iPhone 15 Pro Upgrading from an 11 Pro

[rencar12]

I have an iPhone 11 Pro which is still in great shape. I am very tempted though with an upgrade to a new 15 Pro, and wondered if anyone has any views as to whether I would notice much of a difference? Battery life I read isn’t really much of an improvement? I’m finding although my 11 pro has 90% battery health, it can be a struggle to last a whole day when out and about.

In the Apple Store the 15 pro didn’t feel like much of a jump, but then the short time in the store that you’re holding it, you can’t really get much from that!

Any views would be most welcome. Otherwise I’ll just wait perhaps for the next iteration, or perhaps just get apple to fit a new battery.

 

[Belvoire]

I think the question is, are you only looking because of the battery for a new iPhone? Are you missing something?

The iPhone 11 is still a great phone in my opinion, the camera has certainly improved, the display, etc.

You will notice the differences less when you look at it in a shop and more when you use it in everyday life.

 

[rencar12]

Thanks for the reply.

At the Apple stores its difficult to get any sort of great feel for the iPhone 15 Pro speed and general new features. Launching apps seems and browsing around seems to be the best you get. I guess buying it directly from Apple (particularly in the UK, where they've extended returns until the new year), it would allow me to be certain its much of an improvement over the 11 Pro by actually using it in everyday life.

Battery life - I had hoped the 15 Pro would be an improvement over the 11 Pro, on paper it seems so, but reading a few comments on the forums, some seem to imply, it was actually very similar. Perhaps the 120hz screen and always on display means it ends up being much the same?

 

[Al Rukh]

As for the battery life, the 15 Pro has a poorer battery life compared to the 11 Pro when it first launched in 2019. But at this point in time, the 15 Pro will last longer given how optimised it is towards iOS 17.

Apart from this, the 15 Pro is an upgrade in every way. I’m quite jealous of you because you’ll feel the difference right away compared to others who upgrade yearly.

 

[JonMPLS]

I decided to go from the 11 Pro to the 15 Pro Max as they are really close in weight. Larger screen but it feels almost the same. Also, the camera is a bit of an upgrade.

 

[gigatoaster]

I went from a 6S to 11 Pro to 15 Pro and to be honest, the improvement gap was better noticeable from 6S to 11Pro, rather than 11 Pro to 15 Pro.

Pictures looks better on 15 Pro.

 

[Mistletoe66]

Read my previous post . I am using 11 pro, I bought and returned the 15 pro max because the battery life is terrible.

However it has better camera for sure. But ultimately…. Battery sucks.

Replaced the battery in my 11 pro and I’m a happy man. Shall wait for an “ACTUAL” 3nm iPhone next year and hope it is Actually battery efficient.

 

[RickTaylor]

I'm in the same situation. I have an 11 pro, and while I'm tempted by the 15 and the 15 pro, it's hard to justify. My current phone works fine. I don't even have a problem with the battery.

I wonder if the camera would be a significant improvement. I pretty much only use it for x2 portrait shots, though if I got the 15 pro, I'd try x3 portrait shots. I'm attracted to the always on display. The 15 and 15 pro are the first time we've had phones with nicely curved edges since the 11 and 11 pro. Of course I'll need to upgrade some day, and this looks like a good phone.

One thing to bear in mind is if you live in the United States and you purchase a phone now, you have an extended holiday return period in which to reflect on your decision.

 

[coffeeplease]

I am also on an 11 Pro. It still works really great for a 4 year old phone, aside from the battery not lasting the whole day if out and about with heavy use. I was ready to impulse buy the 15 Pro but the initial shipping delays made me not. Currently decided to wait until the 16, hoping battery is better on that model.

 

[Mistletoe66]

Attached is my intense safari usage- heavy images in websites, Japanese documentary film streaming and more. On my 11 pro under wifi 5ghz usage

This is my heavy safari usage for the past night.

Do note to look at the latest time of unplugging and not look at the 12 hour screen time, the effective screen time after unplugging from 100% should be around 7.5 hours of on screen time of continuous usage (excluding offscreen time of Spotify music). And I’m left with ba
Terry of 10% ish??

This I would say is a completely great phone with new battery replaced.

I believe 15 pro max would last around 8.5 hours with AOD & ProMotion turned off.

 

[Al Rukh]

I'm in the same situation. I have an 11 pro, and while I'm tempted by the 15 and the 15 pro, it's hard to justify. My current phone works fine. I don't even have a problem with the battery.

I wonder if the camera would be a significant improvement. I pretty much only use it for x2 portrait shots, though if I got the 15 pro, I'd try x3 portrait shots. I'm attracted to the always on display. The 15 and 15 pro are the first time we've had phones with nicely curved edges since the 11 and 11 pro. Of course I'll need to upgrade some day, and this looks like a good phone.

One thing to bear in mind is if you live in the United States and you purchase a phone now, you have an extended holiday return period in which to reflect on your decision.

You’ll feel at home going to a 15. It has the 2x lossless telephoto shot without an additional telephoto lens (vs the 11 Pro). The battery life is stellar and the design element is an upgrade over the 11 Pro, for me at least. You can’t go wrong with the 15 Pro either - it’s the phone which is worthy of the ‘Pro’ label after 4 years since the establishment of the Pro lineup.

 

[Al Rukh]

Attached is my intense safari usage- heavy images in websites, Japanese documentary film streaming and more. On my 11 pro under wifi 5ghz usage

This is my heavy safari usage for the past night.

Do note to look at the latest time of unplugging and not look at the 12 hour screen time, the effective screen time after unplugging from 100% should be around 7.5 hours of on screen time of continuous usage (excluding offscreen time of Spotify music). And I’m left with ba
Terry of 10% ish??

This I would say is a completely great phone with new battery replaced.

I believe 15 pro max would last around 8.5 hours with AOD & ProMotion turned off.

Those are good numbers indeed. I would keep the 11 Pro if I were you.

 

[RickTaylor]

The day before yesterday, I bought a 15 pro to use in place of my 11 pro (and to take advantage of the holiday return period in case I change my mind). So far I am happy with the change.

The first thing that struck me (though I shouldn't have been surprised) is the screen is bigger. Of course it's a 6.1" screen instead of the 11 pro's 5.8". I liked the 11 pro, because at the time it was significantly smaller than the 11, and felt nice in my hand. But with bezel's shrinking, the 15 pro feels almost as nice, and I appreciate the larger screen. And of course the screen is brighter and nicer as well. I didn't think I'd notice the 120 hz difference, but I think perhaps I do.

I do like the always on display. I use a time tracker, and I appreciate I can put the phone on a MagSafe stand, and see my current task together with the time even when it's off. I have it set to max 80% battery life.

I haven't had a chance to use the camera yet.

 

[Zest28]

I have an iPhone 11 Pro which is still in great shape. I am very tempted though with an upgrade to a new 15 Pro, and wondered if anyone has any views as to whether I would notice much of a difference? Battery life I read isn’t really much of an improvement? I’m finding although my 11 pro has 90% battery health, it can be a struggle to last a whole day when out and about.

In the Apple Store the 15 pro didn’t feel like much of a jump, but then the short time in the store that you’re holding it, you can’t really get much from that!

Any views would be most welcome. Otherwise I’ll just wait perhaps for the next iteration, or perhaps just get apple to fit a new battery.

I'm coming from the iPhone 11 Pro Max and for me there is a huuuuuuuuuuge difference in screen quality and performance. Night and day difference.

But you do not need to upgrade. It's just more "nice". The iPhone 11 Pro Max performs just fine in 2023 still.

 

[digitalcuriosity]

T Mobil offered me $200 for trade in for my 11 Pro on the new 15 Pro , i am very happy with the new iPhone 15 Pro it's a great leap forward from my old 11 Pro. in both battery life and camera picture quality, also many tell me the phone seems a lot clearer to them in phone calls.

 

[RickTaylor]

I'm coming from the iPhone 11 Pro Max and for me there is a huuuuuuuuuuge difference in screen quality and performance. Night and day difference.

But you do not need to upgrade. It's just more "nice". The iPhone 11 Pro Max performs just fine in 2023 still.

I agree with both points. The improvement in image quality is striking, and at the same time my 11 pro was working just fine before I upgraded.

 

[CoMoMacUser]

One big difference is that the 11 doesn't support 4G. But for me, this is irrelevant. I don't need 5G for browsing, streaming, email, social uploading and downloading, etc.

Sure, the 15 has a superior camera and faster processor. But am I really going to notice either? Doubtful.

I just don't see a compelling reason to replace my 11 Pro Max anytime soon. In fact, this is one of the reasons why I switched from Android to iOS: Apple hardware, batteries and OS support are just hands-down superior.

 

[digitalcuriosity]

One big difference is that the 11 doesn't support 4G. But for me, this is irrelevant. I don't need 5G for browsing, streaming, email, social uploading and downloading, etc.

Sure, the 15 has a superior camera and faster processor. But am I really going to notice either? Doubtful.

I just don't see a compelling reason to replace my 11 Pro Max anytime soon. In fact, this is one of the reasons why I switched from Android to iOS: Apple hardware, batteries and OS support are just hands-down superior.

The main thing to remember is the iPhone 11 is now 4 years old and even if you don't need all the new items in the new iPhones, at some point Apple will stop supporting the iPhone11 and also many others have expressed problems with the older phones charging system used on the iPhone11 and other early iPhones.

So if you can get a fairly good trade in offer it might be a good idea to take the offer and move ahead with a newer iPhone.

 

[CoMoMacUser]

The main thing to remember is the iPhone 11 is now 4 years old and even if you don't need all the new items in the new iPhones, at some point Apple will stop supporting the iPhone11 and also many others have expressed problems with the older phones charging system used on the iPhone11 and other early iPhones.

So if you can get a fairly good trade in offer it might be a good idea to take the offer and move ahead with a newer iPhone.

Right. I'm keeping an eye on OS updates. When the X stops receiving updates, I'll know it's time to trade in my 11. Or maybe I'll keep it and turn it into a dash cam if I can find an app for that.