iPhone 15 review roundup: What the world’s saying about the newest iPhone

It’s been a week since the launch of Apple’s iPhone 15 series, and while early adopters are still left waiting for their pre-orders to come in, the first reviews of the iPhone 15 series are out. Here’s a quick roundup to bring you the gist of the good, bad and ugly of the new iPhone 15 series.

To make things easier, we’ll go over every aspect of the new iPhones categorically, starting with the one where both the standard and Pro models have received new upgrades – design.

iPhone 15 design review

The Apple iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus come with a new colour-infused glass back, that enables the new, pastel-like colours of the phone. “The Apple iPhone 15 looks very similar to the iPhone 14 from a distance, but get yourself a little closer and there are a number of differences to take note of,” says Pocket Lint, pointing to the matte glass back which replaces the glossy finish of earlier models.

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“The edges of the phone don’t cut into my hand like the older models did,” says The Verge, adding that the phone is more comfortable without a case.

iPhone 15 display review

Coming to the display, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus were praised for their inclusion of the 2,000 nits brightness, something that was only reserved for the Pro models until last year.

“It’s something that you might not appreciate during day-to-day use inside if like me, you drop your brightness down, but it is immediately helpful – and an obvious upgrade – in bright conditions outside,” says Pocket Lint.

Unlike last year, the non-Pro models of the new iPhone also get the Dynamic Island feature. “I don’t think it’s a game changer, but the Dynamic Island does bring some convenience,” says CNET in its review.

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“My experience with Dynamic Island was limited before using the iPhone 15, and I’m surprised to say I sort of love it,” says WIRED.

However, the lack of ProMotion (and by extension, Always-On Display) was criticised by many. “It’s reasonable that some features should remain exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro, but I don’t think the always-on display should be one of them,” adds CNET.

iPhone 15 performance review

Both the new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus feature the A16 Bionic chip from last year’s Pro models, bringing flagship-level performance to them. “This chip (…) provided great performance for anything I did on the phone, from multitasking to gaming and snapping lots of photos and video,” says The Verge.

iPhone 15 camera review

Perhaps one of the biggest changes coming to the new iPhone 15 and 15 Plus is the inclusion of the main 48MP sensor, which allows both non-Pro models to take high-resolution photos for the first time.

“The entire camera system on the iPhone 15 does offer more granular control over your photos than the iPhone 14 does,” WIRED explains.

“The camera now captures enough depth data in the regular photo mode to create a portrait image after you took the picture,” CNET adds.

“Video recording is largely the same — up to 4K60, including Dolby Vision HDR — but you can now smoothly zoom to the 2x setting while shooting,” The Verge says about the iPhone 15’s video recording capabilities.

iPhone 15 battery review

The new iPhones are all-day battery phones, but the latter having a larger capacity, clearly stands out. “If battery life is what you’re after, the iPhone 15 Plus is what you seek,” The Verge explains.

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“The standard iPhone 15 can replenish its battery up to 50 per cent in 30 minutes with a 20-watt adapter, but it’ll charge at an even faster 27W if you plug it into the charger that comes with your Mac,” CNET points out, praising the addition of the new USB Type-C port.

iPhone 15 review verdict roundup

The iPhone 15 series brings some of the best bits of the iPhone 14 Pro series to a non-Pro price point, including Dynamic Island, a 48MP main camera and a display that can go up to 2,000nits. As CNET puts it, “The iPhone 15 feels like a leap forward from older iPhones.”

While there are elements still missing, like the ProMotion Display and the advanced camera elements of the Pro series, the iPhone 15 is a great option for those looking for a powerful daily-driver without the bells and whistles of the Pro variants.

As Pocket Lint puts it, “It’s the model that sees the greatest enhancements, all of which contribute to a truly lovely overall experience.”