The much-awaited Apple iPhone 15 boasts interesting upgrades and improvements from previous generations. But is iPhone 15 worth your money? Find that out here as we explore its specs, key features, and the most crucial factors that make it one of the best smartphones in 2023.
At the recently concluded “Wonderlust” event, Apple unveiled four new models in the iPhone 15 series: the base iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. We will discuss the standard variant here, and if you’d like to do a similar review for the other models, you may let us know if the iPhone 15 is worth it.
iPhone 15 Design & Display: What’s New?
The iPhone 15 is built with an industry-first color-infused back glass with a stunning, textured matte finish, and it’s available in five vibrant colors, including Pink, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Black. A new contoured edge is also made with aerospace-grade aluminum for increased durability.
It features a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display under the strong Ceramic Shield glass. The display supports peak HDR brightness of up to 1600 nits and peak outdoor brightness of up to 2000 nits, which is twice as bright as the previous generation. However, the 60Hz refresh rate is a big letdown for users who expect higher smartphone FPS.
One nice addition is the availability of Dynamic Island on the iPhone 15, which was exclusive to the Pro models last year.
It can be programmed for several features, such as important alerts and Live Activities, seeing notifications, controlling music, and more. Other than that, there aren’t many improvements in this aspect.
iPhone 15 Specs: Does it Perform Good?
The iPhone 15 is powered by the A16 Bionic processor, which Apple released last year for the iPhone 14 Pro lineup. iPhone 15 features two high-performance cores with 20% less power and four high-efficiency cores for handling intensive tasks while conserving battery.
It also has a 5-core GPU with 50% more memory bandwidth, allowing users to stream videos and play games more smoothly.
The chipset also has a 16-core Neural Engine, which can do around 17 trillion operations per second for faster ML computations. Here’s how the A16 Bionic stands against the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2:
Of course, the A16 Bionic is faster than older Apple silicon on the iPhone 14, 13, etc. However, it is surprisingly great against Android’s most powerful processor.
The iPhone 15 also comes with the newly announced iOS 17, which has several key upgrades. Essential safety enhancements include Crash Detection and Emergency SOS via satellite. Apple users can get Road Side Assistance via AAA when they’re in trouble and don’t have access to any network connectivity.
iPhone 15 Camera: Is it up to the Mark?
The camera is the biggest upgrade the iPhone 15 has received compared to its predecessors like the iPhone 14, iPhone 13, and others. It still features a two-camera setup with a 48MP Main camera instead of a 12MP sensor. A 3x Telephoto option also gives users multiple optical zoom levels.
With the iPhone 15, you can take sharper and more vivid shots with its default 24MP super-high resolution, quad-pixel sensor, and 100% Focus Pixels for fast autofocus. You can also take portraits without switching to Portrait mode for the first time. The device can automatically capture depth information.
It also has a 12MP Ultra Wide camera and a 12MP TrueDepth front camera. Apple has introduced all three lenses with Smart HDR rendering for a crisper output quality. This advanced HDR rendering is also available to third-party apps, so your pictures will always look amazing, even when shared online.
The iPhone 15 will surely beat its predecessors and top Android flagships when capturing pictures and videos. Once the device starts shipping, we can compare the sample pictures side-by-side to know better.
iPhone 15 Battery Life: Does it Last Longer?
One aspect where Apple claimed that there is an improvement, but we didn’t find any, is the battery life. The iPhone 15 features a more advanced A16 Bionic, which is more power-efficient than A15 Bionic on the iPhone 14. However, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 battery backups are the same.
For instance, you’ll get up to 20 hours of video playback and 80 hours of audio playback on both devices. This has officially been confirmed via Apple’s website. What’s even surprising is that iPhone 15’s battery life is only slightly better than older devices like the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 12.
Logically, it could mean that Apple has reduced the size of the battery. Unlike other manufacturers, it would only be confirmed when the phones start shipping since the Cupertino-based company doesn’t reveal the unit’s capacity in mAh. Other than that, it can’t be justified.
Another revolutionary change in the iPhone 15 is the Type-C port for charging. The device will ship with a braided USB-C cable. Due to the EU mandate, Apple had to adapt to the universally accepted standard for charging and transferring data. There is also reverse charging for accessories on the iPhone 15.
iPhone 15 Price: Is it Justified?
Apple is known for keeping a steady pricing scheme and is sticking to its plan with this year’s launch. The iPhone 15 is available at the same price as the iPhone 14 was launched last year. It starts at $799 in the U.S. for the 128GB storage and goes up to $1,099 for the 512GB storage option.
The mid-tier 256GB variant costs $8,99. The price of the newly launched iPhone 15 is justified compared to the iPhone 14, which recently experienced a $100 drop in cost. It starts at $699 at the Apple Store Online and physical stores. However, the price may be on the higher end when compared to the top Android phones.
If you want a standard smartphone with all basic features, an intuitive UI, smooth display, good battery, and swift performance, a $799 iPhone 15 would be a fair deal for you since it would last for around three to five years without any issues as Apple provides five to six major updates for its device.
Final Verdict: Is iPhone 15 Worth it?
After a long time, the iPhone 15 is a great upgrade from its predecessors. It’s the best available basic Apple smartphone right now, but it happens every year when Apple launches new devices in September. However, not every year’s iPhone receives such impressive upgrades; they’re generally marginally better.
Hence, the iPhone 15 is worth an upgrade if you currently use an older iPhone or Android device. It boasts incredible features such as the advanced camera setup with a 48MP main camera, Dynamic Island, and USB-C charging port, which are ‘firsts’ on a base iPhone model.
However, suppose you already use the iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro, or even the iPhone 14. In that case, we won’t recommend upgrading just yet unless you always get the newly launched Apple phone yearly. You’ll be better off waiting for next year’s iPhone 16 or the iPhone 17 a few years later.
One thing that we’ll suggest is that if your budget allows, you should go for the iPhone 15 Pro. It’ll be an even better upgrade with a Titanium finish, highly improved cameras, a smoother display, and the beast A17 Pro processor. It’s the perfect flagship device that stands out in every aspect.
That’s all for this guide. If you have any queries about the iPhone 15, please use the comment box.
Frequently Asked Questions:
The iPhone 15 has an industry-first glass-infused back glass with vibrant color options, the powerful A16 Bionic processor, a Super Retina XDR display, a 48MP main camera, and a USB-C charging port. It’s the perfect device to upgrade if you’ve been using an older iPhone or Android smartphone.
The iPhone 15 has multiple notable upgrades, including a 48MP main camera with 2x Telephoto, an A16 Bionic processor that offers smoother performance while consuming lesser battery life, the Super Retina XDR display with Dynamic Island, and the USB-C charging port with reverse charging for accessories.
Getting an iPhone 15 over the iPhone 14 would be a wiser choice since you’ll get the newer processor with faster performance, a smoother display, longer battery life, extensive features, and more software updates. It also has a USB-C charging port, the universally accepted standard for charging. Hence, the $100 price difference is justified.
The iPhone 15 has five vibrant color options: Pink, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Black. The pastel shades are unique to the lineup, but Pink returns after a hiatus. Pink was one of the most selling colors in the iPhone 13 series in the U.S., but it wasn’t featured in the iPhone 14 lineup.
This is Saquib, a technology and social media expert with over 10 years of experience in the industry. With a passion for staying up-to-date on the latest developments and trends in the tech and social media world and as a writer, I have been creating informative and engaging content that is easy for readers to understand and enjoy, also published in several leading tech and social media publications and is a regular speaker at industry events. In addition to my writing and speaking engagements, I also work as a consultant, helping businesses grow with the ever-changing tech and social media niche.