The long-awaited iPhone 15 Pro Max has finally dropped. We already have reviews that focus on the overall performance of the iPhone 15 or compare it with the previous generation. This time we will take a closer look at the the iPhone 15 Pro Max camera and how it differs from other models in the same series.
iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Specs
| Camera | Resolution | Focal Length | Aperture | Stabilization | Features |
| Main | 48MP | 24 mm | ƒ/1.78 | Second‑generation sensor‑shift optical image stabilization | 100% Focus Pixels, support for super‑high‑resolution photos (24MP and 48MP), customizable default lens |
| Ultra Wide | 12MP | 13 mm | ƒ/2.2 | None | 120° field of view, 100% Focus Pixels, lens correction |
| 2x Telephoto | 12MP | 48 mm | ƒ/1.78 | Second‑generation sensor‑shift optical image stabilization | 100% Focus Pixels, enabled by quad‑pixel sensor |
| 5x Telephoto | 12MP | 120 mm | ƒ/2.8 | 3D sensor‑shift optical image stabilization and autofocus | Tetraprism design |
iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Review
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is Apple’s latest top-of-the-line smartphone. It is a beast of a device that offers unparalleled performance and durability. It runs on the powerful A17 pro chip and has 8GB of RAM for smooth multitasking and gaming. Compared to previous models, the iPhone 15 is lighter while also more durable thanks to the new titanium frame. But what about the camera? How does it stack up to other iPhone 15 models and the iPhone 14 Pro Max? Let’s get into the details.
5x Telephoto
iPhone 15 Pro Max’s new 5x Telephoto | 120 mm
The iPhone 15 Pro Max has the same three cameras as the iPhone 14 Pro Max: a 48 MP main camera, a 12 MP ultrawide camera, and a 12 MP telephoto camera. However, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a significant upgrade in its telephoto camera, which can now offer 5x optical zoom at 120 mm focal length. This means that the iPhone 15 Pro Max has the highest optical zoom range of any iPhone ever, and can capture distant subjects with more clarity and less noise.
48MP Main Camera
Similar to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the iPhone 15 Pro Max shares the same 48 MP main camera but with a major improvement in resolution. With this big update, the iPhone 15 Pro Max can now support HEIF 48 MP images, which are four times clearer than the standard images. Furthermore, the A17 Pro chip enables the iPhone 15 Pro Max to handle this high resolution with ease.
The rear cameras also have new optical elements that reduce distortion in the wide-angle and macro shots of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Sensor-Shift Optical Image Stabilization
The new Telephoto camera on the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a teraprism design, which has sensor-shift optical image stabilization and a 3D sensor-shift optical image stabilization system, which is Apple’s most advanced stabilization technology.
Photonic Engine
Cutting-edge Photonic Engine Technology
Photonic Engine is a new computational photography technology that combines two images into one. One image has a super-high resolution of 48 MP, and the other image has a high light sensitivity. The technology merges the best pixels from both images to create a final photo with a resolution of 24 MP, which is twice as high as the previous models. This means that your photos will have more details and better colors in any lighting condition.
Fifth-Generation Smart HDR
The most impressive feature of the iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera is the new Smart HDR, which makes your photos look more natural and realistic. Unlike previous models, which often produced blurry or unnatural backgrounds. The Smart HDR mode captures both the subject and the background with more accuracy and detail. This creates images with more depth and true-to-life skin tones.
This new Smart HDR mode also adjusts the brightness, contrast, and color of the photos to make them look better when viewing on different platforms. Now you won’t have to worry about the quality of your photos when sharing them on your social media.
Improved Low-Light Performance
Night mode is a special feature that lets you take amazing photos in low-light conditions. It is available on the iPhone 11 and later models, but it is even more advanced on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This night mode makes your photos look brighter and clearer and improves the quality of your night photography.
Improved Portrait Mode With Automatic Depth Detection
The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a portrait lighting effect feature that lets you change the appearance of your photos with six different modes of studio-quality lighting. The 6 portrait lighting effects on the iPhone 15 Pro Max are:
- Natural Light: Show the portrait as it was originally taken.
- Studio Light: Brighten the facial features.
- Contour Light: Apply strong directional lighting.
- Stage Light: Apply dramatic stage lighting with a darkened background.
- Stage Light Mono: Change the portrait to black and white with stage lighting.
- High-Key Light Mono: Change the portrait to black and white with a white background.
4K Video At 60fps ProRes
The highlight of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is that it has the highest quality video ever on a smartphone thanks to the 4K 60fps ProRes video technology. This technology will support various image effects, and color grading in the post-production stage and deliver the highest-quality video ever on a smartphone.
Cinematic Mode With Auto-Focus
With the Cinematic mode, you can take amazing close-up shots that automatically focus on the most important subject in the scene. You can also use the Action mode to stabilize your handheld shots and avoid shaky videos.
ACES
ACES (Academy Color Encoding System) was created with the purpose of standardizing the color technology used on many software and hardware, allowing projects of all genres to maintain the highest image quality. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the first smartphone to support ACES – a global color standard for big cinematic works.
iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Comparison
iPhone 15 Series Comparison
| Camera Type | iPhone 15 Standard | iPhone 15 Plus | iPhone 15 Pro | iPhone 15 Pro Max |
| Number of cameras | 2 rear, 1 front | 2 rear, 1 front | 3 rear, 1 front | 3 rear, 1 front |
| Main camera | 48MP, ƒ/1.6 aperture | 48MP, ƒ/1.6 aperture | 48MP, ƒ/1.78 | 48MP, ƒ/1.78 |
| Ultra-wide camera | 12MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture | 12MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture | 12MP, ƒ/2.2 | 12MP, ƒ/2.2 |
| Telephoto camera | None | None | 12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture, 3x zoom | 12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture, 5x zoom |
| Front camera | 12MP, ƒ/1.9 | 12MP, ƒ/1.9 | 12MP, ƒ/1.9 | 12MP, ƒ/1.9 |
| Special features | Smart HDR 5, New Portrait mode, True Tone flash | Smart HDR 5, New Portrait mode, True Tone flash | Smart HDR 5, New Portrait mode, Adaptive True Tone flash, Night mode Portrait, Macro photography, ProRes video up to 4K at 60 fps with external drive support, Log format video | Smart HDR 5, New Portrait mode, Adaptive True Tone flash, Night mode Portrait, Macro photography, ProRes video up to 4K at 60 fps with external drive support, Log format video, Academy Color Encoding System (ACES), Macro video, including slow-motion and time-lapse |
iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max Camera
| Camera Type | iPhone 15 Pro Max | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| Number of cameras | 3 rear, 1 front | 3 rear, 1 front |
| Main camera | 48MP, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization, seven‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels | 48MP, ƒ/1.8 aperture, second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization, seven‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels |
| Ultra-wide camera | 12MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture and 120° field of view, six‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels | 12MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture and 120° field of view, six‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels |
| Telephoto camera | 12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture, optical image stabilization, six-element lens, 3x optical zoom | 12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture, optical image stabilization, six-element lens, 3x optical zoom |
| Front camera | 12MP, ƒ/1.9 aperture, optical image stabilization, six-element lens | 12MP, ƒ/1.9 aperture, optical image stabilization, six-element lens |
| Special features | Smart HDR 5, New Portrait mode, Adaptive True Tone flash, Night mode Portrait, Macro photography, ProRes video up to 4K at 60 fps with external drive support, Log format video, Academy Color Encoding System (ACES), Macro video, including slow-motion and time-lapse | Smart HDR 4, Portrait mode, Adaptive True Tone flash, Night mode Portrait, Macro photography, ProRes video up to 4K at 60 fps with external drive support, Log format video, HDR video recording with Dolby Vision |
What Else is New on the iPhone 15 Pro Max?
4 New Colorways
With its Titanium unibody frame, the iPhone 15 Pro Max shines with its luxurious, trendy, and durable beauty. The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a set of four ultra-modern colors including Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, and Natural Titanium. Each color has its own beauty and personality.
LTPO 120Hz Display
Using the Super Retina XDR panel and the LTPO screen, along with the Pro-motion technology allows the screen refresh rate up to 120Hz but still maintains the sharpness of color and brightness of the displayed image.
The screen of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is also brighter than what Apple has announced, reaching more than 2500 nits of peak brightness. This makes the iPhone 15 Pro Max ideal for viewing HDR content and outdoor use. The iPhone 15 Pro Max also has a beautiful design, with the screen bezel reduced to only 1.55 mm.
1.55mm is a very impressive number, making the iPhone 15 Pro Max the phone line with the thinnest screen bezel in the world. This thin bezel also provides the iPhone 15 Pro Max with a larger screen than the previous versions, although the increase in screen size is not too significant.
8GB RAM
The iPhone 15 Pro Max has 8 GB of RAM, which is more than the previous iPhone models, and the other iPhone 15 models, which have only 6 GB of RAM. This huge amount of RAM makes the iPhone 15 Pro Max very capable of handling any kind of task and multitasking. Whether you are browsing the web, watching videos, editing photos, or playing games, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will run smoothly and stably. This large RAM also allows the iPhone 15 Pro Max to play any game with high graphics and performance, without any lag or stutter.
USB-C port
Finally, after years of waiting, the iPhone 15 has shown the first move to use USB Type-C charging to replace the traditional Lightning port. This is due to the EU having a law that imposes the use of standardized charging on Apple products.
The upgrade to this Type-C charger can be said to be both harmful and beneficial, as on the one hand, it helps Apple products connect with more external devices, charge faster, and transfer data faster.
But at the same time, switching this type of charging port also causes difficulties for users switching between old and new devices from Apple. As well as losing the exclusive environment that Apple has built with its Lightning charger.
A17 Pro Chip
As a tradition of Apple, the iPhone 15 Pro Max this time is also equipped with the latest chip called the A17 Bionic with a 3 nm process. With the use of a 3nm chip, the iPhone 15 Pro Max can confidently be the leader in the current hardware race, as it is faster and more efficient than any other chip.
The A17 Bionic chip is not only powerful but also saves 20% more battery than the A16 Bionic chip, showing that Apple has focused on improving both performance and efficiency for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This chip has the fastest 6-core CPU, a new GPU, and over 17 billion transistors, which help to speed up processing by 20% and improve performance by 4 times compared to the previous generation.
Action Button
The new frame also allows Apple to direct this high-end iPhone line to higher current requirements. And starting for that is the removal of all physical buttons. Instead, it has Haptic force sensors that replace the volume keys and the mute mode switch.
This design change makes the iPhone 15 Pro Max a completely monolithic product, with no gaps or openings. It also gives the iPhone 15 Pro Max a sleek and elegant look. However, it may take some time for users to get used to the new way of controlling the volume and the mute mode. But for the beauty and durability of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, this may be worth it, don’t you think?
Wi-Fi 6E
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the first Apple product to support the new Wi-Fi 6E technology. This technology allows the iPhone 15 Pro Max to connect to the 6 GHz band, which is faster and less congested than the previous bands. This means that you can have the best online experience on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, whether you are browsing, streaming, or downloading. The Wi-Fi 6E technology also enhances the entertainment and usage experience of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. You can play games on this powerful device without any lag or interruption, thanks to the strong Wi-Fi speed. The Wi-Fi 6E technology is much better than the previous Wi-Fi 6 technology, which was supported by the iPhone 14 and 13 models.
Should You Buy the iPhone 15 Pro Max for Its Camera?
Apple has given the iPhone 15 Pro Max a new 120 mm focal length telephoto camera, which is longer than the 77 mm focal length telephoto camera on the iPhone 15 Pro. This means that the iPhone 15 Pro Max can zoom in more on distant subjects, but it also means that it needs more space to take good photos. From a photography point of view, the 120 mm focal length is harder to shoot with than the 77 mm focal length, as it requires more stability and precision.
So, if you are buying the new iPhone only for the camera, and you have some experience with photography, then the iPhone 15 Pro Max may be worth it. But if you are just looking for an iPhone with good cameras, the iPhone 15 Pro is good enough.
