iPhone 15 Pro: First Impressions from an Android User

The new iPhone 15 series looks like the 14 series, which looked like the 13 series, and so on. I normally use Android, so I’m looking at the iPhone 15 Pro as a first impression: What’s new, what does it cost, and who should make the switch?

Prices: somewhat cheaper, but with a catch

• iPhone 15: from €949 instead of €999 in the smallest storage version.
• iPhone 15 Pro: from €1,199, while the 14 Pro still cost €1,299.
• iPhone 15 Pro Max: €1,449.

With the Pro Max you have to look closely: It’s only available from 256 GB, no longer with 128 GB. If you compare the 256 GB base version with last year’s price of the 14 Pro Max, the price has dropped by €130.

Design: titanium frame

The frame is now made of titanium, an extremely hard and durable metal that’s as hard as steel and yet very light. The back is still made of matte glass. I’m curious how sturdy the titanium frame really is and how long it takes until scratches show.

Compared to its predecessor, the iPhone 15 Pro is 0.9 mm longer and 0.9 mm wider, but 0.4 mm thinner and, thanks to titanium, 19 grams lighter. With the rounded edges, it looks more matte and feels nicer in the hand. It’s not a game changer, but I like the matte look. It reminds me of the regular iPhone models with an aluminum frame, because the shiny stainless steel of the Pro models is gone.

Case: PITAKA MagEZ Case 4

Ad: For protection, I recommend the MagEZ Case 4 from PITAKA. It’s only 0.95 mm thick and adds hardly any bulk. It’s made of aramid fiber, which is five times stronger than steel and five times lighter. The case is MagSafe compatible, a metal ring protects the camera lenses, and the textured surface gives you grip and hardly shows fingerprints.

Action button and USB-C

• Action button: It sits where the mute switch used to be, and you can assign it freely, for example to the camera, a Focus mode or an app. On Android devices, something like that is more of a standard. I always have Google Pay on it. Nice that iPhone users get that now too.
• USB-C: For me, the only reason to switch from an iPhone 12 or 13. I forgot to bring the separate cable 50% of the time. It supports USB 3, with data transfer 20% faster according to Apple.

That’s interesting for anyone who wants to shoot high-resolution ProRes video with the iPhone and edit it professionally. You need a lot of storage for that. With USB-C, you can connect an external hard drive that the footage goes to directly.

Performance, camera and battery

The iPhone 15 Pro has the new A17 Pro chip. In use, it’s fast and smooth as always, and the long-term test will show everything else. The camera has the same setup as the iPhone 14 Pro, just with HDR 5 instead of HDR 4. Only the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 5x optical zoom, the 15 Pro has 3x. The battery grows minimally to 3,274 mAh instead of 3,200 mAh.

Who is the iPhone 15 Pro worth it for?

I’d claim: for anyone with an iPhone 11 or older who wants a new device that they’ll use again for five to six years. If you have an iPhone 12 or newer, you aren’t missing anything apart from the USB-C port. I’ll also look at the device in a long-term test to see what iOS 17 brings that’s new.