Is iPhone 15 still worth buying in 2026?

With the iPhone 17 launch in September 2025, the iPhone 15 was officially discontinued, and the current entry-level iPhone 16e with a faster chip is the recommended option. The iPhone 15 still runs well and receives iOS 26 updates, but doesn't support Apple Intelligence. If found at a meaningful discount, it remains a capable device.

Does iPhone 15 support Apple Intelligence?

The iPhone 15 does not support Apple Intelligence. Apple Intelligence features require the A17 Pro chip or newer, making them available starting with iPhone 15 Pro and later models.

Was the iPhone 15 overheating problem ever fixed?

Some iPhone 15 owners reported overheating reaching temperatures as high as 47°C. Apple stated there were several software-related causes and the issue was resolved with the iOS 17.0.3 update. Devices running current iOS versions are not affected by this issue.

What storage options are available and is there an SD card slot?

iPhone 15 is available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB configurations with no external memory card slot

What are the key differences between iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro?

The main differences: iPhone 15 Pro uses the newer A17 Pro chip built on 3nm while the standard model uses the 2022-generation A16 Bionic. The Pro has a triple rear camera with true optical zoom (3x or 5x) versus the standard model's dual cameras. iPhone 15 Pro supports ProMotion adaptive refresh rate and Always-On display. USB-C data transfer is 20x faster on the Pro. The Pro frame is titanium rather than aluminum.

iPhone 15 Review — Full Specs, Camera, Price, and Everything You Need to Know

iPhone 15 Review — Everything You Need to Know About Apple's 2023 Flagship

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus were announced on September 12, 2023 at Apple's Wonderlust event at Apple Park, California, alongside the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Pre-orders began September 15 and devices became available on September 22, 2023.

Key Highlights

The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are the first iPhones to replace Apple's proprietary Lightning connector with USB-C, in compliance with European Union regulations. They also brought Dynamic Island to non-Pro models for the first time, after it debuted exclusively on the iPhone 14 Pro lineup a year earlier.

Design and Display

The standard iPhone 15 measures 147.6 × 71.6 mm, 7.8 mm thick, and weighs 171 grams. It features an all-glass front and a colorful matte glass back framed by a color-matched aerospace-grade aluminum frame. Available in Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink.

The display reaches 2,000 nits of brightness in direct sunlight — twice what the iPhone 14 could manage.

ProMotion adaptive refresh rate and Always-On display remain Pro-exclusive features not included on the standard model.

Processor and Memory

The iPhone 15 runs the A16 Bionic chip with 6GB of RAM — the same chip that debuted in the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, one generation behind the A17 Pro in the Pro models. In the multi-core Geekbench 6 test it scored 6,551 points, comfortably surpassing the Google Pixel 8 at 2,842 and Samsung Galaxy S23 at 4,994.

Camera System

Dual rear cameras: 48MP f/1.6 Main and 12MP f/2.4 Ultra Wide, plus a 12MP f/1.9 front camera.

The 48MP Main camera with quad-pixel sensor defaults to capturing 24-megapixel photos and introduces a new 2x Telephoto option intelligently cropped from the full capture — effectively compensating for the absence of a dedicated telephoto lens reserved for Pro models.

Battery and Charging

Rated for 20 hours of video playback and 80 hours of audio. With a 20W or higher adapter it reaches 50% charge in 30 minutes.

MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging are supported alongside wired USB-C. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 are included.

USB-C: What You Get and What You Don't

All iPhone 15 models include USB-C, but there's an important distinction: the standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are capped at 480Mbps data transfer — the same speed as Lightning — while the Pro models support 10Gbps, 20 times faster.

Pricing and Current Availability

The iPhone 15 launched at $799 in September 2023 and received a $100 price cut to $699 with the introduction of iPhone 16 in September 2024.

With the launch of the iPhone 17 lineup in September 2025, both the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus were officially discontinued. They may still be found through resellers.

What Reviewers Said

The iPhone 15 isn't an exciting product given its traditional design and similarity to the previous generation — upgrading from even an iPhone 13 is hard to justify given insufficient improvements. For everyone else however, it's a very solid smartphone with a strong feature set at an affordable price by Apple's standards: a sharp display, superb camera, decent battery life, and fast processor.