iPhone 15 Pro Max hands-on: A big step forward

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the iPhone I've been waiting for. And I say that as someone who has been carrying around an aging iPhone 12 Pro Max. The biggest upgrade for me is the new 5x telephoto zoom, but the most pleasantly surprising thing is how this flagship feels in your hand.

The new titanium design isn't just stronger than the stainless steel sides on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. It results in a lighter overall device, which is great when we're talking about a huge 6.7-inch screen. I also noticed how much slimmer the bezels are on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and appreciate the USB-C port.

I spent some time with the iPhone 15 Pro Max at the Apple event, and I came away impressed with the potential of the new A17 Pro chip and the versatility of the camera system. The Action button is handy, too. This could be the best phone of the year.

But there are some things I don't like, including the higher $1,199 starting price and the lack of faster charging. Here's my pros and cons with the iPhone 15 so far, and check out our iPhone 15 Pro Max vs iPhone 14 Pro Max comparison that breaks down all the upgrades.

iPhone 15 Pro Max: Specs

iPhone 15 Pro Max: Price and release date

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is available for pre-orders September 15 and the release date is September 22.

Unfortunately, the iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $1,199, which is $100 more than the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The good news is that you get double the storage at 256GB. There's no 2TB option, but you can upgrade to 512GB for $1,399 and 1TB for $1,599.

iPhone 15 Pro Max: Design

Wow. That's what I said to myself when I picked up the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Thanks to the new titanium design, Apple shrunk the weight from 8.5 ounces on the iPhone 14 Pro Max to just 7.8 ounces on the new Pro Max. And it makes a substantial difference when holding this device. In fact, it's so light you might decide to upgrade from the 6.1-inch Pro to get the Pro Max's bigger screen.

The titanium bands also have a cool brushed metal look to them, as opposed to the more ostentatious (and smudge prone) stainless steel side rails on the previous Pro Max.

Another plus for the new iPhone 15 Pro Max is that it sports the thinnest borders yet on an iPhone, so the 6.7-inch display seems even more immersive. I played around with all the color options — Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium and Natural Titanium. The blue model pops most but the Natural model has more of a futuristic vibe.

iPhone 15 Pro Max: Action button

The iPhone 15 Pro Max ditches the mute switch on previous iPhones for the new Action button on the left side. It uses haptics to tell you when you've silenced the phone with a long press, but you can perform all sorts of other shortcuts.

In the settings menu you can program what the Action button does, including launching the camera, the flashlight, voice recorder and magnifier. And you can even customize what the button does via the Shortcuts app. My only complaint is that you can't map more than one shortcut at a time; for example, why not launch the camera with one press and flashlight with a double press?

iPhone 15 Pro Max: Cameras

So far I've only taken a few photos with the iPhone 15 Pro Max but at least on paper the new camera system seems very impressive. There's a larger new main sensor, and the 48MP main camera offers a new 24MP super-resolution default option.