The entire iPhone 15 series has officially gone on sale. It would be okay to say that the most upgraded model this year is the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Now let me take you through a quick hands-on experience with the iPhone 15 Pro Max to help you quickly understand this new product.
access:
Apple Online Store (China)
1 Titanium frame experience, ProMax successfully reduces weight
Let’s take a look at the appearance design first. The overall design style of iPhone 15 Pro Max is not much different from the previous generation model. However, the materials used have changed significantly. The frame of iPhone15ProMax is made of titanium. My first feeling when I started using it was that it was a lot lighter. It no longer felt like a "brick" in my hand. The weight of iPhone 15 Pro Max is 221 grams. Compared with the previous generation's 240 grams, its weight is reduced by 19 grams.
Titanium alloy is a high-strength, lightweight and highly corrosion-resistant metal. This is also the first time titanium has been used in mobile phones. The titanium frame used in the iPhone 15 Pro Max is widely used in aerospace, medical and other fields. The same material is used in the Mars rover. The iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is equipped with titanium metal, may be more durable than the aluminum alloy frame of the previous generation.
The colorway we got is blue, but there are also primary colors, white and black to choose from. This year’s blue color is very close to the navy blue color released by iPhone 12 Pro. I think the appearance is quite high, but it seems that people don’t like this color very much. On the pre-sale day, only the blue color was available and no one grabbed it. Maybe it’s because it’s not very recognizable.
Looking at the details, the titanium frame uses a metal brushing process, which feels a bit matte to the touch. Compared with the previous generation's bright stainless steel process, it can effectively reduce fingerprint contamination. However, Apple has not completely avoided fingerprints, and there are reports that this kind of frame may have a color cast problem after being used for a long time. As for how durable it is compared to stainless steel, and how many days it will take for scratches to appear, Zhongguancun Online will bring you conclusions in the future.
2 The classic mute button has been changed/the lighting interface has been eliminated
In terms of appearance design, what everyone is more concerned about is the changes to the USB-C interface and mute button. Let’s talk about the USB-C interface first. At present, Apple’s main product lines including MAC, AirPodsPro, iPad, etc. have all updated USB-C interfaces. As the most important product, the iPhone has always used lighting. It is really not appropriate. It is reasonable to update USB-C this year. There is no need to prepare so many cables on the desktop.
After switching to the USB-C port, the iPhone 15 Pro Max supports 10Gbps transmission speed and reverse charging. It can connect headphones and watches through the C port. The maximum speed of 4.5W is not fast, but it is better than nothing. The phone package will come with a 1-meter USB-C cable, but there is still no charging head.
Let’s talk about the changes to the mute button. The lever mute button can be said to be one of the symbols of the iPhone, but it has been replaced with a button type in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This button inherits the function of adjusting the mute. In addition, it can be customized to include turning on the flashlight, turning into a shutter, etc., and uses the TapticEngine linear motor to simulate button feedback.
Overall, this change is satisfactory. It turns single-function buttons into more practical multi-function buttons, and the daily use experience is much better. But only Pro and ProMax have this function. The regular version of the iPhone still has the old lever. This is not a high-tech feature. Apple needs to treat it differently. I don’t think it is necessary.
Back to the front screen, the iPhone 15 Pro Max still uses the Smart Island design. There is nothing much to say about the Smart Island, and everyone is already very familiar with it. The biggest change in the screen is that the black borders are narrower. While the screen size remains unchanged, a higher screen-to-body ratio can be obtained and the visual experience will be better.
To sum up, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is upgraded to titanium material, is a level above the previous generation model in terms of texture and practicality. Many people complain about Apple's new squeeze toothpaste, but I don't think it's a squeeze in terms of appearance design this time. It feels quite fresh when I hold it in my hand for the first time.
3 3nmA17Pro/periscope telephoto are all arranged
Let’s talk about the performance upgrades of iPhone 15 Pro Max. The main highlights are chip and imaging performance. Let’s talk about the chip first. The iPhone 15 Pro Max has been upgraded with the new A17 Pro processor. This processor is the world’s first 3nm process chip. It is also the first time that Apple uses the suffix Pro to name its A-series chips. I bought the A17Pro before it was released. Everyone's expectations for this chip were very high. After all, 3nm can be said to be close to the physical limit.
But in reality, the overall performance improvement of A17Pro is only about 10% compared to A16. It’s not that this performance improvement is low, it just doesn’t meet everyone’s expectations for 3nm chips. It is too early to draw a premature conclusion about A17Pro, because this chip will support PC-level 3A masterpieces in the future, and playing 3A games on mobile phones is just around the corner. Zhongguancun Online will also bring you more detailed A17Pro performance tests and game tests later.
We said at the beginning that the iPhone 15 Pro Max is Apple’s most upgraded model this year. This is because in addition to the regular upgrades we mentioned above, Pro Max also has an exclusive upgrade to the periscope telephoto lens. Telephoto has always been a shortcoming of the iPhone in terms of imaging capabilities, and telephoto is indeed a commonly used focal length for daily use or travel. This time the iPhone 15 Pro Max is finally available.
The periscope telephoto lens of the iPhone 15 Pro Max uses a quadruple reflective prism design, which can achieve 5x optical zoom and 25x digital zoom. Compared with the 2x of the regular model and the triple telephoto of the Pro, the improvement is very obvious. And this design can also effectively save the internal space of the mobile phone, so that the image performance is greatly improved while the thickness of the mobile phone is almost unchanged.
However, even if the telephoto performance has been upgraded, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is still lagging behind the flagship phones in the Android camp. For example, Samsung's flagship S23 Ultra can already support 10x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom, and its performance is stronger than the iPhone. But something is better than nothing, and the five-fold zoom is enough for daily shooting.
4 ending
During the time I got the iPhone 15 Pro Max, my evaluation of it was that it was a decent upgrade, not too toothpaste-squeezing but not too amazing either. Friends who have an iPhone 14 Pro Max can upgrade it if they like titanium, but I don’t think it is necessary to buy it. For those who have an iPhone 13 Pro Max in their hands, I would rather recommend upgrading it because Apple’s official recycling price this year is quite good. My 13 Pro Max can be recycled for 4,800 yuan, which is higher than Apple’s recycling. It may not be worth so much next year, so I have to sell it quickly.