As I understand it, many of us wait until the 'significant' upgrade before purchasing/arranging their next iPhone. So I wanted to share my own experiences coming from a 12 Pro - a very decent phone - to the 15 Pro, the current flagship. This post isn't about me trying to sell the 15 Pro, but more an overview of the improvements.
If you're wondering why I went with the 15 Pro now rather than waiting a month for the 16 to be released, it really came down to value. Based on what I can see from the rumoured upgrades, there wasn't enough for me to justify spending extra money for the (future) latest handset. I have a SIM-only contract and buy my phones outright, so it was just a question of when I saw a good deal.
I got my 15 Pro from Amazon UK for £775 refurbished. It's essentially brand new! After looking at the cover protector that you peel off the screen, it appears to have come from Apple Ireland; perhaps this is where some are refurbished? The USB-C cable and charging adapter are both cheapo variants that I wouldn't recommend using.
I pair my phone with a £9 a month Vodafone SIM-only 12 month contract, with 30 gb data and 5G. If I compare this to the typical 2 year upgrade cycle of a phone + SIM contract, I'm spending £1,015 over two years. That's a saving more than £200 over most contracts, which is significant but more importantly provides more control. (The SIM-only contracts often come with perks such as vouchers from the right sources).
I went with Natural Titanium and think it looks beautiful. It has a timeless aesthetic quality that isn't brash or boring, and even reminds me a little of the beige from older Apple products. The brushed finish on on the frame is classy too - so, so much better than the fingerprint magnet of the 12 Pro's glossy frame!
The iPhone 15 itself somehow 'feels' lighter than the 12 Pro, despite being virtually the same weight. Apparently, this is to do with the centre of mass being altered. The screen is virtually the same size but has more accurate and pleasing colours. Whites are whiter, colours are generally more vivid and lifelike. ProMotion is a joy to look at. Lower refresh rates on smaller devices can look ugly (to my eyes at least), so being able to scroll through content smoothly as butter is amazing.
The Always-On Display is either going to be annoying or very useful. As someone who regularly checks the stock market and has the phone on Silent almost always, it's handy having the widgets there and being able to see notifications without having the press the side button. However, some privacy is lost from apps such as WhatsApp where the contact name is visible to all.
Even the speaker quality on this device is massively improved. Listening to a podcast from just the phone speaker itself is realistic due to the better dynamic range and clearer voices. Music has more punch in the bass and brighter highs. Notifications come through crisper.
And then there's the camera quality. This will likely have been covered to death, but the upgrade truly has a 'wow' factor. The improved sensor on the main lens makes the 12 Pro look almost embarrassingly out of date. The extra resolution, clarity, and realistic colours make it a joy to use. The telephoto and wide lenses are also improved, but not to the same degree and rely more or less on improvements in distortion, flaring/ghosting, and colour reproduction.
The speed of the phone and its ability to prevent app refreshes in the background is impressive. I can keep more apps open in the background due to the higher RAM, and there is little lag when opening apps from cold. Everything feels so much more responsive.
Finally, the transfer process from the 12 Pro to the 15 Pro was very simple. You can do a direct transfer without the need for iCloud; this still took about 30 minutes, but was painless. The 12 Pro is then safely wiped with no need to dig into settings to deactivate things.
So in short, if you're on the fence about upgrading and want to save some money, I would say... just do it!
If you're wondering why I went with the 15 Pro now rather than waiting a month for the 16 to be released, it really came down to value. Based on what I can see from the rumoured upgrades, there wasn't enough for me to justify spending extra money for the (future) latest handset. I have a SIM-only contract and buy my phones outright, so it was just a question of when I saw a good deal.
I got my 15 Pro from Amazon UK for £775 refurbished. It's essentially brand new! After looking at the cover protector that you peel off the screen, it appears to have come from Apple Ireland; perhaps this is where some are refurbished? The USB-C cable and charging adapter are both cheapo variants that I wouldn't recommend using.
I pair my phone with a £9 a month Vodafone SIM-only 12 month contract, with 30 gb data and 5G. If I compare this to the typical 2 year upgrade cycle of a phone + SIM contract, I'm spending £1,015 over two years. That's a saving more than £200 over most contracts, which is significant but more importantly provides more control. (The SIM-only contracts often come with perks such as vouchers from the right sources).
I went with Natural Titanium and think it looks beautiful. It has a timeless aesthetic quality that isn't brash or boring, and even reminds me a little of the beige from older Apple products. The brushed finish on on the frame is classy too - so, so much better than the fingerprint magnet of the 12 Pro's glossy frame!
The iPhone 15 itself somehow 'feels' lighter than the 12 Pro, despite being virtually the same weight. Apparently, this is to do with the centre of mass being altered. The screen is virtually the same size but has more accurate and pleasing colours. Whites are whiter, colours are generally more vivid and lifelike. ProMotion is a joy to look at. Lower refresh rates on smaller devices can look ugly (to my eyes at least), so being able to scroll through content smoothly as butter is amazing.
The Always-On Display is either going to be annoying or very useful. As someone who regularly checks the stock market and has the phone on Silent almost always, it's handy having the widgets there and being able to see notifications without having the press the side button. However, some privacy is lost from apps such as WhatsApp where the contact name is visible to all.
Even the speaker quality on this device is massively improved. Listening to a podcast from just the phone speaker itself is realistic due to the better dynamic range and clearer voices. Music has more punch in the bass and brighter highs. Notifications come through crisper.
And then there's the camera quality. This will likely have been covered to death, but the upgrade truly has a 'wow' factor. The improved sensor on the main lens makes the 12 Pro look almost embarrassingly out of date. The extra resolution, clarity, and realistic colours make it a joy to use. The telephoto and wide lenses are also improved, but not to the same degree and rely more or less on improvements in distortion, flaring/ghosting, and colour reproduction.
The speed of the phone and its ability to prevent app refreshes in the background is impressive. I can keep more apps open in the background due to the higher RAM, and there is little lag when opening apps from cold. Everything feels so much more responsive.
Finally, the transfer process from the 12 Pro to the 15 Pro was very simple. You can do a direct transfer without the need for iCloud; this still took about 30 minutes, but was painless. The 12 Pro is then safely wiped with no need to dig into settings to deactivate things.
So in short, if you're on the fence about upgrading and want to save some money, I would say... just do it!
