Subscribers to Yes 5G (YTL Communications) prepare to take a bite of the iPhone as Yes 5G is gearing up to offer the popular smartphone! The carrier will be offering the complete iPhone 15 lineup consisting of the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
The full pricing and plan details will be unveiled by Yes 5G on November 2, 2023. Customers eager to get their hands on these cutting-edge devices can make their purchases starting from November 3, 2023.
Yes 5G is gearing up to offer competitive monthly instalment plans, along with their Yes Infinite+ packages. These packages provide unlimited, uncapped 5G data, swift internet speeds, and unrestricted calls, all without any fair usage policy.
To stay ahead of the game and be the first to receive updates on pricing and plan specifics, you can register your interest on Yes 5G’s official website.
Stay tuned for more exciting developments as Yes 5G prepares to introduce the iPhone 15 lineup, promising a new level of innovation and performance.
Blackmagic Design, the company behind the popular video editing software DaVinci Resolve, has just announced a new app: the “Blackmagic Camera” app for iPhones. What’s even more exciting? It’s absolutely free.
This app transforms your iPhone into a powerhouse for shooting professional-grade videos, giving you the feeling of working with top-tier camera equipment. The app brings powerful manual controls we’re used to seeing on high-end cameras to your fingertips.
So, what does this app bring to the table?
Blackmagic Camera empowers you with a plethora of manual controls, including shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and tint. You can even effortlessly switch between different lenses, frame rates, stabilization levels, and focus settings. The interface also houses essential features like recording parameters, histograms, focus peaking, levels, and more, making it a one-stop shop for videographers.
On top of that, the app brings the ability to record horizontal 16:9 video while holding your iPhone vertically. This discreet shooting option opens up new creative possibilities. Moreover, the app allows you to add metadata to simplify post-production tasks. If you’re an iPhone 15 Pro user, you’ll appreciate the compatibility with the new Log colour profile, ensuring top-notch video quality.
The app seamlessly integrates with DaVinci Resolve and Blackmagic Cloud. This means you can effortlessly sync your videos with these professional editing tools. However, you also have the flexibility to save your videos to the Photos app, share them with other apps, or store them on an external SSD.
Pricing & Availability
The Blackmagic Camera app is readily available for download on the App Store, and it won’t cost you a dime.
To unlock its full potential, all you need is an iPhone XR or a newer model running iOS 16 or later. It’s important to note that certain features, such as the Log colour profile, are exclusive to specific iPhone models due to hardware limitations.
Believe it or not, Apple’s Lightning connection has been with us since the Apple iPhone 5 was introduced in 2012. The Lightning cable and port had not changed in shape and look until last year’s iPhone 14 series. While it was understandable for Apple to work with the Lightning standard in 2012, where Micro-USB was still the mainstream standard, USB Type-C has brought an evolution to mobile connectivity and has done more for laptops and smartphones than even USB 3.0 standard. To be fair, we only saw one smartphone sporting the USB 3.0 port, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, to not very much success. In that sense, there are no good reasons for Apple to keep the Lightning connection with their top-of-the-line smartphone since Apple themselves have updated their iPad Pro and iPad Air series with USB Type-C ports. They must at least see some value on USB type-C in that case.
The European Union (EU) forced Apple’s hands last year before their launch of the iPhone 14 series. Apple had to start developing their iPhones with USB Type-C port instead of their traditional and rather iconic lightning port. That is the first big difference between the previous iPhone and the upcoming iPhone 15 series. That is not what they highlighted in their launch gambit though.
Apple iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus
There is not much of a surprise with Apple’s latest regular iPhone 15 series. Most of the features are trickled down from Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro devices of last year. The Apple Silicon A16 Bionic, for example, is the same chip you find on the previous iPhone 14 Pro. The “island bar” as well, is a feature introduced in the Apple iPhone 14 Pro, now accessible for the more accessible Apple iPhone 15.
In a lot of ways, we see this Apple iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus as sort of the Apple iPhone 14 Pro series with USB type-C port. They share the same size as the previous iPhone 14 series as well at 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch respectively. They pack more pixels than before though since they are technically the iPhone 14 series devices at Super Retina XDR resolution. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus now also gets the updated 48-Megapixel main camera alongside a 24-Megapixel 2x Telephoto lens. No third lens here, as expected from a regular iPhone.
Other than the USB type-C connection, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus sports slightly differing visuals from before in terms of colours too. There is the usual black option, as expected. There are now Blue, Green, Yellow, and even Pink to consider for the iPhone 15 series. Of course, there will be a RED edition later.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
The pinnacle of the iPhone has to be their Pro series models. The new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max takes everything the iPhone 14 Pro series had and turned them up to 11. This is the most advanced Apple iPhone ever. You might want to take a pinch of salt though when it comes to expecting big changes.
Apple A17 Pro – Advanced Does Not Begin to Describe it
The biggest change, other than the USB type-C port now found at the bottom of the device is its integrated chip. It is now called the Apple A17 Pro, no more ‘Bionic’ in their namesake. It is also the first 3nm chip that is commercially available on a smartphone device featuring 19 billion transistors in a single chip. There are two performance cores and four efficiency cores that power the iOS 17 device. They have also made the neural engine bigger at 16-cores just for on-device AI implementations that includes predictive texts, certain Siri functions, and more. They have update the GPU as well with new hardware-accelerated Ray Tracing cores with MetalFX support for the best-in-class graphics processing available on a smartphone. They even announced that Assassin’s Creed Mirage, a game made for the current generation gaming consoles, will be available on the iPhone when they are available. PlayStation Studios are also adapting Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 into the iPhone which will be available later in the year. On top of all of that, the A17 Pro features a new ProRes codec for ProRes file processing and editing, Pro Display Engine for even better display experience on either the 6.1-inch or 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display, and AV1 decoder. The A17 Pro even features a USB 3 controller that allows the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max to take full advantage of USB type-C.
Bigger, Better, More Lenses than You Need
While you cannot see the upgrade, Apple claims that the main camera features a larger sensor than before. It is still a 48-Megapixel sensor though underneath what they claim to be multiple lenses on the main camera. They claim that you can choose between 24mm, 28mm, and 35mm lenses for different feel and look for your photos. You can even set whichever focal lengths as your default length just so that it will get back to your preferred focal length when you launch the camera app. Instead of a 3x telephoto lens, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max now offers a 5x 24-Megapixel telephoto camera at 120mm focal length, the longest focal length featured on an iPhone ever. They also improved their 12-Megapixel ultra-wide camera at 13mm to also allow users to capture macro photos. In terms of software, the new iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max cameras offer a new Smart HDR engine that allows for a more true-to-life photo to be captured with brighter highlights, rich midtones, and deep shadows. Thanks to LiDAR technology and the A17 Pro’s neural engine, low-light photos have never looked better on the iPhone.
It is not just photography that gets some needed boost though. You can now capture proper ProRes videos and connect the iPhone to an external recording device or medium via USB type-C. They also now allow you to capture videos with log encoding for even more flexibility in colour grading or correction. Most of all, you can now capture videos at 4K 60p for brilliant slow-motion videos in post editing. If you have an Apple Vision Pro or have ordered one, you will be delighted that the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max can capture something they call a Spatial video that you can use only specifically with Apple Vision Pro. We assume it is sort of an AR type 3D video that is captured by both the main camera and ultra-wide camera to be stitched into a single 3D video for that nifty augmented reality experience.
Titanium – Same As the Mars Rover
One of the more interesting parts of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max is the way it is built though. While featuring the same sort of look as the iPhone 14 Pro, it is made from a different material that also offers slightly different colour options and look. The iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max is now made of Titanium, a lightweight alloy with higher tensile strength than any metal material at its weight. That means that the new iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are the lightest iPhone Pro models ever to grace our hands. While it is still an alloy product, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max still comes with MagSafe and Wi2 wireless charging support. They now come in a choice of black titanium, white titanium, blue titanium, and natural titanium colour options.
Prices and Availability
Apple’s iPhone 15 series and iPhone 15 Pro series will be available for pre-orders from the 22nd of September 2023 onward and will ship out just a week after that on the 29th of September 2023 onward. The iPhone 15 will set you back from MRY 4,399 onward while the iPhone 15 Plus will set you back at least MYR 4,899. If you are opting for the more premium iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, they start at MYR 5,499 and MYR 6,499 respectively. For more information on the new Apple iPhone 15 series and iPhone 15 Pro series, you can head out to their website.
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.