iPhone 15 Series: We Compare the Base vs. Plus vs. Pro vs. Pro Max (2024)

The iPhone 15 series has been around for several months now. If you're currently considering an upgrade to Apple's latest iPhone lineup, you should know how each of the models stack up. Apple unveiled all four at its Wonderlust eventin September, alongside the Watch Series 9 and the Watch Ultra 2. Apple's iPhone 15 lineup includes a base iPhone 15 and a larger iPhone 15 Plus, which offer comparable specs to one another. But the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Maxare a tier above the base and Plus models, and include a few differences that make the Pro Max stand out more than it has previously.

The Dynamic Island, the shape-shifting cutout introduced in iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, is now standard across the entire iPhone 15 series. The entire lineup has also now switched to USB-C for charging. But that's where the similarities end, more or less, with each iPhone model standing out via its design, camera and other features.

For starters, colors vary across the entry-level and Pro lineups. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus come in brighter color options like pink, yellow, green and blue along with a darker black. However with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max now coming in a titanium chassis, those phones come in darker shades that Apple is labeling natural titanium, blue titanium, white titanium and black titanium.

Additionally, Apple eliminated the toggle switch on the Pro models in favor of what it calls the "Action button." Essentially, it's a multifunction button that lets you program it for a wide range of tasks, like taking a photo or launching a timer.

Watch this: One Month Check-In: We Tested the iPhone 15 Pro's and Pro Max's Batteries

That USB-C port arrives to the iPhone 15 line after a European Union mandate, and will allow the iPhone to make use of the same charging cables that power Android phones, recent iPads and other electronics. While all four models use USB-C charging as a standard, the speed of data transfer varies between base and Pro models. Only the Pro models support USB 3, which offers faster 10Gbps speeds. But if you want to take advantage of those faster speeds, you'll need to buy your own USB 3 cable since Apple ships all phones with just a USB 2 cable.

As for the cameras, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus have two cameras on the back, while the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max get three. You get a 48-megapixel wide lens, which has telephoto capabilities, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens with either regular model. The Pro models feature a 12-megapixel telephoto lens complete with 3x optical zoom. You can also shoot at multiple focal lengths with the Pro models: 24mm, 28mm and 35mm.

Further to that, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has its own exclusive camera perk via the upgrade to a new telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom, the most that has ever been included on an iPhone.

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Both iPhone 15 Pro phones can shoot spatial video, which is essentially a 3D video that can be viewed on Apple's forthcoming Vision Pro headset.

And like the iPhone 14 line, the iPhone 15 line includes different processors depending on the model. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will run on the A16 Bionic chip, which debuted last year on the iPhone 14 Pro. Meanwhile the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max phones will ship with the new A17 Pro chip, which Apple says will make the higher-end iPhone better suited for graphics and gaming.

To check out more differences between the different iPhone 15 models, check out our specs chart below.

iPhone 15 series compared


iPhone 15iPhone 15 PlusiPhone 15 ProiPhone 15 Pro Max
Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate, brightness 6.1-inch OLED; 2,556x1,179 pixels6.7-inch OLED; 2,796x1,290 pixels6.1-inch OLED; 2,556x1,179 pixels; 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate6.7-inch OLED; 2,796x1,290 pixels; 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate
Pixel density 460 ppi460 ppi460 ppi460 ppi
Dimensions (inches) 2.82 x 5.81 x 0.31 in.3.06 x 6.33 x 0.31 in.2.78 x 5.77 x 0.32 in.3.02 x 6.29 x 0.32 in.
Dimensions (millimeters) 71.6 x 147.6 x 7.8 mm77.8 x 160.9 x 7.8 mm70.6 x 146.6 x 8.25 mm76.7 x 159.9 x 8.25 mm
Weight (grams, ounces) 171 g (6.02 oz.)201 g (7.09 oz.)187 g (6.6 oz.)221 g (7.81 oz.)
Mobile software iOS 17iOS 17iOS 17iOS 17
Camera 48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel telephoto (3x optical)48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel telephoto (5x optical)
Front-facing camera 12-megapixel12-megapixel12-megapixel12-megapixel
Video capture 4K4K4K4K
Processor A16 BionicA16 BionicA17 ProA17 Pro
RAM/storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB128GB, 256GB, 512GB128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Expandable storage NoneNoneNoneNone
Battery Undisclosed; Apple claims up to 20 hours of video playback (16 hours streamed)Undisclosed; Apple claims up to 26 hours of video playback (20 hours streamed)Undisclosed; Apple claims up to 23 hours of video playback (20 hours streamed)Undisclosed; Apple claims up to 29 hours of video playback (25 hours streamed)
Fingerprint sensor None (Face ID)None (Face ID)None (Face ID)None (Face ID)
Connector USB-C (USB 2.0)USB-C (USB 2.0)USB-C (USB 3.0)USB-C (USB 3.0)
Headphone jack NoneNoneNoneNone
Special features 5G (mmw/Sub6), IP68 rating, MagSafe, Dynamic Island5G (mmw/Sub6), IP68 rating, MagSafe, Dynamic Island5G (mmw/Sub6), Action Button, Always-On display, IP68 rating, MagSafe, Dynamic Island, 3x optical zoom5G (mmw/Sub6), Action Button, Always-On display, IP68 rating, MagSafe, Dynamic Island, 5x optical zoom (120mm equivalent)
US price off-contract $799 (128GB), $899 (256GB), $1,099 (512GB)$899 (128GB), $999 (256GB), $1,199 (512GB)$999 (128GB, $1,099 (256GB), $1,299 (512GB), $1,499 (1TB)$1,199 (256GB), $1,399 (512GB), $1,599 (1TB)
UK price £799 (128GB), £899 (256GB), £1,099 (512GB)£899 (128GB), £999 (256GB), £1,199 (512GB)£999 (128GB), £1,099 (256GB), £1,299 (512GB), £1,499 (1TB)£1,199 (256GB), £1,399 (512GB), £1,599 (1TB)
Australia price AU$1,499 (128GB), AU$1,699 (256GB), AU$2,049 (512GB)AU$1,649 (128GB), AU$1,849 (256GB), AU$2,199 (512GB)AU$1,849 (128GB), AU$2,049 (256GB), AU$2,399 (512GB), AU$2,749 (1TB)AU$2,199 (256GB), AU$2,549 (512GB), AU$2,899 (1TB)
iPhone 15 Series: We Compare the Base vs. Plus vs. Pro vs. Pro Max (2024)
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