25x digital zoom, the iPhone shot has more noise
04:34 and less definition than Samsung's.
04:36 It was a similar story with this photo of an FDNY boat.
04:39 At 5x, the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers the crispest details both on the boat and in the surrounding
04:45 water, but at 25x zoom, the iPhone falls behind both the Pixel 7 Pro and especially the Galaxy
04:51 S23 Ultra.
04:52 Check out the "Never Forget" text on the sign.
04:54 What impresses me most is the iPhone 15 Pro Max's night mode performance.
04:58 It delivers the most definition in this skull and the text on the book spines.
05:02 The Pixel and Galaxy look cloudier, especially around the TV.
05:06 What about portraits?
05:07 I give the edge to the Pixel 7 Pro in this photo taken in Little Island Park with the
05:12 New York City skyline in the background.
05:14 My face and blue shirt pop more.
05:16 However, the iPhone 15 Pro Max wins with this selfie portrait versus the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
05:21 Samsung's phone smoothed over my face too much, while you can really make out my eyes
05:26 and individual strands of hair in the iPhone's pic.
05:29 The iPhone 15 Pro Max takes a deliciously colorful photo of this fruit tart, but I give
05:33 the nod to the Pixel 7 Pro because the blueberries have a bit more detail.
05:37 In this extreme macro close-up of a white poppy flower, the iPhone 15 Pro Max beats
05:42 the Pixel 7 Pro in the very center of the stigma, although the petals look pretty good
05:46 on the Pixel pic.
05:47 Based on my testing, the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers breathtaking video quality, and the
05:51 5x zoom lets you get closer to the action than ever before.
05:55 Check out this 4K clip of a yacht on the Hudson River.
05:57 As I zoom in, you can make out the reflection of the rippling water on the back window as
06:01 the reeds sway in the foreground.
06:03 The iPhone 15 Pro Max also captured crisp footage of a giant St. Bernard in Madison
06:08 Square Park, surrounded by other pups.
06:10 Even with a mix of sun and shadows, the video looks clear with even exposure.
06:16 The iPhone 15 Pro Max has the potential to be the best gaming phone ever, and that's
06:20 thanks to the new A17 Pro chip.
06:22 Yes, it offers 10% faster CPU speed, and it's twice as fast at machine learning tasks.
06:27 But the all-new 6-core GPU is the biggest deal.
06:30 You can literally play console-quality games, complete with ray-tracing tech, for the most
06:35 realistic lighting effects on a phone.
06:37 On Geekbench, which measures overall performance, the iPhone 15 Pro Max notched a single-core
06:42 score of 2783 and a multi-core score of 6945.
06:45 That's a substantial leap from the Galaxy S23 Ultra's Snapdragon HN2 chip, and well
06:51 above the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
06:53 The iPhone 15 Pro Max's graphics scores were just as impressive, as it hit 92 frames
06:57 per second in 3DMark Wildlife Unlimited.
07:00 That's about 25% faster than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and beat the Galaxy S23 Ultra's
07:06 87 frames per second.
07:07 We also timed how long it takes to transcode a 4K video to 1080p in the Adobe Premiere
07:12 Rush app.
07:13 The iPhone 15 Pro Max needed just 24.5 seconds, compared to 30 seconds for the iPhone 14 Pro
07:19 Max and 39 seconds for the Samsung.
07:22 The iPhone 15 Pro Max somehow eclipses the epic battery life from the iPhone 14 Pro Max
07:27 in our battery testing, which involves continuous web-surfing over 5G.
07:31 The new Pro Max lasted a whopping 14 hours and 2 minutes.
07:35 The previous model endured for 13.39.
07:38 This runtime is also about an hour longer than the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
07:43 Unfortunately, the iPhone 15 Pro Max still offers the same 20-watt charging speeds.
07:48 Apple says you should get to 50% in 30 minutes, but we got to only 41%.
07:53 Other Android phones offer faster charging.
07:55 For example, the Galaxy S23 Ultra got to 57% in the same amount of time with its 45-watt
08:01 charger.
08:02 So what about software?
08:03 iOS 17 brings a number of enhancements to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and here's some of
08:07 my favorites.
08:08 For one, I like that you can leverage the Always-On Display for Standby Mode, which
08:12 turns your iPhone into a pseudo-alarm clock and smart display in one.
08:16 I also like NameDrop for quickly sharing your contact info with people with just a tap.
08:22 And Live Voicemail will transcribe incoming messages for you in real-time so you can decide
08:27 whether it's worth picking up.
08:29 The iPhone 15 Pro Max actually isn't just an iterative upgrade for a change.
08:33 You get a stronger and lighter design from titanium that makes a big difference in everyday
08:37 use, as well as a smart replacement for the ringer switch and the action button.
08:41 Based on my camera testing, the iPhone 15 Pro Max arguably offers the best photo quality
08:46 around, especially in low light.
08:48 And the bigger 5X zoom is a great upgrade I've been waiting for.
08:52 Add in the powerful A17 Pro chip for next-gen gaming, the USB-C port, and super-long battery
08:57 life, and you have the best iPhone money can buy.
08:59 Yes, the iPhone 15 Pro is good, but I'd rather have the longer endurance, bigger screen,
09:05 and bigger zoom.
09:06 For more on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, check out my in-depth review on Tom's Guide.com and
09:10 follow us @tomsguide on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and more.
09:14 I'm Mark Spoonhauer, and I'd love to hear from you about what you think about the iPhone
09:18 15 Pro Max.
09:19 Are you going to upgrade?
09:20 Let us know in the comments.
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