What to Know
- The four new iPhone 15 models will be released in September 2023.
- The iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to be up to $200 more expensive than the iPhone 14 Pros.
- It is predicted that all iPhone 15s will have USB-C charging ports instead of Lightning.
It's almost that time of the year again when Apple announces its brand-new lineup of iPhones! This September, we can expect the release of the iPhone 15. It is rumored to be one of the most significant iPhone transformations yet! Between the leaks, whispers, and past experiences, here's everything we know about the new iPhone 15 line.
iPhone 15 Release Date & Pricing Rumors
It isn't a secret that a new iPhone is released every fall, and they are usually announced in the middle of September. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claims that the event will be held on September 12 at 10 a.m. PT, with the new iPhone 15 going on sale around September 22. Jeff Pu, another prominent Apple analyst, agrees with Gurman that due to the many hardware upgrades to the new iPhone that I’ll cover below, the iPhone 15 Pro models will be $100-200 more expensive than the current iPhone 14 Pro models. They believe that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will be similarly priced to their iPhone 14 counterparts.
Goodbye to the Pro Max, Hello to Ultra?
According to What Hi-Fi, the new iPhone 15 Pro Max will be rebranded as the iPhone 15 Ultra to match the Apple Watch Ultra. Similar to the difference between Apple Watch 8 and Apple Watch Ultra, it seems that Apple is creating a bigger distinction between the iPhone 15 Ultra and the other models. These include titanium frames with thinner bezels, solid-state buttons with haptic feedback, a new A17 Bionic chip, more RAM, and a periscope lens. All prominent Apple analysts and leakers, including Gurman and Pu, have shared these core upgrade predictions.
No More Notch: Dynamic Islands All-Around
Various sources, including MacRumors, seem pretty sure that all four iPhone 15 models will have the Dynamic Island that was introduced to the iPhone 14 Pro models in the fall of 2022. The Dynamic Island houses the front camera but integrates into the software to make it functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. For more iPhone articles and tips, be sure to sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.
Camera Upgrades—iPhone’s Best Camera Yet
Last fall, the iPhone 14 Pro models shocked Apple fans with a 48-megapixel camera. This year, analysts including Ming-Chi Kuo and Jeff Pu believe that all models will have this 48-megapixel lens. In addition to better lenses for all models, the iPhone 15 Pro Max (or Ultra) model is expected to have a new periscope lens. This lens has been rumored for several years and would make it possible to achieve 5x-10x optical zoom. This is a big upgrade to the current 3x optical zoom on the iPhone 14 Pro models.
USB-C Instead of Lightning
Apple users have anticipated switching from lightning ports to USB-C for years, and it is finally happening—we think. Every iPhone 15 rumor mentions the switch to USB-C, and the main reason for this is that the European Union ruled that all mobile phones, tablets, and cameras need to have USB-C charging ports by the end of 2024, so Apple has to comply if they want to stay in business in the 27 countries that comprise the EU.
Even in the USA, USB-C is becoming the standard charging port for most new devices, so if Leaker Unknownz21 and the other analysts are right, you will be able to charge your iPhone 15 with any USB-C charging cable you have lying around at home. If it doesn't happen this year as predicted, then the iPhone 16 will definitely need to switch to USB-C, and they'll be cutting it close to the EU-set deadline.
New Action Button
A less widely-spread rumor is that the iPhone 15s will follow in the footsteps of the Apple Watch Ultra and switch out the mute switch above the volume buttons for a brand-new action button. Steve Moser, an iOS developer at MacRumors, discovered iOS 17 code that suggests a button that can be customized similarly to the Apple Watch Ultra’s Action button. Moser theorizes that this button could be used to enable a Focus mode, open the Camera app, turn on the flashlight, or activate another feature.
New (& Old) Qualcomm Chips
Although Apple is switching to in-house processing chips on all devices, Gurman doesn't believe that the iPhone 15 will have one just yet. He predicts a faster A17 chip in the Pro models, while the standard models are expected to have the A16 chips that are in the iPhone 14 Pro line. We do hope to see new Apple-made chips in the iPhone in upcoming years, although the transition may take time, especially due to the popularity of the iPhone requiring millions of chips to be produced to satisfy demand.
Size & Storage: Is Bigger Always Better?
Most rumors suggest we won't see a change in iPhone size. That means that we are expecting the same 6.1-inch iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro Max (or Ultra, as the case may be). Unfortunately for iPhone mini lovers, we don't think we'll see a smaller version of the iPhone 15 and instead have another iPhone 15 Plus. Two reasons for this are that smaller-sized iPhones were less popular, and they sacrificed battery life for size.
Although this rumor is not the most reliable, as it is only mentioned on a Chinese site called MyDrivers, it is possible that Apple will offer a 2TB storage option on the iPhone 15 Pro & Ultra. Although this rumor doesn’t have a lot of merit, I would love to see the option of having even more storage available because I go through storage fast, especially when I take RAW photos and 4K ProRes videos.
Do these rumors make you excited about the iPhone 15, or are you expecting a bigger change? While there are also some fun rumors regarding colors, like 9to5Mac's Barbie and Ken-esque pink and blue, we will unfortunately not be sure about anything until Apple officially announces and releases these new iPhones this fall. Next, read about our other predictions for the upcoming announcement!
