Apple’s iPhone 15 lineup has been out for over a month now and contains the common iPhone 15, the bigger iPhone 15 Plus, the iPhone 15 Professional, and the iPhone 15 Professional Max. There’s an iPhone 15 mannequin for everybody, and to date, the brand new telephones appear to be an enormous hit.
I’m an individual who upgrades their iPhone yearly, so I’ve had certainly one of each era of the iPhone for the reason that starting. This yr, I went with the iPhone 15 Professional as my improve from the iPhone 14 Professional, and it’s been certainly one of my favourite iPhones but. Let me clarify why.
Titanium makes an enormous distinction
One of many issues that I hated about my iPhone 14 Professional was the load. It was heavy. Mixed with the sharp edges, it could be uncomfortable to make use of for a protracted period of time, particularly one-handed.
Once I unboxed my iPhone 15 Professional and lifted it out of the field, I used to be extremely stunned by how light-weight it was in comparison with its predecessor. Then, simply to check, I held my iPhone 14 Professional (sans case) in a single hand and the iPhone 15 Professional within the different, and located the load distinction to be actually evening and day. Switching over to titanium from chrome steel is among the most important adjustments that Apple has ever made, and it actually helps with ergonomics whereas nonetheless retaining a premium aesthetic.
Plus, the titanium body has extra curved edges the place it meets the entrance glass. The result’s a softer really feel when holding the telephone since there aren’t any extra sharp edges that dig into your palm. It brings me again to the times of the iPhone 11 Professional, which I discovered fairly snug to carry. Ever for the reason that iPhone 12 Professional and thru to the iPhone 14 Professional, the telephones had been simply getting heavier and sharper.
I’m very glad that Apple made the swap to titanium. I solely hope that it continues to make use of titanium for future iPhones as properly, as a result of it is a incredible improve.
The Motion button is nice
One of many options that units the iPhone 15 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional Max aside from the common iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus is the Motion button, which changed the mute/silent swap. Whereas some individuals might not be utilizing the Motion button too usually, it’s turn into certainly one of my most-used options on the iPhone 15 Professional.
By default, the Motion button is about to allow or disable silent mode, similar to the previous swap did. However you may change the motion to one thing else from the Settings app, together with focus, digicam, voice memo, flashlight, magnifier, accessibility, or shortcut.
Although there’s a entire neighborhood on the market that has created some wild multi-action Shortcuts for the Motion button, I’ve stored it easy to date. I’ve said earlier than that I at all times needed a quicker method to open the Digital camera app moreover the customarily unreliable lock display screen shortcut, and the Motion button is the reply to that.
I discover myself utilizing the Motion button to launch the Digital camera app a number of occasions a day, whether or not it’s to take a photograph of my daughter, my fancy high-quality eating adventures with my husband, or our frequent Disneyland journeys. And because it lets me get to the digicam quicker, I’ve been capable of seize extra of my daughter’s spontaneous shenanigans somewhat than preventing with the lock display screen shortcut and lacking the second.
I simply hope that sooner or later Apple adjustments it so you may assign multiple motion to the button with different gestures, like double press or triple press, somewhat than simply press-and-hold.
Apple mounted the cameras
One among my greatest complaints with the iPhone 14 Professional was the digicam. It felt like Apple was somewhat too heavy-handed with the sharpening and processing of a picture after you captured it, which resulted in pictures that had harsh colours and an excessive amount of sharpness. However this wasn’t simply an iPhone 14 factor, because it felt just like the digicam high quality had been declining for the reason that iPhone 13.
Fortunately, the iPhone 15 Professional appears to be doing rather a lot higher with pictures this yr, largely due to Apple’s Sensible HDR 5. I’ve little to complain about when utilizing my iPhone 15 Professional digicam as the colours look life like and true to life, pores and skin tones are extra correct, and there’s extra element captured due to the 24MP default somewhat than 12MP.
I’ve additionally actually loved the Auto Portrait function, the place the digicam mechanically captures depth info in an everyday picture if the main target is on an individual, canine, or cat. This allows you to flip the common picture right into a portrait picture after the actual fact. I’ve been making use of this function fairly a bit, particularly with my daughter, because it’s arduous to manually swap to Portrait mode with an energetic toddler operating round.
Whereas the smaller iPhone 15 Professional lacks that new tetraprism telephoto lens that permits for 5x optical zoom, the telephone continues to be very succesful by way of images. It’s an enormous step up from the outcomes of its predecessor. Hopefully, subsequent yr, Apple can provide the smaller Professional some extra love within the digicam division.
A USB-C iPhone is so handy
An enormous change this yr with your complete iPhone 15 lineup was lastly eliminating Lightning in favor of USB-C. For some individuals, this will likely imply having to purchase all new cables, however for me, it was the alternative.
I’ve quite a lot of different electronics round the home, whether or not it’s Android telephones, tablets, or different little gizmos that should be charged up with a USB-C cable. Apple has already been utilizing USB-C for the iPad and MacBook lineups, too, so it’s not a very new factor. There are a ton of USB-C cables simply mendacity round my home, and I can undoubtedly say I’ve amassed extra USB-C cables than Lightning cables up to now few years.
With the iPhone 15 transformed to USB-C, I now have a plethora of cables to make use of already, and I don’t have to search for a proprietary Lightning cable anymore. For instance, I can simply use the identical cable for my daughter’s Amazon Fireplace HD Eight Child’s pill for my iPhone 15 Professional whereas I’m in the lounge. It’s simply a lot extra handy. Plus, most of my Lightning cables ended up not working after some time, and Apple’s first-party cables at all times had sturdiness points.
Plus, with the swap to USB-C, I’m capable of make use of Anker’s new lineup of cell energy equipment, like Anker’s 30-watt energy financial institution with a built-in USB-C cable. That is certainly one of my favourite new energy banks due to its compact dimension, built-in USB-C cable, and superfast 30W charging speeds. It even has a show that tells you ways lengthy it is going to take to cost up your telephone!
Nonetheless, one factor that also puzzles me is the truth that Apple didn’t enhance the charging speeds in any respect with the USB-C swap. It’s nonetheless capped at roughly 27W, like its predecessor with Lightning. Which means you get about 50% cost in 30 minutes so long as you utilize a correct (20W or increased) energy adapter.
The iPhone 15 continues to be one of many slower-charging smartphones on the market. Perhaps sooner or later sooner or later, Apple can provide us quicker charging speeds now that the iPhone makes use of USB-C.
Smaller screens are the very best
One among my issues with quite a lot of trendy smartphones nowadays is that the majority of them are simply too rattling massive. I’m unsure why most producers suppose everybody desires a huge telephone; I do know I actually don’t.
I worth with the ability to simply use my telephone one-handed. Although I nonetheless have to succeed in for these higher nook buttons typically on my iPhone 15 Professional, it’s rather more manageable than bigger screens. I’ve been utilizing the Google Pixel Eight Professional for the cameras just lately, which has the identical 6.7-inch dimension because the iPhone 15 Professional Max, and I’ve hassle dealing with it single-handedly since my palms are fairly small.
I want Apple caught with the previous 5.8-inch dimension of the iPhone X/XS as a result of that felt like absolutely the good dimension. Nevertheless it seems to be like Apple is sticking with 6.1 inches for the smaller iPhone dimension, and so long as it continues to be supplied, I’ll preserve getting it. I dread the day that Apple might resolve to ax the smaller dimension (sorry, mini followers), and I hope it by no means involves that.
The iPhone 15 Professional has been wonderful
This yr, it appeared like everybody was getting the iPhone 15 Professional Max as a result of new telephoto digicam, and sure, that’s a respectable purpose to get it over the smaller iPhone 15 Professional. Nonetheless, I felt like an outlier with my alternative, as I used to be one of many few who went with the smaller model as an alternative.
However I’ve been very pleased with my choice to get the iPhone 15 Professional, even when it doesn’t have the 5x optical zoom. It’s rather more ergonomic than the iPhone 14 Professional I used to be utilizing earlier than, and the titanium actually makes a distinction in weight. I’ve been utilizing the Motion button often for the digicam, and pictures taken with the iPhone 15 Professional don’t look unhealthy this yr. Additionally, having USB-C has been tremendous handy.
Sure, the iPhone 15 Professional could also be smaller, but it surely’s nonetheless fairly succesful. Apple has room to enhance with the iPhone 16 Professional subsequent yr, resembling including an improved telephoto digicam, however that doesn’t make the iPhone 15 Professional any much less spectacular in the present day.
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