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Short Summary
Main recommendation: Marques Brownlee frames the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro as incremental updates, with USB-C as the headline change, while the Pro models add the A17 Pro chip, titanium build, action button, and camera upgrades. The video is an impressions piece, so he says his full reviews, with tests of the claims, will come later.
Key Points
- The base iPhone 15 and 15 Plus mainly add USB-C, a 2,000-nit peak brightness display, a 48-megapixel main camera, and the A16 Bionic chip from last year's Pro phone, at the same starting prices of $799 and $899.
- USB-C is a major change for iPhone, since it is only the second port change after the 30-pin connector was replaced by Lightning in 2012, but it is the same port many laptops and tablets already use.
- The Pro models use the new A17 Pro chip, Apple's first three-nanometer chip and the first iPhone chip with "Pro" in the name, and they get USB 3 speeds that the base models lack.
- The Pro models switch to a lighter grade 5 titanium frame, and Brownlee notes that the glass, not the stainless steel, is what usually breaks.
- The Pro's new customizable action button replaces the mute switch, defaults to the same mute behavior, and the video highlights its wide range of functions beyond muting.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: To use the action button, open the Settings app, go to the action button section, and choose a function such as keeping the mute switch, switching a Focus mode such as Do Not Disturb, auto-launching the camera in a chosen mode, turning on the flashlight, opening Voice Memos, toggling the Magnifier, or running a Shortcut. A Shortcut can open almost any app, though Brownlee expects a possible delay that he plans to test.
- Concrete instructions: To set a default focal length, open the camera settings and choose 1X, 1.2X, or 1.5X so that the 1X button always jumps to that focal length. The 1X option can still be reached manually.
- Concrete instructions: To charge accessories such as AirPods from iPhone, connect them with the included USB-C to USB-C cable, since wireless reverse charging is not available.
- The base models stay at USB 2.0 speeds of about 480 megabits per second, while the Pro models reach USB 3 speeds up to 10 gigabits per second, which matters for large ProRaw and ProRes files.
- Charging remains about 20 watts with no new fast charging, so a full charge still takes roughly an hour and a half to two hours.
- The Pro Max gets a new folding 5X telephoto lens, while the regular 15 Pro keeps the 3X telephoto from last year; the Pro Max starts at $1,199 with 256 GB storage, up from last year's starting price, while the 15 Pro stays at $999.
Bottom Line
The iPhone 15 family is mostly a refresh, with USB-C as the headline, while the Pro models offer the more meaningful upgrades in chip, port speed, titanium build, and action button. Brownlee suggests the Pro features need hands-on testing before deciding whether they are worth the upgrade.