iPhone 15 and 15 Pro review: The final form

Enlarge / From left to right: iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. (credit: Samuel Axon)

It’s been six years since the iPhone X hit store shelves, but at a glance, 2023’s iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro aren't all that different. Thanks to a few steps of iteration, though, these smartphones still feel like a big step up—maybe not compared to last year’s iPhone, but certainly compared to 2017's, or even 2020’s.

Though I don’t have any insight into what’s coming next year, the iPhone 15 seems like the final form of a product that has gone through a multi-year cycle. It sees Apple cementing a likely long-term strategy of treating the cheaper model as a rerun of the previous year’s pro model, it addresses one of the longest-standing complaints about iPhones (even if Apple’s hand was forced by regulation), and it refines a tried-and-true design.

The iPhone 15, its pricier siblings, and its strong competitors on the Android side make the case that for better or worse (mostly better), we’ve reached peak smartphone.