It’s that time of the year again… Apple is about to unveil its new iPhone lineup. The event is mere hours away! But, before we sit through another keynote, let’s take a quick rundown of the rumours that have surfaced about the iPhone 15 and its siblings.
Firstly, let’s talk about the name of the upcoming iPhone. Rumours indicated that Apple was poised to drop the Pro Max name in the iPhone 15 lineup in favour of the “Ultra” nomenclature. However, it seems like that won’t be the case as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurmen has indicated otherwise. We’ll just have to wait and see which one is true at this point.
The biggest change we expect to see on the iPhone 15 is the replacement of the Lightning port in favour of the USB-C port. The change comes as a result of legislature in the EU which requires manufacturers to adopt USB-C as a common charging port for the benefit of the consumers. The legislature was passed in 2022 and gave manufacturers until the end of 2024 to comply. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, it’s expected that Apple will include higher-speed USB-C ports in higher-end iPhone 15 models. According to Kuo, it’s expected that the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will support USB 3.2 and/or Thunderbolt 3 while the iPhone 15 will support USB 2.0. It’s also rumoured that the new iPhones will support 35W charging although, this may only be possible with Apple-made adapters.
Another big change we expect to see in the iPhone 15 series is a change in the camera technology. The iPhone 15 has been rumoured to be the first iPhone to feature a stacked CMOS sensor. The change in sensor technology is expected to result in a wider dynamic range and better low-light performance. The stacked CMOS sensors are expected to rely less on the image processor of the phone itself when taking low-light pictures.
While we’re on the cameras, the iPhone 15 is tipped to have a periscope lens in its camera setup. The periscope lens is expected to be included in the Pro Max model with a significant bump in camera hump size. It’s expected that the periscope lens will bring either 5x or 6x optical zoom to the camera while hybrid zoom may go well beyond that. Reports also suggest that the sensor will be a 1/2.9″ sensor with a large f/2.8 aperture. The complete setup of the cameras on the iPhone will feature a 48-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera on the 15 and 15 plus. The Pro and Pro Max on the other hand will have an additional 12-megapixel telephoto sensor with either 3x or 6x optical zoom.
The iPhone 15 lineup is expected to be more diverse when it comes to the display as well. The vanilla iPhone 15 and the 15 Plus are expected to have a display with only a 60Hz refresh rate while the Pro and Pro Max are rumoured to have a display with a 1-120Hz refresh rate. It’s expected that the screen size of the iPhone 15 series will be unchanged from the iPhone 14. The 15 and 15 Pro will stick to the 6.1-inch size while the Plus and Pro Max will sport a 6.7-inch display.
Apparently, Apple will be using two different systems on a chip for the iPhone 15 lineup. The 15 and 15 Plus are expected to ship with the A16 Bionic which is used in the 14 Pro and Pro Max. On the other hand, the 15 Pro and Pro Max will be shipping with the upgraded A17 Bionic. The A17 Bionic is rumoured to be developed using TSMC’s 3nm technology which promises better performance for lower power.
The iPhone 15 line has also been rumoured to do away with the physical buttons with haptic buttons. However, while rumours point to these plans having been scrapped before the new iPhone entered mass production, a post on X from accessory maker Spigen teased “something’s different” with a picture of the power button and volume rocker only this morning.
Apple is rumoured to be making the new iPhone series with a new, higher-grade titanium which is lighter than the iPhone 14. However, with more premium materials comes a very painful spike in the price especially when it comes to the Pro Max model. It’s rumoured that the price of the iPhone 15 series itself will start at USD$799.99. That would be the base model iPhone 15 with 128GB of memory, the 15 Plus is rumoured to be a USD$100 premium over the 15 at USD$899.99 for the same configuration. The 15 Pro’s base model will apparently set you back USD$999.99 with 256GB of storage while the 15 Pro Max will start at USD$1,199.99 for the 256GB version. That said, another rumour points to the prices being USD$100 more expensive with base storage starting at 256GB across the board.
Well, that’s about it when it comes to rumours. You’ll have to stay tuned to techENT for the details tonight when we finally get the official details on the new iPhone 15 lineup. If you want to tune in to Apple’s keynote, just head over to Apple.com or tune in to the official YouTube Channel at 1 AM, Malaysian time or 10 AM Pacific time.
