iPhone 15 Pro Max: One Year Review

It's been almost a year since the iPhone 15 models were released, so MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera decided to do a one-year check-in review on the ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro Max to see how it's performed over the last 12 months.


Unsurprisingly, Dan has seen some ‌iPhone‌ battery degradation, and it's dropped to 89 percent. That's with regular CarPlay usage, running betas, and standard day-to-day use. Even at 89 percent, the battery can still last for a full day without needing a charge.

As for the titanium chassis, it's held up well. There are a few nicks due to minor drops, but the display has seen a lot more damage with several scratches, some of which are deep.

The transition to USB-C has been a little tough just because there are still people with Lightning iPhones. If someone wants to borrow your charger, you may not have the right cable if you've switched to USB-C and they're still on Lightning.

Dan uses the Action Button for opening up the Camera app, but there's so much more that the Action Button can do in iOS 18, and it's going to get a lot more useful in the future. You can set Control Center controls to the Action Button, and developers can make new controls for apps that you can use.

There's not too much to say about the triple-lens camera setup, which is great. The 5x zoom lens is excellent for taking portrait pictures of people, and it's been a solid improvement. Otherwise, the cameras are fantastic with a lot of focal length versatility thanks to the new zoom option.

Overall, the ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro Max has held up well, and if you have one (or a Pro), there's no real need to upgrade to the iPhone 16 models. The A17 Pro in the ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro is incredibly fast and there's no way most people are even reaching the limits of its capabilities at this time, and Apple isn't adding too much more than an extra Capture Button and a slightly larger display in 2024. You can already use Apple Intelligence if you have an ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro model, so there's not a lot to get out of a year-over-year upgrade.

If you have an older ‌iPhone‌, it's worth looking at the ‌iPhone 16‌ models, or even an ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro when prices drop and they're discontinued. All of the ‌iPhone 16‌ models will have a chip compatible with ‌Apple Intelligence‌, a Capture Button, and an Action Button, so there's a lot to gain coming from an ‌iPhone‌ 14 or earlier.

How has your ‌iPhone‌ 15 held up if you have one? Let us know in the comments below.

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Top Rated Comments

Greybeard2017 Avatar
14 months ago
Battery is still at 99% (bought on release day) - no nicks or scratches - no complaints about the camera or overall performance - but I regret buying it - just too big and cumbersome
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MattA Avatar
14 months ago
Battery in my iPhone 15 Pro is still at 100% after a year of use. Having the max charge at 80% has helped a lot. It also still looks brand new.

It's been a solid phone. Things that are great: The camera, the speed, the screen. Things that aren't great: overheating when it's warm outside and you're trying to record video, it really didn't feel like a huge upgrade over my 12 Pro.

I'm going to be keeping this one for several years, and see no need to upgrade.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Maclver Avatar
14 months ago
Bought mine in June and I will say the "heating" is noticiable compared to the iPhone 14 PM. just not a fan of my screen dimming dimming dimming and phoen becoming very warm when on Safari or watching youtube.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sportpoz Avatar
14 months ago
The battery health is horrible. 91% after 9 months
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macropanda Avatar
14 months ago

Misleading since it's not been a year from the release or public availability of the iPhone 15 series...

So anything less than 365 days is considered a year now?
You think the opinion/thoughts are going to change in the next two weeks and it will be considered less misleading?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tagbert Avatar
14 months ago

Is it really getting 100% battery life if you're only using 80% of it to begin with?

If battery life is 10 hours, and regular users are still getting over 9 hours but you only get 8, how is that a benefit?

That option has always made me scratch my head...

I always slow-charge to preserve battery life, but I've never understood why I should restrict myself to 80% of my battery with this setting. Is it something you plan on turning off one day? To release a bunch of stored up battery life in an older device?

I still use battery cases on my iphones... thats the ultimate battery saver!
It works for people who are not using 100% of their battery charge every day anyway. That extra 20% is part of the charge range that isn’t being used anyway. There is no downside to not charging that high and potential benefit if it puts less strain on the battery.

For days when you think you will use more than 80% charge you can switch to normal mode and get that extra 20%. or plug in to a charger to top off since I have them nearby most of the time.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)