The iPhone 15 won't debut for another nine months at the earliest, but there are already quite a few rumors and leaks about the next batch of iPhones.
For example, it looks as if Apple will finally adopt USB-C charging and ditch the Lightning port. We may also see an all-new model dubbed the iPhone 15 Ultra. With its ultra-durable titanium design, it might take the iPhone Pro series to the next level.
Here are some of the features of the iPhone 15, starting with the iPhone 15release date.
iPhone 15 Release Date
Of all the early iPhone 15 rumors, this is the most set in stone. In the past decade, Apple has only once released a new flagship smartphone outside of September, in October 2020, amidst a once-in-a-generation pandemic that required people to stay home and disrupted the technology supply chain.
Therefore, the iPhone 15 will likely appear in September 2023. Typically Apple announces its phones about 10 days before they are released and opens reservations a week before the time to go. One source claims it may be September 22/23 specifically we see the iPhone 15 going on sale.
There is a slight wrinkle, however, at present. Test production has reportedly begun for the iPhone 15 lineup and it is starting a month earlier than usual this year. This appears to be due to Apple's mass production plans in India and China rather than an indication that the iPhone will be available earlier than usual, but we cannot be certain that this is the case. Still, the iPhone 15 is expected to be announced in September.
Another point of concern is that Apple has released the latest iPhone models in successive generations almost without exception on Fridays; September 23, 2023 is a Saturday....
Price of the iPhone 15
There was strong speculation that the iPhone 14 would see a 15% price increase, but this turned out to be wrong - if you live in the US. The only price change in the U.S. was the discontinuation of the cheapest "mini" model, while other regions saw significant price increases.
This means that current prices range from $799/£849/A$1,399 for the 128GB entry-level iPhone 14 to $1,599/$1,749/A$2,769 for the 1TB iPhone 14 Pro Max. The same is expected to be true this time around, but it is quite possible that the price increase that the U.S. missed in 2022 will take place on the iPhone 15.
As it happens, a $100 price increase has been announced for the iPhone 15 Pro. This may be due to more advanced features in the next generation iPhone. However, this means that the base iPhone 15 Pro will now cost over $1,000, which may upset consumers, especially when the cost of living is high. It is unclear if this price increase will apply to the UK, Australia, or elsewhere.
Conversely, Korean blog Naver raises the possibility that Apple will lower the cost of the iPhone 15 in response to soft sales of the iPhone 14 Plus. This could mean that Apple may adjust pricing to make the lower-priced iPhone more attractive to value-seeking shoppers.
iPhone 15 Possible Models
For the 2022 iPhone, the iPhone mini has been discontinued and replaced by the iPhone 14 Plus. This simplified the choices, as you could get a 6.1" or 6.7" screen regardless of whether you went Pro or not.
This is very likely to continue through 2023. it became clear within months that the iPhone 12 mini was not selling well, but Apple had to put up with the iPhone 13 mini because the plan was fixed and could not be changed.
In other words, even if the iPhone 14 Plus bombs, next year's lineup will mimic this year's: iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. A recent TrendForce report used these names to highlight expected iPhone 15 features, so keeping the same naming convention seems like a real possibility.
One addition to this list, however, could be the iPhone 15 Ultra. Reliable informant Mark Gurman recently tweeted (open in new tab) that we can "expect" a variation of that in future iPhones, following the Apple Watch Ultra launched this year, and was later reiterated in his newsletter. Does this mean an all-new iPhone 15 Ultra? Or will the Pro Max simply be reborn as the Ultra?
iPhone 15 Design
USB-C Adoption Boosts Transfer Speeds by Leaps and Bounds
The biggest rumor to date regarding the iPhone 15 design is that Apple will finally eliminate the Lightning port on the phone in 2023. This is not at all surprising. Not only has the company adopted this connection for its laptops and tablets, but the European Union has officially mandated that all cell phones must use USB-C by 2024.
While Apple could keep the Lightning port elsewhere in the world, it would add complexity and expense for no real benefit.
While rumors of a portless iPhone continue, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo speculates that it will be USB-C for at least some of Apple's phones. If portless comes next year, our guess is it could be a Pro feature. Mark Garman also reported that the iPhone 15 will have UCB-C and that a portless model will arrive sometime - he just did not specify when.
The iPhone 15 USB-C rumor was further corroborated by a somewhat reliable tipster, LeaksApplePro, who claimed that USB-C ports and Dynamic Island will be found on all iPhone 15 models. The latter is positive information, because if Apple had given the iPhone 15 Pro models only a USB-C connection we'd be a bit put out. Now that the EU has said that all phones must be USB-C by 2024, there is no doubt that the iPhone 15 will be USB-C.
However, the type of USB-C used could differ between Pro and non-Pro models, says Ming-Chi Kuo. According to him, the regular iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will maintain the same data transfer speeds as the current Lightning iPhone, while only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will have faster speeds as a result of the USB-C port. The individual models will not be announced. Regardless of what happens to individual models, the iPhone 15's use of USB-C is significant for iPhone users. However, one of our editors who recently traveled with a USB-C phone feels that the world may not be ready for USB-C just yet, even though the iPhone 15 may move to USB-C this year.
In another report, Gurman claims that all iPhone 15 models will get Dynamic Island. This could spur more developers to create apps that adapt to the morphing camera cutout/display feature, further enhancing its capabilities.
Touch ID is back.
While there have been rumors that Touch ID will make a comeback, Gurman claims that Apple has no plans to bring back fingerprint scanning to its flagship iPhones in the foreseeable future. Apparently, the company is testing Touch ID in the display and has even discussed adding it to the power button, but instead Face ID will be the only option after 2023.
It's a real shame since this feature has been MIA on Apple's top-end devices since the iPhone 8; Touch ID would certainly have been useful during the pandemic months when everyone wore masks and Face ID struggled to respond.
Change the look and feel
ShrimpApplePro believes that Apple could change the appearance of the iPhone's back panel. They claim it will get curved edges like the old iPhone 5C, which could make for a more comfortable iPhone to hold than the current model.
However, Apple has made major changes to the basic design of the iPhone every three years in recent years. The basic design of the current iPhone 14 model follows the iPhone 12. Based on this pattern, the iPhone 15 will enter a new design cycle.
The iPhone 15 camera
According to renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 14 Pro series, which will be introduced in 2022, will feature a 48-megapixel camera, which is a significant improvement in resolution from the 12-megapixel camera in the iPhone 13 series. However, the ultra-wide-angle and telephoto cameras are expected to remain at 12 megapixels.
As for the 2023 iPhone 15's periscope lens, Kuo did not report any detailed specs, but he said that while a powerful 10x optical zoom like the Galaxy S21 Ultra would be nice, it is possible that the camera will focus more on image quality and settle for an optical zoom of about 5x with less distortion. It seems likely.
This super high-power periscope lens can be used for photographing music events and wildlife. If this lens is incorporated into the iPhone, it will surely expand the range of camera photography with the iPhone.
