Apple iPhone 15 Pro review

Video recording

The iPhone 15 Pro can record video at up to 4K60 with all of its four cameras. 4K24 is also available across the board if you're after a more cinematic motion look. All videos benefit from class-leading stabilization - Apple calls this cinematic video stabilization (with Enhanced Stabilization being ON by default). The slow-mo options max out at 1080p at 240fps.

Action mode is present - it uses the ultrawide camera at 60fps. It crops heavily from the 4K footage (that's why the resolution is 2.8K) and delivers super smooth and incredibly stabilized video. It is available to all rear cameras and can be shot at any resolution and frame rate, but, as we pointed out, its main hardware is the ultrawide camera at 2.8K@60fps.

The iPhone 15 Pro supports Cinematic mode (rack focus) up to 4K at 30fps.

ProRes can now be shot in 4K60 if you hook up an external USB 3 storage drive. When recording internally, you're limited to 4K30 on iPhone 15 Pros 256GB and up, while the 128GB version is capped at 1080p30. Support for Log encoding is also present for ProRes. And there will be an option for Spatial Video capturing, so you can play your iPhone videos in 3D on Apple Vision Pro.

You can capture HDR videos straight into the Dolby Vision format up to the same maximum 4K60. You can edit these videos on the go on your phone; you can upload them on YouTube or any other popular platform or even send them to your friends. The Dolby Vision information is saved outside of the video stream, so the video will look normal to any non-HDR player/screen and will be color-boosted on any Dolby Vision-compatible player and display.

You also have a choice between H.265 HEVC and H.264 video encoders. The High-Efficiency mode uses H.265 and is mandatory for 4K60 and HDR footage, while the More Compatible mode (H.264) provides easier playback across different devices.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max, just like the previous iPhones, captures wide stereo audio for the videos at about 192kbps.

Before we begin, we want to applaud the iPhone camcorder for shooting equally great 30fps and 60fps videos across all resolutions. And even with the always-on electronic stabilization, which usually softens other videos, the iPhones still deliver outstanding video quality.

Daylight video quality

It's hard to fault the video output of any of the iPhone 15 Pro's 4 cameras. The main unit's 4K clips have excellent levels of resolved detail and pair that with natual-looking processing. Dynamic range is very wide, while also maintaining high overall contrast. The auto white balance is dependable and color saturation is really likable - more so than in stills.

The 2x zoomed videos are a bit softer, but still notably better than anything we can think of that's been captured at 2x on a primary camera.

The telephoto's 4K is also looking great, with matching colors and a wide dynamic range. Pixel-level sharpness is a notch below what the main camera can do, but it's still plenty good enough.

The ultrawide maintains the same overall look, so consistency is once again a strong suit of the iPhone camera system. Sharpness is good on the ultrawide, all the way to the corners.

Selfie videos are also super nice, with lively skin tones and wide dynamic range, though sharpness isn't the absolute best.

Low-light video quality

Low-light videos from the main camera are very good. The iPhone exposes nicely bright in these conditions, maintains a wide dynamic range and excellent color rendition. Examining on a pixel level, you can't really call this pin-sharp footage, but it's very good nonetheless and the camera captures good detail.

A long-standing peculiarity (possibly even an 'issue') with iPhone video capture at night is the ghosting from point light sources that results in bright, colorful spots from internal reflections in the lens. It's present here too.

2x clips are a bit hazier, but very much usable still, particularly if you avoid pixel-peeping.

The telephoto, on the other hand, doesn't particularly enjoy capturing videos in the dark. We found the iPhone tends to switch to a crop from the main camera in these conditions, resulting in rather low sharpness.

The ultrawide does fare better than the telephoto in terms of sharpness, though it's not setting the standard either. We do like the bright exposure, wide dynamic range and the color rendition.

Stabilization

Where iPhones do usually set the standard is in stabilization and the 15 Pro is no different. All three cameras offer class-leading results, whether we're talking about ironing out walking shake, panning, or just keeping steady when pointing the phone in one direction.

Here's a glimpse of how the Apple iPhone 15 Pro compares to rivals in our Video compare tool. Head over there for the complete picture.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro against the iPhone 14 Pro and the Galaxy S23 in our Video compare tool