A preview of the iPhone 15 Pro Max versus the iPhone 14 Pro Max will prepare you for one of the most anticipated phone launches of the year. Apple’s flagship is rumored to get some pretty big upgrades over the course of the iPhone 14 Pro Maxwho is currently one of best phones you can buy. And we’ll break down the biggest expected differences between the two Pro Max models.
So what can we expect from the most premium flagship of the iPhone 15 family? Reports and leaks we’ve seen suggest we’ll get a refreshed design, a breakthrough A17 Bionic chip, and – a first for iPhones – a periscope zoom lens. But those aren’t all the improvements in store. Here’s everything you need to know
Periscope zoom lens
Yes, Apple is way behind the competition when it comes to telephoto zooms on the best camera phones. But it looks like the iPhone 15 Pro Max should catch up in a big way. Rumor has it that the The iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a periscope zoom lens with 6x optical zoom, a big leap from the 3x telephoto lens of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
We haven’t heard what digital zoom will be for this camera, but hopefully Apple will close the gap with the Google Pixel 7 Pro (30x SuperRes zoom) and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (100x space zoom) ). The iPhone 14 Pro Max maxes out at 15x digital zoom, so stepping up to 30x would be a pretty good upgrade.
A17 Bionic power — and a world first
The A16 Bionic chip inside the iPhone 14 Pro Max is already the fastest in a phone, but the new A17 bionic chip for the iPhone 15 Pro Max is designed to take Apple’s performance to the next level. For one thing, it’s supposedly the world’s first chip in a handset based on the 3nm process, which should mean even more performance. Moreover, Apple would have gobbled up all the stock of this chip for itself, so we are talking about a possible world exclusive.
DigiTimes (opens in a new tab) reports that the 3nm technology used to make the A17 Bionic “will enable significant specification upgrades in the next series of iPhones.” These updates are significant enough that vendors anticipate increased demand for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
USB-C
It’s almost a lock that Apple is ditching the Lightning port for USB-C. After all, the EU forces Apple to adopt USB-C by end of 2024. And Apple has admitted it will bring USB-C to the iPhonealthough he did not specify which models.
Rumors indicate that Apple will provide USB-C to all four iPhone 15 devices, although it is possible that Apple may reserve faster transfer speeds for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. More likely is the scenario where Apple will only guarantee the fastest upload and transfer speeds if a The iPhone 15 USB-C cable or accessory is MFi certified (made for iPhone).
Anyway, we can expect faster charging via USB-C with the iPhone 15 Pro Max compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max. And we’ll have to see transfer speeds when it comes to connecting things like cameras or external drives.
Longer battery life
The iPhone 14 Pro Max is already one of the most durable phones on the market. It clocked up a very impressive 13 hours and 39 minutes in Tom’s Guide’s battery test, which involves continuous web browsing over 5G at 150 nits of screen brightness. It’s good enough to land near the top of our better phone battery life list.
So how much better could the iPhone 15 Pro Max be? The new 3nm A17 Bionic chip would be as much as 35% more energy efficient compared to TSMC’s 5nm N4 process, i.e. the components used in the A16 Bionic. So this will almost certainly result in an even longer runtime.
Titanium design (now with less sharp edges)
There’s nothing wrong with the stainless steel sides of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but we’re excited about the prospect of a titanium alloy body for the iPhone 15 Pro Max chassis. Titanium is super strong while weighing less than aluminum, so it should translate to an overall lighter big-screen phone from Apple. Well, provided the new periscope zoom doesn’t add too much weight.
Another positive rumor has the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max get more rounded edges, which should make the handset more comfortable to hold. Some users have complained about the sharper, squarer edges of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, which can dig into your hands.
Solid state buttons
Yes, you read that right. THE iPhone 15 Pro Max could forego mechanical buttons altogether in favor of solid-state buttons. The advantage is that the Pro Max will be more resistant over time with less risk of the buttons getting stuck, which happened to me with my iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Assuming the design is executed well, you’ll still feel a sensation when pressing down due to haptic feedback. But you won’t hopefully miss the fact that it’s not really about buttons. And we might see a correspondingly higher water resistance rating for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, as there’s likely less chance of water entering the handset.
iPhone 15 Pro Max vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max: Outlook
There’s clearly a lot we still don’t know about the iPhone 15 Pro Max, including a price rumor. Apple could very well decide to charge more for this handset, especially since the Galaxy S23 Ultra already costs $100 more than the iPhone 14 Pro Max. But we’ll have to see what upgrades actually materialize and if Apple is bold enough to charge an even higher price.