Apple iPhone 15 Pro long-term review

Camera

The camera hardware on the iPhone 15 Pro was similar to that on the iPhone 14 Pro, with most of the changes coming through the software. The only notable hardware change was on the iPhone 15 Pro Max with its new 5x optical zoom camera but the model we are discussing today sticks to the 3x telephoto from the previous generation.

Let's talk about image quality in general first before moving on to some of the software features. Our iPhone photo gallery currently has over 2300 items, of which over 2000 are photos and the rest are videos. Broadly speaking, the image quality is very good. Things that stand out include the level of detail, which is a cut above the competition due to the use of higher-resolution 24MP files as well as the use of good optics, which means a lot of the detail is captured in-camera as opposed to being added in post, resulting in very detailed files. You can even shoot 48MP RAW files if you are after every bit of that fine detail, making this a good camera for landscape shots.

Main camera samples

The color performance has become somewhat predictable on iPhones as the color rendition has a distinct quality to it that has become recognizable. The camera prefers warmer tones that especially like to bring out the greens and oranges in the scene. Similarly, skin tones also have a warm lushness to them, especially for darker tones, which can often look quite flattering. Aside from that, the camera tends to respect whatever colors are present in the scene, and white balancing is also generally quite reliable.

The 3x telephoto camera is a capable tool in the iPhone 15 Pro's arsenal and one we found ourselves using the most. It has a great perspective that perfectly isolates the subject with good background compression without being too intimate like some other zoom cameras. And if you do want to punch in further, 5x and even 6x zoom can provide perfectly usable results. In fact, many of the telephoto samples here are at 5x or higher.

Telephoto samples

In that sense, the iPhone 15 Pro telephoto camera may be better than that of the iPhone 15 Pro Max; while the latter has to use digital zoom within the 1-5x range, the iPhone 15 Pro can switch to optical at just 3x. This means you will have superior image quality at the more commonly used 3x factor while also having perfectly good 5x images. The Max can meanwhile only flex its muscles over 5x factors while having less than stellar quality in the more commonly used ranges.

Telephoto samples

One of the new software features we appreciated on the iPhone 15 Pro was the ability to tap the 1x button to switch from a 24mm equivalent perspective to 28mm and 35mm. This was a great addition as there are few things as creatively insipid as the 24mm perspective and having a button to punch in slightly is not only convenient but can vastly improve some compositions.

Another feature we appreciated was the ability to tap on the screen and automatically engage portrait mode in the background. The phone would automatically save the depth information for that image letting you then go into the editor and create further subject isolation, which looked especially good with the telephoto camera. Apple's depth of field effect is also very good these days, with a nice, smooth roll-off and good edge detection. We have come a long way from the days of the iPhone 7 Plus and there are times you must absolutely be using the portrait blur feature to enhance your shots.

Edited portrait mode samples

A less talked about aspect of smartphone photography is what it's like to edit the images right there on the phone itself. Apple does a better job of this than most with a bunch of options for you to adjust after the fact. The HEIF images also hold up very well to post-processing without falling apart at the seams. Apple also has some of the most tasteful filters included in its Photos app and even though they are few they usually give great results without overly altering the images.

Another thing Apple does well that isn't directly related to image quality is the HDR effect in the Photos app. While Android manufacturers finally decided to catch up last year, Apple has been doing actual high dynamic range visualization for photos captured by the phone since the iPhone X days and it looks stunning to this day. Moreover, unlike many of the Android implementations we have seen, Apple's HDR effect stays in place even after you edit the image and persists while you are editing it.

If there is a chink in the iPhone 15 Pro's camera hardware armor, it's the ultra-wide camera. While not bad by any means, it's fairly unremarkable and not up to the phone's otherwise high standards. It also starts falling behind considerably when the light levels start dropping. Still, for the most part, it's fine but definitely something due for improvement in the next version.

Ultrawide camera samples

Some other camera annoyances are also worth discussing. We have been using iPhones for years now and one thing that hasn't changed at all is how bad the phones are at detecting the phone's orientation when you launch the camera app. This is especially true if you are pointing the camera down at an angle instead of perpendicular to the ground. At this point, we are trained to look at the camera UI, realize the phone still thinks it's in portrait even though it's in landscape, tilt it upright for it to correct itself, and then tilt back down to take the shot. If you don't pay attention then you are going to end up with a lot of portrait orientation shots of your landscape subjects.

The camera app still only has a handful of settings you can change even on this so-called Pro model and shooting in RAW affords you no additional customizability for adjusting the image prior to taking the shot. For that, you will have to download third-party camera apps. Many of the useful settings are also buried in the Settings app, which is genuinely frustrating when you want to change something quickly.

While not a complaint exclusive to this phone, the main and telephoto cameras have terrible closest focusing distances. You need to be at least a foot away from the main lens and 2-3 feet away from the telephoto lens for them to focus on the subject. The phone simply won't use the telephoto camera if it's even close to getting out of focus and there's no way to lock the camera to any one lens without resorting to third-party apps again. Of course, a macro mode exists which uses the ultra-wide camera but it doesn't have the best image quality or optics.

Lastly, we will discuss the video recording capabilities. This is Apple's most capable video recording camera yet and in terms of image quality, it is often well ahead of the competition. Whether it's the level of detail (even at lower resolutions like 1080p) the color reproduction, or just the stabilization. Outside of contrived scenarios, the iPhone 15 Pro is taking the best video nine out of ten times.

What has always taken the iPhone video recording game to the next level over the last two Pro models was the inclusion of ProRes recording, Apple's high bitrate codec that is popularly used in professional workflows in the film and television industry. With the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple went one step ahead and added support for the log gamma profile, which records a flat, low-contrast video with all the shadow and highlight detail, which makes it exceptionally flexible for post-production workflows.

Working with the ProRes files from the iPhone 15 Pro was a breeze as the codec is supported by all the major NLEs. The level of detail and dynamic range is on a completely different level from any other smartphone video we have seen. More importantly, it bypasses Apple's color science, which it applies to the non-ProRes videos. This means you can inject your own color preferences and the videos have enough latitude to make extreme adjustments without crumbling like more compressed formats. It's not exactly RAW video but it's as close as you can get to it on a phone today.

The phone can capture ProRes in 4K at up to 30fps internally, which is pretty good. Unfortunately, 60fps requires connecting an external USB-C SSD. This felt silly on our 1TB review unit, which had plenty of space left for at least an hour of 4K 60fps recording. Moreover, if you have the 128GB model, you are only limited to 1080p 30fps unless you plug in that external SSD. So if you are serious about video an external SSD is a worthwhile purchase and is actually a lot cheaper than paying Apple's exorbitant internal storage prices.