iPhone 15 Pro Max, 7 months later: still going strong despite drops and scratches

I’ve been using the iPhone 15 Pro Max for 7 months now, and one of the biggest surprises – and I can confirm from personal experience, unfortunately – is that it can withstand drops. Many, many drops.

I fell off the arm of the couch onto the hardwood floor in the living room multiple times. She fell out of her pocket onto the sidewalk twice as she fumbled to remove it from her pocket. And during video shoots, he had multiple instances of his 15 Pro Max crashing into the floor of his CNET San Francisco studio. I often use his iPhone as a teleprompter, with an accessory that clips onto the Panasonic S1H camera and lens. Sometimes the cameraman or I will accidentally hit the “rig” while adjusting the Panasonic, and the phone will fall off and hit the ground. Fortunately, the screen and back of my boyfriend’s 15 Pro Max are not cracked.

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And it’s worth noting: I don’t use cases. I know I’m a horrible, soulless monster, but I’m not just a monster. case guy. But maybe I should.

In the seven months I’ve been using the iPhone 15 Pro Max, I’ve traveled the country with it, watched TV and movies, played games, and even taken it to surf rock shows. It became a rectangular half-pound friend that did everything I needed.

I’ve come to rely on features like standby mode at home or the office, checking in during long bike trips, and the camera’s incredible 5x zoom. There were some issues with iPhones running iOS 17 last fall, including a software overheating bug, but luckily my phone was not affected and Apple has since resolved the issue.

This is why I’m still glued to the iPhone 15 Pro Max more than half a year later.

wear and tear

Let’s start with how my iPhone 15 Pro Max looks, especially after all the drops. The titanium sides are in good condition, but there is a small scratch on the side in the top left corner – no comments. The back glass also looks nice. My phone is a natural titanium color, or as a friend jokes, “far from beige.” However, its dull color and matte finish hide fingerprints and dust well. If you look closely, you won’t find any scratches or dirt on the back side.

The Ceramic Shield display didn’t fare much better. There are some small scratches, especially on the bottom left corner, and the oleophobic coating appears to have worn away in a few places. I definitely have no complaints, especially since I don’t use my phone much. But it’s nice to see that the 15 Pro Max can pretty much withstand Patrick Holland’s daily experiences.

Battery life and display

My 15 Pro Max’s battery health is normal, but the maximum capacity has dropped from 100% to 99%. The battery has 111 cycles and his 10-day average of screen on time is 8 hours and 41 minutes. As for battery life, not much has changed. It lasts a full day on a single charge, and a day and a half when you’re not using the phone frequently.

Sometimes, like at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and Samsung Unpacked in January, I pushed my phone, taking hundreds of photos and videos, and calling into CNET’s live video stream over 5G. did. On those days, I was able to offset the battery drain by using the low power mode, but I’m still impressed with how the phone holds up in such conditions. The 15 Pro Max has a larger battery than the 15 Pro, which means it will last much longer.

The iPhone display is very beautiful. Whether you’re watching The Bear, reading an article, laughing at a New Yorker cartoon, or taking a photo, the images and graphics are rich, even in low light. It’s detailed and the text is easy to read.

You might find out where I’m going next by reading my iPhone 15 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra camera tests. The 15 Pro Max’s screen falls short for me in terms of reflections. After using the Galaxy S24 Ultra and its low-reflective display, I no longer see the reflective artifacts on my iPhone’s display, and most smartphone screens out there. We hope Apple adds a coating to the rumored iPhone 16’s display. Whatever Samsung is doing.

iPhone 15 Pro Max and iOS 17

Perhaps the biggest change to this phone, aside from the camera, is iOS 17. It’s been 19 months since Dynamic Island debuted on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, and it still feels like third-party apps are underutilized. Sure, it’s great for Uber, music control, and system alerts for Apple apps, but it feels like it could do more than that. I don’t know if this is something Apple has because they can’t force developers to use Dynamic Island. But even if that’s not the case, it still feels like it’s early days for Dynamic Island.

We also now offer Stolen Device Protection to protect your account and personal information if your iPhone is stolen. If it is not turned on, please turn it on. For iOS 17.3 and later, setting,Tap Face ID and passcode You can enable it there.

On my previous iPhone 15 Pro check-in, I noticed that I had experienced some iOS 17 software bugs, including Safari freezing and becoming unresponsive. I’m glad that I haven’t had any such problems in recent months.

The last thing I want to say about iOS 17 is that there are a lot of great little improvements, like the message catch-up arrow. But the feature that seems to be adopted by more people is the standby mode that turns his iPhone into a mini hub while charging. Standby mode displays widgets, time, and photos, but is not limited to the iPhone 15 series. It’s fun to come over to a friend’s house and see his iPhone stand ready in his kitchen or home office. And I’m also curious if and how Apple will expand standby mode in his iOS 18.

camera and video

Cameras are always important on iPhones, and the 15 Pro Max is no exception. Basically, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max both have the same camera, but the 15 Pro has a 3x telephoto lens and the 15 Pro Max has a 5x telephoto lens. Think back to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, what an iPhone 15 Pro Ultra would have looked like with both 3x and 5x.

The 15 Pro Max’s photos are great and on par with those from the S24 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro, especially when using the 5x lens. Check out the gallery below featuring snaps I took with my phone.

But I want to give the iPhone’s video capabilities a moment to shine. The 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max also have the ability to record ProRes video and save files as SDR, HDR, and logs. Log files can look strange. The color saturation is low and the exposure appears dark. These files are designed to capture more image information than non-ProRes video, and the color grading and exposure can then be balanced to achieve the desired look. Or match video footage recorded by another camera.

actual, video The image accompanying this article was taken by CNET’s John Kim on an iPhone 15 Pro Max. The main shot of me talking directly to the camera in the video was captured using his 15x camera on a 5 Pro Max and recorded to ProRes Log. This is a before and after composite of the same frame of video. One appears in the log unedited, and the other after it has been graded and balanced.

Another thing I like about the iPhone 15 Pro Max video capture is that you can record video directly to an external hard drive thanks to the USB-C port, which supports USB 3 speeds. Using this method, you can quickly transfer videos shot from your iPhone to your computer for editing by simply removing the drive from your iPhone and connecting it to your laptop. No need to wait for videos to be uploaded and downloaded or sent to AirDrop. Use some accessories to further improve the recording process.

My go-to iPhone 15 Pro Max accessory

I use two main accessories to record footage for CNET videos: the Blackmagic Cam app and a Samsung T9 SSD. Be mindful of casual videos and social posts. I primarily have an iPhone and use the default his Apple camera app.

The Blackmagic Cam app is basically the pro camera mode I’ve wanted from Apple for years. It’s video-only, but offers controls such as waveforms to balance exposure, zebras to show where the bright parts of the image are clipped to white, shutter speed, and ISO. There are a variety of video codecs, audio formats to choose from, and even mini slates. Probably my favorite thing about the Blackmagic Cam app is that it’s free.

Samsung T9 SDD is small and big at the same time. It’s about the same size as the Altoids can, but comes with storage configurations up to 4TB. I’ve been using a Samsung T drive for years because of its value and portability. But unlike anything I had before, this his T9 drive is sturdy. Samsung claims it can withstand drops from 9.8 feet. After reading about my tendency to drop his iPhone, you may be surprised to learn that I have not verified this claim. The Samsung T9 SSD costs $175 for 1TB, but as of this writing, On sale for $130 ($45 off) at Best Buy.

I would also like to take a look at Peak Design’s mobile tripod. It’s made of aluminum and has a MagSafe-compatible magnet that attaches to the back of your iPhone. The tripod’s small legs fold flat for easy portability. There is also a small hex wrench key that magnetically retracts into the body to tighten the ball joint. I carry a mobile tripod in my backpack, and it’s useful not only for taking videos, but also for watching videos.of Peak Design mobile tripod costs $80It’s quite a bit of money, but it’s worth it.

final thoughts

The iPhone 15 Pro Max has been the phone I’ve carried with me every day for the past seven months, and that’s the highest approval I can give the phone. If you are thinking of purchasing it, I highly recommend it. As summer approaches, keep an eye out for trade-in sales and sales. I’m also going to start looking for a phone case for my iPhone 15 Pro Max.