presentation iphone 15 pro max

Behind the scenes at Scary Fast: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

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October 31, 2023

On Monday, October 30, at Apple’s Scary Fast special event unveiling the all-new MacBook Pro with the M3 family of chips and 24-inch iMac with M3, there was an unseen star of the show working behind the scenes. All of the presenters, locations, and drone footage in the event were filmed using iPhone 15 Pro Max, the preferred smartphone for creative pros and filmmakers. Led by documentary film director Brian Oakes, known for the award-winning Jim: The James Foley Story and Living with Lincoln , Scary Fast put iPhone 15 Pro Max right in the middle of the action.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max camera system offers the best video in a smartphone, with its quality rivaling those of professional video cameras. iPhone 15 Pro Max enables creatives to capture in ProRes up to 4K60 fps to an external drive with Apple Log encoding, which allows even more detail to be preserved for post-production color grading. iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are also the first smartphones in the world to support the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES), a global standard for color workflows.

“We were able to get the same complex shots with iPhone 15 Pro Max,” says Oakes. “Everything is there to be an extension of someone’s vision or personality. The image quality of iPhone definitely democratizes the access.”

The production was advised by Apple’s Jon Carr, a Pro Workflow video specialist whose credits include Top Gun: Maverick and Terminator: Dark Fate , and Jeff Wozniak, who has worked on productions including Transformers: Dark of the Moon , Avatar , and Iron Man 2 . “This year, iPhone 15 Pro Max was supercharged with the ability to record ProRes to an external drive, and Apple Log, our flavor of a format that all of the very high-end digital cameras shoot,” says Wozniak.

“It’s pretty amazing how you can put this in the hands of someone who’s a professional director and they don’t have to change their equipment — they don’t have to change any of the things that they always do,” adds Carr.

Capturing footage with multiple iPhone 15 Pro Max devices, the team utilized the integration between iPhone 15 Pro, the Blackmagic Camera app, and Tentacle Sync, showcasing the true power of the Apple ecosystem. Connected via Bluetooth, Tentacle Sync drives timecode and enables all devices on set — including Macs and preview screens — to be synced throughout the production. Beastgrip accessories, including cages and rigs, were also used during the production.

Here’s how Scary Fast came to life behind the scenes.

iPhone 15 Pro Max with the new USB-C connector brings a huge leap in data transfer with speeds of up to 10Gbps with a compatible USB 3 cable. This supports new workflows like ProRes video recording directly to an external SSD drive, allowing the crew to review footage in near real time and make adjustments on the fly. In post, editors can also take advantage of the higher dynamic range enabled with Apple Log, bringing even more control and flexibility into color grading.

Shot under the cover of night at Apple Park, Scary Fast showcased the improvements in low-light video performance on iPhone 15 Pro Max. With ProRes Log encoding, iPhone 15 Pro Max has even more high and low light range than previous models, resulting overall in better dynamic range and better flexibility for color grading in post-production. “When I first got the footage from iPhone 15 Pro Max, I was immediately pleasantly surprised,” says Stefan Sonnenfeld, Company 3’s CEO, who colored the presentation and has worked on projects including Stranger Things , The Equalizer 3 , and Fast X . “The quality of the image on iPhone 15 Pro Max is incredible, and it’s there. And I know because I’ve done it and I’ve seen it, and we’re doing this project with it.”

Using the Blackmagic Camera app designed exclusively for iOS users, the crew was able to leverage the same interface as Blackmagic Design’s award-winning digital film cameras, which provided the same tools used in feature films, television shows, and documentaries. Available now for free on the App Store, the app adds digital film camera controls to iPhone and supports Apple Log encoding on iPhone 15 Pro Max. “We’ve done a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes working with a great third-party developer, Blackmagic Design, that has created an incredible app that allows us to have huge amounts of monitors and crew, and everybody working how they traditionally would,” says Carr.

On the set, the crew employed traditional filming techniques — even the use of drones — seamlessly with iPhone 15 Pro Max to capture the scenes and showcase the new MacBook Pro. “There’s cranes, there’s dollies, there’s all the toys that you want as a filmmaker, and everybody’s moving and has their job to do, and it’s just a very exciting and lively environment,” says Oakes.

Reflecting on the incredible versatility and ease of use of iPhone, Sonnenfeld says, “I think what I love about the iPhone is it enables everybody who uses it to have access to incredible amounts of information, and with a really intuitive operating system, so that whether it’s myself or my 7-year-old, anybody can pick it up and pretty much use it right away.”

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iPhone 15 event: all the news on Apple’s new phones

By Emma Roth , a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

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While the iPhone 15 was undoubtedly the focus of Apple’s September 12th event, we also saw new AirPods Pro (second-generation) earbuds with a USB-C case plus two new updates to its watch line with the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 with new processors inside.

The iPhone 15 lineup’s most significant addition is a new USB-C port, while each model also comes with the Dynamic Island . The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max added an Action Button that replaces the mute toggle to go with new titanium bodies, ultra-thin bezels, and a higher starting price.

Apple also announced the new iOS 17 software update will be released on Monday, September 18th, and macOS Sonoma is coming on September 26th. New “FineWoven” accessories replaced the old leather cases, and its Emergency SOS via satellite feature can now cover car problems, too, thanks to a new partnership with AAA.

You can catch up on all the latest news from Apple’s September event in the stream below.

• How the new iPhone 15 models differ from one another (and the iPhone 14)
• iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max hands-on
• A first look at the new iPhone 15 with USB-C and a big camera upgrade
• Hands-on with the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9
• Apple is releasing iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 on September 18th
• Apple is switching the AirPods Pro charging case to USB-C
• Apple announces Apple Watch Series 9, and it has a handy double-tap feature

iOS 17.3 is out, adding Stolen Device Protection for your iPhone

iOS 17.3 is out, and it comes with a new security feature that’s supposed to prevent thieves from taking your iPhone and quickly taking over access to anything stored in iCloud as well as other important accounts like your bank or email. Instead of relying on your lock screen passcode for security (as thieves have learned to trick people into entering it in front of them before they take off with the phone), Stolen Device Protection requires you to scan your fingerprint or use Face ID when performing certain actions, such as viewing saved passwords or applying for a new Apple Card.

The feature also introduces a waiting period when performing more sensitive actions, such as changing your Apple ID password or your iPhone passcode. In the iOS 17.3 update note, Apple says, “Security Delay requires Face ID or Touch ID, an hour wait, and then an additional successful biometric authentication” before you can complete the process, ensuring the person who’s performing this action is actually you. Your iPhone will only require this extra layer of authentication when you’re away from “familiar locations such as home or work,” according to Apple.

Oct 6, 2023

Richard Lawler

Having already applied their screwdrivers and other tools to the iPhone 15 Pro , the folks at iFixit have now turned to the base iPhone 15 model , even looking at its internals under a microscope.

They also point out that these models lack the Pro version’s A17 chipset with an integrated USB controller that enables higher USB-C transfer speeds but still ding the phones for Apple’s software locks that hamper repairability outside of authorized shops with access to the company’s pairing tools.

And, of course, you can watch our storystream to follow all of the updates about the iPhone 15 lineup.

Sep 26, 2023

Apple releases macOS Sonoma, with iOS-like widgets and Game Mode

Apple injects a little more iOS into the Mac today as it releases macOS Sonoma , aka macOS 14.0. Sonoma brings with it features like persistent desktop widgets, a new iOS-style lock screen, and a game mode that promises better gaming on your Mac. The file clocks in at 7.7GB for us, so you’ll want to make sure you have a little space to get it in.

In a refreshing change, the Sonoma update is out just over a week after Apple dropped iOS 17 . The new version of the iPhone operating system hit, as always, very soon after its iPhone 15 event earlier this month , but the company usually takes about a month longer to get its next macOS version out the door. That can make for a sometimes frustrating dissonance given Apple’s ecosystem interplay, for those of us who tend to update our devices as soon as we can. (I need the ability to send The Verge ’s Alex Cranz annoying custom stickers in iMessage from my Mac, y’all.)

Sep 25, 2023

Resident Evil Village’s iPhone port will launch a day before Halloween

Capcom announced at Tokyo Game Show 2023 that Resident Evil Village for the iPhone 15 Pro phones and M1-and-up iPads will debut on October 30th. The game will cost $39.99 — $10 more than the macOS version — with the Winters’ Expansion DLC pack also available for another $19.99. The Resident Evil 4 remake for iPhones, iPads, and Macs is listed on Capcom’s site as “available 2023.”

Capcom says preorders for both games will hit the Apple App Store “soon.” The company adds that if you order Village and Winters’ Expansion during a launch window that the company will announce later, you’ll get an extra costume for Rosemary Winters in the Shadows of Rose DLC.

Sep 24, 2023

Don’t bother trying to open up your brand-new Apple Watch S9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 — iFixit has done it for you .

The quick jaunt through the watches’ guts will look familiar if you’ve ever seen one of iFixit’s Apple Watch teardowns, but there are some small differences to be found inside, like a higher-capacity, hard-shell battery in both.

Sep 22, 2023

Allison Johnson

You asked, and we answered your burning iPhone 15 questions

Ever since our reviews for the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro went up on Tuesday morning, you’ve had a ton of questions to ask about the phones — in comments , on The Vergecast , on Threads, an Instagram App , and in a live Q&A .

So we thought we’d put all that information together in a nice little smorgasbord of nerdy tidbits and philosophical pondering and pick out a few favorites in the process.

Sep 21, 2023

How to customize the iPhone 15 Pro’s Action Button

If you pick up an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, you’ll notice one thing missing: the mute switch. It’s been a fixture on iPhones since the very beginning, but the 15 Pro models have swapped it out for a new button that’s dubbed the Action Button . 

Like the Action Button on the Apple Watch Ultra series, you can customize it to do almost anything you want. It can open up a specific mode on your camera, turn on your flashlight, and, if you’re crafty, even order your favorite seasonal beverage from your neighborhood Starbucks. 

Sep 20, 2023

The iPhone 15 will now tell you how many charge cycles are on its battery

The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro have several features that aren’t on past iPhones, and now we can add new battery information and control features to the list. As pointed out in this post by @Tech_Reve , a new section in the iOS 17 “About” screen shows how many charge cycles your battery has been through as well as its manufacturing date and when it was first used ( via MacRumors ).

Those on older phones still have third-party options like CoconutBattery for the Mac to get more information about the battery, but it would be nice to just, you know, have it already there. iOS Shortcuts are also an option for accessing this information, though Verge editor Dan Seifert says the one he’s been using for years no longer works after updating his phone to iOS 17.

Sep 19, 2023

Resident Evil Village on the iPhone 15 Pro actually looks pretty good

In a recent interview with IGN , an Apple executive claimed that the iPhone 15 Pro was “ going to be the best game console .” I was skeptical; although Apple boasted about the capabilities of its new GPU in its A17 Pro chip and said high-fidelity games like Resident Evil Village , the Resident Evil 4 remake, and Death Stranding would all be coming to the iPhone 15 Pro, I didn’t believe they would run very well in practice.

But after actually seeing footage of Resident Evil Village in action on an iPhone 15 Pro, I’m coming around to the idea that Apple’s vision isn’t as far out as I thought.

Sep 18, 2023

The smaller iPhone 16 Pro might get Apple’s new ‘tetraprism’ zoom lens

Next year’s Pro iPhones are both “expected” to have the “tetraprism” zoom lens Apple is using for the 5x telephoto camera in the iPhone 15 Pro Max, according to a new post from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo . That tetraprism optical system, which is intended to replicate a 120mm lens of a full-frame camera, is exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max , so if it comes to the smaller iPhone Pro next year (which I’m guessing will be called the iPhone 16 Pro), both the Pro and Pro Max might be on closer footing.

Here’s how the tetraprism system works, as described by Apple’s Misha Scepanovic during Tuesday’s “Wonderlust” event :

Apple’s bigger iCloud Plus plans are now available

Apple’s new iCloud Plus plans offer more storage at a higher price — and they’re available to purchase now. Starting today, you can sign up for the 6TB plan at $29.99 / month or the 12TB plan for $59.99 / month.

Apple first revealed the new storage options during its iPhone 15 event last week , which it will offer alongside the existing 50GB plan for $0.99 / month, the 200GB plan for $2.99 / month, and the 2TB plan for $9.99 / month. While 6TB and 12TB may seem like a lot of storage space, the new plans could come in handy for professional photographers or hobbyists who want to take full advantage of the iPhone 15’s upgraded 48MP main camera or store hefty ProRes files.

Apple’s widget-heavy watchOS 10 is available to download

Along with iOS 17 , Apple has just released watchOS 10 , the newest version of its smartwatch operating system that fundamentally changes the way you interact with the Apple Watch by reincorporating widgets. This update, available on the Apple Watch Series 4 and up, comes just a few days ahead of the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra, both of which Apple will release on Friday along with the four new iPhone 15 models .

The new widgets include the Smart Stack that Apple added to iOS 14, which is a sort of customizable widget bundle that uses machine learning to surface the widgets it predicts you’ll want to see and use. Swiping up from the bottom brings up those widgets, and that has a big cascading effect on the OS. Control Center, where you go to toggle certain system settings like Wi-Fi, has been bumped over to the side button, which bumps the app switcher to a double-press on the digital crown.

iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 are now available

iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, Apple’s next major updates for the iPhone and iPad, are now available to download.

With iOS 17 , some of the biggest new features come to phone calls. Apple’s new Contact Posters let you pick a photo (or Memoji) and font that fill up the screen when you give someone a call. Live Voicemail will show you a real-time transcript as someone is leaving you a message. The end call button is also in a slightly new spot . Messages gets some improvements, too, including a new way to access iMessage apps, and thanks to iOS 17’s upgraded autocorrect, hopefully your texts will have fewer typos.

The 128GB iPhone 13, Pro 14, and 15 Pro are limited to 1080p / 30fps ProRes on their own, but with the iPhone 15 Pro you can record at 4K / 60fps if it’s connected to an external drive, as reported by MacRumors . I’m glad a workaround is available for people that might want to be able to record the higher-fidelity footage.

[ MacRumors ]

Sep 17, 2023

Apple’s USB-C shift could bring back the MagSafe Duo and Battery Pack

Mark Gurman writes in the subscriber edition of his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg from this morning that he expects Apple to finish its transition to USB-C by 2025. Gurman says that, in addition to other products, he expects the company will release USB-C versions of the now-discontinued MagSafe Battery Pack and the MagSafe Duo “eventually. But don’t hold your breath.”

By comparison, Apple took either a little over a month or about two years to totally move over to Lightning, depending on how you look at it.

Apple continues to use our own mortality as marketing

In recent years, Apple’s presentations have started to feature a new type of messaging: without an Apple Watch, you might be mauled by a bear , drown inside a sinking car, get stuck in a trash compactor, or even succumb to hypothermia after falling through an icy lake.

These disasters have always been averted by the presence of an Apple Watch. But this year, Apple’s messaging has started to change again: it’s not just the Apple Watch that can save you from possible death — but the iPhone, too.

Sep 16, 2023

If you’ve been dying for 4K wired video output on the iPhone, the iPhone 15 , just like other USB-C phones, has you covered (via 9to5Mac , @aaronp613 ).

Apple already has solutions for older iPhones among the few Lightning products the company still sells , but the most they offer is crummy 1080p video output. Terrible!

Now, through the magic of USB-C, the iPhone 15 supports pushing Dolby Vision and HDR10 video in 4K at 60Hz to your TV, if you insist .

Lightning was great, actually

The world is rightfully celebrating the iPhone’s switch from Lightning to USB-C this week. People love to hate on Lightning — and they have good reasons to. Many of the world’s most popular devices now use USB-C ports, including Apple’s own iPads, meaning iPhone owners have been stuck toting around an extra cable just for their phone and its accessories.

But if you’ve been living in the Lightning world for the past decade like I have, things have been great anyway. I’m not ashamed to say it: I’m sad that Lightning is finally going away.

Apple executives spoke with IGN’s Taylor Lyles ( a Verge alum! ) this week about the iPhone 15 Pro’s gaming capabilities . Apple is predictably on-message, with one exec claiming the phone is going to be “the best game console.”

But the company does seem to be more interested in gaming than it has been in the past. In addition to marketing the iPhone 15 Pro as a great place to play games, it’s working on some cool stuff for Mac gaming, too .

I’m skeptical that the iPhone 15 Pro will actually be “the best game console,” but I’m all for Apple doing more to encourage developers make great games for its platforms.

Sep 15, 2023

Apple is now charging more for most Apple Watch battery swaps

Apple has increased the price of most Apple Watch battery replacements, as reported by 9to5Mac . The swaps used to cost $79, but now, for Apple Watch Series 4 devices and newer, you’ll have to cough up $99. You can see the prices for yourself on the company’s Apple Watch Service and Repair website by sifting through different versions and models.

It’s unfortunate that some of the battery replacement fees are going up, but I’m also not surprised to see it. Apple bumped up the prices of battery replacements in some iPhones, iPads, and Macs by $20 to $50 earlier this year .

Preorders for the iPhone 15 just opened this morning, and delivery estimates for some models, including the iPhone 15 Pro Max, are getting pushed back well into October. You can still pick up the models in-store on September 22nd at some locations, however.

Antonio G. Di Benedetto

Preorders for the new iPhone 15 are now live — here’s where to get yours

Apple officially announced the new iPhone 15 at its Wonderlust event earlier this week, which is now up for preorder and expected to ship on September 22nd. Much like last year, there’s a baseline iPhone 15 , a larger iPhone 15 Plus, and a pair of Pro models known as the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max . But while the expected processor bump to a new A17 Pro chip is here for the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max (the standard 15 and 15 Plus get last year’s A16 Bionic), what’s vastly different this time around is the presence of a USB-C charging / data port and the inclusion of Dynamic Island on all new models.

While we still have to see how all these new iPhones shape up in our upcoming reviews, early adopters now have a chance to put in their preorders. Below is a breakdown of the various iPhone 15 models and links to Apple’s pricing and configuration details as well as other retailers taking preorders.

Sep 14, 2023

That means that if you have a Backbone One controller for Android , it’ll work with any iPhone 15 devices, which have USB-C ports.

According to Backbone :

For new customers, all Backbone USB-C products now feature universal compatibility with all USB-C phones, including both Android and iPhone 15 devices. For existing customers, your Backbone USB-C product will automatically receive an update via the Backbone app that enables patent-pending universal compatibility. To update, connect your Backbone controller and launch the  Backbone App  on Android.

The Backbone One is a great controller, so I’m happy to see that the ones made for Android will work with iPhones, too.

[ playbackbone.com ]

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Here’s why Apple put a Thread radio in the iPhone 15 Pro

Following Apple’s iPhone 15 announcement and the news that the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will come with a Thread radio , I did some more digging into how Apple might deploy this wireless connectivity protocol in its ecosystem.

The smart home is the obvious answer and the one Apple halfheartedly offered ( Thread is a main protocol for Matter ). But adding the low-power, low-bandwidth, mesh-based Thread protocol could also signal the company is moving away from relying solely on Bluetooth for connecting to peripherals like the Apple Watch. Here’s a look at some of the ways that new wireless connectivity could be put to use.

Rumors of Lightning’s death are just slightly exaggerated

This week, Apple confirmed longstanding rumors that it was finally abandoning the Lightning connector for USB-C with the debut of its iPhone 15 and 15 Pro phones. The connector’s  decade-long run  might be over, but that doesn’t mean you need to toss out all your Lightning cables — not yet, anyway.

There are still a number of products in Apple’s vast catalog that haven’t made the switch, and it’s a safe bet that many of them are due for USB-C refreshes in the near future. Here’s a list of everything still using Lightning that we could find new on the company’s online store.

• Phone Finder

Experiment: Apple iPhone 15 Pro's 28mm and 35mm modes are just digital crops

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• Comments (93)

Ivan 25 September 2023

Apple iOS Featured

Apple dedicated a few moments from its nearly 1-hour iPhone 15 presentation to the new Pro models' custom 28mm and 35mm shooting modes. Technically, you get a cropped 28mm or 35mm portion from the native 24mm primary lens and you get it in the same 24MP resolution as the default 24mm images. Apple says that with the iPhone 15 Pro, "it's like having seven pro lenses in your pocket".

It's a convenient feature for those who prefer a focal length narrower than 24mm. You tap the 1x mode in the camera to go to 28mm (1.2x) and once again to 35mm (1.5x). You can even make either the default camera focal length, which is extra convenient.

But is Apple doing more than just cropping the image and upscaling it back to its original size? We made a little experiment to find out.

Before we set off, here are the default 24mm shots of both scenes from the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The images on the left are the 28mm captured by the iPhone's native camera app and outputted in the default 24MP. We manually cropped the shots on the right and upscaled them up to 24MP using Photoshop's Preserve Details 2.0 resampling method. Looking at the results side-by-side, we'd say there isn't a discernible difference between Apple's 28mm shot and our simple crop-and-upscale.

Don't forget to tap the compare button below the samples to get a 100% zoomed-in look for yourselves.

It's the same story with the 35mm images. Seemingly all Apple does here is crop the 24mm shot and bump the resolution back up to 24MP, applying some sharpening along the way. There is no fancy computational photography going on here.

So there you go - it's like having three actual lenses and four crop modes for a total of seven focal lengths. There's no denying the convenience that Apple provides. We're sure many (including some here at team GSMArena) will happily use a narrower default focal length for the native camera. But it's not magic and comes at the expense of image quality. It's also something others have done for years - Samsung's default zoomed-in selfie, which expands when it sees more people in the frame.

This is just one observation we've made as we work on our review of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Stay tuned for a deeper dive into Apple's best phone ever!

Reader comments

• 20 Dec 2023

They're not unfortunately. They're probably just upscaling 12mp images and sharpening them into 24

• Waitasecond11
• 17 Nov 2023

Upscaled from 24 Megapixels? What? It's a 48 Megapixel sensor. They are downsampling ALL of these images, even the 35mm equivalent shot. 28mm is going from 41.1 Megapixels to 24 Megapixels 35mm is going from 32 Megapixels to 24 Megapixels

• Nick Tegrataker
• 27 Sep 2023

Phones like Mate X2 and iPhone 14 Pro resolved the hole patterns in GSMArena's balcony scene perfectly in full resolution mode, so I would say with clever enough demosaicing and/or image stacking you could extract a comparable amount of details ...

• Read all comments

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