During Apple Wonderlust, we saw the iPhone 15 Pro for the first time. The presentation was, as expected, well put together. But how does the smartphone perform in practice? WANT editor Jeroen Kraak got the chance to try out the device a few days before its release.
The iPhone 15 Pro is perhaps the most sought-after phone Apple is releasing this year. Although the smartphone is only available from Sept. 22, because of all the pre-orders, the delivery time is running high. For example, the blue version with 128 GB storage is currently only available from October 11 through Apple itself. But is this popularity justified?
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The look of the iPhone 15 Pro
As soon as I open the box of the iPhone 15 Pro, a few things catch my eye. First, the new woven cable is remarkable. This is actually long overdue, as my charging cables usually wear out within two years. So it’s nice that this one has now become more durable.
At the end of the cable is another big change: the USB-C port. Many people have been waiting a long time for this. The port on the iPhone 15 Pro even supports USB 3 speeds, although this is not yet noticeable with the supplied cable. For this, you have to buy a special cable.
Apple has made major changes to the appearance of the iPhone 15 Pro. Instead of stainless steel, titanium is now used, and it is clearly noticeable. The phone feels significantly lighter compared to its predecessor. In addition, its somewhat rounded shapes make it more comfortable to hold.
Incidentally, this does not affect the risk of inadvertent touching of the screen. In fact, the screen edges of the iPhone 15 are slightly thinner. As a result, the phone has the same screen size, but is slightly smaller in terms of dimensions.
The Action Button
The exterior of the iPhone 15 also features the new Action button. It works simply and you can choose its function. By default, it is set to silent mode, just as you are used to from previous models.
Although you can pre-set certain functions via the menu, I linked Apple Music via the Commands app. This gives me one-touch access to my playlist, which is an ideal feature for me, as this is one of the apps I use the most.
However, it would be helpful if Apple adds another feature to the button in the future. Think of a short press for a different function than a long press, as is the case with the AirPods Pro 2, for example. This allows you to pause a song with a short press, while a long press changes the noise cancellation.
The lightning-fast iPhone 15 Pro
OK, that’s the outside. A lot has changed on the inside, too. What is immediately noticeable is that the iPhone 15 Pro is lightning fast. I switch between different programs effortlessly, and animations look smooth. This is thanks to the 3-nm chip on the inside, which can hold more transistors and is therefore more powerful.
I received a demo version of Resident Evil Village from Apple to put maximum load on the chip. This game, originally developed for PC and consoles, runs very smoothly on the iPhone 15 Pro. In fact, the phone doesn’t even get hot. However, there is one but: if you really want to enjoy the highest graphics settings, you still have to play the game on a PC.
Camera
One of the main reasons for choosing the iPhone 15 Pro over the standard version is, of course, the camera. In this area, too, the iPhone 15 Pro does not disappoint. One of the biggest innovations is the 5X telephoto lens, which allows you to zoom in amazingly. The result is really impressive, unlike digital zoom, which often produces grainy and blurred images.
In addition, you can easily select portrait mode in photo mode, which allows the camera to automatically add depth to the picture. Later, you can easily adjust this depth.
Video recording on the iPhone 15 Pro is also of high quality as expected. It is now also possible to zoom in more easily while filming.
As mentioned, this is only a hands-on review. We will present a more comprehensive review and video in a few weeks. After all, to really evaluate a phone properly, you need to use it for a longer period of time.