Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max review

28 September 2023


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People here make fun of Exynos being such a "powerfull" heating beast and underperforming :)) . Anyway, i own 12 Pro Max and another banned phone, both really good phones. I was so impressed by 15 Pro Max that i tought "Finally the day has come, this is the year i will make the change from 12 PM to 15 PM ", but no thanks after i saw JerryRig. The Titanium marketing crap was impressive. The heating issue was another cherry on the cake... Damn, i have to wait another year, maybe next year I will replace my 12 PM. I thought 15 PM will be something extraordinary, but after some days it has become something un-extraordinary for me atleast. Nice job Apple!

    • J
    • Jeffrey Kyle JACKSON
    • GXs
    • 30 Sep 2023

    It's a best cellular phone. But, I will wait for 8K 120 Fps Camera on Iphone. Thanks

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • S6%
      • 30 Sep 2023

      Mani, 30 Sep 2023Why are mobiles using 5x zoom settings for portaits? 3x or ... moreWhat are you talking about? There is no such thing as a "DSLR focal length".

        • d
        • dfi
        • u7V
        • 30 Sep 2023

        why usb2 cable?? not usb3 or 4 ??

          • A
          • Adam
          • Jd7
          • 30 Sep 2023

          Thank you for talking about "signal reception".
          This should be a part of every phone review.

            If the back glass cracking easily is a deal-breaker for you, then you must be high on drugs.

            Just put on a case, and even if you sit on it, it won't break. You won't purposely bend it either, would you? Unless you're Jerryrigeverything.

              • J
              • JLC
              • pss
              • 30 Sep 2023

              Nick Tegrataker, 30 Sep 2023"equivalent of 7 lenses" "2x starting at ult... moreLook, you had quoted Apple's generic description from gheir product page (=marketing page) as source, and said they would not get away with it if what they say were not true. But what you had quoted applies to every other manufacturers, too. The whole output is in all smartphones a combination of multiple images and algorithms. The difference is, Apple is pretending they were doindg something special while the only reason for 24 MP output in all 3 focal lengths is a distraction from the fact that it is basically a cropping and resizing as GSMArena demonstrated and the anonymous writer had pointed out.
              Btw,, why not 20MP, or 18MP? I'll tell you: 24 MP is the output you get by the 1,5x "lens" out of the box without resizing. If Apple was honest, they would have simply saved 48MP in case of 1x (which they still allow), 36MP in case of 1.25 and 24MP in case of 1.5. And just save them in "hiec" format like all others have been doing, too.
              Edit: they alost pretended that saving in "hiec" format was something new. Apple's behaviour is simply disgusting, and needs to be pounted out.

                • M
                • Mani
                • tEq
                • 30 Sep 2023

                Why are mobiles using 5x zoom settings for portaits? 3x or 3.2x gives best DSLR focal length type result.

                  Now it seems like on every new redesign, Apple intentionally set the battery life to be worse than previous iPhones. Then they “fix” it next year so people would upgrade. The did it with the iPhone 12, now with 15. It gets annoying fast considering the prices Apple is charging. Kinda lame for a trillion dollar company to behave this way.

                    • k
                    • kurt
                    • jx{
                    • 30 Sep 2023

                    4.6 stars for a phone you cant replace any parts on yourself without the software blocking you out of features like the camera.

                    Back glass is replaceable this time but it breaks way more frequently, classic apple move.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • 33{
                      • 30 Sep 2023

                      "Last year, we got 92% on our 14 Pro Max and iOS 16. This year, we decided to test it again on iOS 17, and we got 76%."

                      Now this is interesting. I wonder if it has got to do with iOS 17 optimization.

                        Apple cheapened out by removing the support panel for the back glass, thus making it more fragile than previous iPhones. This is just sad for such an expensive phone and a trillion dollar company, yet cutting corners in every possible way.

                          JLC, 30 Sep 2023Is it the same sourxe that said IPhones with Ultra wide, ma... more"equivalent of 7 lenses" "2x starting at ultra wide"
                          These are Apple's marketing jargons and they are not straight up lying to you about it even though still extremely *misleading* and obviously they should never have marketed it like they did.

                          Regarding the 24MP output, there's nothing misleading about simply saying "combining the best pixels from a super‑high‑resolution image with another that’s optimised for light capture" - it means exactly what it means, a full resolution output is being combined with a pixel-binned output, and the level of detail you get from such 24MP photos is exactly what you would expect from it, that is, more detailed than the 12MP shot but less so than 48MP shot from the same camera. Regardless of how you upscale the 12MP shot taken at 24mm to 24MP, you would never match the detail level of the default 24MP shot (This is nothing to do with whatever the pseudo 28/35mm focal length that Apple is trying to sell you, by the way).

                            • J
                            • JLC
                            • pss
                            • 30 Sep 2023

                            Nick Tegrataker, 29 Sep 2023From Apple's own product page on iPhone 15 Pro: &qu... moreIs it the same sourxe that said IPhones with Ultra wide, main and 2x zoom would offer 4x zoom,starting at Ultra wide? Is it the same product page that says iPhone 15 Pro Max would offer the equivalent of 7 lenses?
                            The anonymous writer's message is correct, even if simplified. All those pseudo lenses are invented only to pretend to have something new. Just look at the experiment described by GSMArena in the text. It actually proves that the anonymous writer is correct, and you proves that Apple can easily fool people. It is absolutely unnecessary to introduce 24 MP pictures that at the end are nothing but resized pictures.

                              • S
                              • Shiny Dave
                              • nxt
                              • 30 Sep 2023

                              DaFink, 29 Sep 2023Thanks dude 👍 Yeah like you I’m happy that can switch ba... moreI've stuck with Android ever since I picked the Dell Streak in 2010 because it was the only phone I could use with a big enough screen to handle my coordination difficulties. Kind of hilarious now in this phablet era, and my phone sizes have since varied quite a bit, but I've basically remained on this side of the walled garden through inertia. If the S23 range dumped Exynos on me then I'd probably have seriously considered this iPhone generation (or an older one refurbished, but the Lightning cable would have been a barrier then). Instead, Samsung stepped up with global Snapdragon and I finally have a legit upgrade path from my S20 FE 5G (and if that phone didn't exist I'd have likely given Apple a very long look in 2021 too).

                              Now that switching is easier than it was, cross-shopping Apple with Android is a legit move. I'm going S23 of some variety but Samsung legitimately earned this one.

                                -Trix-, 29 Sep 2023Overall iPhone photos are very true to life, it's one ... moreI disagree - iPhone has a tendency to oversaturate highlights (Blue light sources are completely crushed in lowlight/indoor, a light skin turning orange when the sun is directly shining onto it) crush shadows in high contrast scenes and put a fairly noticeable yellow-green tint on pretty much every single photo. I find Apple's tonemapping to be so offensively bad to the point that I turn it off and use Adobe's default colour profile whenever I edit ProRAW (Not that I take many photos with my iPhone 13 Pro to begin with).

                                  • J
                                  • Jman
                                  • pLh
                                  • 30 Sep 2023

                                  DaFink, 29 Sep 2023Thanks dude 👍 Yeah like you I’m happy that can switch ba... moreS23 Ultra is a good choice, that was my other option as I've have enjoyed using Samsung phones (had the S7 Edge, S9, and the Note 10+, the last being probably the best i've ever had). If My Pro Max starts becoming capable of frying eggs, I may opt for the Pixel 8 Pro depending on the battery life. Flagships pretty much all do the same thing these days, and it's nice to have so many choices.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • pN4
                                    • 29 Sep 2023

                                    4.6 for a phone that blocks repairs via software? No thanks

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • gDf
                                      • 29 Sep 2023

                                      "there isn't a discernible difference between Apple's 28mm shot and our simple crop-and-upscale."
                                      It's not a simple crop and upscale. Adobe's Preserve Details 2.0 uses a neural network, this was described by Adobe several years ago.

                                        Jman, 29 Sep 2023Good summary, one of the reasons why I switched from Pixel ... moreThanks dude 👍

                                        Yeah like you I’m happy that can switch back and forth between Android and iOS at will. In fact when this 15 Pro Max was feeling warm during set up and restore, which I didn’t think anything of at first (it’s quite normal when doing a set up after all), but then all this noise about over heating started blowing up (sorry for the pun), and in a moment of panic I ordered an S23 ultra for pick up from a store.

                                        I thought, well if this thing does have some kind of defect I’ll simply return it, and maybe take the opportunity to jump back over to Android for a while. Well, the Pro Max has calmed down now everything is properly set up and restored, and works as expected. But I still have a week to return if it does start going nuclear for whatever reason, and I still have that 23 Ultra on order.

                                        Going back to Android is my current plan B, but only because my own personnel preference slightly puts iOS ahead, doesn’t mean I don’t have a great appreciation for Android though. Guess we are lucky we are not like those people say they cannot use one or the other.