T minus 5! We are just a few days away from the Apple Wonderlust event and here’s what we know about the latest iPhone
iPhone 15 is finally landing with us in just a couple of days.
As I write, we know that at some secure units somewhere in the world, the physical items will already be sitting there ready to ship. With the event being on the 12th September, we are expecting the phone to land with us just over a week later on the 22nd September, with the release of iOS 17 having happened in the intervening week.
Realistically, the speculation is kind of over now and we pretty much know what we should be expecting come next Tuesday.
Here I’ll wrap it all up for you in one short story – just to whet your ‘Appletite’!
The cameras – iPhone 15 & 15 Plus
Without a doubt, this is always the hot topic and the headline stealer when any new flagship phone gets released and in particular a new iPhone.
The model lineup for the iPhone 15 is as per the year before so we’ll have four models to choose from the 15 and 15 Plus and then the 15 Pro and Pro Max. Although there had been rumours of the name changing for the largest model to Ultra it looks as if that’s been put on the side burner now for a while.
This year more than any other, there is a very definite line between the pro and non-pro phones, and those differences start with the camera.
The iPhone 15 & 15 Plus get an all-new 48-megapixel Sony sensor. That represents a huge jump up from the 12-megapixel image sensor found on this year’s phone. The camera will have an ƒ1.6 aperture which should give decent natural depth of field to your shots.
This new sensor should help to deliver higher quality, better, more detailed images and improved low-light capabilities. Apple had been toying with the idea of using a ‘stacked’ camera system in the 15 and 15 Plus but there is no definitive proof whether that unit made it to the final production phones or not.
The ultra-wide camera will be exactly as per the current model – so a 12-megapixel camera with an ƒ2.4 aperture.
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Cameras – iPhone 15 Pro & Pro Max
The 15 Pro will still have a three-camera set-up –
- Main Camera – 48-megapixel/ƒ1.78 aperture
- Telephoto – 12.7-megapixel/ƒ2.8 aperture
- Ultra Wide – 13.4-megapixel/ƒ2.2 aperture
Although the main camera is more or less unchanged from the current phones, both the telephoto and ultra-wide have been given sensor improvements. Although the two entry-level phones will have minor but meaningful overall camera upgrades the two upper-end phones get some serious changes. Their camera lineup looks like this –
- Main Camera – 48-megapixel/ƒ1.78 aperture
- Telephoto – 12.7-megapixel/ƒ2.8 aperture and a periscope lens
- Ultra Wide – 13.4-megapixel/ƒ2.2 aperture
Firstly, both main cameras get a new Sony IMX-803 sensor. Months back there were pictures of Tim Cook inspecting units at Sony – now we know what he was checking out.
The big difference between the Pro and Pro Max though will be that the iPhone 15 Pro Max gets a periscope telephoto lens system. Currently, the iPhone 14 Pro Max tops out at 3x zoom, but this new periscope lens will mean that this year’s 15 Pro Max will get a 5x, 6x or possibly even a 10x zoom.
Although it seems on the surface that Apple is penalising buyers of the 15 Pro by not including the periscope lens in that model, in their defence, it could simply be down to space – the module itself is bloody big!
Next year there are rumours that the two Pro models could be larger – 6.3 inches & 6.9 inches which would hopefully give enough space for both Pro models to have the periscope lens.
Other details
Outside of the camera, the biggest change of all will be that the lightning port will be replaced by USB-C – with both iPhone 15 Pro models getting thunderbolt speeds of 40Gbps.
Those pro models will also be getting a weight-saving titanium frame and the latest 3-nanometer A17 Bionic chip too while the 15 & 15 Plus will get the chip from last year’s phones.
Ram is improved from 6GB to 8GB to help with multitasking and the phones will have appreciably slimmer bezels. iPhone 15 also gets a new button – an Action button which will replace the simple mute switch we currently have. We’re expecting that you’ll be able to choose between nine functions –
- Accessibility
- Shortcuts
- Silent Mode
- Camera
- Torch
- Focus modes
- Magnifier
- Translate
- Voice memos
iPhone 15 will be produced SIM card-free for countries that support it and will also have a Wi-Fi 6E router. In preparation for Vision Pro, there will be upgrades to the U1 Ultra Wideband chip. Inside there will be a Qualcomm X70 modem and Qi2 wireless support as well.
Carrying on from the iPhone 14 models, the design will continue to be more repairable with the back glass now being even easier to replace & repair.
The new colour options will be Titan Grey, Blue, Silver and Space Black
The cost
iPhone 15 & 15 Plus should remain unchanged with starting prices of $799 and $899.
But, even though global smartphone sales are down, a $100 price hike is widely anticipated for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max meaning prices will start at $1099 & $1199.
So – with all those improvements will you be at the front of the queue on Friday 22nd September? What features most excite you?
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