iPhone 15 Plus Review: Apple's Giant Leap With Dynamic Island, Camera Upgrade
High notes: Big and bright display, Dynamic Island, Great battery life.Low notes: Slow charging speed, 60Hz refresh rate.
Apple has recently launched the iPhone 15 series comprising the vanilla iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. This year's line gets incremental upgrades in the form of Dynamic Island, trickling down from last year's super premium iPhone 14 and 14 Pro Max models. Last year's vanilla iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 models witnessed lukewarm demand due to which the company had to cut down the production of the non-Pro models. Market intelligence firms Counterpoint Research and CMR predicted higher demand for the base iPhone 15 models, courtesy of the features and design upgrades. Notably, at Rs 89,900, Apple had kept the starting price of the iPhone 15 Plus the same as iPhone14 Plus. Are the pricing and upgrades compelling enough to buy the iPhone 15 Plus? Find out in my detailed review.
iPhone 15 Plus Design, Display, Looks And Build
A first look at the phone may make you think what's different from last year's iPhone 14 Plus, but looking closely will make you realise there's a lot to feel, see and cherish. Starting with the colour, which is pastel this time and infused into the material. The colour is "embedded" into the glass, which makes the rear look classy and less prone to grease, dirt and fingerprint smudges. This is a refreshing change for a non-Pro iPhone model as Apple, for years, has chosen a glossy back for the base models. The iPhone 15 Plus definitely looks and feels superior in hand than last year's glossy iPhone 14 Plus. The iPhone 15 Plus' rear is smooth and velvety matte, something in between brushed metal and and plain matte, and also makes sure the phone doesn't slip out of hands as easily. While it feels good in the hands, it also feels somewhat plasticky.
The size of the phone may still be large for some people, though. The volume rockers and "traditional" alert button are housed on the right side of the device while the power key is placed on the left. The pricier Pro models get a new Action Button this year. Looking at this year's upgrade pattern in the form of Dynamic Island, we can expect next year's base iPhone models to get the Action Button. Apple has finally upgraded to USB Type-C which is a big upgrade from the company's proprietary Lightning charging cables that also drew a lot of flak. The speed is limited to USB 2.0, though.
The display gets the biggest upgrade with the pill-shaped Dynamic Island that was limited to the super premium iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models last year. As mentioned above, the iPhone 15 Plus is a large device with a big 6.7-inch display which makes it a perfect choice for binge watching OTT shows, playing games and browsing videos. Apple has apparently accommodated a bigger battery in the iPhone 15 Plus, as compared to last year's iteration. The glass is made durable with Ceramic Sheild, which is also present in the super premium Pro models. While the design language is not a big change from 2020's iPhone 12, it is the small tweaks like rounded corners of the screen, a pleasing pastel colour and miky smooth matte back that make all the difference, in a good way. The dual cameras are still placed in a diagonal fashion at the back, separating the vanilla models from the Pro models.
iPhone 15 Plus Camera
The iPhone 15 Plus features a dual-camera set-up, which is nothing new -- Apple has been equipping non-Pro models with two primary cameras. But, there's a reason to rejoice this year as there's a high-resolution 48MP primary camera alongside a 12MP wide-angle lens and a 2x optical zoom for telephoto shots. The lack of telephoto lens and a third sensor can be left unnoticed. Thanks to advanced software inlcuding Deep Fusion, Photonic Engine and Smart HDR 5, the primary cameras produce very good images.
The primary camera captures shots at 24MP, which a significant upgrade from last year's iPhone 14's 12MP standard. A nifty and my favourite ability that the iPhone 15 Plus gets is the post-capture portrait effect, which can be used to easily enhance images after they've been taken. This feature is very effective effective and useful. The 2x optical zoom needs a special mention as it is a big upgrade from its predecessor. The images taken were crisp and clear, albeit at a reduced 12MP resolution. But there was a noticeable grain when photos were cropped. Images shot in daylight had ample details and were of high quality. However, shots taken with the main and wide-angle cameras were not consistently good. The night mode shots were a let down too and so was the selfies taken in low-light conditions.
iPhone 15 Plus Battery And Performance
The biggest advantage that iPhone 15 Plus has is great battery backup. I used it for watching Netflix and Hotstar shows, browsing YouTube videos, checking emails, listening to music and podcasts, and I was surprised by how well the battery held up. A good battery is what can reliably last through a full day without having to plug it in in the middle of the day. The iPhone 15 Plus delivered great battery battery backup and my phone was at 25 per cent charge when I hit the bed with a full day of usage. During my battery test, I set the screen brightness to its max and streamed HD videos over Wi-Fi with the battery lasting for around 20 hours. Very heavy users and gamers will of course, get less juice from a single charge. In terms of charging, Apple doesn't reveal charging speeds, but I got about 50 per cent charge from my 25W charger in 35 minutes. This is closely in line with what the iPhone maker claimed. Charging the battery from 0 to 100 per cent took me about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Having said all this, the iPhone 15 can also reverse charge such as the Apple AirPods case and the Apple Watch. This can be done by connecting the brand new USB-C cable to the iPhone 15 Plus to juice up the Apple Watch or the AirPods charging case. The iPhone 15 Plus makes us of an upgraded A16 Bionic chip which renders a significant performance leap.
iPhone 15 Plus Final Verdict
The iPhone 15 Plus offers a lot more for the price and has no close competitor. Well, almost. The Samsung Galaxy S23+ comes close with a slightly smaller 6.6-inch display, triple rear cameras and 120Hz of refresh rate. The new OLED panel comes with better brightness, better battery life and the new 48MP main camera notably improves photography experience.
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