Apple iPhone 15 Pro Review: Worth the Price?
The iPhone 15 Pro, along with the iPhone 15 Series, was introduced during Apple’s September 12, 2023 event. Pre-orders for the iPhone 15 Pro began on September 15. What are the new features of 15 Pro? Can it hold the legacy? Let’s take a look into the key specs, pros and cons of the Apple iPhone 15 Pro.
Key Features of Apple iPhone 15 Pro Design
The iPhone 15 Pro distinguishes itself from its predecessor, the iPhone 14 Pro, primarily in terms of design and functionality. Notably, Apple has opted for a revamped design, shedding the sharp edges that characterized the iPhone 14 Pro in favor of a sleek titanium 146.6 mm by 70.6 mm by 8.3 mm frame. This redesign not only enhances the phone’s aesthetics but also makes it lighter with 187g weight and more comfortable to hold, addressing concerns raised by users about the previous model’s edges.
The iPhone 15 Pro retains features such as the Dynamic Island and brushed glass rear panel, with the latter being safeguarded by Apple’s Ceramic Shield for added protection.
Beyond the design changes, the iPhone 15 Pro introduces functional updates. The traditional physical mute switch is replaced with an Apple Watch Ultra-style Action button, which is highly customizable and allows users to trigger up to nine different actions, providing quick access to various functions.
Another significant modification is the replacement of Apple’s proprietary Lightning port with a USB-C port, aligning with the universal USB-C standard. While this change does not affect charging speed, it enables faster data transfer speeds of up to 10GBps, making it easier to connect the iPhone 15 Pro to other devices like a MacBook Pro.
Display
The iPhone 15 Pro maintains its predecessor’s 6.1-inch Super XDR OLED screen, featuring Apple’s ProMotion technology that adjusts the refresh rate from 10 Hz to 120Hz based on the displayed content. It features resolution of 1179 by 2556 pixels, with 19.5:9 ratio and about 461 ppi density.
The Dynamic Island digital cutout, now present in all models, is accompanied by nearly bezel-less edges.
The screen remains exceptional, boasting a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits and exceptional responsiveness. The reduced bezel size enhances the immersive experience. However, when compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display, it falls slightly short.
In summary, the iPhone 15 Pro features a top-tier display, maintaining its predecessor’s excellence while making minor improvements.
Cameras
In terms of its camera setup, the iPhone 15 Pro incorporates three lenses: a 48 MP primary camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a 12MP 3x telephoto camera.
Notably, Apple has reserved the 5x optical zoom telephoto camera exclusively for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, creating a significant technological distinction between the two models for the first time. Nevertheless, the iPhone 15 Pro continues to stand out as one of the leading camera phones available.
On the front, the iPhone 15 Pro employs the same 12MP TrueDepth camera like the ancestor iPhone 14 Pro.
Although there is limited opportunity to extensively test this camera array, it is expected to perform at least on par with the iPhone 14 Pro. Some noteworthy enhancements in image processing include the new default 24MP shooting mode. This mode combines the best aspects of the 12MP and full 48MP capabilities of the main camera, delivering impressive detail and accurate representation of environments, fabrics, and skin tones. Additionally, the iPhone 15 Pro now has the capability to recognize image depth in any photo, allowing users to convert it into Portrait Mode and easily adjust the focal point from one subject to another. This feature renders direct Portrait Mode shooting less necessary.
However, the absence of the more powerful 5x optical zoom, which is available on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, raises questions about the iPhone 15 Pro’s overall appeal. It’s unfortunate that Apple did not extend this valuable technology further down its product line.
Performance and Software
Beneath its exterior, the iPhone 15 Pro runs on Apple’s silicon, the A17 Pro 3nm chipset, positioning it as one of the most high-performance smartphones currently available.
The A17 Pro isn’t merely an incremental upgrade over the previous A16 Bionic, found in the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. It introduces a fresh CPU, GPU, and a Neural Engine that is twice as fast as its predecessor. While specific benchmark results are pending, it’s anticipated that the performance, particularly in terms of graphics, will be notably impressive. Apple showcased the A17 Pro’s ability to smoothly run console-quality games, such as Resident Evil: Village and the remastered Resident Evil 4, at 30 frames per second on the iPhone 15 Pro’s 6.1-inch display. These titles were directly ported to iOS to leverage the power of the A17 Pro.
Despite limited hands-on time, early indications suggest that the iPhone 15 Pro is poised to excel in terms of performance. Additionally, the device comes pre-installed with iOS 17.
Battery and Charger
While Apple has not publicly disclosed the exact battery capacity of the iPhone 15 Pro, the company has stated that it offers 23 hours of video playback, aligning it with the performance of the iPhone 14 Pro.
The iPhone 15 Pro continues to support both MagSafe wireless and Qi charging methods. Its fast charging capabilities remain consistent with the previous model, indicating that it falls behind the charging speeds available with comparable Android flagship devices.
Notably, the introduction of USB-C does not bring any enhancements to the charging speed.
Price of Apple iPhone 15 Pro
In the United States, the iPhone 15 Pro comes in multiple configurations with corresponding price points. The base model, featuring 128GB of storage, starts at $999 or BDT 1,09,480. If you require more storage, the 256GB option is available for $1,099, or BDT 1,20,439. while the 512GB variant is priced at $1,299 or BDT 1,42,357. For those seeking the highest capacity, the top-tier model with a spacious 1TB of storage is priced at $1,499 or BDT 1,64,275. The conversion rate here is UD 1 = BDT 109.59.
