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00:00Now everyone and their dog are raving about the iPhone 15 Pro and the Pro Max these fancy titanium action buttoned
00:07Flagships from Apple, but the problem is they're very expensive and I contend actually after having spent a week with well
00:14Every new iPhone, but it's these guys the regular iPhones
00:17The 15 and 15 plus are actually the most compelling and also best value iPhones this year
00:22I say good value, but I mean even the cheapest iPhone 15 is 800 pounds same in dollars
00:28Although that she's a little bit cheaper than last year's 14th here in the UK at least
00:32It's an awful lot of money and there are a couple of issues with this
00:34But I reckon compared to the pro models and also compared to last year's fourteens
00:38These guys are actually the better option
00:41Let me explain and first of all all iPhone 15s have now switched to a USB C port
00:46after 11 years of lightning
00:48Apple have finally seen the light and it now means you can share the same charging cable as your friends with Android phones and it's
00:54Just a lot more future-proof
00:56We also now get the dynamic island which is not just on the pros anymore and it's a genuinely awesome little
01:02Notification widget for everything from timers gate information for your flights map directions uber times your airdrop progress
01:08It seemed a bit gimmicky at first last year, but I've grown to love this thing on the back
01:13We've gone from a glossy glass to a frosted sort of matte glass
01:16Which is much closer to what you get on the pro models and I reckon that looks and feels a whole lot smarter and more
01:22Premium the only downside compared to previous glossy versions is it feels more slippery in the hand?
01:29So be careful, not that any of that matters if you're putting a case on it
01:32Anyway, and of course the advantage of going from the 15 to the plus is that you get a bigger screen
01:37So it's a bit more immersive for your videos and games
01:39But more importantly for me at least this lasts a good deal longer and we'll come back to the battery in a second
01:43But it's a hundred quid more for a bigger screen and bigger battery
01:47It is a big phone though possibly too big for a lot of people
01:50Although if you are coming from say an iPhone 8 plus
01:54Despite the fact that has a 5.5 inch screen and this has a 6.7 inch
01:58This only weighs one gram more it's about one and a half millimeters taller
02:02But it's actually a little bit narrower and on these big phones actually that sort of width is more important
02:07So if you're used to a plus size model, shall we say of phones that is then you'll be fine with the 15 plus
02:13but I reckon for most people it is the regular 15 that's gonna be more popular and it's also 100 quid cheaper and
02:20Just like last year the 15 still get IP 68 water and dust resistance
02:24So you could potentially take it in the shower with you might be a bit weird
02:27But it will survive a 6 meter dunk for half an hour in fresh water
02:31We still get Apple's ceramic shield for the front glass and we still have MagSafe wireless charging in addition to the new USB C port
02:38for wire charging
02:38Although still at a sluggish 20 watts and all that's the same between the 15s and the 15 pros and unlike the pros
02:45We still have the classic mute toggle switch up here and not the fancy pants new action mode button
02:52so USB C the dynamic island this new nicer frosted matte glass texture and
02:58That is about it for the design
03:00But let's talk about this screen because well, it's the same size as last year. It's a whole lot brighter
03:05In fact, they've matched the screen brightness of the regular 15s to the pro models for the first time and it really does make a difference
03:12What hasn't changed and you can probably guess what I'm gonna say here is this refresh rate still 60 Hertz
03:18Well, it's essentially a 2024 high-end phone. I mean this starts at 800 pounds same in dollars
03:23We're still limited to 60 Hertz
03:25You can get a nothing phone one for about 500 less than this and that has a 120 Hertz OLED screen
03:31I don't understand either Apple are just being lazy or they're being a bit cheap
03:35Even if they bumped it up to maybe 90 Hertz out of taking it at least then there's still a bit of a difference between
03:39The regular ones and the pro but it's such a shame and because we also have this new a 16 chip
03:44Well, I say new but we'll come to that in a second
03:47You just don't really feel the extra performance year-on-year when you're limited to 60 Hertz
03:52Does the average person the normie if you will outside of YouTube and the tech space really care about it?
03:57I don't know probably not. It's not an excuse to not give it to them to be honest
04:02It is my number one issue with the iPhone 15s and I wouldn't go as far as saying it's a deal-breaker by any stretch
04:08It's just a bit disappointing
04:10So let's move on and talk about the chip inside here
04:13We have the a 16 bionic which is the same processor if I get the right phone
04:18No, that's the wrong one. This one is the same chip that you get in last year's 14 pros
04:23This is the new sort of routine where the regular phones get last year's pro chip
04:27so it is a year-on-year upgrade but they continue to be one year behind the more expensive versions and
04:33To give you an idea of relative performance
04:35I have the 14 and the 14 plus the 15 and 15 plus and 15 pro and pro max and you can see at least
04:42in numbers how the base 15s compared to last year and also the beefier pro models that now come with the a
04:4817 pro chip the thing is though
04:50They're all incredibly capable and in day-to-day use you'd probably struggle to tell them apart except of course for the refresh rate difference
04:56Although one of the new features of the a 17 pro chip in the 15 pros is its support for hardware ray tracing
05:03But this is a very niche use case right now barely any game support it
05:07Although what is more exciting about the 15 pros is their ability to play console level games
05:12This a 17 pro chip has a redesigned and much beefier graphics engine
05:17Which means I can actually play Resident Evil village
05:20Natively using what I'm told our ps4 level assets or be at low to medium settings 720p 30fps on the 15 pro
05:27Which is very impressive and we have the likes of the resi 4 remake
05:30We have a division game Assassin's Creed Mirage and even Death Stranding coming out over the next few months
05:36But I reckon if you're coming from an iPhone 11 or older then you'll probably notice the difference of performance with the a 16
05:42Which is an incredibly powerful chip particularly in games and because we get 6 gigs of RAM in here
05:47Which is the same as last year and not quite the 8 gigs you get in the pro models
05:51But compared to older iPhones, you can now keep lots more apps pause in the background and then quickly switch back to resume
05:57So yes, the pros get the a 17 pro chip
06:00Which allows them to play some console level games and it is a little bit quicker
06:04Genuinely particularly with ray tracing in like the handful of games that support it and we have those couple extra gigs of RAM
06:10But really what you'll notice is the refresh rate. It just feels much smoother and more responsive now before we get to the camera
06:17I just want to mention the battery life over the course of the last week where I've been testing all these iPhones
06:21The 15 plus has got me to about 11 p.m. At night with around
06:2635% of his battery remaining whereas the iPhone 15 has about
06:3022 maybe 23 percent left so a good sort of three hours difference between these guys
06:35It depends how you use it, but a day and a half of use with this is pretty reasonable
06:40We also get USB C, of course, which is a bit more future-proof and I think for me above anything else
06:44It's these camera improvements on the iPhone 15s that make these a genuinely worthwhile upgrade. So let's get into it
06:51Let's talk about this camera and there's a really satisfying difference between the 14 the 15 and the 15 pros
06:57Each one gets you a noticeably better camera and going left to right
07:00It looks like a bad waxwork of me and then a good waxwork and then maybe the real me at the end
07:06So in the camera department, yes, the pros are still better. They have bigger sensors. So they capture more light
07:11They have the third lens for either a 3 or 5 times telephoto zoom and you get higher quality pro raw and pro res options
07:18But for everyday stuff, I think the 15 and 15 plus offer a more significant improvement year-on-year than the pros
07:25For starters all iPhone 15s share the same 48 megapixel resolution for the main camera
07:31Including now combining a full fat 48 megapixel photo with a more traditional 4 into 1 pixel band 12 megapixel photo
07:39Giving us a new 24 megapixel image and if none of that means anything to you, don't worry
07:44It just means photos are a bit more detailed particularly if you crop in and yes
07:49The file sizes are a bit bigger but only about 50% bigger not double that
07:53You might expect having double the resolution
07:54The 48 megapixel sensor also means we can get what is essentially a two times lossless zoom
08:00Despite not having a third lens like the pros and that gives you a much nicer focal length for taking portrait shots
08:06We also now get Apple's smart HDR 5 for the processing and how it handles the dynamic range and the colors and all that good stuff
08:14Although what I am most excited about and all 15s get are these next-generation portraits
08:19Which means if you just take a regular old photo it now also captures the depth information
08:24so you can turn it into a portrait photo with all that lovely bokeh background after the fact and even change the intensity of the
08:30Blur and the focal point now
08:32Yes, Samsung and pixel users have had a similar feature for a while now
08:36But it's the first time for an iPhone and all 15s get it not just the pros
08:40so if you can live with a
08:42Slight reduction in picture quality and also no sort of long-range zoom and you're not that bothered about ProRes or ProRAW or be able
08:49To shoot spatial video eventually for the upcoming Apple Vision Pro headset
08:52The cameras on these are actually really bloody good and the selfie camera is exactly the same
08:58The only difference is it can't shoot ProRes or log video
09:02Okay enough waffling. Let's wrap up this review. Should you buy an iPhone 15 or 15 plus?
09:07Well, it really comes down to what phone are you using at the moment?
09:10Are you do an upgrade but broadly my answer is yes
09:14USB-C dynamic island brighter screens much improved cameras a faster chip and that's all just versus last year's phone
09:21If you've got one from two three four years ago
09:23It'll definitely be worth the upgrade a couple of things to bear in mind though
09:26If you do own an iPhone 12 or earlier than the base
09:30The cheapest model there was always 64 gigs of storage now with iPhones you get 128 gigs as the sort of entry-level
09:37Which is great
09:37So you are sort of doubling your storage if you're going from a base iPhone 12 or earlier
09:41Also while the Pro Max has actually gone up in price in the US by $100
09:45The 15s have stayed the same at $7.99 same in pounds for the regular 15
09:50And actually that does make this iPhone 15 50 quid cheaper than last year's 14
09:54But if you want the bigger screen and longer battery, then the 15 plus will cost you a hundred more
09:59Whereas the 15 Pro which gets the new titanium frame the action button the smoother 120 Hertz screen the a 17 Pro chip for those
10:07Upcoming console games slightly better quality cameras with the extra zoom lens and those Pro options plus a faster version of USB C
10:14Although that's mostly there just to help transfer the bigger ProRes video files all that will cost you 200 more than the base iPhone
10:19So all good options, but my recommendation for most people is the cheapest one
10:25Just the regular old iPhone 15 and don't really consider the previous 14s. I think they're about a hundred pounds less
10:31It's not worth it. The jump up to this is quite significant
10:33So if you do an upgrade and you fancy yourself a new iPhone
10:36I reckon this is the best bang for buck if you can live with 60 Hertz, which you probably can but what about you?
10:43Have you bought one?
10:44Are you thinking about ordering one or just not at all interested this year?
10:47Let me know in the comments below and also drop a comment if you've got any questions
10:50And I'll see you next time right here on the tech chat