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iPhone 15 Pro Max: rumored release date, price predictions, latest leaks and more
In this article, though, we detail the most convincing rumors we’ve heard surrounding the iPhone 15 Pro Max, specifically (aka the potential successor to the excellent iPhone 14 Pro Max).
For details on the rest of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 15 line, head over to our roundup of the key iPhone 15 upgrades that seem all but confirmed.
Latest leaks, rumors and news (Updated September 8)
In addition to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, we’re expecting Apple to unveil an iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro Max in September, and in the below table, we’ve compiled some at-a-glance specs for all four phones.
Official poster for Apple’s ‘Wonderlust’ September 2023 event (Image credit: Apple)
Apple event set for Tuesday, September 12
Shipping dates slated for Friday, September 22
Production delays were rumored, but no longer
Apple likes to leave things to the last minute when it comes to revealing iPhone release dates, but the company has finally confirmed the date of its next launch event: Tuesday, September 12.
This event will almost certainly play host to the launch of the iPhone 15 line, with iPhone 15 pre-orders likely to get underway a few days later on Friday, September 15. Shipping dates (i.e. the real iPhone 15 release date) will probably follow another week later on Friday, September 22.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max is available in four colors (Image credit: Apple)
The iPhone 15 colors will vary by model, but we expect the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max to be offered in the same shades as one another. The latest intelligence suggest that four color options are on the cards:
Dark red
Silver
Gold
Graphite, Space Gray, or Space Black
Also on the colors front, reports suggest that every iPhone 15 model will come with a color-matched braided USB-C cable. The use of braiding should make these cables more durable to the rigors of long-term use, as well as better retain their colors. You can read more about the potential benefits of Apple’s transition to USB-C, specifically, further down this article.
iPhone 15 Pro Max price predictions
The iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1,099 / £1,199 / AU$1,899 (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Likely to be the most expensive iPhone ever
May start at $1,199 / £1,309 / AU$2,099
Early leaks surrounding the price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max were based around Apple calling it the iPhone 15 Ultra, but the figures are still worth considering. In December, for instance, an iPhone 15 Ultra price leak suggested that the phone could start at $1,299, likely equating to £1,429 / AU$2,249 in other regions.
For comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1,099 / £1,199 / AU$1,899 – which itself represents a price hike over the iPhone 13 Pro Max outside of the US market – while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra starts $1,199.99 / £1,249 / AU$1,949.
What’s more, we’re expecting Apple to do away with 128GB storage options for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max this year, so the latter will surely start at a higher price than $1,199 / £1,309 / AU$2,099 (i.e. the price of the 256GB variant of the iPhone 14 Pro Max).
The iPhone 15 Pro Max could be offered with up to 2TB internal storage, too, and considering that the 1TB variant of the iPhone 14 Pro Max costs a whopping $1,599 / £1,740 / AU$2,769 – which is some $200 / £211 / AU$350 more than the 512GB variant (which is half as big, storage-wise) – a 2TB iPhone 15 Pro Max would likely cost at least $1,799 / £1,950 / AU$2,769. Yikes! Though a more recent leak suggests storage will be the same as last year.
When it comes to iPhone 15 cameras, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is expected to improve upon its predecessor’s already excellent triple-sensor setup in a few key ways.
And lastly, the iPhone 15 Pro Max might have a dual-lens front-facing camera, improving upon its predecessor’s single 12MP front-facing TrueDepth camera. That said, this looks increasingly unlikely, as only one source has mentioned this, and they have an iffy track record.
iPhone 15 Pro Max design
An iPhone 14 Pro Max in the hand (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Thinner bezels and titanium sides expected
Solid-state buttons were initially rumored, but no longer likely
Action button seems confirmed, though
We expect the iPhone 15 Pro Max to be similar in size to its predecessor – i.e. 77.6mm x 160.7mm x 7.85mm – but that’s not to say it’ll be an identical-looking device.
iPhone 15 Pro render obtained by 9to5Mac (Image credit: 9to5Mac)
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iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra renders obtained by 9to5Mac (Image credit: 9to5Mac)
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iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra renders obtained by 9to5Mac (Image credit: 9to5Mac)
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iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra renders obtained by 9to5Mac (Image credit: 9to5Mac)
These renders also show a button in place of the mute switch, which is believed to be a configurable button like the Action button on the Apple Watch Ultra. You might be able to do a lot more with this version of the button, though – code snippets in an iOS 17 beta have pointed to nine different options. These include the ability to toggle accessibility modes, Shortcuts, silent mode, the flashlight, the camera, a magnifier, Focus modes, text or speech translation, and voice memos.
On the bezel front, we’ve heard that the iPhone 15 Pro will be getting thinner bezels than the iPhone 14 Pro, meaning the iPhone 15 Pro Max will surely do, too. This would be an impressive feat on Apple’s part, given that the bezels on the iPhone 14 Pro Max are already remarkably thin.
You can take a look at what the iPhone 15 Pro Max might look like in the MacRumors video below, which shows off dummy units for all four rumored iPhone 15 models. The rounded edges and USB-C ports that we’ve been hearing about (more on the latter below) are both visible.
It’s also worth noting that Apple may be preparing to move to eSIM in countries outside the US for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, with eSIMs reportedly coming to the next generation of Apple’s best iPhones in France. SIM card-less iPhone 15 Pro Max’s could be coming to the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and many other countries, too.
iPhone 15 Pro Max screen size
The iPhone 14 Pro Max boasts a 6.7-inch OLED display (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Expected to inherit its predecessor’s 6.7-inch Super XDR OLED display
Dynamic Island will return, with marginal improvements
On the topic of iPhone 15 screen sizes and displays, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will likely retain its predecessor’s 6.7-inch Super XDR OLED screen and Dynamic Island digital cutout. The latter is expected to make its way onto the vanilla iPhone 15, too, though the next iteration of the Dynamic Island won’t necessarily be identical to that which is used on the iPhone 14 line.
According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 15’s proximity sensor will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island itself, rather than positioned separately (as on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max). The proximity sensor is used to detect when you raise your iPhone to your ear. When triggered, the sensor shuts off the screen, so you don’t end up accidentally putting your boss on hold or hanging up on your grandma.
This new sensor arrangement is unlikely to result in any material difference to the appearance or functionality of the iPhone 15 Pro Max versus the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but the former’s Dynamic Island will technically be more advanced than the latter’s given the inclusion of a previously isolated sensor.
iPhone 15 Pro Max features and specs
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Will reportedly use the super-fast A17 Bionic
Possibly more RAM and larger battery
AI could feature prominently
The iPhone 14 Pro Max uses the A16 Bionic – aka the latest version of Apple’s silicon – which makes it one of the fastest phones money can buy in 2023. Apple being Apple, though, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will be even faster.
DCInside claims that the A17 Bionic earns a single-core score of 3019 and a multi-core score of 7860 on Geekbench 6, where the A16 Bionic scores 2504 and 6314, respectively. Naturally, we’d suggest taking these rumored figures with a hefty pinch of salt, but they do suggest that the iPhone 15 Pro Max might sport benchmark scores to rival Apple’s best MacBooks.
Notably, the A17 Bionic could also be significantly more powerful than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset – aka the processor that powers many of the best Android phones. The latter is made on a 4nm process, while the A17 Bionic will reportedly be made on a 3nm process (which means far more transistors can be included, likely leading to better performance and efficiency).
On the other hand, though, it might still be stuck at 6GB, according to another leak, which also adds that the A17 Bionic has six CPU cores, six GPU cores, and a maximum clock speed of 3.70GHz. For reference, the A16 Bionic has six CPU cores, five CPU cores, and a top speed of 3.46GHz.
Apple’s A16 Bionic is already a market-leading beast (Image credit: Apple)
This option will supposedly arrive with iOS 17, which was announced in June, but only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be able to make use of the technology given their support for Thunderbolt 3.
It’s not yet clear whether Apple’s upcoming premium iPhones will allow you to share all types of content across multiple screens using the charging port alone – game and movie content, for instance, might still require AirPlay or an Apple TV. At the very least, though, filmmakers, photographers, and other creatives look set to have the option of visualizing their subjects on larger, control-free monitors with the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Getting more granular, every iPhone 15 will reportedly feature an upgraded Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip to support the functionality of Apple’s Vision Pro headset. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that Apple’s U1 chip – currently built on a 16nm process – will be replaced by newer silicon, founded on a significantly more compact 7nm process; with the intention of improving performance, while also reducing power consumption. This could have major (positive) implications for the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s functionality with Apple Vision Pro.
It’s also worth reiterating here that the iPhone 15 Pro Max you probably won’t be able to use your older Apple Lightning cable to juice it up. This version of USB-C is rumored to support the USB 3.0 standard, too – whereas the iPhone 15 will reportedly stick with its predecessor’s USB 2.0 standard. So the iPhone 15 Pro Max could get faster file transfer speeds than its vanilla sibling (according to USBMakers, the former could offer 90% faster speeds).
The switch to USB-C could also bring faster charging speeds – for the Pro models, at least. Indeed, reports suggest that some of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 15 devices will support charging up to 35W. At present, the standard iPhone 14 is limited to 20W charging, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max is capped at 27W. The latter takes around two hours to recharge to full capacity, so we’ll gratefully accept any improvements on that figure for the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
With a host of tipped upgrades, from a new design and titanium edges to a periscope telephotos camera with a 6x optical zoom, the iPhone 145 Pro Max is shaping up to be the next-generation iPhone that’ll grab the attention of Apple and Android fans alike.
An Action button, particularly with customizable functionality, could sweeten the package and make the iPhone 15 Pro Max a future contender for our best phones list.
by #AI September 8, 2023 · Automatic
