iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro: Here's the biggest upgrades
The iPhone 15 Pro offers major changes
The new iPhone 15 Pro packs a lot of great new features, but is it that much better than the iPhone 14 Pro? Our iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro comparison breaks down all the key differences between these two Apple flagships.
The iPhone 15 Pro starts at the same $999 price as its predecessor, while offering several welcome upgrades, including a stronger and lighter titanium design, USB-C charging and a new Action button. And Apple improved the camera system, too, although you don't get the 5x telephoto zoom that the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 Pro is still a great phone, as it still gives you a powerful 48MP camera, an always-on display and the handy Dynamic Island. So are the iPhone 15 Pro upgrades worth it? Let this iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro face-off be your guide.
iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro: Specs
Row 0 - Cell 0 | iPhone 15 Pro | iPhone 14 Pro |
Price | $999 | $999 |
Display | 6.1-inch OLED | 6.1-inch OLED |
Refresh rate | 120Hz adaptive | 120Hz adaptive |
CPU | A17 Pro | A16 Bionic |
Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
Rear cameras | 48MP main/12MP ultrawide/12MP telephoto w/ 3x zoom | 48MP main/12MP ultrawide/12MP telephoto w/ 3x zoom |
Front camera | 12MP | 12MP |
Battery | 3,650 mAh [rumored] | 3,200 mAh |
Charging Port | USB-C | Lightning |
Size | 5.77 x 2.78 x 0.32 inches | 5.81 x 2.81 x 0.31 inches |
Weight | 6.6 ounces | 7.3 ounces |
Colors | Black, white, blue, gray | Purple, gold, silver, black |
iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro: Price and availability
The iPhone 15 Pro is available for pre-orders September 15 and the release date is September 22. The iPhone 14 Pro is technically discontinued — Apple dropped the model from its lineup — but it will remain on sale from retailers and wireless carriers.
Apple's new iPhone 15 Pro starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,849, the same as the iPhone 14 Pro. The starting price gets you a model with 128GB of storage. You can upgrade both models to 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage.
See our iPhone 15 deals page for the best discounts and sales, as well as our iPhone 14 deals page.
iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro: Design and display
The iPhone 15 Pro looks quite different from the iPhone 14 Pro, and it starts with a stronger yet lighter titanium design. Seriously, the iPhone 15 Pro weighs just 6.6 ounces, down from 7.3 ounces on the iPhone 14 Pro.
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The other big iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro difference is the addition of the Action button on the new iPhone. Replacing the mute switch, you can silence calls with a long press, but you can also use it to launch the camera, flashlight, magnifier feature, voice recorder and more. You can also customize the Action Button via the Shortcuts app.
It's not a dramatic difference, but the iPhone 15 Pro has narrower bezels around the display, which makes video and other content pop more. Otherwise, the displays on the iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro are very similar. They're both 6.1-inch OLED panels with 1,600 nits of brightness and up to 2,000 nits in sunlight, as well as always-on modes and 120Hz refresh rates.
The iPhone 15 Pro also introduces USB-C charging for the first time, which gives you 10Gbps transfer speeds. The iPhone 14 Pro sticks with Lightning.
iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro: Performance
The iPhone 14 Pro already has a powerful chip in the A16 Bionic, but the new A17 Pro chip takes everything to the next level. This industry-first 3nm processor packs a 6-core GPU that's up to 20% faster, a CPU that's up to 10% faster and Neural Engine that's up to 2x as fast.
What does all this mean? For one, even better gaming. The iPhone 15 Pro now supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing for more realistic graphics and lighting effects. When you're typing, auto-correct is even faster, and creating your own Personal Voice takes much less time.
iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro: Cameras
The iPhone 15 Pro still packs a 48MP main sensor, but you now get a new 24MP super-high-resolution option. So you don't have to shoot in ProRAW mode to get stunning results.
The new iPhone 15 Pro is also smart enough to shoot portraits without having to engage Portrait mode, and the portraits should look even better with new Smart HDR enhancements for lighting and color. Plus, the Photonic Engine lets you capture better Night mode portraits.
Another plus is that you can change the focus point in a photo after you shoot, which provides awesome creative freedom. If you're thinking of springing on a Apple Vision Pro headset, an upgrade is coming that will let you record spatial video using the main and ultrawide cameras simultaneously.
iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro: Battery and charging
The iPhone 15 Pro could wind up lasting longer on a charge in our testing, but the rated battery life is the same vs iPhone 14 Pro. It's 23 hours for video playback, 20 hours for video playback (streamed) and up to 75 hours of audio.
Unfortunately, the charging isn't rated to be any faster, with both the iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro having just 20W charging. So you'll get to 50% in 30 minutes by Apple's math.
iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro: Outlook
Normally a new iPhone just means iteration. But this time around the iPhone 15 Pro offers significant upgrades. I'm especially impressed with the lighter titanium design, but also appreciate the Action button and state-of-the-art A17 Pro chip. The camera upgrades are not monumental, though, and while the jump to USB-C is welcome it doesn't result in faster charging.
If you have the iPhone 14 Pro you might want to keep it but if you have an older iPhone, the iPhone 15 Pro upgrade definitely seems worthwhile.
Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for over 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to discuss the latest trends, including Cheddar, Fox Business and other outlets. Mark was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.