Upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro Max: A Detailed Review

As I sat here with my brand new iPhone 15 Pro Max, I couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions - excitement for the new features and capabilities, but also a hint of sadness as I say goodbye to my trusty old iPhone 11. The iPhone 11 has been with me through thick and thin, capturing memories, telling stories, and even surviving the occasional accidental drop (or two). But it's time for an upgrade, and I'm eager to see what the new iPhone 15 Pro Max has in store.

The camera alone made this phone worthwhile, in my opinion. The five times optical zoom is a game-changer, allowing me to capture stunning images from a distance that was previously impossible with my old phone. But apart from the five times optical zoom, I've also been enjoying other features like macro mode and cinematic mode for video recording. These features have taken my photography and videography skills to the next level, making me feel like a pro.

One of the things that caught my attention when I first heard about the iPhone 15 Pro Max was the Dynamic Island feature. It sounded like it would be a game-changer, allowing me to customize the look and feel of my home screen with ease. And while it's certainly customizable, I have to admit that it wasn't as revolutionary as I expected once I started using it. The action button, which was touted as a game-changer, also didn't quite live up to its hype. Once I actually tried them out, they just didn't seem as exciting as I thought they would.

Another feature that I'm still trying to get used to is the Portrait mode. It's not always seamless, and sometimes it can be a bit tricky to adjust the focus to my liking. But overall, I've been enjoying the ability to enable portrait mode on photos of people, cats, and dogs - it adds a nice touch to any photo.

I also want to talk about the battery life. As someone who's always on-the-go, I need a phone that can keep up with me. And while the iPhone 15 Pro Max does get around 29 hours of video playback, my experience has been slightly different. At first, I found that the battery was not holding up as well as I expected, and I'd often find myself needing to charge it by 3:30 PM. But after a visit to the Genius bar, where I had my data transferred from my old phone, and a software update (iOS 17.0.2), things seem to have improved. My phone can now make it through a full day without needing to be charged, but I still have to plug it in every night.

As I'm writing this, I couldn't help but think about the price tag of my new iPhone 15 Pro Max. $1,300 is a significant amount of money, and it's definitely not something that I can afford on a whim. But after careful consideration, I decided to splurge and invest in the best camera phone available. And while it was an investment, I'm excited to see how long this phone will last me.

As I said goodbye to my old iPhone 11, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. It's been with me through thick and thin, capturing memories and telling stories. But it's time for an upgrade, and I'm eager to see what the future holds for this new iPhone 15 Pro Max. Catch you later, and thank you so much for watching!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI just upgraded from an iPhone 11 to a 15 Pro Max which is a big deal one because it's been a while since I got a new phone and two because this is my first pro iPhone ever but are all of the bells and whistles and the Hefty price tag actually worth it or should I have just gotten a regular 15 you may recall how I was so sure I wanted an iPhone 15 that I told you I was buying one before it even came out and I stuck to my word after a month with this thing I can tell you that the camera is so good that I think it justifies the price and how heavy it is by now you probably know that the 15 Pro Max has a five times optical zoom which is a huge step up from no zoom on the iPhone 11 and it's what sold me on the 15 Pro Max the proof my friend is in the photos I embraced my inner tourist and took some shots of the Golden Gate Bridge here's one at 5 five times optical zoom on the 15 Pro Max and another at five times digital zoom on the 11 my mind was blown when I saw these photos side by side like the fact that the 15 Pro Max captured that little ladder on the bridge and even the windows on the Salesforce Tower miles behind the bridge is just no words colors are also truer to life in the 15 Pro Max photo that orangey red color that the Golden Gate Bridge is so famous for really comes through going to concerts is a personality trait of mine at this point and I love taking videos to look back on and to post on Tik Tok while my iPhone 11 videos were not too shabby the 15 Pro Max takes them to the next level I just saw Labyrinth and while I'm pretty close to the stage in this video I'm not at the barricade but at 5 times I might as well just tell everybody I was at the stage because they really wouldn't know the difference this camera feature alone was enough to make the upgrade worth it for me but what about the other updates the 15 Pros have a brand new action button that I really wanted to love but real talk I've only used it like once or twice mine is set to the camera and I'm just not used to using it for that so I'll probably just switch it back to the mute function these next two features are an exclusive to the 15 Pro Max but while we're on the subject of stuff I thought I'd use more than I actually do let's talk always on display and dynamic Island I get very easily distracted by my phone so seeing the screen even slightly lit makes me want to scroll so I'll probably turn off the always on display and I'm exposing myself because I was really excited about the dynamic Island say what you want about the dynamic Island that little shapeshifting cutout at the top of the iPhone but I think it's pretty cool some of you tried to temper my expectations but I didn't listen and you were right the dynamic Island makes it hard to do things I'm used to like tapping the top of the screen to scroll up and when I do try to use it to say change songs I usually just end up accidentally closing it but if you are a fan of the dynamic Island let let me know how you use it because I'm still open to giving it a try titanium versus aluminum does it matter the titanium is really pretty but I always use a case so it's honestly not life-changing for me you may have also seen some 15 Pro titanium durability tests online I saw them right after I ordered my 15 Pro Max and they made me very nervous every time I take off my case I'm kind of scared I'll break my phone but so far so good the iPhone 15 lineup ditches the lightning port for a USBC Port which is Major because it's the first time the charging port has been changed in over a decade and USBC isn't Apple made and so far I'm loving the change it was a little Annoying to have to switch out the oxport and charger in my car but because I already have so many USBC chords lying around the house the transition has been so much easier than the one from 30 pin to lightning it's so nice to have one cord at my desk to charge my laptop and my phone aside from the always on display Dynamic Island and USBC all of the features I just talked about are exclusive to the new 15 Pros but what about Pro features from previous models Apple claims the 14 and 15 Pro Max iPhones offer up to 29 hours of video playback but let me tell you the battery was not giving Pro Max when I first got this phone I'd unplug it at 100% around 10:00 a.m. and with normal use you know scrolling through Tik Tok taking photos and vide listening to music it would be at like 30% by around 3:30 I really had to limit my screen time to have enough battery for the day which is not something I've ever experienced with a new even non-pro iPhone so I went to The Genius bar which is something I only do if I'm really stressed I originally transferred my old data by placing my iPhones next to each other but Apple recommended I wipe the 15 Pro Max and transfer the old data from my computer and I was told that if this didn't fix things which it didn't a future update probably would iOS 17.0.2 did fix this problem after a little under 2 weeks but after this experience I probably won't buy a new iPhone during launch week again also you're probably wondering how my battery is doing now well my phone can make it through a full day without needing to be charged but I do have to plug it in every night and honestly I was expecting a bit more from a pro Max battery but then my friend asked me how much time I'm actually spending on my phone every day and the results are so embarrassing I cannot believe I'm showing you this very classified information and it totally makes sense why I have to plug in my phone every night go ahead noral like that kind of yes oh my God there's a bug on it where that's my videographer salso and I finding a bug in my pasta thanks to macro mode as the saying goes phone eats first while the iPhone 11 got pretty close to my lunch before losing focus the 15 Pro Max got even closer and caught something crawling so shout out to macro mode because without it I would have eaten that bug night mode is on in both of these photos but being able to combine it with portrait mode on the 15 Pro Max makes lowlight photos look just so fancy I've also found that night mode photos taken on the 15 Pro Max are generally brighter and more detailed for example the knitting in a br sweater is clearer in this portrait photo and in this one taken without portrait mode too finally let's go over some features that aren't limited to the pros but are not on my iPhone 11 I love that all of the iPhone 15s let you enable portrait mode on photos of a person cat or dog and change which subject is in Focus after a photo has been taken but it isn't always seamless take this photo of myself a br and our friend and scet colleague Viva tongue when I change the focus to Viva it blurs the edges of her sunglasses a little bit but generally works pretty well but when I try to change the focus to BR viva's still in Focus too so this feature definitely isn't perfect but it is fun to play around with and overall I do appreciate having it there I've also been having so much fun with cinematic and action modes for video that cinematic mode blurring effect just makes the 15 Pro Max video look so professional and action mode makes my shaky filming look nice and smooth now that we've gone over all the details do I think it was worth it to get the 15 Pro Max I already already told you the camera alone made it worthwhile but apart from the five times optical zoom the biggest camera draw cards turned out to be things I could have gotten on the 15 Pro like macro mode or even stuff I could have gotten on a regular 15 like cinematic mode so if you don't care about five times optical zoom I'd consider one of those models or even an older one I was also surprised that the things I thought sounded so cool on paper like Dynamic Island and the action button weren't game changers for me once I actually tried them I'm very interested to see how long this phone last because it cost a whopping $1,300 I splurged because I was excited about the camera and hopeful this phone would last longer than my previous ones but I'd love to check back in a year and tell you if I still think it's been worth it all in all the iPhone 11 has been with me through a lot and I'm kind of sad to say goodbye but it is also time for a new chapter in fact I'm going to go trade it in right now so I can get some credit to offset the new phone catch you later and thank you you so much for watchingI just upgraded from an iPhone 11 to a 15 Pro Max which is a big deal one because it's been a while since I got a new phone and two because this is my first pro iPhone ever but are all of the bells and whistles and the Hefty price tag actually worth it or should I have just gotten a regular 15 you may recall how I was so sure I wanted an iPhone 15 that I told you I was buying one before it even came out and I stuck to my word after a month with this thing I can tell you that the camera is so good that I think it justifies the price and how heavy it is by now you probably know that the 15 Pro Max has a five times optical zoom which is a huge step up from no zoom on the iPhone 11 and it's what sold me on the 15 Pro Max the proof my friend is in the photos I embraced my inner tourist and took some shots of the Golden Gate Bridge here's one at 5 five times optical zoom on the 15 Pro Max and another at five times digital zoom on the 11 my mind was blown when I saw these photos side by side like the fact that the 15 Pro Max captured that little ladder on the bridge and even the windows on the Salesforce Tower miles behind the bridge is just no words colors are also truer to life in the 15 Pro Max photo that orangey red color that the Golden Gate Bridge is so famous for really comes through going to concerts is a personality trait of mine at this point and I love taking videos to look back on and to post on Tik Tok while my iPhone 11 videos were not too shabby the 15 Pro Max takes them to the next level I just saw Labyrinth and while I'm pretty close to the stage in this video I'm not at the barricade but at 5 times I might as well just tell everybody I was at the stage because they really wouldn't know the difference this camera feature alone was enough to make the upgrade worth it for me but what about the other updates the 15 Pros have a brand new action button that I really wanted to love but real talk I've only used it like once or twice mine is set to the camera and I'm just not used to using it for that so I'll probably just switch it back to the mute function these next two features are an exclusive to the 15 Pro Max but while we're on the subject of stuff I thought I'd use more than I actually do let's talk always on display and dynamic Island I get very easily distracted by my phone so seeing the screen even slightly lit makes me want to scroll so I'll probably turn off the always on display and I'm exposing myself because I was really excited about the dynamic Island say what you want about the dynamic Island that little shapeshifting cutout at the top of the iPhone but I think it's pretty cool some of you tried to temper my expectations but I didn't listen and you were right the dynamic Island makes it hard to do things I'm used to like tapping the top of the screen to scroll up and when I do try to use it to say change songs I usually just end up accidentally closing it but if you are a fan of the dynamic Island let let me know how you use it because I'm still open to giving it a try titanium versus aluminum does it matter the titanium is really pretty but I always use a case so it's honestly not life-changing for me you may have also seen some 15 Pro titanium durability tests online I saw them right after I ordered my 15 Pro Max and they made me very nervous every time I take off my case I'm kind of scared I'll break my phone but so far so good the iPhone 15 lineup ditches the lightning port for a USBC Port which is Major because it's the first time the charging port has been changed in over a decade and USBC isn't Apple made and so far I'm loving the change it was a little Annoying to have to switch out the oxport and charger in my car but because I already have so many USBC chords lying around the house the transition has been so much easier than the one from 30 pin to lightning it's so nice to have one cord at my desk to charge my laptop and my phone aside from the always on display Dynamic Island and USBC all of the features I just talked about are exclusive to the new 15 Pros but what about Pro features from previous models Apple claims the 14 and 15 Pro Max iPhones offer up to 29 hours of video playback but let me tell you the battery was not giving Pro Max when I first got this phone I'd unplug it at 100% around 10:00 a.m. and with normal use you know scrolling through Tik Tok taking photos and vide listening to music it would be at like 30% by around 3:30 I really had to limit my screen time to have enough battery for the day which is not something I've ever experienced with a new even non-pro iPhone so I went to The Genius bar which is something I only do if I'm really stressed I originally transferred my old data by placing my iPhones next to each other but Apple recommended I wipe the 15 Pro Max and transfer the old data from my computer and I was told that if this didn't fix things which it didn't a future update probably would iOS 17.0.2 did fix this problem after a little under 2 weeks but after this experience I probably won't buy a new iPhone during launch week again also you're probably wondering how my battery is doing now well my phone can make it through a full day without needing to be charged but I do have to plug it in every night and honestly I was expecting a bit more from a pro Max battery but then my friend asked me how much time I'm actually spending on my phone every day and the results are so embarrassing I cannot believe I'm showing you this very classified information and it totally makes sense why I have to plug in my phone every night go ahead noral like that kind of yes oh my God there's a bug on it where that's my videographer salso and I finding a bug in my pasta thanks to macro mode as the saying goes phone eats first while the iPhone 11 got pretty close to my lunch before losing focus the 15 Pro Max got even closer and caught something crawling so shout out to macro mode because without it I would have eaten that bug night mode is on in both of these photos but being able to combine it with portrait mode on the 15 Pro Max makes lowlight photos look just so fancy I've also found that night mode photos taken on the 15 Pro Max are generally brighter and more detailed for example the knitting in a br sweater is clearer in this portrait photo and in this one taken without portrait mode too finally let's go over some features that aren't limited to the pros but are not on my iPhone 11 I love that all of the iPhone 15s let you enable portrait mode on photos of a person cat or dog and change which subject is in Focus after a photo has been taken but it isn't always seamless take this photo of myself a br and our friend and scet colleague Viva tongue when I change the focus to Viva it blurs the edges of her sunglasses a little bit but generally works pretty well but when I try to change the focus to BR viva's still in Focus too so this feature definitely isn't perfect but it is fun to play around with and overall I do appreciate having it there I've also been having so much fun with cinematic and action modes for video that cinematic mode blurring effect just makes the 15 Pro Max video look so professional and action mode makes my shaky filming look nice and smooth now that we've gone over all the details do I think it was worth it to get the 15 Pro Max I already already told you the camera alone made it worthwhile but apart from the five times optical zoom the biggest camera draw cards turned out to be things I could have gotten on the 15 Pro like macro mode or even stuff I could have gotten on a regular 15 like cinematic mode so if you don't care about five times optical zoom I'd consider one of those models or even an older one I was also surprised that the things I thought sounded so cool on paper like Dynamic Island and the action button weren't game changers for me once I actually tried them I'm very interested to see how long this phone last because it cost a whopping $1,300 I splurged because I was excited about the camera and hopeful this phone would last longer than my previous ones but I'd love to check back in a year and tell you if I still think it's been worth it all in all the iPhone 11 has been with me through a lot and I'm kind of sad to say goodbye but it is also time for a new chapter in fact I'm going to go trade it in right now so I can get some credit to offset the new phone catch you later and thank you you so much for watching\n"