The periscopic lens has finally landed which will persuade me to swap my 12Pro for a 15 Pro Max! Not really been keen on the Max size before but apparently this one is both smaller & lighter than before which can only be good.
Some nice updates in terms of both hardware and the forthcoming iOS 17 launch.
USB-C is great to see finally, long overdue although tbh these days the only thing I really plug into my phone is my Mavic drone controller, everything else including charging is wireless!
Really like the look of the new Watches too (especially the Ultra 2), the gesture thing sounds great, although they're a bit harder to justify as long as my ancient Watch 3 (now EoL!) keeps on trucking.
Time to change my 11 for a new 15 I reckon. Probably a Pro but haven’t decided yet.
its hard to get excited about any new phones - the gains are so marginal. The only significant shift in the last decade is folding screens, but they're so fragile/expensive as to be an irrelevance..
Possibly if you’re looking at it from a form over function perspective, but personally I am not. You can do things on a phone now which would not have been possible, or even imaginable, 10 years ago.
I agree that the gains are less significant if you already have last years model, although I wouldn’t quite say marginal. If you have a phone that’s 3+years old the differences are a lot more substantial.
its hard to get excited about any new phones – the gains are so marginal
they are but the serviceable life of the phones is longer too. So the difference between a 14 and a 15 might pretty slim but between a (phone you’re still using) and (the latest thing) there may well be some meaningful improvements. Against the phone I’ve got better low light photography and LiDAR have got real world utility for me. Neither of those thing are new new, but their application has improved and integrating them together is interesting - Not ‘game changing’ nor queue outside the shop amazing but really useful and something to look forward to when my current phone craps out.
@<span class="bbp-author-name">zilog6128 </span>Get rid of that 12 soon. Its got high radiation levels.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66795168
Well, the new 15 might finally tempt me away from my 2020 SE
Mainly based on the camera. Means I can ditch a couple of compact cameras that I use occasionally.
Maybe the max, we’ll see.
I love all the people moaning it’s not an exciting new design - what exactly can you do with a slab of screen!? Pop-out mini candelabras perhaps!! 🤣🤣
Can’t see x5 zoom hasn’t caught my attention
But I’m too careless with phones and to tight to buy one
Do they still do the thing where they say ‘the fastest iPhone yet’ as if that wasn’t the whole point of the exercise?
Anyway I’ll prob upgrade this year and as others have said, going from an 11 to a 15 will be a fairly substantial upgrade.
Will this mean the 13 mini will get cheaper?
Mrs_oab's SE battery is dying and I'm tempted to get her a nice present rather than a new battery...
You can do things on a phone now which would not have been possible, or even imaginable, 10 years ago
Genuine question - like what?
I have a 2019 phone and I can't really think of anything it can do that my 2013 phone didn't. Except paying contactless, which didn't exist til 2014. Be interested to know what the current crop do?
So 5x optical zoom has my attention
As does emergency satellite communication in the uk. Could save your life or some one else’s
But I’m too careless with phones and too tight to put £999 into a phone
But no hate in those that do pony up for one
Just looked at the prices. The 15 Pro Max is basically the same price as the 15" M2 MacBook air, for the same amount of storage 😳
I guess in many ways they're basically the same device, but still... cor
I have a 2019 phone and I can’t really think of anything it can do that my 2013 phone didn’t. Except paying contactless, which didn’t exist til 2014. Be interested to know what the current crop do?
As above 5x optical zoom
Text via satellite
Does your phone do 10s exposures hand held?
I think the degree of water proofing has increased
My phone 12 replaced a Samsung A50. On paper they do the same. The iPhone just does it more reliably than the one it replaced.
Still running my iPhone XR with no need to upgrade but do quite fancy a 13 pro max now as they’ll undoubtedly be discounted. Must. Resist.
I’m using my son’s hand me down 8+ and he’s got a 13 Pro Max which I’ll inherit in a couple of years. Should be a decent upgrade for me.
How much ???Cost of a laptop or computer you can get for under £400. Simple thing like a phone which 99% use to send whatsapp messages, chat and do a bit of surfing. Over a grand.
That will be why the company is worth nearly $3 trillion.
Will this mean the 13 mini will get cheaper?
No, it's been discontinued. Which is a shame as I was going to upgrade to one from my 5. Yes that's right, 5. Looks like the only small screen option now is the SE.
As above 5x optical zoom
Text via satelliteDoes your phone do 10s exposures hand held?
I think the degree of water proofing has increased
My phone (a OnePlus 6T - I just looked it up, it was actually released in 2018) can do long exposures, but doesn't have optical zoom or satellite. I wouldn't want to immerse it in water, but it's fine in rain.
So yeah, those are improvements. But I'd say they're very much incremental, as opposed to the 'unimaginable' suggested by the poster above.
I'm due a new phone one of these days. But I haven't seen anything that really makes me want to splash the cash just yet. Those LIDAR features look quite fun, but not £1000 worth of fun!
I could have had 10x zoom on a Samsung s21 when I got mine 2 and a bit years ago. I wish I had really, quite useful.
The only significant shift in the last decade is folding screens, but they’re so fragile/expensive as to be an irrelevance.
Not if you're a woman and all your trousers have tiny short pockets.
The periscopic lens has finally landed which will persuade me to swap my 12Pro for a 15 Pro Max! Not really been keen on the Max size before but apparently this one is both smaller & lighter than before which can only be good.
That’s the only reason I want to change from my 11 pro…. That and the fact my Face ID / portrait camera is knackered.
15 pro max is just too big though. Just measured the difference and that extra size is too much for me
It sounds like the x 5 zoom will be on next years 15 pro so tempted to wait and get my 11 Pro repaired
Phones are defo more waterproof these days. Jumped into the pool on holiday with my XR in my pocket, fully submerged for a good 20 seconds and it still works fine!
Will it still need charged at the end of every single day? This is my grumble about all new phones - not everyone has access to a recharging solution daily...
Not if you turn off mobile data (this is true for most smart phones btw).
Why did I spend so much on a phone when my house has no plug sockets and my car has no usb port. Dho….
The OP must be disappointed, more fanbois than haters, but I'll help. I think it's shit.
I was hoping there would be a mini Pro. I’m not sure what I’ll do when my mini 13 needs replacing (in a few years).
Everyone who has a mini seems to love it yet apparently they didn’t sell well.
I’ll be going from 7+ to a 15. I can’t believe people bemoaning year on year “incremental” updates. If the new handsets only have small improvements over one you bought less than a year ago… keep your current one… obviously. For many many years if you can.
My iPhone history is 3G > 6s > 8 > 13mini so 4 phones in 15 years. Can’t be bad value wise.
Have they killed off the mini? No bit of me wants to carry a massive screen around!
Everyone who has a mini seems to love it
That was certainly the case for me & my (Product)Red 12 Pro mini. Well, until I got so long sighted that I now need a bigger screen 😩
iPhone 15 Pro is tempting. But even though £999 and a titanium finish makes it somewhat cheaper in real terms than last year’s models it is still £999! Maybe next May.
Have they killed off the mini?
They did a 12 and 13 mini and then for the 14 lineup they ditched the mini and came out with a ‘plus’ line instead. So yeah I reckon the mini is gone, at least for now. It’s a shame.
What I hadn’t realised until fairly recently is that all the phones have grown substantially. I liked my iPhone X but the later models have grown a bit since then.
Apparently only 3% of iPhone 13s were minis. So they are history
I liked my iPhone X but the later models have grown a bit since then.

not that different really?
… fully submerged for a good 20 seconds and it still works fine!
and then some! I spend 45 minutes fishing mine out of a canal basin when it bounced out of my pocket as I slid off the side of the boat. That was an iPhone 8 Plus.
Tempted by the new usb-c and might go back to a plus model from this 12, which to be fair, runs perfectly, albeit with reduced battery life, and has the same screen size as my old 8 Plus. My only concern is that the now much larger screen might render my mini iPad redundant.
I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max.
I do like my technology and my gadgets. I’ve been mulling over getting the equivalent iPhone 15 or whether to jump ship to Samsung. I’m tempted by the ZFold5.
Anyone gone from IOS to Android and been ok with it? I’m no longer wedded to Apple, sold my MacBook. Can’t think of any other devices I own that are IOS only.
USB-C is great to see finally, long overdue
Have Apple trademarked a new name for a standard cable and then tried to claim that you need to buy the Apple one that costs 10x what a generic one costs because only the official one will work properly? By god they must have made a fortune over the years with their proprietary cables and dongles and now everyone gets to replace them all over again.
I've got a 12 which I'll be sticking with for the time being. It works perfectly fine is in great condition and as others have said, gains are more marginable these days which is a good this as phones don't go as obsolete as quickly. Unless it's an Android device.
By god they must have made a fortune over the years with their proprietary cables and dongles and now everyone gets to replace them all over again.
I’ve several devices at home that use USB C, including Apple, so I won’t be replacing any.
I have an 11 and Mrs SSS has a 13. Nothing ive seen makes me go 'i must have that'. I normally buy Mrs SSS a new phone and i get her old one.
The 15? Marginal gains - faster processor we're unlikely to notice, a slightly better camera yawn, titanium over stainless whatever, different colours woopty doo. Highly unlikely to ever need the satellite calling....
Wait for the next one.
Am thinking of going over to Android though. I did try it back around iphone 6/7, but didnt like it that much. I found the IOS user interface much nicer to operate and more intuitive to use. Maybe give it a try again.
I do like the idea of the Zflip phones as i dont really want a slab of a phone.
The battery on my 12 Pro is getting close to 80% of original, and it's worth £300 trade in to Apple. From past experience, this will be about the best value trade in / battery life balance - so I'm getting a 15 Pro to replace the 12.
I was tempted by the Pro Max, primarily for the fancy camera, but I'm not ready to give into increasing myopia and buy a mini tablet to carry around just yet.
5x zoom, is that it. Pah.
10x Optical on the Samsung S23 Ultra and it's ace, 100x digital. Pretty bloody amazing.
10x Optical on the Samsung S23 Ultra
At £250 more then a 15 pro it better be good.
