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Apple’s latest, most expensive, best iPhone is better than last year’s model. It’s a little lighter, a little faster, a little better camera, a little more convenient.
And yet, it’s hard not to feel decidedly underwhelmed. After days of use and a battery of tests, I can’t help but feel bored with it. All the improvements are welcome, but they’re largely uninspired. It’s as if Apple is out of ideas, or the iPhone is just too important to take any risks with, or all the company’s best efforts have been spent working on Apple Vision Pro.
The best case one can make for the latest iPhone is that it’s an iPhone – it runs iOS, it runs iPhone apps, it’s fairly privacy-minded, and it works great with all your other Apple products and services. But you can say that of every modern iPhone, so why choose this one? Because, though somewhat uninspired, it’s still the best iPhone. And if you want the best iPhone, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is it.
DESIGN
The first thing you’ll notice upon picking up an iPhone 15 Pro Max (or the regular Pro model) is how much lighter it feels than previous Pro phones. Apple’s switch from stainless steel to titanium for the outer frame has only reduced weight by about 10 percent, but all that weight comes from the outer edges, so it seems like an even bigger weight reduction.
This doesn’t really make it a light phone, mind you. Other premium smartphones of this size – the Pixel 7 Pro and the Galaxy S23+ for example – have been lighter than the iPhone Pro Max models for some time, and this change brings Apple in line with them. It’s welcome, but not revolutionary, or even a competitive advantage.
You also won’t find that the titanium (bonded to aluminium) frame offers better durability. It’s not more scratch-resistant, harder to dent or ding, or really less prone to showing fingerprints–though the natural titanium colour seems to hide them well. Otherwise, the brushed and matte finish of the titanium sides feels a little nicer
