Apple may launch four phones in September, of which the iPhone 15 is the lowest, the iPhone 15 Pro Max (rumored to be renamed the iPhone 15 Ultra) is the top flagship, and the iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro are in the middle.
A summary of the key differences between the iPhone 15 and the 15 Pro Max
Most people probably won't struggle with which one to choose between the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max, because they are very different phones and have very different prices, but you can get an idea of how big the gap between Apple's iPhone 15 series can be through comparison.
Total specifications at a glance
At present, any spec information about the iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro Max on the Internet has not been confirmed, but through the news and educated speculation, we can have a relatively complete understanding of the features that the two phones may provide.
According to the news, the iPhone 15 will be equipped with a 6.1-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 2532×1170 and a refresh rate of only 60Hz. The phone will be equipped with A16 bionic chip, rear 48 million pixel main camera + 12 million pixel ultra-wide-angle lens, front 12 million pixel selfie lens, using 6GB storage, supplemented by 128GB/256GB and 512GB three memory versions, built-in 3877mAh battery.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max will be equipped with a 6.7-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1290×2796 and support a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate. The mobile phone will be equipped with A17 Bionic chip, supplemented by 8GB memory, 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB four memory versions. Three cameras on the rear of the phone, including a 48-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and a 12-megapixel periscope telephoto lens, support 6x zoom. Supplemented by a 4852mAh battery.
Comparison of prices and availability
According to leaks and rumors, the price of the iPhone 15 may be the same as the iPhone 14, or even slightly higher. For reference, the starting price of the iPhone 14 in different countries is 5999 yuan / 799 US dollars / 849 pounds / 1339 Australian dollars. The iPhone 15 reportedly costs about 12% more to produce, so the price may rise accordingly.
As for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it is reported that the price of the machine will almost certainly be higher than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and even the famous leaker Mark Gurman has said that the price of the new machine may rise.
For reference, the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $8999/$1099/£1199/$1899. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is expected to cost more, but the exact price is currently unclear. It is worth mentioning that the memory version offered by the iPhone 15 Pro Max is also larger. The iPhone 14 Pro Max is available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB memory versions.
As for the time to market, once launched, these two phones will soon be widely sold worldwide. Rumors say that the iPhone 15 has a release date of September 12, which according to past circumstances means that the shipping date is likely to be September 22.
Exterior design
From the front, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max may look very similar, and both phones may have smart islands, abandoning the ancestral notches. In addition, both phones will likely boast rounded side bezels instead of the flat bezels of the current model.
However, there are some noticeable differences when you turn the phone over, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max will have an additional camera lens than the iPhone 15 Standard Edition. But both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 will likely feature textured matte glass back panels.
Other possible differences could include the rumored presence of an action button on the iPhone 15 Pro Max (which will replace the mute switch), that the Pro Max will use titanium instead of aluminum or steel, and that the two phones have different color schemes. iPhone 15 colors are rumored to include light blue, cyan, pink, midnight, starlight and red, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max may be available in dark red, silver, gold, and graphite, space gray, or space black.
It is reported that Apple plans to launch 6 colors for the iPhone 15 standard version, but the internal adjustment is still in progress, so the color matching cannot be fully confirmed at present. Apple may introduce pink/rose gold for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, as well as orange.
Of course, the biggest visual difference may simply be their size, the iPhone 15 may have a similar size to the iPhone 14 at 146.7×71.5×7.8mm, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max may be similar to its predecessor, at 160.7×77.6×7.9mm.
This difference is due to the fact that their screen sizes may differ, with the iPhone 15 expected to have a compact 6.1-inch display, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max will likely come with a huge 6.7-inch screen.
That's not the only expected screen difference, as the iPhone 15 will reportedly feature a 60Hz refresh rate, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max will almost certainly feature an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. In addition, if you want the iPhone 15 to be always on, then you may need to choose the Pro series.
camera
Both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max may have a 48-megapixel main camera, but a leak suggests that the iPhone 15's camera will come with a smaller sensor, so it shouldn't perform as well. The two phones will likely also feature a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and it's unclear whether they'll share the camera's sensors.
But the iPhone 15 Pro Max will almost certainly come with a telephoto camera, and some leaks suggest it will feature a periscope design with a longer optical zoom range than the iPhone 14 Pro Max's telephoto camera. Either way, this extra lens will make it a better photography option than the standard iPhone 15.
In terms of front-facing cameras, the two phones may be equipped with a 12-megapixel single selfie lens.
performance
The iPhone 15 Pro Max has an advantage in terms of performance, as the phone will almost certainly come with the A17 Bionic chipset expected by Apple, while the standard version of the iPhone 15 will reportedly inherit the A16 Bionic chipset currently used by the iPhone 14 Pro series.
The A17 Bionic is said to have a 20% increase in CPU performance, so this could be a major upgrade, and it will likely come with 8GB of RAM (compared to just 6GB in the standard iPhone 15).
Finally, while both phones will use the Type-C interface, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is a Thunderbolt interface with a higher transfer speed and may support higher data transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps, while the standard iPhone 15 may be up to 20Gbps.
battery
Leaked information indicates that both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be equipped with larger batteries than their predecessors, with the iPhone 15 said to be equipped with a 3877mAh battery and the iPhone 15 Pro Max with a 4852mAh battery.
As a result, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's battery is probably the largest of the two so far, although it also comes with a larger screen. From the past, it may have a longer battery life.
However, both iPhone 15 models may use USB-C charging and support wireless charging, and even both phones may offer reverse wireless charging, so they can be used to charge other devices wirelessly.
summary
According to leaked news, rumors, and expectations based on previous models, the iPhone 15 Pro Max may have a larger screen, a higher refresh rate, a more advanced structure, an action button, an additional camera, a larger battery (which provides longer lifespan), and a more powerful chipset than the iPhone 15.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max may have other features, such as larger memory and higher data transfer speeds, as well as larger storage space, and there are even rumors that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will come with 2TB of storage.
Of course, the trade-off is that it's certainly much more expensive than the standard iPhone 15, which may offer many of the core features of the iPhone 15 series (including Spirit Island and USB-C ports), but at a fraction of the price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The iPhone 15's possible smaller screen may also be more attractive to some buyers.
The iPhone 15 is different from the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The iPhone 15 Pro Max will certainly come out on top overall, as you might expect, but its pricing will certainly be corresponding.