Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max now costs more — but also has double the storage

It’ll cost you a little more to buy an iPhone 15 Pro Max this year. The new phone has undergone some big changes, and with them comes a new starting price of $1,199 for a 256GB model phone. Last year, you were able to get a Pro Max starting at $1,099, but it came with 128GB of storage. That option isn’t available for the 15 Pro Max, so you’re stuck paying more — but getting more storage in exchange.

The iPhone 15 Pro will remain $999, and Apple will release both phones on September 22nd, with preorders starting this Friday.

Rumors have for months predicted that Apple would move up the price this year as a result of changes to the lineup, such as the new brushed titanium alloy frame and thinner bezels. It will also have a faster A17 SoC that supports raytracing with its integrated GPU. Apple’s higher-tier phones have started at $999 since the iPhone X debuted. This isn’t necessarily a price increase, since Apple charged $1,199 for the 256GB model last year, but this change does remove a lower-priced option.

The company also added USB-C ports to its phones (and AirPods Pro!), finally ditching the aging Lightning port the company has used for over 10 years. The port will use the faster USB 3 standard, with up to 10Gbps transfer speed, though you’ll need to buy a USB 3 type C cable separately.

In addition to USB-C, the iPhone 15 series phones now support Qi2 charging — the new charging standard based on Apple’s own MagSafe charging. The Pro phones have also ditched the old ring / vibrate switch for a customizable Action Button similar to the one found on the Apple Watch Ultra series phones.

Aside from the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, Apple announced the newest iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models, which now feature the Dynamic Island and inherited the A16 Bionic chips used in last year’s Pro models. They will keep the same $799 and $899 starting prices as last year’s phones.