Apple iPhone 15 Plus Review: Big, Beautiful and a Little Basic

At a look

Skilled’s Ranking

Professionals

• Epic battery life
• Clean efficiency
• Crisp and shiny display
• Prime quality IP68 construct

Cons

• No telephoto lens
• Begins at 128GB storage
• 60Hz refresh price
• No reverse wi-fi charging

Our Verdict

The iPhone 15 Plus is likely one of the greatest huge telephones on the market and hits a pleasant candy spot in Apple’s 2024 vary. It even undercuts some Android rivals on worth however with much less storage and lags behind in another areas in case you care concerning the newest and best {hardware}.

Value When Reviewed

$899

Greatest Costs At the moment: Apple iPhone 15 Plus

$929

$929.99

The iPhone 15 Plus is likely one of the ‘huge telephones’ vying on your consideration however is there sufficient to win the battle of the what was once referred to as ‘phablets’? 

For me, with the cellphone beginning at £899, there’s loads to like in case you’re onboard with iOS. The show is beautiful, the battery life is insanely good and efficiency is easy. 

It’s not good although as there’s no telephoto lens and charging speeds are nothing to put in writing dwelling about so you may get some higher {hardware} within the Android camp if that’s an possibility for you. 

Notice: Because the iPhone 15 Plus is so much like the common 15, I’m going to maintain this overview on the shorter aspect and you’ll take a look at a lot of the element in that full in-depth overview.

You could find out what we think about to be the ten greatest handsets in our greatest smartphones chart.

Design & Construct

• Large however simple sufficient to deal with
• Prime quality construct
• IP68 rated

It’s no shock that the iPhone 15 Plus is solely an even bigger model of the iPhone 15. 

Whereas it’s nonetheless 7.8mm thick, it’s round 6mm wider, 13mm taller and 30g heavier. All primarily to slot in its bigger display and greater battery. 

Apple provides it in the identical 5 colourways – black, blue, yellow, pink and inexperienced – I’ve examined the latter which is a really pale pastel tone. It’s virtually white on the again considered in sure mild. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

Sometimes I’m not a fan of bigger telephones – I used to be reluctant to maneuver on from my iPhone 12 mini – however the 15 Plus stunned me in how simple and cozy it was to deal with. I used to be utilizing it with no case which felt unnerving at instances nevertheless it wasn’t wherever close to as slippery and slidy as lots of the telephones I’ve examined not too long ago. 

Construct is as top quality as you’ll count on from Apple and this lump of crafted metallic and glass comes with an IP68 mud and waterproof score which is the very best you may get (6 meters as much as half-hour in water going by Apple’s small print). 

It’s additionally price noting that not solely does the glass rear cowl with its frosted matt end look good, it has extra grip that the majority and resists fingerprints very nicely certainly.

Display & Audio system 

• 6.7-inch OLED
• 60Hz refresh price
• Stereo audio system

At 6.7-inch, the show on the iPhone 15 Plus is 0.6-inch bigger than the common 15 and this is likely one of the two important causes to ‘go giant’. 

The specs are the identical aside from the next decision to take care of the identical 460ppi pixel density. 

The Tremendous Retina XDR show with its OLED panel makes for a beautiful display and there’s heaps to love together with a crisp and vibrant expertise. Apple says it could possibly hit a peak brightness of two,000 nits outdoor, too. 

I measured it with autobrightness off at a extra pedestrian 517 nits which jumped to 570 nits with True Tone switched off. Nonetheless, I discovered the display simple to make use of in all conditions. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

One of many attracts right here is Dynamic Island which makes intelligent use of the pill-shaped space embedded within the display for notifications and the like. It’s nifty and actually helpful at instances. 

On the draw back, Apple has caught with a 60Hz refresh price right here so it’s a must to get a Professional mannequin to profit from 120Hz which is a disgrace. Even 90Hz as a midway home could be appreciated. 

The agency additionally forgoes any type of fingerprint scanner so it’s all on Face ID. That’s nonetheless one of the best facial biometric system on the market however you may want the choice of both. 

There’s no headphone jack (a given as of late) however the audio system on the 15 Plus are first rate in case you haven’t acquired any wi-fi cans to take heed to your podcasts, video games or video streaming. 

Specs & Efficiency 

• Yr-old A16 Bionic
• Clean efficiency
• Begins at solely 128GB

There’s little or no to fret about on the subject of core specs and efficiency. Apple’s A16 Bionic chipset is each highly effective and environment friendly on its 4nm manufacturing course of, even when it’s a 12 months previous. 

I didn’t discover any flaws with real-world efficiency in my testing and I used the 15 Plus for practically three months. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

What I might level out is that the iPhone 15 Plus solely comes with 128GB of storage for the most affordable mannequin which is a disgrace. 

Granted, rivals just like the Samsung Galaxy S24+ are £100 extra and begin with 256GB which is identical worth because the 256GB 15 Plus nevertheless it’s price selecting properly what capability you want as there’s no microSD card slot. 

After all, you get options like 5G connectivity, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6 and extra. 

Apple iPhone 15 Plus benchmarks

Cameras

• Similar cameras as common 15
• 48Mp important sensor
• 12Mp ultrawide and selfie cameras

The 15 Plus has the very same digital camera setup as its smaller brother so the principle factor right here is that there’s no telephoto lens. You’ll must get a 15 Professional for that. 

Nonetheless, the improve from final 12 months’s 12- to a 48Mp (f/1.6) sensor makes a big influence. One factor being that it’s excessive sufficient decision to crop in for what’s the equal of a 2x optical zoom, in keeping with Apple. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

Photographs pixel bix all the way down to 12Mp, although you may shoot within the full 48Mp in case you like. Apple correctly buries this in the principle settings although and even when it provides ‘HEIF MAX’ to the nook of the digital camera app, it’s not clear what meaning to most individuals. 

The primary digital camera is accompanied by a 12Mp (f/2.4) ultrawide shooter with a 120-degree area of view. Across the entrance is one other 12Mp digital camera with options comparable to autofocus and an f/1.9 aperture.

General, high quality is sweet and the 15 Plus is flexible sufficient to manage nicely with most conditions. On most events, element is sweet and I just like the pure, true-to-life colors. 

Being able to crop in to an efficient 2x zoom on the principle digital camera is useful however I did usually discover myself wanting a correct telephoto. You may get this on rivals together with the cheaper Xiaomi 14. 

I additionally discovered, as per the common 15, focusing a little bit of a difficulty so a few of pictures got here out blurry. The 15 Plus can also be good in low mild conditions however a lot of Android rivals are higher for this. 

One space the 15 Plus excels is video with very top quality and many choices and instruments at your fingertips. 

Battery Life & Charging

• Excellent battery life
• 20W wired charging with no charger provided
• MagSafe and Qi2 wi-fi charging

One in all my favorite issues concerning the iPhone 15 Plus is the battery life. 

Apple doesn’t checklist the capability however by all accounts, it’s 4383mAh. Rather a lot smaller than similar-sized Android telephones that are usually round 5000mAh nevertheless it’s what you do with it that counts. 

For me, the 15 Plus simply stored going and going. On the day I flew out to Barcelona for MWC, my day began at 5:30am and I nonetheless had 25% battery left at midnight.  

This included listening to music over Bluetooth, enjoying video games on the flight, utilizing social media and utilizing it as a 5G hotspot for my laptop computer. Insane behaviour (from the cellphone). 

Charging has not been thrilling on an iPhone in endlessly and that doesn’t actually change on the iPhone 15 Plus. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

Positive, the change to a USB-C port from Lightning is a welcome one however charging speeds are nonetheless behind a lot of the competitors. 

Like Samsung, Apple doesn’t provide a charger within the field, only a cable. So, utilizing my 30W MacBook Air charger, I acquired the iPhone 15 Plus to a paltry 12% in 15-minutes and 27% on the half hour mark. 

You may get sooner speeds – because it should not be PD 2.0 – in case you purchase Apple’s 20W charger (£19/$19) the place you need to get 50% in ‘round’ 30-minutes. 

My colleague David Value from Macworld managed 55% in 30-minutes together with his 67W MacBook Professional charger. 

The cellphone additionally helps 15W wi-fi charging over MagSafe or Qi2 in addition to 4.5W reverse charging however solely with a wire.  

Software program & Apps

• iOS 17 unexciting however does the job
• Possible six years of OS updates

I received’t spend lengthy speaking about software program as a result of a) you most likely don’t want me to elucidate iOS to you and b) there’s not a complete lot that’s new in iOS 17. 

As talked about earlier, you may learn my iPhone 15 overview in order for you extra particulars. 

All that actually must be mentioned right here is that the 15 Plus is a pleasure to make use of (assuming you’re not an Android loyalist anyway). After all, the display makes it difficult to achieve the highest part for some components however it is a given with any bigger cellphone. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

It runs easily, is straightforward to make use of, has an excellent vary of apps and there are some helpful options baked in comparable to floating home windows for issues like watching movies whereas doing one thing else. For instance, watching BBC iPlayer whereas ordering a McDonald’s as you may see above.

You can even assume that the cellphone might be supported for a very long time. Apple doesn’t have an official coverage however most iPhones get six years of OS updates. 

That’s one 12 months off what Google and Samsung promise on flagships nevertheless it’s completely lengthy sufficient and ensures good worth in case you don’t wish to improve your {hardware} yearly or two. 

Value & Availability 

The iPhone 15 Plus begins at £899/$899 with two additional fashions accessible in order for you extra storage: 

• 128GB: £899/$899  
• 256GB: £999/$999 
• 512GB: £1,199/$1,199 

That’s £/$100 greater than the common iPhone 15 and corresponding to Android rivals such because the Samsung Galaxy S24+ and Google Pixel 8 Professional. 

Should you’re eager to get your palms on the 15 Plus you should buy it instantly from Apple in addition to loads of different retailers together with Amazon, Currys and John Lewis. 

Within the US, you may get it from Apple, Amazon (renewed), BestBuy and extra.

There are additionally plenty of choices to get the iPhone 15 Plus on contract so listed here are the highest offers proper now.

View extra choices in our greatest smartphones chart.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

Chris Martin / Foundry

Do you have to purchase the iPhone 15 Plus? 

It’s maybe no shock that Apple has made one other completed smartphone right here and there’s loads to love concerning the iPhone 15 Plus. 

No less than, it’s considered one of my favorite ‘plus’ measurement telephones I’ve ever examined and far of that has to do with the unimaginable battery life and ease of use. 

Apple does even undercut some Android rivals on worth, however this solely will get you 128GB of storage which could not be sufficient for some individuals. 

These Android rivals will usually get you higher {hardware} together with increased refresh price shows, newer processors and telephoto lenses. 

If that issues to you and also you’re not set on iOS, then it’s price having a browse and examine earlier than taking the plunge. 

In any other case, the 15 Plus makes for a really serviceable and good high quality handset if the common 15 is just too small and your funds doesn’t stretch to this 12 months’s Professional fashions. 

Specs

• iOS 17
• 6.7-inch 2796×1290 460ppi Tremendous Retina XDR show
• A16 Bionic processor (6-core CPU, 5-core GPU)
• 128/256/512GB storage
• 48Mp f/1.6 Predominant
• 12Mp f/2.4 Ultrawide
• 12Mp f/1.9 entrance digital camera
• Estimated battery life: As much as 26 hours video playback
• Quick cost: As much as 50% cost in 35 minutes with 20W adapter
• Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, 5G
• USB-C charging/information connection
• IP68 mud and water resistance (most depth 6m as much as half-hour)
• 6.33 x 3.06 x 0.31 inches (160.9 x 77.8 x 7.8mm)
• 7.09 ounces (201 grams)