iPhone 15 Pro gets direct record to external storage, but iPhone 15 has Lightning speeds

AppleInsider

The iPhone 15 Pro got the unexpected bonus of allowing direct recording to an external drive -- but at the same time, the regular iPhone 15 isn't getting any speed benefit from the switch to USB-C.

Filmmakers can record to external storage, but only from the iPhone 15 Pro models

Apple made it sound as if moving from its Lightning charging port to a USB-C one was a great benefit, and it is, but only to buyers of the iPhone 15 Pro. For the regular iPhone 15, there's no speed benefit to the change.

There is convenience, though, as now it means the iPhone joins Apple's existing USB-C devices, such as the iPad Pro. Depending on what devices a user already has, it can mean fewer cables to carry around.

However, the real benefit to the move to USB-C comes with the iPhone 15 Pro, and it comes in one way that was expected -- and one that was not.

The expected difference is that the iPhone 15 Pro has USB 3.1 speed, which means it can transfer data at up to 10 gigabits per second -- about 20 times faster than the iPhone 15 or Lightning speed.

What was unexpected, and will be embraced by the iPhone filmmaking community, is that the new USB-C connector allows for direct recording of video to an external drive.

That definitely means that an iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max user who is shooting video, can do so without worrying about running out of space during a shot. The iPhone can remain set up, ready to shoot, while a second or subsequent drive is attached.

"iPhone 15 Pro will enable great workflows for photographers and filmmakers that previously weren't possible," said Greg Joswiak, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing. "iPhone 15 Pro also supports recording Pro Res video directly to an external storage drive. video productions can quickly swap drives and keep iPhone as the main camera on set."

"It's recording to an external drive enables even higher quality recording options," he continued, "pushing Pro Res 4k up to 60 frames per second for the first time."

Apple suggests that the speed of this recording will be no different to that of using the iPhone's built-in storage. If that proves to be true, it could in theory mean that filmmakers have less need of the larger-capacity versions of the iPhone 15 Pro.

Read on AppleInsider

damien81

Well, shoot. This changes things. I was dead set on the 15 in Blue, but now I'm wondering if it might be better to go Pro again this year. One of the biggest drawbacks to my 12 Pro Max was trying to use it for YouTube and Instagram videos, and suffering through the insanely slow transfer speeds and constant transfer failures. Glad I checked AI first...you've given me some food for thought. 

tmay

damien81 said:

Well, shoot. This changes things. I was dead set on the 15 in Blue, but now I'm wondering if it might be better to go Pro again this year. One of the biggest drawbacks to my 12 Pro Max was trying to use it for YouTube and Instagram videos, and suffering through the insanely slow transfer speeds and constant transfer failures. Glad I checked AI first...you've given me some food for thought. 

People who shoot a lot of 4K videos and then transfer them, are wearing the storage down at a faster rate, so if I was in their shoes, I'd prefer to shoot with an external storage solution when possible.

You probably could save some money by buying an iPhone 15 Pro Max with lesser storage and an external storage solution. YMMV

melgross

I was hoping for external drive support for shooting. Somehow I had a feeling we were going to get it. I wonder what else we will be able to use it for? Apple never has the time to tell us everything. But for Pro Rez video, this is a big thing.

d_2

I am wondering… with this external 4K video recording capability (much larger files being possible), the extended 120mm focal length of the 15 Pro Max, and the overall potential high quality due to the HP within…  can this iPhone capture extended length 4K60fps videos at a distance in extreme high quality for sporting events?

$2000-3000+ Sony or Canon mirrorless cameras and accompanying lenses have been the preferred method for those of us with decent but not unlimited budgets, but video
length and camera shutdowns due to overheating have been problematic for many.

MplsP

 Not sure what the actual cost to Apple would have been to include the higher speed USB C chip in the 15 but this isn't in any way surprising; they need to have some features on the pro model to differentiate it and for those who need the capability it's likely worth the extra cost.

entropys

tmay said:

damien81 said:

Well, shoot. This changes things. I was dead set on the 15 in Blue, but now I'm wondering if it might be better to go Pro again this year. One of the biggest drawbacks to my 12 Pro Max was trying to use it for YouTube and Instagram videos, and suffering through the insanely slow transfer speeds and constant transfer failures. Glad I checked AI first...you've given me some food for thought. 

People who shoot a lot of 4K videos and then transfer them, are wearing the storage down at a faster rate, so if I was in their shoes, I'd prefer to shoot with an external storage solution when possible.

You probably could save some money by buying an iPhone 15 Pro Max with lesser storage and an external storage solution. YMMV

Is a great function add and probably the only reason I would get this for Mrs Entropys instead of the 15 plus. But I note the base max is 256GB, no 128GB available. Helps keep the margins up, eh Tim Apple! 

meanwhile for me scurries around trying to find a 13 mini.

entropys

Interesting, the main lens on the 15 pro max has an aperture of f/1.78 and the 15 plus f/1.6.

JinTech

Who will ever use this feature? No one shoots movies with the iPhone! Everyone is shooting with the RED V-RAPTOR XL 8K VV! /s

This is great news for filmmakers who enjoy shooting with this camera, and will be a game-changer for them!

melgross

entropys said:

tmay said:

damien81 said:

Well, shoot. This changes things. I was dead set on the 15 in Blue, but now I'm wondering if it might be better to go Pro again this year. One of the biggest drawbacks to my 12 Pro Max was trying to use it for YouTube and Instagram videos, and suffering through the insanely slow transfer speeds and constant transfer failures. Glad I checked AI first...you've given me some food for thought. 

People who shoot a lot of 4K videos and then transfer them, are wearing the storage down at a faster rate, so if I was in their shoes, I'd prefer to shoot with an external storage solution when possible.

You probably could save some money by buying an iPhone 15 Pro Max with lesser storage and an external storage solution. YMMV

Is a great function add and probably the only reason I would get this for Mrs Entropys instead of the 15 plus. But I note the base max is 256GB, no 128GB available. Helps keep the margins up, eh Tim Apple! 

meanwhile for me scurries around trying to find a 13 mini.

I don’t know about the margins. How much more does 256 cost Apple? How much more is the new 48MP sensor? What about the new 5x lens and 3D OIS? It’s not as though they don’t add to the price. It seems reasonable to me to give all that for $100 more than the older 128 model.

melgross

entropys said:

Interesting, the main lens on the 15 pro max has an aperture of f/1.78 and the 15 plus f/1.6.

It’s likely because the Pro sensor is now somewhat larger.

spheric

Note that USB2 speeds are NOT a limitation of Lightning. 

The 12.9” and 10.5” iPads Pro achieve USB3 transfer speeds with Apple’s Lightning-USB adapter. 

tht

Something folks should be mindful of that iPhone and iPad storage don't have as much read/write bandwidth as Mac storage. I wouldn't be surprised if the write performance to an SSD through USB3 to an iPhone 15 Pro is faster than writing to the internal iPhone 15 Pro NAND storage.

melgross

tht said:

Something folks should be mindful of that iPhone and iPad storage don't have as much read/write bandwidth as Mac storage. I wouldn't be surprised if the write performance to an SSD through USB3 to an iPhone 15 Pro is faster than writing to the internal iPhone 15 Pro NAND storage.

That would be interesting, if true. But in reviews and past deep dives in Anandtech, something we won’t be seeing again there I suppose as the people who did that left the site over a year ago, showed that Apple’s mobile internal storage was much faster than that of rivals.

spheric

melgross said:

tht said:

Something folks should be mindful of that iPhone and iPad storage don't have as much read/write bandwidth as Mac storage. I wouldn't be surprised if the write performance to an SSD through USB3 to an iPhone 15 Pro is faster than writing to the internal iPhone 15 Pro NAND storage.

That would be interesting, if true. But in reviews and past deep dives in Anandtech, something we won’t be seeing again there I suppose as the people who did that left the site over a year ago, showed that Apple’s mobile internal storage was much faster than that of rivals.

Anand Lal Shimpi now works for Apple, AFAIK. The site never regained the credibility and utter thoroughness after he left. 

muthuk_vanalingam

spheric said:

melgross said:

tht said:

Something folks should be mindful of that iPhone and iPad storage don't have as much read/write bandwidth as Mac storage. I wouldn't be surprised if the write performance to an SSD through USB3 to an iPhone 15 Pro is faster than writing to the internal iPhone 15 Pro NAND storage.

That would be interesting, if true. But in reviews and past deep dives in Anandtech, something we won’t be seeing again there I suppose as the people who did that left the site over a year ago, showed that Apple’s mobile internal storage was much faster than that of rivals.

Anand Lal Shimpi now works for Apple, AFAIK. The site never regained the credibility and utter thoroughness after he left. 

Andrei was the one who did deep dives on phones after Anand left (may be while Anand was there as well). Even Andrei left AnandTech last year, which is what @melgross is talking about. I don't think AnandTech lost credibility when Andrei was doing deep dives of phones with them. He was doing a fantastic job until he was there.

marc g

spheric said:

Note that USB2 speeds are NOT a limitation of Lightning. 

The 12.9” and 10.5” iPads Pro achieve USB3 transfer speeds with Apple’s Lightning-USB adapter. 

Actually the iPad pros starting (I think) with M1 or possibly 1 generation older use thunderbolt 4 not usb 3 and it’s 11 inch and 12.9 inch sizes. 

melgross

spheric said:

melgross said:

tht said:

Something folks should be mindful of that iPhone and iPad storage don't have as much read/write bandwidth as Mac storage. I wouldn't be surprised if the write performance to an SSD through USB3 to an iPhone 15 Pro is faster than writing to the internal iPhone 15 Pro NAND storage.

That would be interesting, if true. But in reviews and past deep dives in Anandtech, something we won’t be seeing again there I suppose as the people who did that left the site over a year ago, showed that Apple’s mobile internal storage was much faster than that of rivals.

Anand Lal Shimpi now works for Apple, AFAIK. The site never regained the credibility and utter thoroughness after he left. 

It was good until the guys who did the sophisticated testing of devices and chips, left. I never delved into why, but their loss has been devastating for the site. Now, they do meh tests of nothing of importance to most people, and even their AMD and Intel chip testing aren’t great. It’s a shame. I really used to look forwards, every year, to their testing of Apple’s devices and chips.