Over at its “Wonderlust” media event, Apple announced the long-awaited iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models, as expected, are both equipped with USB-C ports as opposed to Lightning and will have the Dynamic Island that debuted on the iPhone 14 Pro models last year.
The iPhone 15 has a 6.1-inch display, while the iPhone 15 Plus has a 6.7-inch display. Both devices now feature a frosted rear glass panel with a matte finish and countered edges, an upgraded 48-megapixel main camera lens with a new 2x Telephoto option, the A16 Bionic chip, and a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip with up to three times the range. New color options include Pink, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Black.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus displays offer peak HDR brightness that now reaches up to 1,600 nits, and is up from 1,200 nits on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. Outdoors, peak brightness can reach up to 2,000 nits.
Apple also stated that iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus availability will expand to Macao, Malaysia, Türkiye, Vietnam, and 17 other countries and regions beginning Friday, September 29. Pricing for the iPhone 15 will begin at $799 while the iPhone 15 Plus will begin at $899. The devices will be available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacities.
Where the higher-end models are concerned, the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max offer an array of new features, including a titanium frame, the A17 Pro chip, an Action Button, and more.
The Action button, the first of its kind on an iPhone, replaces the mute switch. With a press and hold, users can toggle between ring and silent, with haptic feedback to indicate a change of state. Users can switch between different actions, allowing them to start recording in voice memos, launch the camera, activate a favorite accessibility, feature, or run a Shortcut.
Apple’s A17 Pro chip represents the first-of-its-kind thanks to a 3-nanometer production process. The A17 Pro boasts a six-core CPU 10 percent faster CPU and 20 percent faster GPU performance. It has a two-times faster 16-core neural engine to accelerate machine learning such as more accurate autocorrect or pulling a subject from an image. It can process up to 35 trillion operations per second.
The A17 Pro also offers a new GPU with an Apple-designed shader architecture, which Apple says is the biggest redesign in the history of Apple GPUs, with a focus on performance and efficiency, running complex applications, and new rendering features. The chip offers hardware-accelerated ray tracing and new Mesh shading capabilities. Console games like Resident Evil 4 can now be played on the iPhone.
Other new features on the iPhone 15 Pro include an improved camera system. The main camera has a larger sensor, a new coating to reduce lens flare, better low light performance for Portraits and Night mode, a range of focal lengths, a new 24MP super-high-resolution default mode, and more. The iPhone 15 Pro Max’s telephoto camera now offers 5x optical zoom at 180mm focal length with a 25 percent larger sensor. This is combined with optical image stabilization and an autofocus 3D sensor-shift module, t. The Ultrawide camera has a new anti-reflective coating, as well as improved Night mode and Smart HDR.
The iPhone 15 Pro models also offer a USB-C port for charging and data transfer and can support up to 10Gbps transfer speeds with a USB 3 cable. The camera now supports 4K60 for the first time, as well as Log encoding. Additional new features include a next-generation Portrait mode that automatically detects when there’s a subject in the frame, allowing users to switch to Portrait mode after an image has been taken. There are also new focus and depth control tools, allowing users to switch focus from one person to another after the photo has been taken. The Night mode has also been improved, while Smart HDR allows the device to capture the sky and subject simultaneously.
Apple has also included its second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, which allows equipped devices to connect from up to 3x as far away and friends that share their location with you to be located directionally like an AirTag. The new models support Wi-Fi 6E, Qi2 charging, and Thread, which opens up new possibilities with Home app integrations. Adding to the iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via Satellite, users can now connect to a satellite for roadside assistance. The audio quality for calls has been updated with a more advanced machine-learning model that prioritizes the user’s voice.
The iPhone 15 Pro models are available in Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, and Natural Titanium. The iPhone 15 Pro starts at $999 for 128GB of storage, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $1,199 for 256GB of storage.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
One reply on “Apple announces iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max models”
“Thread, which opens up new possibilities with Home app integrations…” Too bad the Home app doesn’t work with my current home automation products. It’s a bridge to nowhere.