So maybe you’ve already decided you want the latest great iPhone, but which one to get? The significantly more expensive iPhone 15 Pro Max or the cheaper 15 Plus? Aside from the price difference, there’s a pretty big gap between the two in terms of features, performance, and overall hardware.
The iPhone 15 Plus costs €1,100/$899 (in Europe/US), while the 15 Pro Max costs €1,449/$1,199. That’s a notable price difference, which the 15 Pro Max has to justify with additional features, better hardware, and a better build.
The goal of this comparison is to try to quantify the actual difference between the two and allow you to decide whether the extra few hundred dollars are worth the more premium model.
Before providing a more nuanced comparison, we suggest taking a quick look at the technical data sheets.
Size comparison
Size-wise, there is little difference between the Pro and Plus. Although the two have the same display size, the Pro Max is slightly shorter and narrower due to the refined bezels. Compared to its predecessor, the 15 Pro Max features thinner bezels all around.
However, the 15 Plus feels thinner and lighter. Despite the Pro Max’s new titanium frame, which significantly reduces weight, the 15 Plus feels a little more manageable in the hand.
Aside from the more premium build, the 15 Pro Max sports the same features as its cheaper sibling: Corning glass with Ceramic Shield for the front, matte Corning glass on the back and IP68 certification against water and dust.
Ultimately, the 15 Plus feels slightly easier to use, but the 15 Pro Max boasts a more premium build. It’s up to you to decide which is more important.
View the comparison
Generally, you will get relatively the same viewing experience from both devices. The 15 Plus and 15 Pro Max feature mostly the same displays, with the only real difference being the refresh rate. While the 15 Pro Max boasts a variable and adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, the 15 Plus is stuck in 2019 with a 60Hz display. Also, for some reason, Apple doesn’t want you to have an always-on feature on the 15 Plus, so if you really like the always-on display feature, the 15 Pro Max should be your choice.
We could argue all day whether 120Hz is that important and whether most people can tell the difference, but once you choose a high refresh rate display, you probably won’t want to go back. Animations and games running at 120fps are noticeably smoother on the 15 Pro Max’s display.
On the other hand, if you don’t see much of a difference in everyday use, the 15 Plus’ OLED screen should be just fine. It has the new Dynamic Island crop, is just a few nits away from the maximum brightness of 15 Pro Max (1,642 nits vs. 1,787 nits), the resolution is the same, and HDR10 and Dolby Atmos compatible content is available on both. Plus, you can expect excellent color accuracy and sunlight readability, whichever you choose.
Battery life
Well, we have a definitive winner in our battery life test, with the 15 Pro Max taking a promising lead in virtually every aspect. While both phones have relatively the same battery, the 15 Pro Max’s new A17 Pro chip and more power-efficient LTPO OLED screen appear to make a difference.
When it comes to battery life, the two phones trade blows depending on the use case, but combined the battery life is about the same.
Charging speed
The results of our charging test this year are one of the world’s greatest mysteries. After several tests with the same 20W Apple charger (and a few other non-Apple 30W+ ones), the results remain consistent. The iPhone 15 Plus charges much faster than the 15 Pro Max at each checkpoint, even though Apple advertises similar charging times.
The cheaper 15 Plus beats the more premium model at the 15 minute mark, at the 30 minute mark and can complete a full cycle in just over 90 minuteswhile the 15 Pro Max succeeds 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Both devices also support wireless charging and wired reverse charging, likely enabled thanks to the new USB-C connectors.
Test the speakers
While the 15 Plus and 15 Pro Max both offer excellent sound quality, there is one notable difference between the two: volume and quality. Naturally, the 15 Pro Max produces a little clearer sounding music with prominent vocals without the bass getting in the way. Indeed, the bass is just right and makes all the tracks fuller and warmer. The 15 Plus, on the other hand, sounds duller than the Pro Max, and the vocals aren’t as clean.
Objectively speaking, the 15 Pro Max is noticeably louder. You may also be able to distinguish between the two using the widget below. We highly recommend using headphones for this and keeping the volume at maximum.
Performance
Performance is another differentiating factor between the 15 Plus and the Pro Max. The Pro Max runs on the latest A17 Pro chipset based on TSMC’s 3nm manufacturing process, while the 16 Bionic inside the 15 Plus is last year’s Apple SoC based on the 4nm node.
And in pure synthetic benchmarks, the 15 Pro Max outperforms the 15 Plus. The gap in the multi-core scenario is around 9 percent, while in a combined workload, the A17 Pro outperforms the 16 Bionic by 13 percent. In real-world scenarios like browsing, multitasking, and even casual gaming, you won’t see much of a difference. However, the A17 Pro has an ace up its sleeve.
In addition to the AI-related improvements, the 17 Pro is also powerful enough to support console-level gaming graphics. Apple promises to bring titles like Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4 Remake and Assassin’s Creed Mirage to iOS. This is huge news for gamers and we can’t wait to see the new hardware-accelerated Ray Tracing in action, which should take gaming graphics quality to a new level.
Camera comparison
The camera experience is probably the biggest difference between the iPhone 15 Plus and 15 Pro Max. This will likely be the deciding factor for many. Ultimately, if you don’t use your camera much, the iPhone 15 Plus would do a great job of casually posting to social media and sending photos of your pets to friends and family.
On the other hand, if you love playing with cameras or even have semi-professional needs, the obvious choice would be the Pro Max.
Not only does the Pro Max offer more flexibility by having three dedicated cameras (ultrawide, main, and 5x telephoto), but the camera hardware itself is also superior. The main camera features a larger sensor, the ultrawide camera is also miles ahead of the 15 Plus,’ and a 3D ToF sensor on the back allows for additional functionality. Oh, and the ultrawide camera supports autofocus, allowing for macro photography.
When you put the 15 Plus and 15 Pro Max side by side during the day, the difference isn’t all that noticeable. After all, most phones these days take excellent photos during the day.
The most obvious difference lies in the ultrawides. The 15 Plus’s ultrawide shooter is decidedly underwhelming even in good light.
iPhone 15 Plus: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 5x
iPhone 15 Pro Max: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 5x
The gap widens when you take the two iPhones out for a spin after dark. The larger main sensor, more capable ultrawide, and better image processing performed by the A17 Pro’s ISP allow for significantly better photo quality at night. As we said before, the 15 Pro Max wins easily here.
As for video quality, the two devices offer similar video quality during the day, but the 15 Pro Max takes things up a notch with its ProRes video recording mode for professional or semi-professional use and its sensors are capable to record bass better – bright shots.
Here’s a glimpse of how the iPhone 15 Plus’s main camera compares in image quality to the iPhone 15 Pro Max in our image comparison tool.
And here’s how the video quality of the iPhone 15 Plus’s main camera compares to that of the iPhone 15 Pro Max in our video comparison tool.
Verdict
If you don’t care about the A17 Pro’s sophisticated camera tech, extra performance and 120Hz refresh rate, the extra €350/$300 for the Pro Max will be hard to justify.
For the most part, the 15 Plus offers the same smooth big-screen iOS experience with many of the same built-in features, like Dynamc Island and the USB-C port, and most importantly great battery life.
But in case you’re willing to spend a little more on your next smartphone, then you’ll appreciate the 15 Pro Max’s camera prowess, smoother 120Hz display, and perhaps the new graphics quality that upcoming titles game they will bring to iOS.
- The lightest and thinnest body.
- Slightly faster charging.
- The price is significantly lower.
- The equally large screen and battery life of the more expensive iPhone.
Get the iPhone 15 Plus for:
- Better display and performance.
- The best camera experience.
- The most premium build.
- The best speakers.
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