Apple’s ‘Wanderlust’ event on 12 September is just around the corner, and it’s no secret that it’s going to feature the new iPhones. In fact, very little is a secret anymore when it comes to smartphones, iPhone or otherwise, so we already have a good idea of what Apple has in store.
Expect four new iPhones – the vanilla iPhone 15 and 15 Plus (here’s what you can expect from them) and the two Pros – the smaller iPhone 15 Pro and the Pro Max.
The Pros are usually equally powerful, but different in size. This year, however, the Pro Max is undoubtedly the more advanced phone, thanks to its periscope zoom lens.
Here is our breakdown of what you can expect from Apple’s top-of-the-range phones.
USB-C
You can thank the European Union, but Apple is finally getting with the times and adding the universal USB-C port to the iPhone.
It makes sense – most devices now use USB-C ports, even Apple’s own MacBooks and iPad Pros. At this point, even iPhone owners probably have more USB-C cables lying around than Lightning ones.
However, the iPhone 15 Pros could get access to faster USB speeds than the vanilla models. Rumours suggest that the 15 Pro and Pro Max could get USB 3.2 speeds and possibly even Thunderbolt support.
This would mean that the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will have USB 2.0 speeds topping out at 480Mbps, while the Pros will have USB 3.2’s 20Gbps or even possibly Thunderbolt’s 40Gbps.
New titanium frames
The Pro iPhones will use a new titanium alloy for their chassis, instead of the stainless steel they’ve been using. Titanium has some advantages over stainless steel – it’s much stronger and, crucially, much lighter. But steel is harder to scratch.
The new titanium-clad iPhone Pro models could have a brushed metal finish instead of the mirrored finish of the current Pros.
Expect a new dark blue colour as well as a lighter silver grey, space black and natural titanium. It’s possible we won’t see a gold model this year.
Thinner bezels
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will keep their 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays respectively, but the screen could be brighter, have more efficient LTPO controllers and thinner bezels.
Rumour has it that the bezels will shrink from 2.17mm to 1.55mm, which would make the iPhone 15 Pros the thinnest phones around.
A17 chip, 8GB RAM?
While the vanilla iPhone 15 models will use last year’s A16 SoC, the Pros will switch to the revolutionary A17. It’s the first chipset to be built on a 3nm process and will deliver a 10% to 15% boost in processing power and up to 30% better efficiency.
The A17 will have a 6-core processor and a 6-core GPU, one more core than the graphics in the A16 chip. Apple is likely to pair the new chip with 8GB of RAM – up from 6GB in the 14 Pro.
New ultra-wide camera
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are expected to keep the 48MP IMX803 main camera, but get a new 13.4MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera with a superior 7p lens.
The iPhone 15 Pro is expected to retain last year’s 12.7MP f/2.8 3x zoom, but with software tweaks to improve image quality.
A periscope zoom for the Pro Max
The key difference between the two phones will be the new periscope zoom, exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The biggest iPhone is the only one that can accommodate the larger periscope chamber.
It will be a 5x or 6x zoom camera and Apple could go beyond that with a digital zoom, similar to Samsung and others. Some reports suggest that the sensor could measure 1/2.9″ and the lens will be a relatively bright f/2.8.
Due to the size of the zoom, Apple may rearrange some lenses to get the best fit for the components inside.
Price hike, but 256GB as base option
Reports suggest that Apple may increase the price of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max to combat falling sales. Expect a price increase of around $100 per model, and certainly more in markets outside the US.
On the upside, the Pro models could ditch the stingy 128GB base option for 256GB, which would actually mean equivalent prices for equal storage, at least in the US.
iPhone 15 Pro Max could arrive in October
Apple will announce the iPhone 15 series on 12 September, with the models going on pre-order on 15 September and launching in the first wave of countries on 22 September.
However, the iPhone 15 Pro Max could be delayed until October due to supply issues.
That’s about it.
