SpecEagle review · Apple

iPhone 15 Pro Max review: The first titanium iPhone, and the first with a 5× periscope.

SpecEagle Editorial·Sep 2023·$1,199
Overall
87/100
Class rank
#19 of 28
Tier
Flagship
Buy?
Yes
The verdict, up front

Still a great phone — and now often the smarter buy at a discount.

The 15 Pro Max introduced titanium, USB-C, the Action button and a 5× periscope. A year on it remains fully current on software, and as prices fall it is one of the better-value flagships you can buy.

01Display

93/100

93/100 puts it above the 91-point average for flagship phones of 2023.

TypeLTPO Super Retina XDR OLED, 120 Hz, Dolby Vision
Size6.7 inches
Resolution2,796 × 1,290 px (460 ppi)
Peak brightness2,000 nits HBM
ProtectionCeramic Shield

02Camera

90/100

At 90/100 this is one of the strongest camera showings among flagship phones of 2023 — 8 points above the cohort average.

Main48 MP, f/1.78, sensor-shift OIS
Ultrawide12 MP, f/2.2
Telephoto12 MP, f/2.8, 5× optical, tetraprism
Selfie12 MP, f/1.9
Video4K @ 60 fps · ProRes · Log

03Performance

92/100

92/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2023.

ChipsetApple A17 Pro (3 nm)
CPU6-core
GPUApple 6-core GPU, hardware ray tracing
RAM8 GB
Storage256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB

04Battery

84/100

84/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2023.

Capacity4,422 mAh
Wired~27 W USB-C PD
Wireless15 W MagSafe

05Build

94/100

94/100 puts it above the 88-point average for flagship phones of 2023.

06Value

83/100

83/100 puts it above the 79-point average for flagship phones of 2023.

What works
  • First iPhone with a 5× periscope telephoto.
  • Titanium frame cut meaningful weight versus the 14 Pro Max.
  • Action button replaced the mute switch — genuinely useful.
  • Still on the current iOS feature track with Apple Intelligence.
What doesn't
  • A17 Pro can throttle under sustained gaming.
  • ~27 W charging was already slow in 2023.
  • Heavy at 221 g.
  • No always-on improvements over rivals.
Cross-shop it against
iQOO 12
$580 · score 92/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 28-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .