On the eve of what is the most anticipated Apple event in 15 years, I found it prudent to share my thoughts on my aging iPhone 15 Pro. Over the last three months, the phone has gone from a usable daily driver to an ongoing issue. I've had consistent issues with the phone that I once thought were perfect. I suppose these problems are starting to happen at the right time, as a particular device is about to be announced...
The Honeymoon Phase
Like anyone when they get a new device to tinker with, I was excited when the phone first arrived. Sure, Apple has more-or-less ruined the "new device feeling" since everything transfers over so nicely, but I was able to get up and running in a few minutes. Once it was operational, I quickly nestled myself into a familiar routine/setup.
Things were pretty sweet. I started tinkering with the ProMotion display, experimented with the Always-On setting, and customized my Action Button to be exactly what I wanted (and promptly never used it). It reminded me a lot of the excitement I first felt when I setup my iPhone 4S all those years ago.
The honeymoon phase, however, quickly wore off...
More of the Same
Shortly after getting everything installed and signed in on the new phone, I started to notice some issues, particularly with the battery and the phone's temperature. It was hot to the touch, pretty much all the time, and worse, the battery lasted as long as the iPhone 12 Pro I was replacing. I was floored. How could this new phone, this new $1,200 phone, have similar, if not worse, battery life than my 3-year-old phone? I tried everything, from limiting Background Tasks to lowering my brightness. In the end, nothing worked, and I put my faith in Apple to issue software updates that would remedy the situation. Those updates helped some, but I've never experienced the god-like battery life that iPhone 13 Pro users enjoyed. Maybe one day.
Time went on, however, and the battery life was fine. It was never great or perfect—hell, it was hardly even acceptable—but compared to the iPhone 12 Pro, it had gotten better.
Recently, however, the phone hardly lasts until noon. The maximum charge in Settings reports that it gets up to 84%, but I’m consistently charging and noticing the phone is down below 30%. The device pretty much lives in Low Power Mode now, which makes developing apps like Flyby incredibly difficult (more on that soon).
All in all, iPhone 15 Pro, from a battery perspective, has been an incredible disappointment. I’ve even started to have the iPhone 12 Pro on recently for development purposes, and I’ve been somewhat amazed at how the battery is on that phone compared to the iPhone 15 Pro. It’s still not great, and it depletes really quickly, but it is leagues better than the iPhone 15 Pro is right now.
I understand that’s par for the course, but it’s incredibly frustrating when you rely on the device for your job and for your side jobs.
Another issue that arose, and this, again, is fairly recently, is cell phone service. I'm not sure if it's due to a faulty antenna, or my local service is truly that bad, but I'm constantly without coverage or service, oftentimes needing to travel 10-15 minutes away from my home for any kind of service. I've even resorted to downloading my entire state's map on Apple Maps, since I can't rely on my cell phone service. Upon inspection of the device, I noticed a crack in the titanium near the antenna. Maybe that's what caused it, but I'm no expert.
Smaller Complaints
I want to preface these complaints by saying I fully understand that these are issues that are 100% unique to me. I take full responsibility for the actions that have led to the phone being in this particular state.
I recently had to replace the front screen because it cracked after I dropped it on the floor. Rather than go to Apple and spend a lot of money when I knew I was upgrading, I decided to go to a local repair store, and I paid $150 to repair it. The screen has since started to unglue from the body of the phone. Face ID has stopped working, my front camera stopped working, and I noticed that my rear cameras are cracked around the corner of the device, so the corner of the sensor is exposed.
Like I said, I fully understand and take responsibility that these are unique to me and my situation, and if you're not somebody who can stomach these sorts of issues, put a case on your phone. I'm personally about that no‑case life, but to each their own.
The Future of iPhone 15 Pro
Despite my consistent gripes with the phone, I still really like it. And the secondary reason behind my initial excitement, the cameras, still holds true. They're phenomenal. My plan for iPhone 15 Pro, especially once the rumored iPhone Ultra/Fold are released, is to make it a primary/secondary camera for video projects, and a platform for developing and testing apps. I've been using iPhone 12 Pro in that role since getting 15 Pro, and it's been really great. Just a few more hours...
Nick out.