iPhone 15 Pro Max Review: Is It Worth the Upgrade?
August 24, 2026
The iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $1,199 and goes up to $1,599 for 1TB. That's a serious amount of money. After four weeks of daily use, here's whether it earns it.
Design and build
Apple has finally ditched stainless steel for grade-5 titanium, and the difference is immediately noticeable. The 15 Pro Max is the lightest Pro Max Apple has ever made despite having the largest screen. The Action button is a genuine improvement over the silent switch — remapping it to the camera shutter or torch is intuitive and fast.
Display
The 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion (1–120Hz) remains among the best on any phone. Outdoor visibility at 2000 nits is excellent. If you're coming from a 14 Pro Max, the display difference will not be why you upgrade.
Camera
This is where the upgrade argument gets strong. The new 5× Telephoto (up from 3× on the 14 Pro) is transformative. Portraits shot at 5× look natural in a way that cropped wide shots never do. Night mode performance is class-leading. The 48MP main sensor produces stunning detail in good light.
Performance
The A17 Pro chip is the first 3nm chip in a phone and it shows — nothing causes it to hesitate. Gaming performance, video editing, and sustained workloads are all handled without the thermal throttling that plagued some A16 devices.
Battery
Easily the best iPhone battery life ever. Consistently hitting two days of moderate use. Charges to 50% in around 30 minutes with our 65W GaN charger.
Verdict
9/10. If you're on a 13 Pro Max or older, this is a meaningful upgrade. If you're on a 14 Pro Max, wait for the 16. The titanium, 5× camera, and USB-3 speeds are the headline features — all three are genuinely useful in daily life.