iPhone 15 Pro Max Teardown: X70 Modem for Faster 5G, 5x Optical Zoom Lens, A17 Pro Chip, and More

Repair website iFixit today shared a video teardown of the new iPhone 15 Pro Max, providing a closer look inside the top-of-the-line device.

iPhone 15 Pro Cameras
While the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a similar internal design as the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the device has a redesigned frame that allows the back glass panel to be easily removed, resulting in lower repair fees for cracked glass for customers without AppleCare+ coverage. This change was first made to the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus last year.

The teardown provides a brief glimpse at the iPhone 15 Pro Max's upgraded Telephoto lens with a tetraprism system, which enables 5x optical zoom. iFixit said the Main and Ultra Wide lenses on the device appear to look the same as the ones on the iPhone 14 Pro Max, in line with information shared on social media last week. This suggests camera improvements beyond 5x optical zoom are the result of the A17 Pro chip and software optimizations.


iFixit says the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a similar logic board as the iPhone 15 Pro. In addition to the A17 Pro chip, the teardown confirms that the device is equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X70 modem, which reportedly enables faster 5G speeds as expected.

Overall, iFixit gave the iPhone 15 Pro Max a low repairability score of 4/10, in part due to Apple's parts pairing requirement that it says harms independent repair shops.

Related Roundup: iPhone 15 Pro

Top Rated Comments

josselinco Avatar
27 weeks ago
As someone who upgrades fairly often (every other generation) this year I get to have : Always-On, Dynamic Island, 48MP, Satellite thing, Action Button, USB-C, and this Natural Titanium look that I personally find gorgeous. Not too bad for "incremental changes" ;-)
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jamdex Avatar
27 weeks ago

We've reached peak iPhone. Incremental changes from here on out.
Its been like that for years
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrSkoTA Avatar
27 weeks ago
I wish a new company would come along to do this stuff (teardowns) and leave out all of their opinion and politics. I don’t like when Apple injects their politics or when anyone else does. Just give me the tech facts!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dolmio Avatar
27 weeks ago

anyone notice a difference with the X70? ill be getting a 15 soon but I have a 13 pro max now and am just hoping for better cellular connection. reception in my town sucks but I see some other android people getting better signal than i
I had a 12 pro max with the x55 and now the 15 pro max with the x70 and there is noticeably much better reception and also download speed . I appreciate you had the x60 so can’t comment on that but between the x55 and x70 there is a significant difference
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jarman92 Avatar
27 weeks ago
What is going on at iFixit? They used to release detailed, text-based iPhone teardown with high-res images on release day every year. Now, they take 4 days to release a perfunctory video with brief flashes of the actual device and far too much "clever" commentary from that bald guy.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sammy in SoCal Avatar
27 weeks ago

Go outside. Leave your phone in your house or in a bag. Live life. These devices seem to be ruling too many of you still. Excitement should have evaporated by now. You don't need to buy the newest device anymore. One day you'll look back and you won't even remember what number iPhone you had when you missed out on something great.
Where would we be without your wisdom?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
General Apps Messages

Google Reveals When to Expect RCS Support on iPhone for Improved Texting With Android Users

Friday March 29, 2024 7:14 am PDT by
In November, Apple announced that the iPhone would support the cross-platform messaging standard RCS (Rich Communication Services) in the Messages app starting "later" in 2024, and Google has now revealed a more narrow timeframe. In a since-deleted section of the revamped Google Messages web page, spotted by 9to5Google, Google said that Apple would be adopting RCS on the iPhone in the "fall...
airtag new orange

Criminals in Montreal Using AirTags to Steal Vehicles

Friday March 29, 2024 12:50 pm PDT by
Thieves in Montreal, Canada have been using Apple's AirTags to facilitate vehicle theft, according to a report from Vermont news sites WCAX and NBC5 (via 9to5Mac). Police officers in Burlington, Vermont have issued a warning about AirTags for drivers who recently visited Canada. Two Burlington residents found Apple AirTags in their vehicles after returning from trips to Montreal, and these...
top stories 30mar2024

Top Stories: WWDC 2024 Announced, New iPads Delayed, and More

Saturday March 30, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's WWDC 2024 dates have been announced, giving us timing for the unveiling of the company's next round of major operating system updates and likely some other announcements. This week also saw some disappointing news on the iPad front, with update timing for the iPad Pro and iPad Air pushed back from previous rumors. We did hear some new tidbits about what might be coming in iOS 18 and...
iphone 16 cases sonny dickson 1

First iPhone 16 Cases Outline New Rear Vertical Camera Bump

Friday March 29, 2024 4:09 am PDT by
Photos of the first iPhone 16 cases have been shared online, offering another preview of the rumored new vertical rear camera arrangement on the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. Image credit: Accessory leaker Sonny Dickson Over the last few months, Apple has been experimenting with different camera bump designs for the standard iPhone 16 models, all of which have featured a vertical ...
Apple iPhone 15 Pro spatial video capture lifestyle

$3 App Shoots Better Quality Spatial Video Than iPhone's Camera App

Friday March 29, 2024 4:48 am PDT by
A $3 third-party app can now record spatial video on iPhone 15 Pro models in a higher resolution than Apple's very own Camera app. Thanks to an update first spotted by UploadVR, Spatialify can now record spatial videos with HDR in 1080p at 60fps or in 4K at 30fps. In comparison, Apple's native Camera app is limited to recording spatial video in 1080p at 30fps. Shortly after Apple's Vision ...