It had to happen, sooner or later, and it did. Furthermore, it was without hesitation, as these things should be. I got the iPhone 15 Pro in the pre-booking period and it arrived on September 22 like clockwork. After ten days with him, I'll tell you my impressions.
I had decided to renew my iPhone 11 Pro for a long time, which I coincidentally purchased in New York, in the legendary Apple store on Fifth Avenue, located in one of the corners of the emblematic Central Park. And not for nothing, it continues to work like silk, fast, agile, without it being noticeable that 4 years have passed since it was presented and I bought it while on a trip.
From impulse to meditation
This is what iPhones have, that they are durable and the only thing that can leave them "out of service" is the time in which Apple estimates that they are no longer suitable for a new version of iOS, which usually occurs approximately 6 years . That and the use we give to the battery.
However The evolution of the Pro line was already reaching levels that distance it a lot from the normal iPhone, the one usually bought by people who do not use the phone except to call, communicate, browse and check email. The iPhone 15 Pro cameras have made a qualitative leap that I did not want to miss to carry out my professional work or portray my life with quality (as a photography fan).
And indeed it has been worth evolving. I suppose there will be few users who change their iPhone from one year to the next, just after the new model is released. For them, the change from one to the other should not mean anything special because there is not much difference, on an aesthetic or functional level, from one year to the next.
However, for the rest of us who change after 4 years, the leap has been like that feeling of changing your car after 20 years and not being able to get the new one right and trying all the improvements that current cars bring. Overwhelming.
When you open the box… Magic
Apple boxes are getting smaller and smaller, and they also include just enough. In this case, the typical Apple dossier with its now "eternal" white stickers along with the SIM card tab extraction punch and a nice braided USB-C/USB-C cable.
Elegance. The model I purchased is the titanium blue one, on impulse (it is my favorite color). Although they say that the natural titanium color makes you fall in love. But in this case and given that my ex-iPhone 11 Pro was the olive green model, I decided to go with the only color available, since the choice is between black, white, natural or blue titanium.
When you have it physically
When you pick it up you notice the finish, the touch, the rounded edges polished to perfection. That tiny edge on the screen that ends at the titanium frame. Quality notes, Many will say that for the price they expect nothing less.
As you already know, those of you who are looking at this model and do not decide to purchase it, The titanium used to make the Pro models is grade 5 titanium, the titanium alloy with the highest resistance. which is commonly used by NASA for its exploration vehicles.
Another thing that draws your attention when you hold it in your hand is the weight.. On all sites you can see that comparisons are made between the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro, with a difference of 19 grams between them in favor of the 15 model, but I compare it with the iPhone 11 Pro, I have consulted and the difference is only 1 gram of weight difference.
Well, it shows, it must be the new interior layout or the titanium of the casing, which makes it tremendously light, so much so that it is not that you will fear for your physical integrity from the first moment, but if you take special care with it in hand.
And after using it for 10 days, I have to say that it becomes comfortable to hold and/or grip it in any position, and little by little you lose that initial fear of dropping it and doing some damage. Although I recommend a protective case, It is always best to prevent than to cure.
On paper
The technical specifications of the iPhone 15 Pro are amazing. Just throw it take a look at the Apple page where they are listed. From the long list, we can highlight the following:
- Su 6,7-inch OLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate and higher maximum brightness of 2000 nits (outdoors) for a smoother and more visually impressive experience.
- El new A17 Pro chip, the most powerful ever integrated into an iPhone, made in 3 nm (nanometers), with significant improvements to the CPU, GPU and Neural Engine for mind-blowing performance.
- The rear quad camera (although three are seen), with a new 48MP main sensor and periscopic telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom for professional photos and videos.
- Its compatibility with 5G networks in all its bands, including mmWave for maximum mobile browsing speed.
- La Greater autonomy thanks to a larger capacity battery and the efficiency of the new A17 Pro chip.
- El new premium design with main casing made of grade 5 Titanium and Ceramic Shield protection on the front.
- Water and dust resistance with IP68 certification, to take it anywhere without worries.
- iOS 17 with major performance improvements for a more advanced iOS experience.
Impressions about the iPhone 15 Pro
A17 Pro Chip
The performance in general is noticeable, as in any new model that debuts a new processor that has more power than the previous one. More agility and fluidity when running apps or switching from one to another was to be expected, since the A17 Pro Chip, unique to the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max models, is a beast.
The engineering prodigy that represents the first chip manufactured in 3 nanometers, only Apple could get it from TSMC. It is a preview of the new M3 for the Mac range that will be released this year.
What do 3nm chips offer? Well, lower consumption with greater power. The chip being smaller than the previous ones at 5nm, that is, reducing the size of the transistors that make up the chip so that more can fit in less space, it is achieved that the energy that makes it work must travel through less physical space, there is less heat dissipation. It is quite a technological achievement, putting 19.000 million transistors on a chip.
I haven't played any games since I bought the original iPhone on Ebay. In Cupertino they have to be happy with me even though they have made me thousands of offers for Game Center, what is now Apple Arcade. So I haven't seen how exceptional the gameplay and graphics the new chip is capable of. I will try to do it in the future with the arrival of very interesting titles like Resident Evil 4.
Evolution of cameras from iPhone 11 Pro to iPhone 15 Pro
The cameras
Coming from the iPhone 11 Pro, the difference has been abysmal. Compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, there are noticeable improvements in the cameras but above all in the software and image processing, that is, improved Deep Fusion and Photonic engine, which is how images are processed to get the best snapshot of what is being photographed.
The acquisition of light in photos taken at night and the Portrait mode have been improved. Regarding the first, the camera lenses now have an anti-reflective coating designed to reduce "lens flare" or points of light that appear as a splash in a photo with low light, but with intense spotlights. Let's not say that they will never appear again, but I have done tests in the same places where they appeared before and they are significantly reduced.
HDR capture has also been improved, as the iPhone 15 cameras are capable of capturing more dynamic range, with a better light and shadow map.
One of the things that I loved is the possibility of taking photos in Portrait mode automatically. To do this, by taking the capture, the iPhone 15 Pro, in its Machine Learning process, recognizes people and pets (as a novelty), and takes the depth data, so that later you can leave the capture as is or convert it into a Portrait with its corresponding bookeh effect.
To do this, in Photos, a symbol with an "f" will appear in which we can activate Portrait Mode or not. This facilitates the immediacy of capturing the right moment. without depending so much on burst capture or waiting to change from Photo to Portrait and losing the opportunity to portray what we want.
Overheating
I have to say that the rumors are true and the iPhone 15 Pro has gotten hot a few times after performing simple tasks like recording a video, editing photos, or using GPS with Maps or Google Maps. At first I attributed the heating to the phone transferring data to iCloud and downloading app updates, but no.
And it's not just any overheating, The phone has become uncomfortable in my pants pocket.. And in the palm of your hand you feel the intense heat of a part of the phone, but at no time has the overheating warning appeared, as some have shown on social networks.
Apple has spoken out about it, because things have already escalated. A few days ago Ming Chi Kuo, the Apple analyst, whose rumors are sometimes right, indicated that it was a failure of the heat dissipation design in the A17 Pro Chip, which has been denied by the Cupertino company itself, which says that They are software problems (not hardware), so Apple will fix this in a future iOS 17 update. We'll see how things turn out.
USB-C
There was not much room for maneuver after the European Union guidelines to unify mobile device chargers, which required this. So it's already with us the USB-C port for both charging as for the universe of data transfer that opens with it.
and I must say that we have one of lime and another of sand in this regard. That all iPhone 15s come with a USB-C cable for charging seems appropriate to me. A USB-C that carries USB 2.0 data transfer technology (like the Lightning cable), which in the year 2023 seems like a joke to me. And even more so if you have purchased an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max. This cable should already have at least USB 3.2 data transfer technology, because its intended use is professional. And because that's why we pay Pro prices.
So too bad for Apple in this sense, and good for the fact that the USB-C port opens up endless possibilities, such as in my case, directly plugging in a pendrive that I use with my Macbook to transfer files, or simply viewing them on the iPhone, comfortably and quickly. I can even record videos directly to the pendrive, avoiding overloading the iPhone.
What of charge an iPhone with another iPhone using the USB-C port, not bad at all in emergency cases, but requires the cable. Not the Apple seal at all. It's a knowing patch that wireless reverse charging could have been implemented. Why hasn't Apple made it functional on an iPhone yet? Well, one day we will know.
Action button
The action button is a new feature implemented in the iPhone 15 range. It is a customizable button that can execute the action you prefer, It does not have a single purpose, but you can assign it to your liking what you want it to do from a list of options:
- Silent mode
- Concentration modes: you can choose the mode to execute.
- Camera: you can choose between taking a photo, a selfie, a video, a portrait or a selfie in portrait mode. If we press the button a second time, the image or video is taken.
- Turn on the flashlight.
- Record voice note.
- Turn iPhone into a magnifying glass.
- Using a shortcut: probably the most interesting option due to its possibilities.
- Use an accessibility feature: You can choose from a list.
- Do not take any action.
Depending on your habits, it will be more necessary for you to configure one quick action and another. AND The customization menu made only for this button seems truly wonderful to me.
Other minor aspects, but not important
Dynamic Islands
This is not new, because the Dynamic Island was released with the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max models last year, but it is new that the entire iPhone 15 range has already implemented it. Goodbye to the Apple "notch" that has left so many rivers of ink.
For someone like me who enjoys it for the first time, It is undoubtedly one of the most successful things that Apple has done, and once you see how it works, you are dazzled by the amount of animations available depending on the app you are using.
We have something black that seems to get in the way on the screen, but Apple has managed to use it impressively, with animations that make you look at the Dynamic Island over and over again without thinking that it is a black blur on the screen, but rather a point of information constant of our iPhone.
Wireless connectivity
iPhone 15 Pro is the first iPhone to support Wi-Fi 6E, meaning that it is capable of connecting with routers compatible with this technology and taking advantage of the 6Ghz band connection.
It also has the "ultra wideband chip", the successor to the U1, improved to detect and search for other iPhones with the same chip or other compatible devices by detecting their proximity.
With the iPhone 15, the emergency satellite connection also arrives that now also covers Spain, which was already talked about when it was released with the iPhone 14, but which was limited to the United States only. So we can make emergency calls even without coverage with a connection to any satellite in a wide network to be able to make the call.
And something that has gone unnoticed and that I think will be promoted later is that the iPhone 15 Pro incorporates Thread technology, that is, compatibility with home automation devices creating a mesh network through the use of the IPv6 protocol. We assume that because devices will begin to appear later in which the iPhone can function as a control console.
The iPhone 15 Pro, without a doubt, a good choice
This iPhone Pro model (Pro and Max, understand), marks a before and after, since it stands out from the mid-range iPhone with its new structural material, titanium, which, although it does not contribute anything new to the design of the iPhone that we are used to seeing, does give it a distinctive and elegant touch, while multiplying its resistance.
It also does so by mounting a chip, the first with the Pro name, and built with 3nm technology. Which supervitaminizes it to carry out the Pro activities for which it is made, including the gaming world (not explored by me).
Its cameras are one more twist towards perfection, mounting increasingly more precise lenses in a small space that Apple tries not to end up swallowing the terminal. And everything that your lenses cannot capture is worked by the device's Machine Learning through an improved Deep Fusion and Photonic Engine, capable of capturing, processing, improving, illuminating, correcting and stabilizing in a matter of milliseconds.
And all this, for a cheaper price than last year's iPhone 14 Pro model, not inconsiderable €1.219 (the basic model with 128 GB capacity), which are an investment, for those of us who need something more than an iPhone, down to your last euro.
Like me, if you are thinking about making the jump from an older model, my recommendation is that you don't hesitate. The iPhone 15 Pro is a success and its price is not excessively expensive for someone who needs its Pro capabilities.
Tell me in the comments if you are about to decide or if you have already done it and are enjoying it like me!