The iPhone 15 has been available for a month now, and a new study by PerfectRec shows that the Pro model is Apple’s worst-reviewed premium phone ever.
A meta-analysis of over 690,000 user-generated reviews finds that early consumer reviews of the iPhone 15 Pro are worse than last year’s iPhone 14 lineup.
Although it might sound alarming, it’s worth noting that 73% of consumers still rated the iPhone 15 Pro five stars, down just a touch from 76% for the iPhone 14 Pro. The peak of iPhone 5-star reviews was for the iPhone 13 Pro with 84%.
Interestingly, while the iPhone 15 Pro models added a titanium frame, the A17 Pro chip, a USB-C port, and several camera improvements, overheating issues may have factored into its poor reception by early adopters, the study suggested.
On the other hand, the base iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models have had a better reception than the iPhone 14 lineup. 76% and 78% of their reviews were of the 5-star variety, respectively. The reason could be that the iPhone 15 models had more obvious upgrades, such as a new design, better cameras, a USB-C port, and the A16 Bionic chip.
While conducting its meta-analysis, PerfectRec decided to re-review the results of previous iPhone 14 satisfaction surveys. According to the new survey, the percentage of customers giving the iPhone 14 Pro Max five stars was unchanged from its earlier study at 80%. On the other hand, the reviews for the base model iPhone 14 have improved since its earlier analysis. 76% of users give the iPhone 14 five stars now, up from 72% five months ago.
“We theorize that there is a bit of a gap between how early adopters view a product and how it is received by more typical consumers. The people who order an iPhone on launch day might have higher expectations and be more easily disappointed than those who purchase later in the year,” concludes the analysis.
