Apple’s new iPhone 15 Pro gets new chips, better cameras, and a titanium frame

Overall this event was pretty mid imo 🥱

Beginning to feel like this industry is stagnating. Just doing enough to appease the stockholders and pump the stock.

Phones are completely boring now, colours should not be newsworthy but they always get a mention because everything else moves at snail's pace.

At least Jobs had vision to push innovation.
- They're "boring" because they're at their limit. The form factor can do what it can do.
  
  Foldables will eventually enhance the experience, but the materials that are available don't do the job. Until then there's only iteration.
The tech has peaked. There aren't gonna be any new bangers. No one has needed to upgrade for like 6+ years now
- Yeah pretty much! Everybody keeps complaining that the new phones aren’t very innovative and like… what do you want them to do? I can’t really even imagine anything more a phone can do with current technology other than incremental improvements. Maybe I just lack imagination, and I guess there’s some stuff I want like USB C and maybe to eventually get rid of the notch for FaceID… but I just don’t care enough to replace my phone until it dies. Honestly my current phone is barely any different from my phone from 10 years ago for all intents and purposes. The only thing I want my phone to do that it doesn’t already is software stuff… Like allowing sideloaded apps, or better support for things like nfc for transit systems… Hardware wise… What could I possibly even want?
Yup. See them parroting USB C as if some kind of new shit. Lmao, Type C has been on Android for years and Android Manufacturers have long stopped it as some Marketing feature.
- Its been on macbooks since 2015 on the small one with the 12” screen.
- They spoke usb-c like a minute, two tops. While speaking of the environment for a good fifteen.
  
  What you describe did not happen, at all.

Colour: grey-variant

Wish this had the fun non-pro colours. Looks a like solid polish model year

I was hooked on the midnight green from the 11pro. The blue on the 15pro looks nice. Probably better in person.

Not that I’ll ever see it, since I’m just gonna slap a case on the phone anyways.
It’s anodized titanium. You have to pick from a number of physically possible colors.
- PVD coated not anodized
- Dammit, I want my impossible colors.
All I want is a true black one. The non pro always has the nice black.

The new A17 Pro 3nm chip comes with hardware Ray Tracing, so we will expect the next gen Apple M3 series GPU performance boost. Hopefully, the gap with discrete GPU get closer.

It gets closer for a bit and then gets further away again. It'd need to be a huge leapfrog for me to want to give up the ability to replace a discrete GPU with an integrated one. Probably good for the laptop crowd though.

I did not plan to upgrade this year, but also didn’t expect Spatial Video capture until next year. I’d like to start capturing video for the Apple Vision Pro as soon as possible.

Pricing though… translating my local price back to US it will be $2245 for the Max with 1TB 🤢

$1,000 was too much already. Over $2,000 nope. Back to android unfortunately.

According to my 3 year cycle I’d be due for this one. But I’m not really convinced tbh.

Smartphones have just been so boring for the past few years. Ever since they all started getting full screen displays and multiple cameras, every year has felt like small incremental upgrades. You probably wouldn't gain very much by upgrading even from a 3 year old phone.

iPhones won't be interesting to me again until they get a completely new form factor like folding or something.
- Nothing creative, someone do something different please. I like seeing the hidden cameras that was true innovation.
- Biggest upgrade for me were foldable screens and 120Hz refresh rate. High refresh rate feels so good when you first try it. But generally speaking it is all incremental and not worth yearly investment. In general I buy devices every 4 years or so but most of my devices end up being used at least 6-7 years.
- Honestly the last iPhone I felt truly excited for was the iPhone X. That felt like the phone Apple was leading up to for a decade. Then the 14 Pro came out and I'll admit, the Dynamic Island was very creative. Not really innovative, but creative.
  
  What was so cool about Jobs is that he had this brain that wanted to take risks and come up with crazy shit that may have only been theoretically possible, and push the talented engineers to make it happen.
  
  That being said, I don't know why people are so surprised. Jobs isn't around anymore, and smartphones have matured to a point where there's nothing to push. What exactly are people hoping to change?
Yeah, my 12 Pro is going strong and I don’t see any reason to move. USB-C is the biggest feature upgrade for me.
- I have a 12Pro as well, and, honestly, I think the cameras on this thing are kinda trash. I like the phone and it still works well, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued with the new phone.
- USB-C is certainly nice, but it also has its transition pains. I’d be more than happy to have it, but I’m not in a rush to get it as fast as I can.
USB-C is nice (although I don't relish having to replace all my Lightning accessories), and the camera improvements are always good, but I think I'm still happy with my 13 Pro for now.

I can't believe I'm saying this but if I have to replace my 12 Mini right now, I'm not sure if I would go with a 13 Mini or that Samsung Flip.

Losing SMS on my iPad, personal MBA and work MBP would suck but I did get into Beeper so maybe I could get by until they offer something I'd actually want.

Losing SMS on my iPad, personal MBA and work MBP would suck

Google Messages has a good web app. It works really well with my ancient Pixel.
I work in a store after sale service and I see far too much foldable phone for the quantity of these phones we sell... I would avoid them if I were you.

Between the dead pixels, the inner screen protector problems and the rest... at least Samsung seems to take care of the buyers(in Europe were I am at least) because they always repaired or changed the screen protector without any terrible(except the obvious broken phones) But I wouldn't want to have this kind of phone out of warranty, of and the battery is shit too, but that is known.
- Much appreciate that information! Unfortunately I’m from the states and only get to Schengen and/or Bulgaria 2-3 times a year and would totally get screwed on the warranty.
  
  Out of curiosity have you ever seen a claim from someone physically outside of the EU get accepted?

Will we ever solve cameras? How much more can they really do for cameras? Will there ever be a new iPhone if the perfect camera is invented?

I'm not sure what you mean by solve cameras.
- They’re just joking about what the future of iPhone could be if Apple reaches “Peak Camera” since that’s been a big ticket upgrade in pretty much each one, even slower years
- Where they are so good that improvement is pointless. Like trying to improve audio quality in music. We don’t need higher quality than CDs can provide.
It’s not like they issue the absolute limit of the state of the art in each phone, and new scientific breakthroughs drive what’s in the next phone.

There are occasional breakthroughs in technology but they don’t make it into phones until they become cheap and reliable.

So this year manufacturing processes are really scaled up on Perfect Camera iteration 1005. There are also devices out there that already have iteration 1008 but they are niche and expensive and buggy.

In two years, 1008 will be more reliable and manufacturing will be scaled up for it. They will introduce it into a phone in 2026 and you will roll your eyes and say “gee where did they pull that from!”

But it’s a continuous ramp of improvement: mostly driven by how successfully and how quickly small improvements move from lab experiment to full scale manufacturing.

Why did they put the 5x only in the Max version... im on 13pro and can switch next year to 15pro. But im missing some new features or what "next gen" portraits do mean.

I will wait what Pixel 8 Pro will do, maybe this year they have more to offer.

(putting my scum bag business exec hat on with obj to pump the numbers)

Because they want you to splurge on the highest tier phone.

Technically, I don’t see a reason what would prevent them from doing so. If Apple didn’t pair the components with the phone, there’s no reason why you couldn’t buy a broken pro max, swap out the camera on the pro, and have 5X Zoom
- That's my take too, I don't buy their excuse. They did this in the past on I think the 11 series. The Pro Max had IIRC a better wide angle camera or some such and they withheld it from the regular Pro until the following year.
  
  Annoying but it makes it easier for me to wait out an upgrade when I really don't need one anyway.
There could be space limitation, I couldn’t tell from the keynote images if the 5x module was larger.

Whatever the reason I don’t particularly like that the Pro and Pro Max are diverging in features other than display size. I would prefer to have the best cameras but I don’t necessarily want the biggest screen, this now means making more trade offs when picking an iPhone.
- Yeah i hate the big Screen, i like the size of the normal Pro. But i miss the 5x zoom, that nearly all Androids do have on that price tag.

Interesting how negative the takes are here. USB-C, AOD, a better telephoto lens, action button and future proof SOC (which is fairly standard for iPhones) has convinced me to upgrade from my iPhone 12PM.

The trade in price offered for my old phone was a big part of the reason I’m sticking with Apple over my next option, Pixel Pro. Saves me from having to deal with marketplace. The Australian pricing seems (from memory) to be pretty comparable to what I paid for my 12PM, which considering inflation and the weak Australian dollar is pretty good.

Imagine being excited about a button
- It replaces what was, to me, a worthless switch. I used the switch maybe once a month. So yeah, it’s a benefit.
- But no one is complaining about 60Hz screen. When that one arrives it will be daring and revolutionary next year or year after. Reason enough to upgrade.
I'd heard something about the Apple usb-c cable being the only one to really get the most performance while limiting the rest, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

Edit: Then there's this.

Don’t really see a reason to upgrade from my 12 Pro Max

Give it 6 years. They will find a way to make you upgrade.
XS Max here and I’m upgrading finally. USB2 transfer is soooooo slow. And I also ABSOLUTELY want 120hz.
I’m in the same boat. The only reason I want to upgrade is cause everything else I charge uses usbc
Same. This phone has been rock solid for me. Only real pain is that it overheats in a leather case in the summer pretty quickly in the sun. Even with my battery at 83% it still lasts all day.

I’m more excited about iOS 17’s live widgets than anything in the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

I hate that Apple never talk about RAM size... I mean, I know most Apple users don't even get to worry about this anymore due to how iOS works... but still, it is hardware after all...

Why does it matter? They don't have a java base that needs 4 gigs
- Well, refer to my last sentence in the previous comment... now that I think about it... they also are never clear about the battery capacity, regardless they have the best software to measure its capacity/battery life to this day 🤔
- Nor does Android. Android uses Dalvik VM, which is not the same as JVM.
On a PC, more RAM is always better.

In a phone, more RAM taxes the battery more.

There is a right amount of RAM, and more importantly a right way to tune the process management for power savings.

But the only measurement of that is the end user experience. MB of RAM just isn’t a useful number.
- Bruh, I'm currently facing RAM management issues with my Android phone, RAM matters for all aspects of technology especially android phones (my device has 6 GB of RAM, I should have gotten the 8 GB variant because I enjoy all the aspects of a smooth multitasking), in my case probably RAM amount ain't the problem but the aggressive OS RAM killer, but yeah my main point is, there is a reason why we have gotten bigger RAM amounts with smartphones, including iPhones ofc, and it is getting tiring to wait for teardowns to see the Apple offer.

Pro models actually got a price decrease in the UK, unless I’m missing something.

Now I just need to decide whether to match my phone to my watch and get the natural titanium, or whether to go for the blue.

Oh, and, Pro (like usual) or Pro Max (seems a bit big!).

Yes, it looks like a £100 price reduction. It’s rare that Apple products get cheaper in the UK, so at there was at least one surprise at todays event then.

My hands struggle with the 13 Pro, I don’t know how I’d manage with the 15 Pro Max. Anyone know how to grow longer thumbs?
- how to grow longer thumbs?
  
  Clearly you should get Thanko’s “Yubi Nobiiru” thumb extender

I’m gonna upgrade from my 13 pro max and work is gonna pay for it. Yay.

Waiting for 16 or 17 with replaceable/swappable batteries.

I thought about ditching my 14 pro for a 15 pro just for the titanium.

Then I remembered that I put it in a case anyways.

What is this bottom side button for?

Same as previous models, it's an antenna gap (for mmWave I believe)
- Ah good point. I got really excited because I thought it was the return of TouchID

I'm just waiting for the new iPhone LongBeachGriffy vid

It's not a titanium frame. It's still same old aluminium, just PVD, that is to say thin layer over same material as before. It's not going to make it any stronger.

The outer, visible portion of the frame is titanium; the inner frame is aluminum. It’s absolutely different and the selling point is the weight reduction. PVD is just how they’re coloring the titanium.
- Considering it's only 1g lighter, not much of a selling point.

But will it have 0 day 0 click vulns