iPhone 15 and 15 Plus Proving Less Popular With Buyers This Year

[dampfnudel]

I'm going to need to knock on a ton of wood for saying this.

I think the iPhone 15 Pro is peak iPhone hardware (iOS is a different story). From a hardware perspective, I have zero complaints. The titanium is surprisingly durable - it has aged better than any aluminum or stainless steel iPhone to date. The screen is great. The cameras are great. The buttons feel good. The grip in hand feels good. USB-C is awesome. I think this is the iPhone to have for those that intend on keeping it for 3+ years.

From what I read, the 16 Pro will probably mainly focus on refining the camera by improving low light performance with a slightly larger sensor, reduce lens flares from bright light sources with a new anti-reflective lens coating, upgrade the ultra wide camera from 12mp to 48mp and give us the 5x optical lens from the 15 Pro Max. While the camera on the 15 Pro is pretty great, low light performance still needs some improvement. I don’t know if exclusive AI features on the iPhone 16 lineup will be a hit or not. There’s also 5G Advanced which most people probably won’t be able to use initially. Maybe a surprise or two???

 

[dampfnudel]

What does a posh new Apple telephone do that my trusty 6S doesn't?

So you’re the one who still uses a 6S!!! I heard rumors that someone out there still uses a 6S, but I didn’t believe it. My rose gold 6S is part of my iPhone “museum” now, in a box with my 4S and X.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Most people don't really care. They don't pay full price for the phone anyways.

People typically do one of two things:

1) Buy a phone on a tired offer/promo. Example: iPhone 14 for $6/month. iPhone 15 plus for $10.99.
2) Trade in their phone, so the phone carrier pays for some or most of it.

It's pretty rare someone just plops down $830 or $1,000 for a phone.

This is true, but then that payment looks different monthly. Plenty of people aren't willing to plop an additional $20 onto their monthly payment for a Pro, but are more willing to do so for an additional $12.99 for the Plus.

 

[hajime]

The camera IS real-world value. At least for me. I love taking pictures of the places I ride, of my cats, of plants around town. I use the camera all the time, and to me this is why nobody is buying the 15 vs. the 15 Pro. Whether one 'needs' it or not, I think the big deciding factor is often going to be the camera. Sometimes people want the best camera for the sake of the best camera, but it'll make a real, noticeable difference for me.

I am not a photographer. I have watched many youtube videos comparing the photos and videos taken by 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. Video quality look the same across all three phones. The problem is a lot of the time, without knowing which phones were used to take which photos, I found photos taken by the 15 Plus look very similar or sometimes slightly better than those taken by the 15 Pro. This makes it difficult to choose the Pro over the Plus for camera-sake. The 15 Pro seems to take better photos of letters far far away in the scenes and "sometimes" in the dark. Am I correct? Of course the image quality of the 15 Pro Max is the best but I don't want to spend that much money on a phone as I have some other expensive things to buy.

 

[hajime]

I'm going to need to knock on a ton of wood for saying this.

I think the iPhone 15 Pro is peak iPhone hardware (iOS is a different story). From a hardware perspective, I have zero complaints. The titanium is surprisingly durable - it has aged better than any aluminum or stainless steel iPhone to date. The screen is great. The cameras are great. The buttons feel good. The grip in hand feels good. USB-C is awesome. I think this is the iPhone to have for those that intend on keeping it for 3+ years.

How about the battery life? It seems to be worse than 15 Plus.

 

[RealMonster]

I am not a photographer. I have watched many youtube videos comparing the photos and videos taken by 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. Video quality look the same across all three phones. The problem is a lot of the time, without knowing which phones were used to take which photos, I found photos taken by the 15 Plus look very similar or sometimes slightly better than those taken by the 15 Pro. This makes it difficult to choose the Pro over the Plus for camera-sake. The 15 Pro seems to take better photos of letters far far away in the scenes and "sometimes" in the dark. Am I correct? Of course the image quality of the 15 Pro Max is the best but I don't want to spend that much money on a phone as I have some other expensive things to buy.

That's kind of weird, since the sensors and lenses in the Pro phones are physically, actually better. Like, not subjectively, there's just more light being collected by better lenses. And the Pro phones have an optical zoom system that the regular phones don't. I'm also pretty sure you can't do macro photography without a pro phone.

And, look, only 45% of people are going with the Pro phones; I expect you're not alone in your sentiment here. The normal cameras are great, and they do more than a good enough job. But I wouldn't be surprised if the tipping point for a lot of the people in that Pro-buying cohort were swayed by the camera, because it IS objectively a better system.

 

[hajime]

That's kind of weird, since the sensors and lenses in the Pro phones are physically, actually better. Like, not subjectively, there's just more light being collected by better lenses. And the Pro phones have an optical zoom system that the regular phones don't. I'm also pretty sure you can't do macro photography without a pro phone.

And, look, only 45% of people are going with the Pro phones; I expect you're not alone in your sentiment here. The normal cameras are great, and they do more than a good enough job. But I wouldn't be surprised if the tipping point for a lot of the people in that Pro-buying cohort were swayed by the camera, because it IS objectively a better system.

I watched some videos such as these. He also has a generally similar observation.

 

[bousozoku]

If the economy is crap, then how is it that "The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max share hardly changed compared to the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max the same quarter a year ago?"

Maybe the real reason is there aren't any real improvements from iPhone 14 and 14 Plus to iPhone 15 and 15 Plus

Certain people are going to buy the latest and greatest, even if they can't pay their bills, so the Pro and Pro Max will continue to be purchased, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, etc.

 

[Marty80]

if Apple wants to sell there products, they need to revision them.

Consumers demand new innovation the wow factor, a new face (design) & competitive pricing when buying a phone.

The iphone is now recycled concept which gets incremental changes year by year, at a hefty cost. Many users like myself are still holding onto older phones as there is no need to move on.

 

[antonrg]

The difference between the lowest priced and highest priced phones isnt about the day to day stuff anymore, it's about what they keep you from having unless you pay more. And people are starting to accept that they don't need the highest megapixel camera or video codec. As the low end improves this will slow down sales of the higher end.

I’ve never had a Pro precisely due to the reason you just described. I genuinely dont need a camera it offers as I do all of my professional video work with my full frame camera - something no phone can replace yet. There is no amount of software computing even the Pro Max can do to equal to a good full frame camera from even 5 years ago. Depth is one of the many aspects phone cameras are missing. So there goes their main feature for Pros that I have covered and have no need to spend a lot on.

120Ghz I have it on my MacBook Pro and, honestly, I don’t miss it on my 13 mini. At all.

And there you go, I absolutely don’t need a Pro line phone, although I absolutely love the way the Titanium 15 Pro looks, but 1200€ more in my account looks better. 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[antonrg]

Quite impressive really! Tim Apple says nobody wants a mini iPhone, yet people still buy it all these years later. Now of course us mini lovers a small group, but I refuse to believe that this group is so small that it's not worth selling a single model for.
If people are desperate enough to by a 13 mini in 2024, such an old phone relatively speaking, it shows that some people REALLY want small. So surely there'd be enough people for a 16 mini this year.

Personally I use my 13 mini and would love to get a newer one this year. But if Apple doesn't want to produce a new mini, then I have nothing I can upgrade to and buy nothing. I'm sure there's a LOT more people in the same situation I am. Holding onto their mini as long as possible due to not having an alternative.

I’m in the same boat. I hate the bigger phones. In fact, I skipped everything from 8 to the mini precisely due to the size, especially once they went to 6.1 inch territory. Out of interest, I tried their iPhone 15 line, curved edges do make it feel smaller, but it’s still too large for me and my use. I need a phone that’s not bulky as I could be clumsy sometimes, especially when I’m running around the city.

I hope Apple gives us, the smaller phone users, a new phone every 4-5 years. That will be fine for me. So far they’ve been doing that since the launch of SE line. We’ve had the SE and then the mini line. Let’s see what happens next.

 

[antonrg]

It’s nice to see that the 13 mini is still selling enough to be included in the charts.

And that’s without it even being on their official website or at their stores.

 

[Timmehhh]

Meh. I'm still using an iPhone 11 and only plan on upgrading this year. With the high cost of phones nowadays and the lack of major improvements every cycle, there's no reason to buy a new phone every two years. 4-5 years is fine for the vast majority of people.

 

[stef.brl]

normal iphone is just for grandmas now.

 

[macjaffa]

normal iphone is just for grandmas now.

Ridiculous comment. What are you talking about?

 

[oneMadRssn]

How about the battery life? It seems to be worse than 15 Plus.

Let me put it this way, the battery life high enough that I don't think about it ever. The phone has never not lasted me all day, even on days that are for me very heavy use. I've never worried about running out of power. When traveling, I bring a small USB-C battery pack that clips into the bottom.

 

[Bodhitree]

They could also have said “The 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are more popular this year” but apparently negative news is more click-worthy…

 

[deevey]

Not surprised at all. I see very few people with 15's and virtually everyone opting for Pro's.

There simply not been any compelling reasons for (masses of) people to upgrade even a stock IP12 to a stock IP15 - for everyday tasks, they are almost identical performance wise, and the camera is still incredible on a stock 12.

Even my wife's new 15 Pro has almost identical performance for what she uses most, compared to her IP12. Almost disappointingly so - she really thought she'd notice more differences.

The additional lens, high refresh screen, titanium frame though just made going with the Pro a far better upgrade option and given that she didn't upgrade her IP12 for 3 years vs a 2 year cycle with previous IP models, an extra 30% was a completely justifiable cost for a noticeably superior device.

Honestly she probably would have held out for the 16 if the 12's battery hadn't hit the threshold where resale price would be affected.

 

[Bazza1]

The real use value for me between my 12 Mini and a 15 is minimal, at best. Specs don't justify the leap, either. And I don't want a device bordering on a phablet.
Meanwhile, Apple tells me my Mini's trade-in value is $CDN200, yet on its refurb site, it would seem they might sell it for around $CDN800. This already tells me the products they are selling are overpriced.

 

[RealMonster]

I’m in the same boat. I hate the bigger phones. In fact, I skipped everything from 8 to the mini precisely due to the size, especially once they went to 6.1 inch territory. Out of interest, I tried their iPhone 15 line, curved edges do make it feel smaller, but it’s still too large for me and my use. I need a phone that’s not bulky as I could be clumsy sometimes, especially when I’m running around the city.

I hope Apple gives us, the smaller phone users, a new phone every 4-5 years. That will be fine for me. So far they’ve been doing that since the launch of SE line. We’ve had the SE and then the mini line. Let’s see what happens next.

I strongly believe that if they hadn't short-changed the Mini with the regular camera, they would've sold more. People didn't buy the mini because it was a lower spec phone, not because it was too small. If it was one of the pro models, it definitely would've done better, IMO.

 

[ttyRazor]

At this point, the current non-pro models make more sense when they’re bumped down to last year’s model’s lower price tier. There’s not enough year over year to differentiate anymore, and anyone who even cares enough to notice the difference is getting a Pro model. Outside of carrier deals there’s little reason to spend the extra $100 on this year’s vs last year’s.

 

[svish]

No particular improvement from the previous year model. If the base models also have 120 Hz, then their demand will definitely increase.

 

[Smartass]

The pale/faded-looking colors of the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus (left side) are also a step backwards from the more vibrant colors of the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus (right side), IMO.

View attachment 2373916

You don't get it, the colors on 15 are bland because Apple wants to save the environment, and is using less colors to color their iphones #cOuRaGE!

 

[Smartass]

No particular improvement from the previous year model. If the base models also have 120 Hz, then their demand will definitely increase.

You're overestimating average consumer, if you think, that they will buy iphone 16 in larger numbers just because it has 120hz screen. 99% of iphone users dont even know what is that and why it exists and why is it good for them.

 

[Bazza1]

You're overestimating average consumer, if you think, that they will buy iphone 16 in larger numbers just because it has 120hz screen. 99% of iphone users dont even know what is that and why it exists and why is it good for them.

Apple keeps tweaking specs or adding a feature to an existing app that offers a 'Squirrel!' moment to the avid Macoylte who will drink the Kool-Aid and get a new (and not basic) model every year. But I suggest that a significant majority of users don't really care - they want a well-built product that functions well as a phone and has apps that do exactly as expected. And on the latter front, I'd further suggest most users (let's call it your 99%) use about 20% of the capabilities of the device and really have little interest in digging about in the apps (especially when the controls for such things can be scattered across multiple locations on the phone) to 'maximize' an app's features.