Review: Six Months With the iPhone 15 Pro

[Mendoza_559]

I got my iPhone 15 Pro Max on day one. My battery life is at 99% with 181 cycles. I kept the action button to mute lol. I watch a lot of YouTube or play a lot of Retro Goal+ so I’ll drain a battery lol. My office is in my car so I’ll plug it in when it gets low. I also set a shortcut to activate low power mode at 40%.

 

[svish]

Very happy with my 15 Pro Max. Satisfied with battery life however not too happy with battery health. With 114 cycles, down to 96% health.

 

[elliotmoore91]

I reluctantly upgraded to the iphone 15, having come from the iphone SE2, mainly due to battery.

The device is fine but it honestly hasn't been that impressive. I doubt I'll be interested upgrading for at least another 5 years, unless of course I run into battery problems sooner...Interesting how the newer phones seem to degrade so much quicker.

 

[elliotmoore91]

My 15 Pro is at 118 charge cycles, 100% capacity. I have it set to the 80% limit to preserve health, but this means I usually have to do a mid-day charge for a little bit. Overall I really wish Apple would get serious about iPhone battery life rather than focusing on making the phone as razor thin as humanly possible, only to put a comically ridiculous-looking camera bump on the back.

Just make this phone/camera flush and use all additional space for battery. The solution is plainly obvious and now that Ive is gone I'm not sure who is still advocating for skinny phone over all usability.

100% this. Every year they focus so much on the camera...the camera has been more than enough since the iphone 11, possibly even a bit further back. Funny to think that the cameras and the body of the phones are set to get even bigger with the 16.

 

[eccentric84]

From 2023 November - 135 cycle count with Optimised Battery Charging used it's 100% maximum capacity.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Bought early November, I'm a very light user so 61 cycles and 100% capacity. Usually finish the day with between 60-75% available, and I only do overnight slow charging.

I forgot the action button was a thing, I have it set as quick-access torch, but muscle memory still uses the Lock Screen button for it. Would use it more if Apple enabled like a double-click or long hold gesture for it.

 

[Star Brood]

My Xs has 82% capacity and it has been wearing a UAG case for the past years. It's a great phone, and it hurts to see the boring direction phones have taken since OLED screens were introduced. The Galaxy S8 had that really cool curved glass with a properly indicated rectangular top and bottom, and then everyone started to copy Apple's design of the dumb notch or made their weird hole punch. The main complaint I have with the Xs is that I can't force the screen to NOT try to occupy that space to the sides of the notch, so when watching a video or trying to zoom in on a photo, I don't get a proper rectangular area but a warped area with a huge notch interfering. If anyone knows of any kind of accessibility setting to turn off that software's use of the screen to the left and right of the notch, I'd be delighted.

 

[Jimmie Geddes]

My 15 Pro Max (got it on launch day) battery is holding up much better than my 14 Pro Max at this time last year. Great six-month review Dan!

 

[ric22]

After 6 months my iPhone 15 Pro Max is still at 100% battery life. Cycle count at 111. Battery life is amazing- I sometimes get through two days use on one charge, and I'm limiting it to 80% charging.

No scratches at all yet, touch wood, despite no screen protector. Aside from being such a big lump, it's almost perfect. The cameras are annoying for me, though, as there's three of them but none with a focal length as useful as all my old iPhones.

The action button I use just like the old switch- to silence notifications. It mainly serves to make it more difficult to use the volume controls, and I still frequently hit the wrong one. So, yeah, it's primarily an annoyance. No button and no switch would be better than losing easy control of the volume buttons. If Apple cared to give it any useful function they'd allow us to double and triple press it for different uses we could customise.

 

[YYTVinceG]

Launch day 15 Pro Max 512GB Blue Titanium here and still rocking 100% health after 169 cycles. Only enabled 80% charge limit sometime back in December 2023. Although I've noticed it does charge to 100% on occasion without my intervention. Most mornings, however, when I remove it from my MagSafe charger the charge is only at 77-78%, however I use wired CarPlay on my 15 minute commute to work which brings it up to 80% well before I arrive.

After watching Matt's update today I've decided to try going a day without the case, as I'm pretty well used to the larger size at this point after upgrading from the 13 Pro, so I feel a bit more comfortable letting it all hang out, so to speak.

I still haven't really given much thought to the action button, so it remains in its default configuration of silent mode... for now.

 

[rbbloom99]

Action Button suggestion for Apple

Single press = "function 1"
Double press = "function 2"
Tripple press = "function 3"
Long press = "function 4"

This is "free" advice from an iPhone user since the original model. Free advice is worth what you pay for it 🙂

 

[aue123]

I have a launch day 11 pro max with original battery at 95% health .. over 30days of cellphone call time, used and abused all day long. 30w fast charger and all. no optimized BS or battery saver modes ..

you either win the battery lottery or you don't.
it's funny seeing these people claim 98% after 60 cycles is user error 🤣 😂

nope, just unlucky! Hopefully you win the battery lotto next year.

 

[Cymru1955]

iPhone 15 Pro Max, 43 cycles, charging to 80%, and battery is still 100% maximum capacity. First use November.
i use the action button to launch the camera (i changed after watching Dan’s video).

 

[ignatius345]

That sounds great. However, I'm on a brand new iPhone 15 Pro with iOS 17.3.1 and when I use Safari on the phone for 45 minutes, I find the 15 Pro battery is down around 80% already. What's going on?

Somethings definitely not right there. That’s not normal behavior at all.

 

[jcmbowman]

I went from an XR to a 15 Pro Max a couple months ago. I put it on a charging pad every night when I go to bed and I have yet to see it drop below 50% aside from the couple of times I didn't put it on the charger overnight. 34 cycles, 100% capacity.

 

[ric22]

Action Button suggestion for Apple

Single press = "function 1"
Double press = "function 2"
Tripple press = "function 3"
Long press = "function 4"

This is "free" advice from an iPhone user since the original model. Free advice is worth what you pay for it 🙂

Exactly! Same as I said. Why the heck didn't the implement this at launch? It was so obvious from the outset.

 

[Akinom]

The 15PM is my first iPhone since the 5c. I enjoy it, though holding the phone does cause some discomfort in my wrists sometimes - but that's on me for getting a massive phone. In a way, its a nice feeling using such a 'simple' device now. I can't remember the last time I've read up on Android news, which I used to spend excessive amounts of time doing. I'm not sure I would be willing to switch back at this point.

 

[bscheffel]

The action button is in a really awkward position which limits how I use it.

 

[StuBeck]

Spoiler: you should wait to upgrade.
It's been 7 months since this launched. The 16 will be out in 5.
If you've gone this long without upgrading, you can wait a little longer for a better phone.

I personally decided to upgrade now. I got a reasonable trade in deal, and a big promo on on-going service. I'm sure there is something with the newest one I'll wish I had waited for, but I was having some problems with my 13 Pro Max's battery life and the switch made sense.

 

[dbernie41]

Mostly happy with mine. SO nice to have USB-C but the Bluetooth is quite disappointing. Random disconnections ALL the time.

 

[ric22]

Mostly happy with mine. SO nice to have USB-C but the Bluetooth is quite disappointing. Random disconnections ALL the time.

What Bluetooth devices have you been struggling with, out of interest?

 

[BasedReborn]

Mostly happy with mine. SO nice to have USB-C but the Bluetooth is quite disappointing. Random disconnections ALL the time.

my m1 iPad has better connection than my 15 pro max. I thought it was just me

 

[FaustsHausUK]

I have the iPhone 15 Pro Max and have kept it in the same Apple silicone case since the day it arrived. The case has a small nick in it but the phone is pristine. My battery health is still at 100% after 127 cycles, and the only time I really drain the battery hard during the day is when I play games on it - normal tasks sip. That being said, if they want to flatten the camera bump in a future version by making the rest of the device thicker, filling that space with more battery, I'm OK with it.

 

[hirsthirst]

100% battery after 102 cycles (Pro, not Pro Max)
Optimised charging overnight on a 5A wired charger - did try 80% for a while, but feels a bit of a self-limitation
Action Button for Silent !

Very pleased with it - happy with the weight & Natural Titanium finish (in a clear case) feels 'timeless' and I'm already thinking of keeping it & not changing this year unless there's a new design / form-factor change.

 

[Truben]

Next May I do six months, and my bat is 100% and just 54 cycle count. I programmed action button but never find the right moment to use it. I'm learning to turn off the gadget during nights and while outdoors swimming or running. I was an early adopter of the first iPhone 3G, jump to iPhone SE and this iPhone 15 Pro has to work at least five years. So, yeah, I hope the gadget will last a bit.