iPhone 15

A new year means a new iPhone. To no one's surprise, it comes in four variants; the iPhone 15, the iPhone 15 {Plus}, iPhone 15 {Pro} and iPhone 15 {Pro Max}, and depending on storage option choice, they all start at just under €1000.

This "base" model comes with hardware specs very similar to last year's 14 {Pro} model, although there is no telephoto camera, meaning 2x optical zoom will have to do. The A16 {Bionic} chip is extremely powerful, and in a lot of benchmarks it outperforms last year's flagship model, as well as any {Android} competitors. While some casual users may find the super-optimised 12MP camera of the iPhone 14 to be almost as good, the difference is notable.

It is still a base model, so while it doesn't have 120Hz on the 6.1-inch OLED screen, we still get 90... Wait, no we don't, we get 60Hz... Even budget, entry level Android phones have 90Hz. Come on {Apple}...

The rounded edge and generally hand-pleasing standard {Apple} design houses perhaps the best speakers on the market to accompany the very impressive and overly bright display, claimed to hit 2000 nits peak. The image quality is extremely good, and very impressive as expected, and as it should be at the €1000 mark. The super {Retina} display gives you 460 (my benchmark software says 461) PPI, and while the average brightness in reality is only 1000 nits, it is a lot more than adequate.

No matter what model you go for, 6GB of memory is all you get, but due to optimisation, we were never even close to maxing it out. Storage options remain unchanged, 128/256/512GB.

The camera is the relatively new 48MP version with an unknown sensor, most likely Sony as it's the only one {Apple} has ever admitted to using. Unlike the iPhones of just a few years ago, you get a much less over-saturated image, and while colours are vibrant, they are not over-the-top as in the past. Be aware that your camera might not be 48MP by default, just as Samsung, for some reason, never has their 200MP as default. Perhaps its a general storage saving initiative? The camera can do 4K/60FPS, and the dual array also holds a 12MP Ultra Wide, with a 12MP selfie cam on the front. Due to storage likely, there still is a lack of features in the video department compared with a lot of {Android} phones - but I'll be honest and admit I rarely use them outside of doing reviews. While it is pretty decent, I still find myself unable to take images on par with the ones {Apple} show when it comes to night-time images, and zooming in on the computer still reveals tons of image noise, as with all other manufactures. We have come a very long way just within the last five years, but we can do better, a lot better. That being said, if even some decent light is present, the images are really good.

And so for the major changes besides the camera. USB-C. It's finally here. And while a welcome change, I must say. There has been a media uproar over these phones getting hot while charging, and having either background apps running or just generally using the phone, but I might just have become insensitive to that sort of thing over the years so it doesn't stand out. Still, it has been fully acknowledged by {Apple}, and it seems to be a software and not hardware issue, and a fix should hit the streets, perhaps even before this review. I tested the overheating all the same and measured a 12 degree Celsius increase in temperature, but 36 degrees Celsius total for a phone that is charging while benchmarking, i.e. not exactly an every day scenario, isn't that bad at all in our case.

The provided cable is really nice with a fabric layer on top of the actual cable, making it easily distinguishable. However, I do wonder why on earth they only support USB 2 on this base model - USB 3 has been out for almost 15 years, and as far as I'm aware the cost difference is close to nothing. Same goes for charging - 20 Watts is not a lot when 80 Watt is easily reached by the competitors, and 65 Watt has been standard for many years. Especially when the battery is 3350 mAh. It took almost two hours to charge a fully drained phone, and that is simply too long. And yes, gaming takes up a lot less battery, especially compared with {Android} phones, but with a smaller battery that takes so long to charge, you loose your headstart.

{Dynamic Island} is one of the latest additions since last year's Pro line, which integrates the front camera notch to include an expandable widget that gives you alerts and messages and... I don't really care. I get pop-up messages for all things important, and I find it redundant, a feature for the sake of having a feature. I do however still find that in time, with more apps supporting it, it might be the flexible super-widget that makes all other notifications superfluous.

The build quality is fantastic as always, but I'll disagree with utilising no screen protection, yes, the tactile feel is extremely good and would be diminished, and the ceramic coating keeps a lot of the scratches at bay, but still, it's not cheap if it cracks. The backside gives you coloured glass to match the aluminium chassis with 75% recycled aluminium, a very high percentage given that structural integrity severely limits how much can be recycled.

The battery lasts surprisingly longer than expected, two days is actually possible unless you insist on blasting Netlifx at full volume with the brightness turned all the way up. On the connection side, Wi-Fi 6E is still missing on the non-{Pro} model - having something that basic locked away with a premium version of the product indicates that {Apple} makes too much money.

As Expected, iOS 17 provides a smooth, easy everyday use experience, with no lag, micro stutter or shutdowns. The performance was pretty impressive, Geekbench 6 gave 2574 in single core and 6471 multicore, with a GPU score of 22.579, clearly beating the {iPhone 14 Pro}. 3D {Benchmark} scores yielded 4113 for {Solar Bay}, and 3050 {Wildlife Extreme}.

It's a great phone, and a clear update from last year's mode - but the price reflects it, and I have a hard time accepting that it just boasts a 60Hz display and has very slow charging.