iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Motorola Razr Fold

iPhone 15 Pro Max

48MP main + 12MP ultrawide + 12MP 5x Tetraprism periscope telephoto (Pro Max exclusive) + 12MP TrueDepth selfie. The 5x periscope is the headline upgrade — first iPhone past 3x optical, with computational zoom up to 25x.

• Cameras: 48MP main (f/1.78, sensor-shift OIS), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2, 13mm), 12MP 5x Tetraprism periscope telephoto (120mm, f/2.8), 12MP TrueDepth selfie.
• 5x Tetraprism is Pro Max EXCLUSIVE — the smaller iPhone 15 Pro is capped at 3x telephoto, the first time Apple meaningfully gated a camera feature by size.
• Computational zoom extends usable range to 10x and 25x — beyond that, optical clarity degrades, but the 5x base is a meaningful step up from 3x.
• vs Samsung S23 Ultra's 10x periscope — Samsung still wins at maximum reach; iPhone wins on natural color, video stabilization and ecosystem.
• Pro photo modes: ProRAW capture, ProRes video at 4K60 to external storage via USB-C 3.0 — content-creator-grade workflow finally on iPhone.
• Front-facing camera improvements help selfies and video calls — best for content creators per WIRED.

Motorola Razr Fold

Historically the foldable Achilles heel — but Motorola invested in hardware and software here, and DxOMark ranks it the best camera in any foldable.

• DxOMark rates the Razr Fold the #1 camera among foldables — roughly 8th overall across all phones — with a Gold Label.
• A 50MP main (f/1.6, OIS), a 50MP ultrawide (12mm, 122° FOV, f/2.0) and a third 50MP camera — all selfies can use the best 50MP main.
• This is without question the best Motorola camera I've ever used.
• Comes up just short of modern flagships like the iPhone 17 Pro, Find X9 Pro and Xiaomi 17 Ultra, with a DxOMark score of 164 points.
• Took it for a street-photography spin and came away genuinely impressed — the camera hardware was what caught attention.

iPhone 15 Pro Max

First-ever 3nm A17 Pro chip with hardware ray tracing, 8GB RAM and NVMe storage — the fastest mobile silicon at launch. Launch overheating issues plagued early units but iOS 17.0.3 mitigated. Future-proofs the phone for Apple Intelligence on iOS 18+.

• A17 Pro is Apple's first 3nm chip, with 8GB RAM and NVMe storage — fastest mobile silicon at launch, hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
• Launch overheating: A17 Pro ran hot during gaming and 4K recording in the first weeks — iOS 17.0.3 update mitigated but didn't fully eliminate.
• Console-grade games (Resident Evil 4, Assassin's Creed Mirage, Death Stranding) now run natively on the A17 Pro — first phone to support them.
• Apple Intelligence compatibility — A17 Pro is the minimum chip required for iOS 18.1 Apple Intelligence; future-proofs the phone for 2024+ AI features.
• In 2025, A17 Pro 'is an absolute beast' and 'handles everything you throw at it' — performance has aged extremely well.

Motorola Razr Fold

Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 with 16GB RAM — fast for everyday use and surprisingly good in long sessions, but the choice of the non-Elite chip in a $1,899 phone is the headline criticism.

• Motorola stuck Qualcomm's excellent Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (16GB RAM, 512GB) inside its first full-fold flagship.
• With a phone this expensive it is a bit disappointing Motorola couldn't go all the way with the Elite chip.
• In a 20-minute stress test the Z Fold 7's 8 Elite was ~10% better on the first loop, but the Razr Fold ran better through the 20 minutes and ended ~20% ahead on sustained performance with similar thermals.
• Recording 4K120 for a long time makes the Snapdragon CPU run quite hot, though it cools down fairly fast.
• The non-Elite chip, 243g weight and IP49 dust rating could be causes for concern, even if the experience is smooth.

iPhone 15 Pro Max

$1,199 starting (256GB base) — the most-expensive baseline iPhone yet. In 2026 it's the smart-buy Apple pick at $700-900 used with 6+ years of updates left. Versus the S23 Ultra: closer than ever on cameras + zoom, still loses on raw zoom range.

• Launched at $1,199 with 256GB base storage (vs $1,099/128GB on the 14 Pro Max) — meaningful real-cost increase even with the storage doubling.
• Best smartphone deal in 2025: at $700-900 used the iPhone 15 Pro Max delivers titanium + USB-C 3.0 + 5x periscope + A17 Pro + 6 more years of updates.
• Phone Arena: 'the best phone I've ever owned to date' — long-term verdict after months of use.
• vs Galaxy S23 Ultra ($1,199): Apple wins on natural color/video/USB-C 3.0/longevity; Samsung wins on 10x periscope and S Pen.
• Best for: existing Apple users on iPhone 12/13 wanting USB-C + titanium + 5x zoom; long-time Pro Max users get meaningful gains too.

Motorola Razr Fold

At $1,899 it undercuts the Z Fold 7 and is the only premium book foldable many US buyers can actually purchase — value hinges on whether the non-Elite chip and update questions matter to you.

• At $1,899.99 / £1,799.99 it undercuts the Galaxy Z Fold 7 by about $100/£100, and the pre-order Moto Pen Ultra bundle adds real value — the sum of its parts is the best foldable on the market.
• If you're tired of Samsung-only or have no interest in the Pixel Fold, this may be the best folding phone you can get in the US right now — the Oppo Find N6 and Honor Magic V6 aren't available there.
• It could be called a disappointment, especially compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Honor Magic V5 — it should have offered something more compelling to stand out.
• If Motorola drops the price by even two or three hundred dollars within the first few weeks, this phone suddenly becomes a much stronger contender.
• It competes fairly well with the Oppo Find N6, which is amazing to see.