iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Should you upgrade to the latest iPhone?

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the best iPhone you can buy, and it directly succeeds the previous iPhone 14 Pro Max. Apple no longer sells the older iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is a shame since it is still a very competent smartphone. If you already own the iPhone 14 Pro Max or are looking to pick one up pre-owned, it is valid to wonder whether you should consider the iPhone 15 Pro Max an upgrade. Read on as we explore what you should choose in this iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max comparison!

Apple iPhones are usually very incremental upgrades year-on-year, which is also true this year. However, this is one of the meaningful incremental changes to the iPhone Pro Max we have seen.

The display on both devices is the same at 6.7 inches diagonally. However, the bezels on the iPhone 15 Pro Max are marginally thinner on all sides. Both phones support 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

One significant change between the phones is the processor inside. Apple has switched from the 4nm A16 Bionic to the 3nm A17 Pro. The company uses fuzzy marketing for comparison, so we don’t have good comparative details for year-on-year changes. But Apple SoCs have always been top-of-the-line, and each new one is better than the last, even if marginally. This year, the new chip has one more GPU core than the previous one.

Apple does not disclose this directly, but the iPhone 15 Pro Max has 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, while the 14 Pro Max has 6GB. Coupled with the better SoC, you should have a higher upper limit on multitasking, though it would be difficult to experience it on iOS 17. Apple has also skipped the 128GB storage variant for the 15 Pro Max this year.

The most significant change on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is switching over to USB-C from the Lightning port on the 14 Pro Max. This makes using one cable to charge all your USB-C devices super convenient. Apple also upgraded the iPhone 15 Pro Max to USB 3.0 from the USB 2.0 speeds on the Lightning port on the 14 Pro.

Another notable change on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the Action button, which replaces the mute-ring switch on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. You can customize the Action button with various actions (including toggling mute-ring) and even set a Shortcut to it.

Other minor changes on the iPhone 15 Pro Max over its predecessor are Wi-Fi 6E vs Wi-Fi 6, the inclusion of the second-generation UWB chip vs the first-gen UWB on the 14 Pro Max, and support for the Thread networking technology.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max launched with iOS 16, although it is on track to receive iOS 17. The iPhone 15 Pro Max launched with iOS 17. Apple usually supports its phones for a long time, and you typically get updates on the first day of rollout. So you needn’t pay attention to this spec.

The most noticeable change on the new iPhone 15 Pro Max starts when you hold the phone. Apple has marginally reduced the dimensions of the phone from its predecessor. The iPhone 14 Pro Max measures 160.7 x 77.6 x 7.85mm, while the 15 Pro Max measures 159.9 x 76.7 x 8.25mm.

Further, the company has switched to a Titanium alloy for the side-frame (with aluminum for the inner mid-frame) on the 15 Pro Max, compared to Stainless Steel on the 14 Pro Max. This has reduced weight, going from 240g on the 14 Pro Max to 221g on the 13 Pro Max.

These changes make the iPhone 15 Pro Max easier to hold in the hand.

The switch to Titanium also gives us a new brushed titanium texture on the side frame of the 15 Pro Max. The 14 Pro Max comes with a smoother finish that, unfortunately, attracts a lot of fingerprints.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max and the iPhone 15 Pro Max have the same camera setup, except for one key difference: the zoom lens. So, the primary camera, the ultrawide camera, and the front selfie camera are identical.

On the iPhone 14 Pro Max, we get a 12MP telephoto lens capable of 3x optical zoom.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max upgrades this to a 12MP tetra prism telephoto (which is a close equivalent to a periscope zoom lens), which can achieve 5x optical zoom.

On both phones, you get the usual 0.6x ultrawide, the 1x primary camera, and a 2x crop of the primary camera. Depending on the phone, you get either 3x or 5x optical zoom. All missing zoom ranges between and beyond are digital zooms or a combination of sensor cropping and digital zoom.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max also gets “next-generation portraits,” which allow you to click regular photos of people and pets and convert them into Portrait photos later on as depth data is automatically saved. You can also adjust the bokeh and refocus subjects. The company hasn’t revealed if this feature will come to the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max also gets Log video recording support, as well as support for the Academy Color Encoding System. This is missing from the iPhone 14 Pro Max. For most users, this feature may not be helpful.

Apple does not disclose full battery and charging specifications for its iPhones. We know from leaks and regulatory filings that the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 4,323mAh battery supporting 27W fast charging. We haven’t spotted the same for the iPhone 15 Pro Max yet, nor has Apple claimed any battery or charging improvements.

Based on experience, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has no issues powering through a day. You can also stretch battery life to one and a half days with lighter usage. Charging the phone from 0% to 100% takes over two hours.

Apple has retained the same pricing for the iPhone 15 Pro Max as it had for the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The only difference is that the 15 Pro Max loses out on the starting 128GB storage variant, so it starts at a higher price.

As mentioned, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is no longer officially sold by Apple. You may spot residual stock at retailers, and you may be able to grab that at a discount.

Like most years, the iPhone is seeing an incremental upgrade that is minor on paper. However, the practical experience of using the iPhone 15 Pro Max is quite improved from the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and you can thank the lower weight for that. With the prices equal and a large majority of the feature set being similar, this alone should push more people towards the iPhone 15 Pro Max from the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

So, if you are in the market for a new phone, pick up the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Your wrists will thank us. It also has some new colors to be excited about.

For existing iPhone 14 Pro Max users, the iPhone 15 Pro Max does not bring enough exciting updates to justify spending all this money. Your 14 Pro Max has many more years of life left in it, and until and unless you get a great trade-in deal, we do not see the need to jump to the 15 Pro Max. This presumes that you already have a few Lightning cables around you and aren’t particularly fascinated with the USB-C port.

The switch to USB-C will make life significantly more manageable, as you can share charging cables with Android users and even laptop users. Content creators will also appreciate the USB 3.0 data transfer speeds. The titanium body with the lower weight makes handling the iPhone 15 Pro Max easier. And the more extended zoom range also has its uses. If these changes sound appealing, you can justify an upgrade if you have the budget.