Hesitating between the regular iPhone 15 or the more expensive iPhone 15 Pro? Here are eleven reasons why you may consider spending extra to get the 15 Pro or Pro Max version.
1. Smooth 120Hz ProMotion display
All iPhone 15 models have a fantastic Super Retina XDR OLED display.
However, just like the iPhone 13 and the 14 series, this year too, the smoother ProMotion display with adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz is limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and the 15 Pro Max.
So, if you’re coming from an existing iPhone or Android phone with a 120Hz display, you may like to keep things buttery smooth by choosing the Pro model.
2. Always-On display
Always-On display is restricted to just the Pro models. So, if you’re looking to have the time, notifications, or other details always shown on your phone display or ensure a better StandBy experience, then you should get the iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max.
3. Better camera with “pro” features
Most people will be completely happy with the dual camera setup on the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. However, if you want the extra telephoto camera and more optical zoom options, you will have to get the pro models that have a three-camera rear setup. Here are the optical zoom options for all four new iPhones:
- iPhone 15 and 15 Plus: Up to 2x
- iPhone 15 Pro: Up to 3x
- iPhone 15 Pro Max: Up to 5x
Additionally, here are some other departments where the iPhone 15 Pro cameras are better than the normal iPhone 15 and 15 Plus:
- Pros have better optical image and video stabilization
- Pros offer Night mode portraits
- Pros support macro photography and videography
- The Pros also let you shoot in Apple ProRAW + ProRes video recording
- And the Pro models have an improved adaptive True Tone camera flash.
4. Faster USB-C data transfer speeds
While all iPhone 15 models have the USB-C port instead of Lightning, only the iPhone 15 Pro and the 15 Pro Max support USB 3 for faster data transfer speeds of up to 10Gb/s. Regular iPhone 15 and 15 Plus still have the older USB 2.0 speed that’s almost twenty times slower than the Pro models!
So, if you are planning to use your iPhone for video recording for your work or content creation, then having the ability to transfer them quickly from your phone to your computer will be handy. And for that, you will have to pay the premium for iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max.
Note: You’d have to buy a separate Thunderbolt cable for faster speeds.
5. Faster Wi-Fi and cellular data
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models support the improved Wi‑Fi 6E as opposed to Wi-Fi 6 on the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus.
Additionally, per reports, the Pro models also have faster 5G speeds thanks to the upgraded modem.
6. Newer processor and an extra GPU core
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus have last year’s A16 Bionic chip with a 5-core GPU, while the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have the new 3nm A17 Pro chip with a 6-core GPU.
7. Premium titanium build
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus have an aluminum build (just like old non-pro iPhone models), while the more expensive iPhone 15 Pro models are made of titanium, which is a first for the iPhone.
With that said, I won’t recommend you make your decision solely on this, as even the iPhone 15 is very well built, and if you use a case with your iPhone, then having a titanium or aluminum frame should not matter much.
8. Handy Action button
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have a new Action button in place of the ring/silent button found on the iPhone 15 and all other older models. You can consider the expensive option if you think you’d benefit from using the Action button to quickly start a voice recording, launch the camera, run shortcuts, open apps, etc.
9. Upto 1 TB local storage
iPhone 15 and 15 Plus max out at 512 GB of storage. If you want more, iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are your only options as they have a 1 TB version.
10. LiDAR scanner
If your work involves using apps that benefit from the LiDAR sensor, then you must buy the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, as the non-pro models do not have a LiDAR scanner.
11. More battery backup
Out of the four iPhone 15 models, the bigger iPhone 15 Plus and 15 Pro Max offer more use time on paper than their smaller iPhone 15 and 15 Pro. And on some metrics, like video playback, the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers even more backup than the iPhone 15 Plus.
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