Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max: problems, parts and running costs

Checked: 2026-10-16

Summary

The recurring problems are heat and battery health, not breakage: at launch in September 2023 owners reported the phone getting too hot to hold while charging, gaming or on video calls, Apple attributed it in part to an iOS 17 bug, and while later coverage says it was largely stamped out, owner reports from 2025 and 2026 still describe overheating and battery-health drops, with 89% health after one year and after three years. Durability tested excellent in Consumer Reports’ lab — 100 drops and 110 lbs of bending pressure — so the real running costs are the charger and USB 3 cable missing from the box, a battery replacement reported at $99 at Apple once the pack fades, and a $199 back-glass repair. It is a strong buy at $650 or less, fair up to about $1,000, and hard to recommend at its $1,199 launch price when newer Pro Max generations exist with better thermals.

Common problems and fixes

Overheating — at launch, owners across Apple forums, Reddit and X described the phone as too hot to hold while charging, gaming or on video calls; Apple attributed it in part to an iOS 17 bug, and the WSJ measured up to 112 degrees F when charging during processor-intensive tasks [8]. Later coverage said the issue was largely stamped out [14], but 2025 Apple Community threads still report overheating and battery drain on iOS 18, one user at 90% health after 309 cycles [9], and a 2026 owner lists heating as the only gripe [11]. Keeping the current iOS version installed is the only mitigation the research names; warranty coverage for heat was not specified. [8][9][11][14]
Battery health degrades faster than expected — owners report 89% health after one year [10] and 89% after three years with 3 to 4 hours of screen-on time [11], against Apple’s revised claim of 80% capacity at 1,000 complete charge cycles [12]. Replacement at Apple is reported by an owner at $99 [11]; there is no user-replaceable option. [10][11][12]
eSIM-only in the US — there is no physical SIM tray, which matters for frequent carrier switching and for travel with local SIMs [1]. Nothing to fix; it is a design fact of the US models.
Action button triggers one action at a time — CNET lists it as a con; no workaround was reported [5].
Durability fears from viral crack videos — 2023 videos claimed the phone cracked easily, but Consumer Reports’ lab testing survived 100 drops in a stone-lined tumbler, rain and water-intrusion tests and 110 lbs of bending pressure, and found no unusual fragility [6][7]. Treat the crack videos as contradicted by the lab results; a case is the only prevention the research names. [6][7]

Parts and consumables

Built-in battery — not user-replaceable; replacement at Apple is reported by an owner at $99, 2026 [11]. Owners report 89% health after one year and after three years [10][11], so budget it as a mid-ownership service rather than an annual cost. [10][11]
Back glass — out-of-warranty repair is $199 for the Pro Max, down from $549 on the 14 Pro Max [5][6]. A case is the only prevention the research names. [5][6]

Yearly running cost

Not enough data for a yearly figure. There are no consumables and no pods or filters; the known costs are one-time or episodic. The box has no adapter and no USB 3 cable, so the missing 20W-plus adapter and 10Gb/s cable are a first-ownership expense with no prices published in the research. The episodic bills are a $99 battery replacement at Apple once health fades and a $199 back-glass repair if the phone is dropped without a case. No electricity figure was published, and AppleCare+ pricing was not verified in this research. [1][5][6][11][15][16]

When it is a good buy

Launch MSRP in September 2023 was $1,199 for the 256GB model [2]. In the October 2026 research, several stores had the phone well under that: Walmart carrier-unlocked at $605.29, GameStop at $659.99, HSN pre-owned at $899.99, and PCMag listed verified refurbished units from $857 [13][4]; Verizon listed it at $1,199.99 and Visible had the 512GB at $1,399 [13]. At $650 or below the research calls it strong value for a premium 2023 flagship with class-leading battery, 5x zoom and multi-year software support, accepting the heat and battery-health caveats. Between $651 and $850 it is good value on the used and refurbished market. Between $851 and $1,000 it is fair, only if the 5x zoom and titanium build are specifically wanted. From $1,001 to $1,199 it is weak for a new-in-box unit at or near the original MSRP, and above $1,199 it is poor value for this model specifically. [4][11][13]

iPhone 18 Pro Max or a newer Pro Max generation — the better buy when heat management and battery longevity are the deciding factors; a 2026 owner comparison points at newer Pro Max models on exactly those grounds [11].
iPhone 15 Pro — the better buy when the 5x zoom and the largest screen are not needed; the Pro keeps the Pro build in a 6.1-inch body with a 3x telephoto instead [1][17].