Which iPhone Should I Get?

Our general philosophy about upgrading (as described by Wirecutter’s founder) is that if you’re happy with what you have, you don’t need the latest and greatest. Last year’s iPhone or the one before that (or even the one before that) should continue to serve you well. New phones tend to offer incremental upgrades—they’re not revolutionary products that change the experience. Apple still issues security updates to older devices, and iOS 17 still supports every iPhone from 2018 on; even five-plus years later, older phones are getting new features.

If you have an older phone that’s beginning to feel slower, you may want to check the battery’s health. A battery with depleted capacity can slow down your phone due to power-conservation features. If the iOS Battery Health screen shows the status “Performance management applied” or “Battery health degraded,” consider having Apple replace the battery (which can cost up to $69 out of warranty) rather than investing in a new phone.

The Apple iPhone 15 is a great phone for almost anyone, and as usual Apple has brought features from the previous Pro phones to the standard iPhone 15 models. The entire lineup has USB-C ports instead of Lightning, which allows for faster charging, but the iPhone 15 also gets the Pro models’ Dynamic Island, a brighter screen, and a new 48-megapixel main camera with three optical-zoom ranges. But the iPhone 15 lacks the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max’s fast-refresh-rate screen with always-on display, lighter titanium build, customizable Action button, speedier processor, faster data-transfer speeds, and multitude of cameras capable of higher-resolution photos. You have to decide whether any of those features are worth the $200 price increase to go Pro.

The display is a bigger upgrade than you may think. The iPhone 15’s OLED screen offers a big boost of brightness and now can reach up to 2,000 nits of maximum outdoor brightness, matching the iPhone 14 Pro and 15 Pro models—that’s up from the iPhone 14’s 1,200-nit capability. (A nit is the unit of measurement that describes the brightness of a television, smartphone, computer monitor, laptop, and so on—the higher the number of nits, the brighter the display.) The iPhone 15’s screen resolution has also increased to 2556×1179 pixels from 2532×1170, and the OLED screen continues to provide better contrast and blacker blacks than LED screens can display.

The Dynamic Island gives you a useful way to see widgets and information. Another noticeable addition to the iPhone 15 is the Dynamic Island. A pill-shaped cutout originally featured in last year’s iPhone 14 Pro models, the Dynamic Island shows information from background applications such as phone calls, Spotify or Apple Music, navigation, timers, and more while you’re using the phone. More third-party apps have added support for the Dynamic Island over the past year, making it more than just a novelty. On a recent trip, for example, I could easily see the ETA of my Uber driver in the cutout while I used my phone to do other things. The United app gave me quick access to my boarding pass in the Dynamic Island when it was time for me to check in to my flight.

The two camera lenses provide three different camera angles. The base-model iPhone used to have a main lens and an ultrawide, but the iPhone 15 has a telephoto lens with 2x zoom and can still shoot ultrawides thanks to some software tricks.

The base iPhone 15 gains last year’s 48-megapixel sensor from the 14 Pro models, though the results get reduced to a 24-megapixel image. (Apple allows you to shrink it further to a 12-megapixel image in Settings if you desire.) This sensor improvement allows you to capture more details to render a better image without taking up a ton of storage space on the phone.

The iPhone still records the best video. The iPhone 15 has the same video features as last year’s 14 Pro model, aside from a macro mode and support for ProRes video. This means you can shoot 4K HDR up to 60 frames per second, slow motion in 1080p up to 240 fps, 4K cinematic mode up to 30 fps, and Action mode in 2.8K. Just about every video we shot on the iPhone 15 looked sharp, fluid, and full of color and contrast.

The base-model iPhone 15 has a Pro-level processor and all-day battery life. The standard iPhone 15 gets last year’s Pro-level Apple chipset, the A16 Bionic, and it delivers a welcome boost in everyday tasks. The standard iPhone 15 also has excellent battery life: Even after a full day playing the battery-crushing Call of Duty: Mobile and doom-scrolling on TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter), I easily made it to bedtime without having to run for the nearest charger.

Fast charging comes to the iPhone—but you need to go Pro for faster data transfers. Apple’s proprietary Lightning port is gone, making way for the more commonly used USB-C port. Apple provides a cable in the box, but you need a 20 W charging brick to take advantage of USB-C’s faster charging speeds. With the right charger, you can get your iPhone 15 or 15 Plus from 0% to 50% in about 30 minutes, and up to 100% in under two hours. But the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus’s USB-C port is limited to USB 2.0 speeds of up to 480 Mbps, the same as the Lightning port on previous iPhones. This probably isn’t a big deal for most people, but if you were expecting faster speeds, you have to go Pro to get them.

The USB-C port also allows the iPhone 15 to do things such as charge Apple’s new AirPods Pro 2 earbuds in their USB-C charging case at speeds up to 4.5 W, as well as to output 4K 60 fps Dolby Vision video to a display over a DisplayPort or USB-C Digital AV multiport cable.

The Apple iPhone 15 Pro gives you the best features of Apple’s smartphones. If you absolutely need a 5x telephoto zoom and Spatial Video for the Apple Vision Pro headset, you have to get the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but otherwise, the 15 Pro has it all. It offers a bright always-on display, a new titanium finish, improved performance for high-end gaming and tasks such as speech-to-text and voice commands, a better telephoto camera, more camera focal lengths, and faster data transfers via USB-C.

The new titanium frame is lighter but doesn’t look or feel cheap. Apple swapped out the previous generation’s stainless steel frame for a new titanium one that the company claims is lighter than that of previous Pro models. When we held both the 15 Pro and the 14 Pro, we noticed the difference in weight. The new titanium side rails aren’t as fingerprint resistant as we had hoped, though the previous stainless steel Pros were a whole lot worse in that regard.

The 15 Pro has a slightly thinner bezel, too, so it’s slightly smaller than the 14 Pro despite having the same 6.1-inch screen.

It’s the best iPhone for gaming. The 15 Pro’s new, faster A17 Pro processor makes it feel snappier than the iPhone 14 Pro in everyday use and allows it to handle more machine-learning tasks on-device, in addition to multitasking in various apps. But Apple also promises console-like graphics with the 15 Pro, and so far it seems to be delivering. In our testing, the 15 Pro handled high-end mobile games like Call of Duty: Mobile and Diablo Immortal well, but more important, it also handled a beta version of the 2021 console and PC title Resident Evil Village with ease, though the phone did get a little warm to the touch after about 30 minutes of gameplay.

The Pro’s trio of camera lenses offer seven focal lengths. Apple’s iPhone cameras usually rank among the best for smartphone video, and the same is true for the 2023 Pro models. With the 48-megapixel main lens, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, and a 12-megapixel telephoto, you can capture 13mm macro, 13mm ultra-wide, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, a 48mm 2x telephoto, and a 77mm 3x telephoto angle, which gives you more control over how your photos look. We prefer the 28mm and 35mm options for shooting photos of family and friends.

The iPhone 15 Pro’s new processor and improved Photonic Engine make shutter speeds and processing faster, producing slightly improved portraits, night-mode shots, and night-mode portraits. If you want maximum zoom range, the 15 Pro Max swaps out the 77mm 3x telephoto for a 120mm 5x telephoto angle, but the 15 Pro’s telephoto lens is likely to be good enough for most people.

The results with 4K and 120 fps slow-motion video are superb. And as with the iPhone 14 Pro last year, you have to go Pro if you want access to the ProRes and macro video features.

The 15 Pro has the same 48-megapixel main lens that the base-model iPhone 15 does, but it raises the resolution of the resulting images to 24 megapixels versus the base model’s 12 megapixels (though Apple provides the option of saving 12-megapixel images to conserve storage space). But if you have the storage space and want to take full advantage of that 48-megapixel sensor, you can turn on the ProRAW and Resolution Control toggle in the Camera section of the Settings. There, selecting HEIF Max allows the camera to output images of up to 5 MB; the less-compressed larger ProRAW Max option can save images of up to 75 MB. (All of this matters if you’re a photographer, but amateurs don’t need to worry about it.)

The new Action button is only sort of useful. Apple has replaced the long-standing Ring/Silent switch with a customizable Action button, positioning it above the volume buttons on the left side of the iPhone 15 Pro. You can assign the button a quick action, and you have nine actions to choose from, including Silent mode, Focus mode, Camera (for selfies, photos, videos, portrait mode, or portrait selfies), Flashlight, Voice Memo, Magnifier, Shortcuts, and Accessibility. To use the button to launch third-party apps, you have to rely on using Shortcuts to launch Google Search, YouTube picture-in-picture, and Shazam, but third-party support is coming soon. For now, we’re not getting a lot of use out of it.

The battery life is slightly better than that of the 14 Pro. Last year, we were a little disappointed by the 14 Pro’s battery life, and we thought its always-on display was the culprit. The 15 Pro’s battery life is slightly improved, though as usual, gaming can really put a dent in things. After playing over an hour of Call of Duty: Mobile and around 50 minutes of Diablo Immortal, I noticed that the battery dropped significantly. That’s an extreme example, obviously; outside of intense gaming, the 15 Pro’s battery held up throughout the day. On average days—using the 15 Pro for making phone calls, checking emails, diving into social media, and messaging on Slack and Telegram—I was able to get through it all with around 25% on the battery before heading to bed.

The Pro models’ USB-C port delivers faster data-transfer speeds. The iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max have USB-C ports that support faster USB 3.0 data-transfer speeds. Assuming you’re using the right cable, the 15 Pro can transfer data at up to 10 Gbps, which is helpful for transporting large video files off your iPhone. You can also shoot high-quality ProRes video on external storage up to 4K at 60 fps. That latter feature can come in handy for creatives who want to utilize their iPhone 15 Pro for professional photography and filmmaking.

And as with the standard iPhone 15 models, you can charge your 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max from 0% to 50% in 30 minutes and up to 100% in under two hours. You can also use the charging port to charge the new AirPods Pro 2 in their USB-C charging case at up to 4.5 W, and you can output 4K 60 fps Dolby Vision video to a display on a DisplayPort or USB-C Digital AV multiport cable.

The iPhone 15 Pro is cheaper to repair. Apple has changed the way the 15 Pro is designed, so the glass back and frame are now easier to take apart and fix. Repairing the 15 Pro’s glass back now costs $200 rather than $500.

The Pro models reportedly got uncomfortably warm, but there's a fix. Many people reported their iPhone 15 overheated immediately after setup, regardless of whether the phone was charging or not. This issue primarily affected the titanium 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max models, but some iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models were affected as well. We tested all four of our iPhone 15 review units running iOS 17.0.2 to see if we could replicate the overheating issue, but all of the models were well within normal temperature ranges across a variety of activities. Even while gaming, they were only mildly warm.

Apple acknowledged the issue and released a fix. The company said a bug in iOS 17 was the culprit, along with recent updates to select third-party apps (like Instagram, Uber, and the mobile game Asphalt 9 to name a few). Apple's latest iOS 17.0.3 software update is now rolling out to all iPhones to address the overheating issue. We'll update all four of our review units for further testing.

The Apple iPhone 15 Plus is the phone to get for those who prefer a bigger screen and don’t want to charge their phone all the time. We think the battery life is the best reason to upgrade to this model, but we also like that the 15 Plus is lighter than the 15 Pro Max yet offers a mostly similar experience.

The 15 Plus has the best battery of any iPhone. Going by advertised metrics, the 15 Pro Max should last longer than the 15 Plus. But in our real-world usage, the 15 Plus came out ahead. With light to moderate usage, the 15 Plus gave me several days of battery life before I had to charge it or turn on low-battery mode. On heavier days of watching YouTube, streaming music, using Apple Maps for navigation around the New York subways, making phone calls, and replying to emails and Slack messages, I still went to sleep with about 30% of juice on the 15 Plus at the end of the day, in contrast to about 14% on the 15 Pro Max. The 15 Plus’s 6.7-inch size can be a bit large for many people’s hands, pockets, and bags, though. Outside of the screen size and battery, the 15 Plus is exactly the same as the standard iPhone 15.

The iPhone SE (3rd generation) is more than just a cheap iPhone—it’s a great phone in its own right. Even though it’s smaller than the other phones in Apple’s current lineup, it uses a modern processor that’s fast enough for pretty much any task. It also takes very good photos, and it offers all of this while costing nearly $400 less than the 128 GB iPhone 15. If you generally like smaller devices, prefer using a fingerprint instead of Face ID to unlock your phone, or don’t want to pay the premium for a larger iPhone, the SE is a great option.

It should last you for years. It uses the same A15 Bionic processor as the older iPhone 13 phones, and in our testing it ran apps and played games without any slowdowns or hiccups. The updated processor improves performance as well as battery life, which helps the SE last well into evening with heavy usage or even longer with light to moderate usage. And Apple has shown a commitment to extending the life of its iOS handsets through software updates for two or three years longer than equivalent Android phones such as Google’s Pixel series or Samsung’s Galaxy series; the SE came out in early 2022 and has been updated with Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 17.

It will fit in any hand or pocket. Other than the price, the iPhone SE’s most appealing feature is its size. The 4.7-inch screen is small enough for most people to reach from the bottom-left corner to the top right with their thumb without adjusting their grip. It’s not as small as 2021’s iPhone 13 mini, though, and it has a lower screen-to-body ratio.

It has only one camera lens. The iPhone SE’s one camera is comparable (but not quite identical) to the wide-angle lens on 2020’s iPhone 12, and it supports the background-blurring Portrait Mode (for people, not animals or objects). Since the iPhone SE still lacks Night Mode, it falls far short in its low-light photo performance—if you take a lot of pictures at night or in dark environments, you’ll be far happier with the iPhone 15 or iPhone 14. Although the front-facing camera on the iPhone SE has a lower megapixel count and can’t record 4K video, we found its photos to be fine. And the iPhone SE is the only iPhone without Face ID that can take Portrait Mode selfies, a welcome feature.

This is still the only iPhone you can currently buy without Face ID. Instead, the iPhone SE gives you a pressure-sensitive Home button and Touch ID fingerprint sensor to unlock your screen, confirm purchases, and authenticate your identity for various apps. Although Touch ID is fast, it can fail if you don’t place your finger on it properly or if your finger is wet. In contrast, Face ID is generally seamless but can be inconvenient if your phone is in a position where placing your face in front of it is awkward (for example, if it’s flat on a desk or in a stand or a car mount).

The iPhone SE offers decent water resistance, but it’s not the best available in that regard. The SE is rated IP67, less than the IP68-rated iPhone 14; the iPhone SE is tested to withstand being under 1 meter of water for 30 minutes, compared with 6 meters for the iPhone 14. Regardless, the SE should be impervious to splashing and incidental water damage, and it should be able to survive a drop in the pool, the tub, or—let’s face it—the toilet. Note, however, that you shouldn’t charge any phone until it’s completely dry.

If you’re on a tight budget, the 64 GB of storage on the iPhone SE is probably adequate. But if you take a lot of photos, or if you keep videos or a music library on your phone, consider doubling that storage space to 128 GB for only $50 more.

The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max is a good option if you absolutely need Apple’s longer 5x optical zoom and spatial video support for the upcoming Apple Vision Pro AR/VR headset. It also gives you 256 GB of storage. But the iPhone 15 Pro offers almost all the same features for $200 less if you don’t mind the smaller screen.

The Apple iPhone 14 and Apple iPhone 14 Plus are still great phones. They lack newer features such as the Dynamic Island and a USB-C port. But the iPhone 14 models are still faster and have sharper cameras than the iPhone 13 line, and they are now $100 cheaper than they were at launch.

The Apple iPhone 13 remains a very good phone, as it offers most of the same features as the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus do. The iPhone 13 costs $200 less than the entry-level iPhone 15. But if you want a phone that will last you for at least a couple of years, maybe longer, the iPhone 15 is worth springing for unless you truly can’t afford to.

This article was edited by Arthur Gies and Caitlin McGarry.