Why you should avoid buying the iPhone 15 Pro   

The iPhone 15 series offers many updates over its predecessor, but is it worth spending more to get the iPhone 15 Pro over the regular models? We don’t think so.

Apple’s iPhone 15 series is here; Apple hails this as the biggest smartphone launch of the year. Every year, Apple touts that the latest iPhones are the best, most advanced phones ever.

The four phones launched this year are divided into two categories based on their specs and size; you have the regular and Pro phones and the larger “Plus” and “Max” variants of each.

Traditionally, the Pro phones are way better purchases, as you’d experience the best of Apple on these devices. Surprisingly, this time around, the story seems to be totally different. Apple has not only introduced the USB-C port on all iPhones but has also brought over the Dynamic Island feature to every handset in the lineup, too.

These upgrades make us wonder whether it is better to avoid purchasing the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max and save some money by buying the iPhone 15 or 15 Plus.

Slower USB-C won’t hamper performance

Apple

While Apple has finally introduced the industry standard USB-C port to iPhones, it has intentionally added a faster USB-C 3.2 port to the iPhone Pro while the base variants get USB-C 2.0 port.

In sheer numbers, the USB-C 2.0 offers transfer speeds similar to the lightning port, which has just been removed. Moreover, the cable that Apple is bundling with the iPhone 15 Pro doesn’t support faster data transfers than the USB-C 3.2 port is capable of processing. If you want to use this quicker data sync facility, purchase a new Type C-to-C Thunderbolt cable from Apple that costs $129.

So, if you’ve been using it to transfer data from your phone to the PC, nothing much has changed. Thanks to the Type-C port, you can now use your MacBook, or any Android phone’s charger to charge your iPhone, and you’ll have one less cable to carry around.

Regarding faster charging, both versions of the iPhone 15 max out at 35W fast charging, so you won’t miss out on that either.  

Similar designs

There is no denying that the notch used to be an eyesore. We learned to live with it, but it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing thing on the phone, especially when Android makes under-display-cameras household stuff.

Now that all four iPhones under the iPhone 15 lineup have the Dynamic Island, design isn’t a reason to force you to spend extra to avoid the notch. However, there are some minor differences in their overall aesthetics.

Little to no difference in performance

When it comes to specifications, Apple never shares absolute numbers. In fact, the company only talks about the percentage of improvement over the predecessor. The new A17 Pro, which powers the iPhone 15 Pro, is reportedly closing in on a similar amount of power as the M2 chipset for MacBooks.

However, experts hint it only offers a marginal update over last year’s A16 Bionic chips. It’s reported that Apple might have been forced to dramatically increase the power usage to provide a marginal performance boost. Moreover, these new chips, made by TSMC, are not as power-efficient as the A16 Bionic.

In a nutshell, the A17 Pro seems to be overclocked and underpowered, offering only minimal boost, and since it isn’t as power efficient as the A16, it might drain your battery faster.  Moreover, Apple deploys aggressive thermal throttling to keep the thermals in check, since it doesn’t use a physical heat dissipation system. This will impact the phone’s performance, including gaming and other heavy tasks.

Getting a new iPhone 15 with an older chip seems wiser than splashing out for the Pro model.

There is a better camera in the tow

Apple

While the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have the best camera module of the four phones, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus camera setup is also great.

The iPhone 15 has the same 48MP camera as the iPhone 14 Pro and can shoot photos at 24MP by default. The camera setup on the iPhone 14 Pro was excellent and helped users capture some stellar still photos and videos. Practically, the vanilla iPhone is capable of doing the same.

While the perescopic fancy zoom modes of the Pro model are interesting, they are one of the only real reasons you should splash out for this year’s biggest and best iPhones.

What you might miss if you get the vanilla iPhone 15

Apple

While little separates the two pairs of iPhones, the iPhone 15 Pro still has some unique features. We are unsure if they will trickle down to the base variants next year. These include the addition of an Action Button. Apple has added this versatile feature exclusively to the iPhone 15 Pro.

While it is a handy feature and can come in handy in more ways than one, its location could impact its overall usefulness.

You might also lose on a slightly more powerful camera setup that’s present on the iPhone 15 Pro. This is the first time that Apple has used a periscopic zoom lens on one of the cameras on an iPhone. The Pro iPhones also get slightly more memory onboard, too.

You also do not get a 120Hz refresh rate display because, for some odd reason, Apple has stuck with a 60Hz refresh rate on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. Though a higher refresh rate is resource and power-hungry, it does improve the overall user experience.

If you’re okay to miss out on these features and depending on how you want to use your phone, you can save some extra money by picking up the iPhone 15 or 15 Plus. The iPhone 15 base variant starts at $799 compared to the $999 price for the iPhone 15 Pro and $1199 for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. In our opinion, it’s just a better deal all-round.