The iPhone 15 Pro is the new Pro series flagship from Apple. It’s equipped with the new Apple A17 Pro chipset and 8GB of RAM. It comes in new colors, and it has an even more powerful camera setup and a refined design.
iPhone 14 Pro is the latest premium smartphone from the brand. It features a new pill-shaped ‘Dynamic Island’ notch, 48MP primary camera sensors, an A16 Bionic chipset, and much more.
At its annual fall event, which took place on September 12, 2023, Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 lineup, headlining which are the new titanium trotting iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
While the change in the frame material is a major shift, there are quite a few other software upgrades and hardware changes between the iPhone 15 Pro and its predecessor, the iPhone 14 Pro. Here, we will compare the devices to see the differences that now exist.
iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro: Technical Specifications
The iPhone 15 Pro is the new Pro series flagship from Apple. It’s equipped with the new Apple A17 Pro chipset and 8GB of RAM. It comes in new colors, and it has an even more powerful camera setup and a refined design.
SoC Apple A17 Pro
Display 6.1-inch, LTPO Super Retina XDR, OLED, 120Hz
RAM 8GB
Storage 128/256/512GB & 1TB
Battery 3200 mAh (Unconfirmed)
Ports USB-C
Operating System iOS 17
Front camera 12MP, f/1.9
Rear cameras Primary: 48MP, f/.8, 24mm sensor-shift OIS | Ultrawide: 12MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120-degree FOV | Telephoto: 12MP, f/2.8, 77mm, 3x optical zoom, OIS, PDAF
Connectivity 5G, LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC
Colors Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, Natural Titanium
Weight 6.60 oz (187 g)
Charging 30W wired, 15W wireless (MagSafe), 7.5W wireless (Qi)
IP Rating IP68
iPhone 14 Pro is the latest premium smartphone from the brand. It features a new pill-shaped ‘Dynamic Island’ notch, 48MP primary camera sensors, an A16 Bionic chipset, and much more.
SoC Apple A16 Bionic
Display 6.1-inch, LTPO Super Retina XDR, OLED, 120Hz
RAM 6GB
Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Battery 3,200 man
Ports Lightning Port
Operating System iOS 17
Front camera 12MP, f/1.9
Rear cameras Primary: 48MP, f/.8, 24mm sensor-shift OIS | Ultrawide: 12MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120-degree FOV | Telephoto: 12MP, f/2.8, 77mm, 3x optical zoom, OIS, PDAF
Connectivity 5G, LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, WiFi 6
Colors Space Black, Silver, Gold, Deep Purple
Weight 207 grams
Charging 50% charge in 30 minutes
IP Rating IP68
iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro: Pricing and Storage Options
Before Apple took to the stage and announced the iPhone 15 Pro lineup, rumors hinted at increased prices for the 2023 flagship. To our surprise, despite its switch to more expensive build materials, the iPhone 15 Pro starts at $999, just like the iPhone 14 Pro.
Storage options also remain identical between the smaller Pro models, something we cannot say for the comparison between the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Both phones are available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB options.
iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro: Design and Display
There are quite a few design differences between the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro. You’ll first notice the reduced bezels, the shift to a brushed titanium frame instead of the glossy stainless steel, and the all-new Action button.
There’s an improvement in the in-hand feel of the new phone as well because it is 10% lighter (187 grams vs. 206 grams) and features contoured edges on the frame.
As for the display, apart from the reduced bezel sizes we mentioned earlier, there isn’t much that’s different. It’s still a 6.1-inch panel covered with Ceramic Shield, which holds up well against scratches and impact. Peak brightness levels also remain unchanged: 2,000 nits when outdoors, 1,600 nits for HDR content, and 1,000 nits for typical use.
Lastly, ProMotion, a key factor in the list of differences between the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, also maintains the same performance as before, adapting between 1Hz and 120Hz based on the displayed content.
iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro: Performance and Connectivity
With the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple introduced a new variant of Apple silicon, adding the suffix Pro instead of Bionic. The A17 Pro, which is packaged into the iPhone 15 Pro, is built on an all-new 3nm fabrication process, and in comparison to the A16 Bionic from the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple touted some performance improvements.
The A17 Pro will deliver a 10-percent improvement in processing performance, while its new six-core GPU will add a 20-percent gain in addition to the support for hardware-accelerated ray-tracing. On the A16 Bionic, ray-tracing was dependent on software acceleration.
So, if you enjoy mobile gaming, the iPhone 15 Pro will be a stand-out performer, and we can’t wait to put it to the test when the device makes it into our hands in the coming week.
There’s also an upgrade to connectivity on the iPhone 15 Pro as it features the Wi-Fi 6E standard and the second generation of the Ultrawide chip. This will further improve the integration between your Apple devices and make it easy to find your 15 Pro with the latest Apple Watch Series 9.
iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro: Camera
An important part of every Apple presentation is the camera hardware on an iPhone, but between the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro, there isn’t much that’s changed, at least when it comes to the optics. Both phones feature a triple camera setup that headlines the 48MP wide shooter and lets a 12MP ultrawide and 12MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom play a supporting role. On the front is the 12MP TrueDepth camera (with autofocus) we’ve also seen previously.
The improvements in your camera experience with the iPhone 15 Pro will primarily stem from the software advancements Apple is introducing this year. The main one is choosing various focal lengths within the camera application.
But the headline-grabbing camera upgrades for this generation can be found on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which now has a telephoto lens that will allow for 5x optical zoom. And before we forget, the 15 Pro might fare better in the nighttime as Apple is adding a new coating to its lenses to deal with lens flare.
iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro: Battery Life and Charging
Lastly, we come to battery life and charging. Apple’s official estimates see no change between the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro. Both phones are rated to last up to 23 hours for video playback.
While we await battery capacities from teardowns, based on these numbers, we, too, feel that the iPhone 15 Pro’s endurance shouldn’t differ too much from the 14 Pro. While it’s disappointing, I hope the optimizations brought by iOS 17 and the use of the 3nm A17 Pro will help the device better its predecessor. Look for an update in our full review.
As for charging the phones, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro differ in one key way, i.e., the ports, although the charging speeds remain the same. Both models are rated to charge up to 50% capacity in 30 minutes.
Wireless charging speeds remain identical, with 15W via MagSafe wireless charging and 7.5 via Qi wireless charging, despite the iPhone 15 Pro supporting the new Qi2 standard.
The USB-C port on the iPhone 15 Pro also brings faster data transfer (10Gbps compared to 480Mbps) to the iPhone, provided you have a cable supporting fast data transfer.
How different are the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro?
If you’re in the market for a new phone, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro have enough of a difference between them for you to consider picking the newer device. Not only is it lighter, but it also has components that Apple is bound to leverage more in the coming years.
But if you’re looking to save a few dollars and don’t want to deal with the process of switching over to USB-C after collecting Lightning accessories, the iPhone 14 Pro will serve you just fine.
