This is a base model iPhone 15 with 256GB. I’m comparing it against a iPhone 13Pro 256GB. After comparing these two all weekend I have come concrete results to share. All images were inspected on a 16” MacBook Pro using photoshop.
Lets get the ultra wide lens out of the way first. The image quality between these is nearly identical with a edge going to the 13Pro. The Lenses are very different. The 13Pro has a F1.8 aperture and the 15 has a F2.4. I’m not sure if the sensor sizes are identical but based on the results they probably aren’t. If they were, the 13Pro lets in a lot more light and would destroy the 15. That’s not the case. Both are poor, especially in low light and are basically for IG only type of stuff. The 13Pro lens appears to be sharper in the corners and the scene is overall a little brighter. There is also less noise in the 13Pro image. When images are viewed on the phones it’s hard to tell them apart, but when you zoom it’s obvious. Overall the 13Pro ultra wide is the better camera, which isn’t surprising since it lets in a lot more light.
Now lets talk about the main camera. The sensor in the 15 is 5% bigger than the sensor in the 13Pro yet it has a 48 megapixel sensor. The 13Pro has a aperture of f1.5 while the 15 has a aperture of f1.6. This basically equalizes both cameras when it comes to light gathering for their perspective sensor size. For those wondering the sensor in the 14Pro and 15Pro is larger and Apple Did not use the sensor from the 14Pro in the 15 as some reviewers are telling you. The one in the Pro models is about 20% larger than the non-pro models this year. So how did this small packed sensor do? When compared to the 13Pro the 15 is better overall, but not by the amount you would expect. In the settings on the 15 you can shoot the camera at 12MP or 24MP or you can have it output 48MP when not in night mode. When shooting both cameras at 12MP the 15 looks sharper when viewed at 100%. Next I tested the 24MP mode and compared it against the 13Pro images upscaled to 24MP. The 15 was sharper again and had more fine detail at 100% which is good news. Next is 48MP on the 15 which I compared it to the 24MP on the 15. The 24MP was sharper, cleaner, and had less noise. As a matter of fact when I took the 24MP and upscaled it to 48MP it looked better than Apple’s native 48MP Max HFIF option. The same thing didn’t happen when I shot the 15 at 12MP upscaled it to 24MP and compared it to the native 24MP shot. I guess we can see this as good news. Anyone who really thinks you’re getting anything close to 48MP on the 15 is dreaming, but that’s not the point here. Just know that you are in no way resolving anything close to 48MP. The point here is Apple basically took the same size sensor as the 13Pro equalized light gathering and gave us better image quality in the 15. The bad news is that the differences were only seen at 100%, when viewed at normal sizes the only difference is the white balance and color. The 15 is much cooler than the 13Pro.
Overall it’s surprising how much more detail/resolution Apple was able to squeeze out of the same size sensor as the 13Pro. On the other hand 48MP is very misleading at there is no real detail advantage over 24MP. The sweet spot is 24MP for the 15 which is why Apple has it setup for that by default. The real disappointment is the ultra wide lens as the 2021 iPhone 13Pro performs better. I’m not sure why Apple choose to go a step backwards here, it’s still a $900 phone shipping in 2023 and the ultra wide just isn’t good enough of this price point in my opinion. Perhaps we have to wait until next year for a larger sensor and or faster lens. For those wondering the real resolving power of the 15 camera is about 12MP. (When compared to full frame sensors and a dedicated lens) Below is a 100% crop of the 15 at 48MP vs a Full frame Sensor at 48MP. Both shot handheld, straight out of camera. So far I love the 15 overall as smart phone, the cameras are just one aspect of a phone.
Lets get the ultra wide lens out of the way first. The image quality between these is nearly identical with a edge going to the 13Pro. The Lenses are very different. The 13Pro has a F1.8 aperture and the 15 has a F2.4. I’m not sure if the sensor sizes are identical but based on the results they probably aren’t. If they were, the 13Pro lets in a lot more light and would destroy the 15. That’s not the case. Both are poor, especially in low light and are basically for IG only type of stuff. The 13Pro lens appears to be sharper in the corners and the scene is overall a little brighter. There is also less noise in the 13Pro image. When images are viewed on the phones it’s hard to tell them apart, but when you zoom it’s obvious. Overall the 13Pro ultra wide is the better camera, which isn’t surprising since it lets in a lot more light.
Now lets talk about the main camera. The sensor in the 15 is 5% bigger than the sensor in the 13Pro yet it has a 48 megapixel sensor. The 13Pro has a aperture of f1.5 while the 15 has a aperture of f1.6. This basically equalizes both cameras when it comes to light gathering for their perspective sensor size. For those wondering the sensor in the 14Pro and 15Pro is larger and Apple Did not use the sensor from the 14Pro in the 15 as some reviewers are telling you. The one in the Pro models is about 20% larger than the non-pro models this year. So how did this small packed sensor do? When compared to the 13Pro the 15 is better overall, but not by the amount you would expect. In the settings on the 15 you can shoot the camera at 12MP or 24MP or you can have it output 48MP when not in night mode. When shooting both cameras at 12MP the 15 looks sharper when viewed at 100%. Next I tested the 24MP mode and compared it against the 13Pro images upscaled to 24MP. The 15 was sharper again and had more fine detail at 100% which is good news. Next is 48MP on the 15 which I compared it to the 24MP on the 15. The 24MP was sharper, cleaner, and had less noise. As a matter of fact when I took the 24MP and upscaled it to 48MP it looked better than Apple’s native 48MP Max HFIF option. The same thing didn’t happen when I shot the 15 at 12MP upscaled it to 24MP and compared it to the native 24MP shot. I guess we can see this as good news. Anyone who really thinks you’re getting anything close to 48MP on the 15 is dreaming, but that’s not the point here. Just know that you are in no way resolving anything close to 48MP. The point here is Apple basically took the same size sensor as the 13Pro equalized light gathering and gave us better image quality in the 15. The bad news is that the differences were only seen at 100%, when viewed at normal sizes the only difference is the white balance and color. The 15 is much cooler than the 13Pro.
Overall it’s surprising how much more detail/resolution Apple was able to squeeze out of the same size sensor as the 13Pro. On the other hand 48MP is very misleading at there is no real detail advantage over 24MP. The sweet spot is 24MP for the 15 which is why Apple has it setup for that by default. The real disappointment is the ultra wide lens as the 2021 iPhone 13Pro performs better. I’m not sure why Apple choose to go a step backwards here, it’s still a $900 phone shipping in 2023 and the ultra wide just isn’t good enough of this price point in my opinion. Perhaps we have to wait until next year for a larger sensor and or faster lens. For those wondering the real resolving power of the 15 camera is about 12MP. (When compared to full frame sensors and a dedicated lens) Below is a 100% crop of the 15 at 48MP vs a Full frame Sensor at 48MP. Both shot handheld, straight out of camera. So far I love the 15 overall as smart phone, the cameras are just one aspect of a phone.
