Second impression: iPhone 15 (Plus) review after six months

We were very positive about the iPhone 15 (Plus) in our September 2023 review. But how do you like this iPhone six months after its release?

Second impression: iPhone 15 (Plus) review after six months

The iPhone 15 (Plus) has been on sale since September 2023 and we were very positive in our original review. Now, more than six months later, let’s see if we are still so pleasantly surprised by this smartphone, or if the love is already over.

First the most important thing: the iPhone 15 (Plus) is a great device. And if you want a new iPhone 15 now, you certainly won’t go wrong. But shop around, because prices vary a lot at the online stores.

The iPhone 15 has a suggested retail price of 969 euros. The device is now already available for sale €779. The iPhone 15 Plus currently costs 1,119 euros at Apple, but it is now available elsewhere for €939. And are you buying a refurbished device? Then both devices are even a bit cheaper.

Camera: 48 MP photos

In recent months we have been able to experiment a lot with the new camera of the iPhone 15 (Plus). And we can be brief: with the camera’s default settings it almost always works in most situations.

The iPhone 15 has some difficulty with brightly colored lights in the dark, such as spotlights at concerts, among other things. This is especially noticeable with the color purple, which then looks blue, but these are exceptional cases and more smartphone cameras suffer from this.

The iPhone 15 (Plus) now takes a kind of ‘portrait’ photos automatically. This has come in handy more often than we initially thought. Sometimes you don’t have the right part of the face or subject in focus in photos, and this can still save a photo. With previous iPhones you had to take into account in advance that you turned on Portrait mode.

The camera also gives you the option to shoot a 48 MP photo with the HEIF MAX option. These photos are (slightly) larger than the standard photos and therefore perfect for making a crop without losing too much detail. After all, you have a larger photo to work in.

We increasingly used the option to take these 48 MP photos. Because the photos look just that little bit better, and there is more room to make a crop. We did notice that the free storage space of the iPhone 15 (Plus) filled up a lot faster due to these larger photos. And they quickly reached the limit of the 128 GB device. If only we had chosen the 256 GB model…

Battery: good enough, but Plus is better

The battery of the iPhone 15 (Plus) is still good. Also six months after the original iPhone 15 review. But the battery life of the iPhone 15 Plus is noticeably better than that of the iPhone 15.

About two days without charging is still doable with the Plus, even after six months of heavy iPhone use. After three days it gets exciting, but that was also the case when we had just bought the iPhone.

You do have to charge the regular iPhone 15 every day (or two), but this depends on how intensively you use the iPhone. Still, we hope to see some improvement there with the next iPhone.

No Lightning, but with USB-C

Another part that we have come to appreciate more is the USB-C connection. And that is especially useful, because from now on we could charge the iPhone with the same cable as the MacBook Air.

Also useful is the option that you can connect a monitor with USB-C to your iPhone. This is useful if, for example, you do not have a television with AirPlay and you still want to watch a video on a larger screen. Or in our case: when you want to play Apple Arcade games from the iPhone on a larger screen.

Of course, there is much more you can do with the iPhone’s USB-C connection. You can read exactly what that is in the article below.

Read more: you can connect all of this to the USB-C of the iPhone 15

A16 chip: still lightning fast

The iPhone 15 is equipped with the A16 Bionic chip. This is also in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. After six months, the iPhone 15 (Plus) still feels as smooth as when we took it out of the box, even after several updates to iOS 17 that we have now completed.

Conclusion: iPhone 15 (Plus) review after six months

The iPhone 15 (Plus) is a great device and after six months it is even a better buy than before. Now that the price of the iPhone 15 has dropped a bit (just shop around), it is currently the best ‘bang for the buck’ new iPhone you can buy.

However, it remains a shame that Apple has not decided to bring ProMotion to the iPhone 15 (Plus) this time. Many cheaper Android devices now have displays with a better refresh rate and Apple is really lagging behind the standard models.

If you only have an iPhone 15, you won’t really notice that loss. But if you regularly pick up an iPad that does have ProMotion, it’s a step back every time you hold the iPhone in your hands.

Are you planning to upgrade and do you have the iPhone 15 (Plus) in mind? Then it is not always worth switching immediately. Do you have an iPhone 14? Then wait a little longer for the iPhone 16. We have our doubts about an iPhone 13, but then you could consider jumping to the iPhone 15. But do you still have an iPhone 12 or older? Then the iPhone 15 (Plus) is definitely worth the upgrade.

On iPhoned we test the latest iPhones and other Apple products. The editorial team (just like all other content on the website) compiles the reviews with a lot of time, care and attention.

This way you as a reader know exactly what to expect from the tested smartphone (and other products). In the reviews we go into depth, but in an understandable way. After all, we want everyone to understand the story and ultimately know how good (or bad) the tested device is.