Review of the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max: Velvet revolvers and vanity popsicles
Innovation eventually leads to the question of what happens next. The iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple's most costly phone to date, takes this marvel in a different direction.
How much excess in terms of wealth is too much? If there is anything that movies throughout the years have taught us, it is that there are a million and one ridiculous ways to spend money, if that is what you have in mind. The Apple iPhone is at the very bottom of the pyramid of incredulity when it comes to the lifestyles of the world's wealthiest people since it is synonymous with things that one must buy at the very beginning of fluent luxury.
The iPhone's core features, however, are at the center of Apple's renown halo, an apparently straightforward and pervasive device. People have waited in line for this phone over the years to be among the first to own it. Heck, it was this tiny phone that propelled Apple to the top spot in terms of market capitalization. With the exception of Saudi Aramco, four of the top five most valuable companies in the world today are tech companies (Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon). However, Apple did not become the most valuable company by powering all of the world's computers or smartphones, operating the majority of information searches, or developing online marketplaces for trade. Selling this phone was a key factor in their success.
When you stop to think about it, the very notion of it seems absurd. But the loop keeps going year after year—Apple keeps producing them, and consumers keep buying them. India used to have a very small number of clients for it, but that is now steadily and swiftly changing. The iPhone 15 Pro Max—Apple's most recent smartphone and one that officially above $2000—arrives in these circumstances.
Is it still appropriate to'review' Apple's newest, biggest, most costly smartphone only as a gadget given that no single consumer product (the Sony PlayStation may come in a distant second) has caught such interest and propelled a corporation quite to this scale?
The real target market for the iPhone 15 Pro Max?
Here are the reasons why, in my opinion, the iPhone 15 Pro Max need more nuance than merely technology, before I discuss its gadget credentials.
You see, no one actually requires an iPhone "Pro." If you are committed to the Apple ecosystem, it would be wise to purchase one of the entry-level iPhones. These phones are durable enough to last for at least five years if you take excellent care of the battery charging cycles.
However, having the Pro models gives you more social standing and, for many, a special glow. The Pro iPhone owners feel like the pinnacle of consumer tech dominance thanks to Apple's incorporation of an illusory halo and social ambition aspects. In this sense, if you agree with this concept, you'll probably purchase one of the Pro versions, depending on your budget and preferred screen size. If you're not, you'll think it's absurd and get involved in various levels of philosophical and societal disputes on Instagram and Reddit.
The titanium on the back of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is probably a big contributing factor if you decide to get one. Truth be told, Apple's newest model has no discernible social cachet; in fact, most people may mistake it for one of the three models from the previous generation, especially if it has a cover.
Funny enough, though, the fine print is what fits into the story of achievement and money. Imagine Mark Zuckerberg's gray t-shirt, Steve Jobs' black turtleneck, or Louis Vuitton luggage catalogs. The iPhone 15 Pro Max functions as intended for those who would purchase it, much like the greatest, most glamorous vanity confection of social approval. It doesn't change.
Beyond society, a phone nonetheless
You see, despite all of the revelation, the iPhone is still just a phone. It is projected to be among the greatest ever—if not the best—as a device given that it is one of the most costly mainstream consumer smartphones to date.
So here it is: Apple has equipped it with the A17 Pro, the world's first widely accessible 3 nm system-on-a-chip. The iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Pro are now two of the best-performing smartphones in the world, at least according to paper. However, Apple has focused more on gaming this year as a real-world application for what any user could want to do with all that capability.
To achieve this, they have finally included an internal-designed graphics processing unit (GPU) that supports hardware-level ray tracing. In layman's terms, this means that Apple's GPU was able to capture up to what Qualcomm and Samsung did in November and January of last year, respectively, in terms of providing a specialized graphics performance that simulates incredibly accurate light reflections.
Is it important? Well, it probably will eventually. You see, in order for games to appear even better, game makers also need to take full advantage of ray tracing GPUs. Graphics-intensive games on the iPhone 15 Pro Max do look as nice as they can on any smartphone, but they don't appear particularly unique. It's unclear at this point whether we're waiting for developers to improve or better GPUs to appear before ray tracing transforms smartphones into true handheld gaming consoles. Qualcomm's first-generation ray tracing GPU alongside the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has so far failed to see smartphone game graphics look how ray tracing potentially can.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max may modify a 3-minute 4K video timeline on InShot Pro while having a video streaming app, a navigation app, and a demanding racing game—all open and actively switching in the background—all with the highest graphics settings. This is where the A17 Pro excels. It does appear that Apple's performance boasts are accurate given this degree of performance prowess.
Two things, however, stand out. First, the titanium body of the phone means that, while aggressively performing the aforementioned multitasking load for longer than three minutes, you do tend to feel the phone heat up quite a little. The second part of our argument is more significant; absolutely nobody will actually be using a phone to navigate, play a game, and edit videos all at once. Such "simulated" workloads are just that—simulations. There are virtually no issues with the performance of the iPhone 15 Pro Max in any real-world use situation.
With its 'Pro' series, Apple prefers to target creative professionals. They may have some reservations about how the iPhone 15 Pro Max would perform in the long run, despite the fact that it plainly contains everything they could possibly need.
The camera system, however, would be more important for professionals. The iPhone 15 Pro Max receives a new 48MP sensor for the main camera this year, which uses slightly different algorithms than its predecessor to improve photographs. Apple creates 24MP photographs by default using their "neural engine" and a unique method of fusing several individual sensor pixels. Because of this, its images are noticeably more detailed than those of the iPhone 14 generation.
Other enhancements include a 2x telephoto mode made possible by pixel binning on the main sensor, an improved color balance, better background blurs and more realistic bokehs in portrait mode, and finally a default portrait mode that actually makes a bigger difference than it appears on paper. The iPhone 15 Pro Max also takes better low-light photos thanks to improved light-adjusting algorithms.
Apple claims that its 2x telephoto capability is superior to a digital zoom and that macro focussing with the primary camera appears to have improved. Although it does appear to have a higher resolution, Apple has ingeniously exploited pixel binning to great advantage, replicating a 28mm and 35mm lens focal length by using the main camera's normal 24mm lens. Each of these focal lengths produces photographs that are unmistakably superior to those you would have obtained with the digital zoom on the predecessor, giving you a surprisingly delightful degree of creative freedom.
It's important to keep in mind that each of these lens focal lengths generally keeps strong details in well-lit environments, and while they appear to render a lot of noise in low light, the overall sharpness and details are still fairly good. This makes it one of the greatest general-purpose low-light cameras to use, which is something you'll eventually do frequently.
In addition, Apple has a folding lens that offers a 5x telephoto zoom and, mercifully, optical stabilization. When you need it, having extra focal length is a handy little trick, like when you want to capture your dog's sudden run in the dog park. Over time, though, you'll come to understand that you won't utilize the telephoto zoom very frequently. Personally, I've found the 3x optical zoom to be ideal; however, others may feel differently.
But the sheer length of the battery life on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is simply outstanding. The battery life on Apple's newest phone is absolutely incredible; even though it has only been a few weeks since I've been using it, it has lasted well over 30 hours in a rigorous usage cycle that includes at least three hours of driving around town, three hours of streaming podcasts, more than usual calling, extensive WhatsApp and email use, and lots of Instagram and LinkedIn use.
And this year's titanium design demonstrates just how luxurious a phone can feel. Even though the iPhone 15 Pro Max weighs a substantial 221 grams and is a large smartphone, at least in my opinion, once you get used to handling it frequently, it doesn't feel awkward. This is due only to Apple's consistently excellent construction, which provides the smartphone a balanced body weight. The iPhone 15 Pro/Max's design strikes all the right design notes when it comes to the luxury feel of the product when the smoothed edges are taken into account.
The 120Hz variable refresh rate (referred to as "ProMotion" in Applespeak) and performance skills of the OLED XDR display make it one of the greatest well-balanced, responsive, and enjoyable smartphone screens available.
The ideal item for Apple
After using Apple goods for more than ten years, I'm certain that the iPhone 15 Pro Max does more than merely succeed as a gadget. It's essentially the best smartphone money can buy in terms of functionality. Personally, I'd choose the iPhone 15 Pro because of its large screen and the fact that I don't anticipate using the 5x telephoto lens frequently. If I already owned an iPhone 14 Pro series, I might not purchase it.
What it succeeds in doing is personifying how customers view Apple. The iPhone 15 Pro Max invariably turns into a velvet revolver for the brand, its merchants worldwide, its customers, and aspirants looking in the transparent sapphire crystal glass for an understanding of what's inside given that the majority of consumers view Apple as one of the most highest-end companies in consumer goods worldwide.
Without a question, it is a luxury. Whether it appeals to your taste buds or not depends on a variety of individual circumstances that only you can determine.
