Apple’s iPhone 15 lineup has been out for over a month now and consists of 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 a giant hit.

I’m an individual who upgrades their iPhone yearly, so I’ve had considered one of each technology of the iPhone for the reason that starting. This 12 months, I went with the iPhone 15 Professional as my improve from the iPhone 14 Professional, and it’s been considered 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 will be uncomfortable to make use of for a chronic 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 shocked 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 stainless-steel is likely one of the most vital modifications 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 are not 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 have 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 improbable 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 folks might not be utilizing the Motion button too typically, it’s develop into considered one of my most-used options on the iPhone 15 Professional.

By default, the Motion button is ready 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 group 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 sooner solution to open the Digicam app in addition to the usually unreliable lock display screen shortcut, and the Motion button is the reply to that.

I discover myself utilizing the Motion button to launch the Digicam app a number of occasions a day, whether or not it’s to take a photograph of my daughter, my fancy advantageous eating adventures with my husband, or our frequent Disneyland journeys. And because it lets me get to the digicam sooner, 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 at some point Apple modifications it so you may assign a couple of motion to the button with different gestures, like double press or triple press, somewhat than simply press-and-hold.

Apple fastened the cameras

One in all my largest 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 photographs 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 photographs this 12 months, largely due to Apple’s Good HDR 5. I’ve little to complain about when utilizing my iPhone 15 Professional digicam as the colours look reasonable 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 characteristic, the place the digicam mechanically captures depth info in an everyday photograph if the main target is on an individual, canine, or cat. This allows you to flip the common photograph right into a portrait picture after the actual fact. I’ve been making use of this characteristic fairly a bit, particularly with my daughter, because it’s laborious to manually swap to Portrait mode with an lively toddler working 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 a giant step up from the outcomes of its predecessor. Hopefully, subsequent 12 months, Apple can provide the smaller Professional some extra love within the digicam division.

A USB-C iPhone is so handy

An enormous change this 12 months with your complete iPhone 15 lineup was lastly eliminating Lightning in favor of USB-C. For some folks, this may increasingly imply having to purchase all new cables, however for me, it was the alternative.

I’ve loads 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 totally new factor. There are a ton of USB-C cables simply mendacity round my home, and I can undoubtedly say I’ve accrued extra USB-C cables than Lightning cables prior 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 Hearth HD 8 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 considered 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 can take to cost up your telephone!

Nevertheless, 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. Meaning you get about 50% cost in half-hour so long as you employ a correct (20W or increased) energy adapter.

The iPhone 15 continues to be one of many slower-charging smartphones on the market. Perhaps at some point sooner or later, Apple can provide us sooner charging speeds now that the iPhone makes use of USB-C.

Smaller screens are the very best

One in all my issues with loads of fashionable smartphones today is that the majority of them are simply too rattling massive. I’m undecided why most producers assume everybody needs a big 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 achieve for these higher nook buttons generally on my iPhone 15 Professional, it’s far more manageable than bigger screens. I’ve been utilizing the Google Pixel 8 Professional for the cameras not too long ago, which has the identical 6.7-inch dimension because the iPhone 15 Professional Max, and I’ve bother 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. But it surely appears like Apple is sticking with 6.1 inches for the smaller iPhone dimension, and so long as it continues to be provided, I’ll hold getting it. I dread the day that Apple could determine 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 12 months, it appeared like everybody was getting the iPhone 15 Professional Max as a result of new telephoto digicam, and sure, that’s a reputable motive to get it over the smaller iPhone 15 Professional. Nevertheless, I felt like an outlier with my selection, as I used to be one of many few who went with the smaller model as a substitute.

However I’ve been very pleased with my determination to get the iPhone 15 Professional, even when it doesn’t have the 5x optical zoom. It’s far 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 continuously for the digicam, and photographs taken with the iPhone 15 Professional don’t look dangerous this 12 months. 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 12 months, resembling including an improved telephoto digicam, however that doesn’t make the iPhone 15 Professional any much less spectacular as we speak.

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