iPhone 15 Pro Max Is anyone else feeling very underwhelmed with their new iPhone 15?

[DJJAZZYJET]

Yep - coming from a 13 Pro Max the 15 Pro Max felt very underwhelming. The speakers are better on the 13 Pro Max - and I feel the screen is better too because it isn’t as ‘warm’. Largely though the screens are very similar and there is no justification for the upgrade. In terms of speed the 15PM is lightning quick but the 13PM isn’t exactly slow - with a full factory reset when iOS 17.1 comes out it’ll feel even faster. In terms of battery, after a few days I noticed no improvements in the battery drain. I ended up selling mine - sticking with the 13PM

 

[ShadowGuardian87]

No offense to anyone but I am also baffled by the “buyers” remorse topics like 2-3 days after the phone launches.

It’s not like Apple is tricking people into upgrading every year. They give you all the specs and information you need before making a decision to buy or not. The specs and features are listed on the product page. Also, there a many tech YouTubers who gave their impressions and thoughts right after the Apple event. They also release reviews a few days before the phone launches which even gives you time to cancel pre-orders if the phone isn’t your cup of tea.



Then the yearly upgrade people who then pop up and complain that the new phone isn't an upgrade from last year's phone.. I just give them the biggest side-eye. I rarely ( if ever ) have buyer's remorse when it comes to tech products that I purchase because I do thorough research and see if it will meet my needs or interests.

 

[Supermallet]

I am extremely whelmed with my 15 Pro Max. Easily my favorite iPhone since the 11 Pro. The subtle changes in the redesign combine to make the Pro Max feel as light and nimble in the hand as the previous regular Pro models did. The action button is super useful, and battery life has been great.

I’m hoping to keep this phone for at least 3, if not 4 years, like I should have done with the 11 Pro.

 

[Lakersfan74]

Coming from a 12 Pro the 15 Pro Max is nicer. 120 hz and USB-C alone are worth it. Having the action botton do more than just silent is a bonus. I do miss the two tone look though of the back and frame having different colors though.

 

[GuruZac]

Stepping up from 12 series I love everything about the 15PM.

Mine is perfect. There are no manufacturing faults, which usually only affect a low single digit percentile of users. When you have several million customers and a few dozen are vocal on forums then it is easy to be tricked into assuming that everyone has problems.

I always keep my expectations based in the real world and not some fantasy future that will never exist.

If the 15PM feels warm sometimes it's because we have the most powerful mobile CPU in the world in the palm of our hand. I don't expect it to be room or skin temperature always.

Stay clear from clickbait videos. Nobody cracks phones with the force of two arms in the real world. Nobody takes a knife to their phone. We don't buy a phone to review it quickly for ad revenue and refund it. We are real users.

This. 👏 100% agree with all of the above. I’m loving my 15PM. No defects, just a beautiful piece of hardware. Love the titanium curved sides. I did AppleCare+ as usual and am really considering using without the clear MagSafe case I bought for it. I love it. My caveat is that I came from a 6.1” 13 Pro, so the 15 Pro Max is a really nice upgrade for a lot of reasons for me.

 

[GuruZac]

Yikes. not a good sign. One thing I really hate about my s22U. It's hot and lags. Hoping to not have to deal with that anymore moving to the 15PM.

My 15 Pro Max is not hot, and certainly doesn’t lag. I think you’ll be grand.

 

[MrMacintoshIII]

Meanwhile I’m extremely happy switching from my iPhone 14 Pro to 15 Pro. Glad I’m not you guys who can’t even enjoy the upgrade from an 11. Wow.

I would list all the changes from 14 Pro to 15 Pro but I’d just be wasting my time. You wouldn’t listen or understand the depths of the upgrades for this power user.

Some people just want to be unhappy.

I’m also convinced that paid Samsung reps come here just to sow flak.

 

[Mikep976]

I’m enjoying my 15 Pro Max from my 13, but I will say, it’s the first year that I’ve “considered” moving to android. I think I’m simply getting tired if feeling like there’s a lack of innovation and new stuff, especially when I’m not one to be in the market for a $3500 headset. I was heavily considering a Pixel Fold or Fold 5, but the other apple devices I had that were relatively new, won me back. I don’t know about next time, as the allure of a phone and tablet in one is strong.

 

[Rayymondo]

I switched up from a 13 pro, and my expectations are what I would call reasonable. i.e. I don't have any fantasies about how its going to blow me away. Am happy with the battery and camera upgrade, getting AOD is swell, feels like I've come full circle from my Samsung galaxy 6 years back. Pleasantly surprised I haven't yet encountered the usual battery drain complaints that seems to come standard with any ios update or new phone. Phone was warm for day 1 - which is part and parcel of essentially any phone change or major ios update for me. Genuinely surprised to notice that the phone loads web pages faster, and in general does everything else slightly faster. I really didn't expect to see any markedly or noticeable speed gains as the 13pro was what I'd thought to be more than sufficient for any day to day use. Happy to be wrong on this count.

Like MrMacintoshIII, I second the sentiment on paid trolls or androidfanboys lurking the forum. To come from 11PM and make a claim that there are no noticeable upgrades is rather...far fetched. This would make more sense coming from a 14pro/PM. My wife rocks a 14pro, and the main thing for her when she held the 15PM was the weight difference or lack of it. That aside, everything else is probably negligible / incremental at best. Even from a 13pro (as per above), there are noticeable differences.

 

[Rayymondo]

I’m enjoying my 15 Pro Max from my 13, but I will say, it’s the first year that I’ve “considered” moving to android. I think I’m simply getting tired if feeling like there’s a lack of innovation and new stuff, especially when I’m not one to be in the market for a $3500 headset. I was heavily considering a Pixel Fold or Fold 5, but the other apple devices I had that were relatively new, won me back. I don’t know about next time, as the allure of a phone and tablet in one is strong.

Can't say I haven't been tempted every time I walk past a Samsung shop and eye the foldable phones. And then I remember how "well" they hold up be it physically and their resale values. I've got friends in my circle that are diehard foldable phone people, makes for great party tricks and wow factor but that eventually wears off when you have to bring it in to get it repaired after a year. The day Apple decides to wade into this segment because they deem technology as being good enough, well what a day that would be.

I have given up on google and their "hardware" engineering capabilities. My wife doesn't let me forget about that time I convinced her to get a pixel, which was in her words, the worst phone she had ever owned owing to the POS battery life.

 

[izzy0242mr]

I was pretty excited watching the keynote thinking it would be a great time to finally upgrade from my 11PM and although chaotic it was also fun trying to snag an early morning release phone due to pre-order issues, but now that I actually have my 15PM I'm feeling a bit of buyer's remorse.

The first thing I definitely noticed on it was the overheating (I'd account for this probably being due to setup/re-downloading), but my older phone has never gotten that toasty. I also noticed I have been getting a lot of eye strain/headaches when using it, but I've never had issues with my Oled switch. Not sure if my eyes just need to get adjusted to this? I also never realized how obtrusive the size of the new camera lens was on the newer iPhones from an aesthetic point of view.

I'm honestly surprised by how well my 11 PM has lasted and how I'm still pretty content with it even side by side with the newer 15 PM.

Just wondering if anyone else is considering returning their new phones?

This is why people need to stop upgrading iPhones so much. I've been saying this for years: there are no meaningful improvements for the majority of users from the iPhone 11 series to the current iPhone series. This continues to be true with the iPhone 15 series.

Stop upgrading. Use your phone until it can't work anymore. Stop wasting money and using up scarce environmental resources.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Get used to it for a week, if you don’t like it in week or 10 days. Send it back, it’s not a big deal. Use what you like.

 

[tekksan]

Coming from a 12 Pro to a 15 Pro and I think it is a big improvement. Lighter, better internals, better screen, better camera. My only complaint would be I think the PM is too big but would like to try something in the middle of the 6.1” and the 6.7”. Rumor has it that a 6.3” will be coming next year. If so, I may try that out. Also, I wouldn’t mind it being a little thicker to have more battery life.

It gets harder to come out with groundbreaking tech year after year.

 

[Markwebbvt]

A few months ago I paid Apple for a battery replacement but they messed it up as the screen wouldn’t go back down so they gave me a brand new one so the one I’m using is pretty much brand new and has 100% battery health so I’m thinking I could save myself £1199 and send it back.

I think you just answered your own question: save the money!

 

[pcd213]

It’s a really great phone. Perhaps I’d be more enamored with it had I not been using a 14 Pro Max for two months beforehand. Had I been going from my 12 Pro, I would feel the leap. Having said that, the days of every two years feeling like Apple has moved mountains and recreated the platform are over. It’s just not possible to take those great leaps every other year anymore. Either the technology and parts are no longer advancing at the speed they once did or Apple needs to ensure they maintain their cash cow without blowing all of the good stuff on two or three years of iPhone models. I don’t know, but we’re living in different times. The iPhone is starting to feel more like the Mac in that way, at least pre M1. I’m really looking forward to that M1 like jump for the iPhone though. For me, three day battery life on a Max with even greater brightness and even thinner bezels and no island or hole punch…I think that would be it. I think I would also really like to get 3x zoom back with a 6x and/or 9x to complement it. That’s the Ultra model I desire.

 

[SteveJawbs]

I have a bunch of Apple stock and root for their success and lots of sales but my 8 is still working awesomely. I have zero reason to upgrade. Pics are fabulous nearly 7 years later buying it. The 8 is the true GOAT. This is a zero filter pic taken with my 8 last week. I can’t see any reason to want a new iPhone and I could afford to buy 20 new iPhone 15s.

 

[pcd213]

I have a bunch of Apple stock and root for their success and lots of sales but my 8 is still working awesomely. I have zero reason to upgrade. Pics are fabulous nearly. 7 years ladder buying it. The 8 is the true GOAT. This is a zero filter pic taken with my 8 last week. I can’t see any reason to want a new iPhone and I could afford to buy 20 new iPhone 15s.

🤨

 

[GMShadow]

Buyers remorse threads popping up less than 72 hours after release. A new record. The time seems to get shorter & shorter ever year.

I regret buying the 16 Pro.

 

[Larabee119]

I'm going from 14PM to 15PM and feel very satisfied, especially with the new curve in the frame. I don't really use a case, so it's something notable when the 14PM's sharp edges dig into the skin after a long time. The 15PM weight balance is much better than 14PM, so it feels lighter to hold.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Your reaction is perfectly natural. At its core, iPhones 15 are still largely the same product as an iPhone X.

The last 5 years of (high-end) iPhones have just been too good to justify a new purchase, and the new ones not so much better that you really notice a big difference.

I really only expect the majority of us to get impressed with iPhones again once Apple moves on to the full under-display FaceID and/or some next generation biometrics and display.

But maybe that’s not even enough.

The best way to mitigate this kind of disappointment is to practice self-restraint and hold on to your current iPhone for at least 3 years, preferably more.

 

[MayfairMissy]

I didn't see the need to upgrade from my black 14 Pro Max with 100% battery health this year. I still use a ton of lightning cables for my other devices. The mute switch has always been very functional for me. And I would miss using my all time favourite Apple leather cases. So far the 15 Pro Max would only bring disadvantages to my table. Quite happy they still kept the sim tray for us non US users though. If they would have made it only e-sim in Europe too I wouldn't even have thought about it at all.

 

[SteamedClams]

Meanwhile I’m extremely happy switching from my iPhone 14 Pro to 15 Pro. Glad I’m not you guys who can’t even enjoy the upgrade from an 11. Wow.

I would list all the changes from 14 Pro to 15 Pro but I’d just be wasting my time. You wouldn’t listen or understand the depths of the upgrades for this power user.

Some people just want to be unhappy.

I’m also convinced that paid Samsung reps come here just to sow flak.

So you like the upgrade and some didn’t. No need to be a dick about it.

 

[doolar]

I’m really happy with my 15PM coming from a 13P.

Way more comfortable in my hand (caseless user), big improvement in camera quality, AOD was something I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I do. The natural Ti colour is really cool imo, although I may get bored of it.

The action button is great, using it for the camera so I can take pictures with gloves on (useful both in my work, and when out on my motorcycle, no need to take my gloves off).

The 5x telephoto is a treat when I’m watching my son’s floor ball and soccer games, the extra focal length is perfect.

Way less fingerprinty and smudgy than my old 13P.

I’ve held off the Max’s due to size and weight even though I wanted the larger screen. This year it finally barely tips the scale favourably for me.

I haven’t been this pleased since my X.

 

[jennyp]

It’s not like Apple is tricking people into upgrading every year

You're kidding, right?

 

[SnyG]

I’m on O2 Switch Up so I could theoretically upgrade my 14 PM whenever I want, nothing about the 15 is really tempting me though.