IPhone 15 Pro Hands On: Promises Galore

The new iPhone 15 Pro is here, and along with it are the promises of significant improvements over the last. This time around, Apple’s armed it with an all-new flagship chipset, tougher body, better cameras, and plenty of new features. Also not forgetting a big kiss goodbye to a proprietary connector that no one will miss.

That’s a lot of expectations, but does the phone actually have what it takes to fulfil them? After spending a good time with it, here’s what I can share so far.

Usual marketing and sustainability claims aside, the iPhone 15 Pro, in all of its titanium glory, is a pretty phone indeed. It is both elegant and premium, and is also smooth to the touch – much like its non-Pro sibling. Although, I do have to say that the familiar rear panel design on Apple smartphones is getting to the point where it can be challenging to identify a newer model from its predecessors. It’s a nitpicky gripe, but it’s one that I feel compelled to share for the longest time.

Moving on, I’m glad to report that the shift to a titanium body has indeed made the phone much lighter. Coming in at approximately 187g, it is significantly less heavier than my two-year-old iPhone 13 Pro, allowing for a much better one-handed experience as well as storage. Despite this, it still feels very solid and sturdy, though I would still recommend that you use a case along with it regardless.

While there are plenty of new features introduced on the iPhone 15 series, perhaps none are more substantial than the addition of a USB-C port. Of course, it is no secret that Apple was required to give up its Lightning connector to comply with Europe’s laws, but it was the push that the company really needed. Sure, it still won’t match Thunderbolt levels in terms of data transfer speeds, but it’s still leaps better than what Apple’s proprietary port is capable of. Unfortunately, the phone retains its predecessor’s fast charging speed limit, whether you like it or not.

Then there’s the Action Button, a new feature that’s exclusive to the Pro variants. As revealed by the company prior to this, you can customise it to function as a quick shortcut for activating or launching different tools or apps, though to a limited capacity. I personally feel that the Action Button lacks the charm of the Mute Slider, but its inclusion is still a much appreciated quality-of-life upgrade nonetheless.

As for its display, the much thinner bezels work in tandem with the higher resolution and faster refresh rate that’s typically reserved for Pro models, allowing for an improved visual experience. Further complementing this is the iOS 17 interface, which offers smooth animations and highly responsive interactions. Of course, the Dynamic Island is back and there are some new tricks up its sleeve, especially the third-party Live Activities integration for apps such as Grab and so on.

Performance-wise, so far the new A17 Pro chipset is the beast that Apple makes it to be, though I do have to point out that things can literally get heated up when utilising certain features or apps – and this is still happening after updating the phone to iOS 17.0.3, by the way. Throughout my time with the phone, I have noticed instances where its temperature rises when I’m merely using its camera to snap photos though fortunately, it rarely reaches alarming levels.

Speaking of its imaging capabilities, the cameras on the iPhone 15 Pro have left a very positive impression on me for now – heating issues notwithstanding. Photos and videos look great, and the improved portrait mode is a whole lot of fun to use. It’s not perfect, but the cameras offer a much better experience, especially when compared to the older models. As a gentle reminder, do note that the onboard tetraprism telephoto lens can only go up to 3x optically on the regular Pro, while the 5x is only reserved for the Pro Max model.

In any case, expect a more in-depth analysis on the iPhone 15 Pro’s performance in my review that’s coming soon. On that note, I’ll be reserving my opinions on the phone’s battery life and its many other features for that as well, so stay tuned.