The same percentage is not equal to the same brightness as the 15 Pro has a much higher maximum brightness. XR is 625 nits vs 1000 nits on the 15 Pro. (Up to 1600 nits for HDR or 2000 nits outdoors.)
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 15 Pro Impressions after upgrading from XR to iPhone 15 Pro
- Thread starter kyjaotkb
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That is good! I get good speeds on Three, though it is ever diminishing. They were excellent for me for so long, but the company has many drawbacks now.
I didn't know that until someone pointed it out to me a couple of pages back. But that doesn't make it ok in 2023.
I suspect that the connector change was designed to be as cheap as possible/not impact margins on the mass market iPhone (at least for this generation). Considering that most users probably don’t sync via iTunes/Finder (ie wired connections) anymore, it does make some sense to limit higher speed output to the “Pro” models (the sorts of customers doing things that could benefit from the higher speed connection). That said, I’d expect the standard iPhone 16 to have the higher speed connector.
Yes, at the same percentage the 15 Pro is brighter from above but dimmer from the sides. Viewing angles are significantly inferior to the XR, and to my iPhone 6, for that matter (!). The glass (sorry… Ceramic Shield) is also more reflective that on the XR.
It’s better than the 3GS though
although remains to be seen if it will withstand scratches as well as the 3GS, which was an absolute stellar performer in that area.
What are you even talking about? You're literally making things up. I have 100% viewing angles from all sides. The XR is a garbage dim display compared to the 15 (and even 14) in every conceivable metric. Please, just stop. This is just silly at this point. Did you even buy the 15? Because it sounds like you didn't.Yes, at the same percentage the 15 Pro is brighter from above but dimmer from the sides. Viewing angles are significantly inferior to the XR, and to my iPhone 6, for that matter (!). The glass (sorry… Ceramic Shield) is also more reflective that on the XR.
It’s better than the 3GS though
These panels are often of varying quality. ‘OLED lottery’ is something people talk about a lot. I’m seeing what I’m seeing. And please watch your tone next time, it’s the internet but calling people liars still isn’t nice.
Last edited:
I went from an 11, which is very similar to your XR, to the 15 Pro and have put my thoughts below.
- Design:
From my perspective, I partially agree with you about the design. For perspective, I went from a 3G to a 4 to a 6 to an 11 to a 15 Pro.
My first upgrade was monumental going from a plastic phone to a metal and glass phone. The second upgrade gave me a bigger screen and thinner body. Also a noticeable upgrade. The 6 to 11 was also substantial with a bigger screen and no top and bottom large bezels plus face ID.
For the 11 to 15 Pro, while the bezels are smaller and the dynamic island is nicer than the notch, after a week of use, just based on the screen size compared to body, it did not seem to be the upgrade bump I was used to.
- Cameras:
I haven’t played around with the cameras very much but from the pictures I took they do look better than the two cameras on the 11. I’m sure if I dug deeper I would see a much more significant upgrade.
- Screen:
I think the OLED at 120hz is a substantial upgrade. At first, like you, I wasn’t so sure about it. I thought the OLED was a bit darker and warmer. What I realized after using it was that it wasn’t darker or warmer but it was just more accurate in terms of color and saturation. After going back to my 11, which is now my work phone, I noticed pictures looked cooler but almost bleached out and dull. I use the same lock and home screens for both.
The 120hz is significant and noticeable. The fully dark blacks are very noticeable too. Especially when I’m reading a book in dark mode. Also, swiping, scrolling and animations look a lot more fluid. I wasn’t expecting that.
- Dynamic Island:
I agree and it’s, not something that’s made a difference to me except when Im using the timer. I like being able to see it without opening the app. Other than that it’s really too small to show anything well.
I do see animation bugs in the timer on the dynamic island. It randomly cuts of the M for minutes.
- Battery:
I left AOD off, but I find the battery life better than my 11 when it was new. Is it significant, NO, and that is a bit disappointing since I thought 3nm would really increase battery life. Currently, my 11 has an 84% battery health, which makes me happy after 4 years. I hope the battery in my 15 Pro has that kind of longevity.
- UWB, LiDAR, Bluetooth 5.3 vs 5, Wifi 6E vs AX, MagSafe vs Qi:
BT 5.3 and Wifi6E are significant upgrades more than you may realize but not necessarily perceive depending on your usage. I don’t use magsafe so that doesn’t really matter to me but at some point I may take advantage of the magnets.
- 5G:
Im in the US and my 4G speeds were good enough that I have not noticed any real difference. I ran a speed test and while it was faster 4G wasn’t slow in a way that I noticed. Although that may be different when I take a trip somewhere that Im not constantly on Wifi.
- Speed:
I agree with you. The last few chips have been so powerful that switching back between my 11 and 15Pro I don’t really notice enough of a difference that my old phone feels slow.
- Action button:
It’s previous use as a mute switch was wasted on me so I am glad it has a new functionality. Even if I’m not taking advantage of its full potential. Like you said, hopefully they expand its uses with single and double presses.
- USB-C:
This is just going to cost me money since my iPad and iPhone 11 are Lightning.
"All in all it's an extremely nice but very incremental update, and I miss LCD and finally understand why micro-LEDs have the potential of being an interesting upgrade. Long gone are the days or needing to upgrade every year or two: every 6 years seems feasible and I could have rocked my XR for another year easily, in exchange for parting with just £85 for fresh battery."
I really like the OLED and 120hz. I was going to buy a M3 Air when it eventually comes out but now I think I will get a MacBook Pro with the same 120hz and mini-LED.
"I'm just not really excited with my iPhone 15 Pro, but that's okay, as it's hopefully going to last me 5+ years."
I wouldn’t be surprised if something comes out in the next 3-4 years that would want to make you upgrade but maybe im just being overly hopeful.
I really appreciate your detailed review.
I’m upgrading from an iPhone XR, and my iPhone 15 Pro just arrived yesterday. I’m really enjoying the LED display (vs LCD, I’ve been looking forward to the LED upgrade for a while now). The biggest part of the upgrade for me is a storage capacity upgrade, though (my XR was 64GB, and it was getting hard to offload stuff to install iOS updates, especially 17). I ended up going with the 256GB model, which should keep me satisfied for a while. I’ve downloaded all the apps in my App Library, all my photos, and all my music library, and I’m sitting around 74GB, so I should be good for quite some time!
I was expecting to need to call AT&T or use their prepaid website to add it to my account/generate an eSIM, so I was really surprised to see the migration process use my existing physical SIM card as the basis of a new eSIM. (I’ve been using that SIM card since an iPhone 5s, so I’ve moved it between three different phones.) This was technically easier to switch the SIM over than previous phone upgrades have been!
The Action Button probably will be useful. I have it set up to a Shortcut that opens Launch Center Pro, and I have different Shortcuts set up in it. Dynamic Island/Live Activities is pretty good for apps like transit navigation (I’m using Transit for that), and I have Shortcuts set up in Launch Center Pro to kick off navigation to my most common locations in Transit. I went with the Blue Titanium color because of availability, but I’m digging the color. My XR was just the black model, so having some color is a nice change.
I can’t really speak to any of the other new features yet, though, other than the fact that I’m looking forward to moving onto MagSafe. My work phone and my AirPods can charge via MagSafe, and I’m honestly tempted to pick up a pair of AirPods Pro, and they charge via MagSafe, too. My AirPods Max are gonna be on Lightning still, as will my Apple TV remote, so I’ll still have need to keep a Lightning cable around. One big perk of MagSafe will be easy charging while using wired headphones or other wired accessories, so that’s cool. Surprisingly, despite being in Midtown Manhattan, it says I’m only on LTE. That makes me wonder if AT&T prepaid even has 5G, but LTE is plenty fast for me.
I was expecting to need to call AT&T or use their prepaid website to add it to my account/generate an eSIM, so I was really surprised to see the migration process use my existing physical SIM card as the basis of a new eSIM. (I’ve been using that SIM card since an iPhone 5s, so I’ve moved it between three different phones.) This was technically easier to switch the SIM over than previous phone upgrades have been!
The Action Button probably will be useful. I have it set up to a Shortcut that opens Launch Center Pro, and I have different Shortcuts set up in it. Dynamic Island/Live Activities is pretty good for apps like transit navigation (I’m using Transit for that), and I have Shortcuts set up in Launch Center Pro to kick off navigation to my most common locations in Transit. I went with the Blue Titanium color because of availability, but I’m digging the color. My XR was just the black model, so having some color is a nice change.
I can’t really speak to any of the other new features yet, though, other than the fact that I’m looking forward to moving onto MagSafe. My work phone and my AirPods can charge via MagSafe, and I’m honestly tempted to pick up a pair of AirPods Pro, and they charge via MagSafe, too. My AirPods Max are gonna be on Lightning still, as will my Apple TV remote, so I’ll still have need to keep a Lightning cable around. One big perk of MagSafe will be easy charging while using wired headphones or other wired accessories, so that’s cool. Surprisingly, despite being in Midtown Manhattan, it says I’m only on LTE. That makes me wonder if AT&T prepaid even has 5G, but LTE is plenty fast for me.
I have the same 15 Pro as you and the more I use it the more I enjoy it and see just how improved it is over my 11.
You can only really compare the max brightness with "auto" brightness and in the sun. Because that is where it will go to max brightness. Wouldn't be good for battery life or display health if people were able to constantly run it at max brightness. and that is also where you actually need the higher brightness.
The 15 Pro can reach 2000 nits outside. The XR just 625 nits.
That's a more than 3 times difference.
The 15 Pro can reach 2000 nits outside. The XR just 625 nits.
That's a more than 3 times difference.