Apple’s iPhone 15 series was released last September, including the base model iPhone 15, the larger iPhone 15 Plus, the higher-end iPhone 15 Pro, and the top-of-the-line iPhone 15 Pro Max. These are Apple’s latest offerings, at least until the iPhone 16 comes out later this year.
I received my iPhone 15 Pro on launch day and it has been my daily driver ever since. I chose the Pro model over the standard model because I like the three-lens camera system and the new action button. But I only chose the smaller iPhone 15 Pro over the Pro Max because I prefer more compact phones.
As much as I love my iPhone 15 Pro, it has some flaws that are hard to ignore. If you’re considering picking up the phone for yourself, here are a few reasons no to purchase an iPhone 15 Pro.
Average battery life
One of the worst things about the iPhone 15 Pro is the battery life. Apple only put a 3274 mAh battery inside, which is very small compared to the competition.
How small? The Samsung Galaxy S24, the base model of the S24 range, has a 4000 mAh battery. The OnePlus 12 has an impressive 5,400 mAh internal cell, and even the Google Pixel 8 Pro has a 5,050 mAh battery. Compared to other flagship Android phones, the iPhone 15 Pro is pretty ridiculous in terms of battery size.
When I first got the iPhone 15 Pro, the battery life was a little worse than the iPhone 14 Pro I had before. But after a few weeks of use it seemed to even out. In my initial review, I noted that the iPhone 15 Pro had about 20% to 30% battery left by the time I turned it on around 9pm most days.
However, at the time of writing, the battery status of my iPhone 15 Pro shows that the capacity is now at 96% with 242 cycles. Most days when I’m just at home and not spending hours at Disneyland, my typical usage now drops the battery to about 50% by the time I’m done with work around 3:00pm to 4:00pm (I start around 8:30am .)
Battery life feels a lot worse lately; I often have to charge earlier in the evening. And on days when I’m driving a lot (Bluetooth connected to my car and with a dash cam) or spending the day at a theme park, I definitely need to pull out my portable battery pack for a midday charge.
It’s also disappointing to see that my iPhone 15 Pro’s battery capacity has already dropped so much, and it hasn’t even been a year. Having used other flagship Android phones, I wish the iPhone 15 Pro could last a full day without having to be plugged in at some point.
Limited telephoto camera
Again, one of the reasons I always go for the Pro model of the iPhone is that I like having a telephoto camera lens. It’s not my most used lens, but it comes in handy when I encounter cute wildlife on city streets and want to get a shot without scaring it off.
For several years, Apple has ensured that both Pro models have the same camera hardware. But with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple has gone back to giving the larger Pro model the best possible cameras while compromising on the smaller Pro.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max has Apple’s new tetraprism telephoto lens, which is actually a periscope camera. This lens gives the iPhone 15 Pro Max 5x optical zoom, which means better detail and image quality when you zoom.
The iPhone 15 Pro, on the other hand, doesn’t have the new periscope lens, likely due to size limitations (the Pro Max has more room to fit the lens inside). So, unfortunately, the smaller iPhone 15 Pro has the same telephoto lens as its predecessor, meaning it only gets up to 3x optical zoom.
The fact that Apple limited the periscope telephoto lens to the larger model is a disappointment. Why? Because not everyone who wants a great smartphone camera wants a giant phone. At least I didn’t, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that.
Slow loading speeds
The iPhone 15 series marked the first iPhones to use USB-C. With this change, people thought that maybe the iPhone would finally get faster charging speeds. After all, there are Android phones that can get up to 80 watts to 100 W wired charging via USB-C!
But no, despite the move to USB-C, Apple hasn’t improved the charging speed at all. Although the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have faster data transfer speeds than the base iPhone 15 model, the charging speed is the same for all four models. And what is this speed limit? Same 27W as before.
For a flagship device, the 27W charging speed is disappointing. Competitors definitely have Apple winning here. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus and Ultra have 45W wired charging, and the OnePlus 12 has an impressive 80W wired and 50W wireless charging.
Sure, Samsung’s base model, the Galaxy S24, is only 25W, but that’s the base model – Apple could have at least made the Pro models with slightly faster charging speeds.
There are many great alternatives
I’ve already mentioned it a few times, but there are some fantastic alternatives to the iPhone 15 Pro that you should also consider. As long as you’re also open to using Android, that is.
If you’ve been thinking about getting the iPhone 15 Pro because it’s a small flagship, then the Samsung Galaxy S24 is a good option. It’s cheaper than the iPhone 15 Pro and still has a triple-lens camera and better battery life, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip for the Galaxy is very impressive.
The OnePlus 12 is another great alternative. The triple-lens camera has been fine-tuned with Hasselblad for improved color profile and white balance. Battery life is amazing and you get super fast 80W wired and 50W wireless charging. With Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 paired with up to 16GB of RAM, the OnePlus 12 is a real powerhouse, and you can get it for less than the iPhone 15 Pro.
The iPhone 16 Pro is coming soon
Still really want the iPhone 15 Pro? Well, you might want to wait a few more months because the iPhone 16 series is about to launch and there will definitely be an iPhone 16 Pro.
Rumors about the iPhone 16 Pro already indicate that it will be more exciting than the iPhone 15 Pro. First, the size of the iPhone 16 Pro could grow to 6.3 inches from 6.1 inches, which isn’t huge, but still noticeable. The benefit of this is that Apple will be able to use the extra body space to fit in a periscope lens, giving the iPhone 16 Pro 5x optical zoom like the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Another upcoming feature will be the new Capture button, which will be on the bottom right edge of the frame. This button sounds like it could work as a camera shutter button, with the option to customize it as the action button.
These are just a few things to look forward to with the iPhone 16 Pro. Honestly, these are the reasons why I would wait a few more months if I didn’t already have the iPhone 15 Pro. We’ll find out for sure in September.
