iPhone 15 – the very latest and some news you didn’t want to hear!
It’s so close now – it’s time to take a look at what we know
It’s confirmed
iPhone 15 season is coming. As much as Apple tries its hardest to keep the new release under lock & key, with such a vast supply chain that’s now almost impossible.
Spoiler alert – if you don’t want the event ruined click away now! I am about to give you all the details about what’s coming in 5 weeks.
Date for your diary
We now have the date for the event narrowed down to one of two – it will be either Tuesday 12th September or Wednesday 13th September with the latter being the more likely and almost certainly it’ll once again be a typically controlled, slick pre-recorded event.
iOS 17 will get a full public release on Monday 18th September with the phone itself going on sale Friday 22nd September.
These dates quash rumours of delays that had been doing the rounds recently. The stories of delays were based on Apple’s display suppliers not being able to overcome manufacturing issues for the thinner bezels on the iPhone 15 Pro & Pro Max. The stories suggested that there may have to be a staggered release – the two base models going on sale first, with the Pro & Pro Max following later.
Admittedly there were some issues with this new screen technology, but that was very early on in mass production evaluation which Apple overcame. Ross Young has also confirmed on Twitter that there would be no delays with this year’s iPhone releases.
The bad news
There is some good news coming, and I’ll get to that in a bit, but first, the bit you don’t want to hear – how much iPhone 15 will cost you this year. Sit tight…
These prices are U.S. based. I know prices vary around the world, but using the U.S. as a benchmark gives us a pretty good baseline of what’s going on. The good news is that the price for the two base models – the iPhone 15 & 15 Plus will remain unchanged at $799 and $899. Now for the painful bit…
After a good few years of holding the prices static for all models, the two pro phones are going to see price increases this year. The iPhone 15 Pro will jump up $100 to $1099 but the Pro Max will jump up by a whopping $200! That means the 15 Pro Max will cost…$1299! That’s laptop country and a heck of a lot to lay out on a phone.
By way of easing the pain a little, at least, Apple will now offer the 15 Pros with a base storage of 256GB. The fact that Pro phones are still on sale with only 128GB is a crime, so this is long overdue. There is a chance that the Pro iPhones could come with a 2TB storage option for the first time too – but I shudder to think how much that model would cost. Could that be the first $2000 iPhone?
Battery news
iPhone 15 will be getting a big battery boost this year – thanks to some new technology.
We’ve been hearing insane rumours of between 10%-15% longer battery life and now we know how that could be achievable. On Twitter, RGcloudS has spilt the beans that iPhones will now be using a stacked battery technology which will give far greater energy density and improved heat management as well which will also add to battery longevity & health.
Charging speeds are going to be quicker as well. iPhone 15 will charge at 40W wired or 20W via MagSafe which if true means the charging speeds are almost doubling in some instances. This year’s iPhone has not had a good year when it comes to the battery so let’s hope these stories are true and we don’t have to end up waiting another year for these battery improvements.
That new stacked battery tech alongside the ever so powerful & highly efficient A17 Bionic chip that will be in the Pro iPhones should see battery life lasting way longer on these new iPhones.
Action stations
We now know the Action Button is coming – because Apple has told us themselves!
The latest iOS 17 beta released to developers only days ago has details within it telling us exactly what the Action Button will be used for!
In its most basic config, you’ll still be able to use it as a silence or mute button, but there are also 8 other very specific modes you’ll be able to map it for as well;
- Accessibility
- Camera
- Flashlight
- Focus
- Magnifier
- Shortcuts
- Translate
- Voice Memos
That last one is particularly interesting as you’ll be able to record or translate voice memos just via the Action Button.
Colours
As I said earlier, this late in the dance, we are pretty certain of most specs coming to iPhone – but the new colour has still got us guessing.
A couple of months back we heard this year’s special new colour would be a deep red, but now stories are surfacing saying it could be a steel or grey/blue colour instead. I’m not so sure though…
Given that we’ve had blues or variations of blues used by Apple over the past few years, I hope we get a red – just to add a little spice!
Cameras
The big headline for the cameras this year is the periscope lens that will unlock 5x or even 6x optical zoom for iPhone.
The good news is that it is coming but only if you’ve got $1300 spare! That’s right we now know this fantastic new feature will only be coming to the iPhone 15 Pro Max – the smaller 6.1 inch Pro model won’t be getting it – which is a shame.
To help with letting more light into the cameras across the range the aperture will go from being a ƒ1.79 opening to ƒ1.7 which help with photos taken indoors or in low light conditions. This is all made possible by another new technology – hybrid plastic & glass lenses are coming to iPhone 15.
The 48MP sensor remains unchanged on this year’s pro phones but the sweetener is that same sensor is also coming to the base model iPhones as well – well kind of! Although it is in essence the same sensor it has been slightly cropped on the two entry phones so you won’t be getting as higher resolution as you get on the Pro & Pro Max phones. It’s a shame but it’s a case of ‘you pay & you get’!
My take
iPhone 15 looks like it’s going to get some pretty decent improvements across the range – with those thinner bezels, curved edges replacing the squared-off design of this year’s phone and that improvement to the battery I mentioned.
As much as that new periscope lens on the Pro Max sounds exciting, it will cost you a tidy sum to get your hands on it. Normally the Pro iPhones get all the attention, but you know what, this year I think it’s the two non-Pro phones that sound more enticing.
For starters, there is no price increase expected making them more affordable and better value. But for that money, they will get some new colours, a better sensor, USB-C charging, frosted glass on the reverse, a better battery and Dynamic Island – this year I think the heroes will be the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus.
By: David Lewis