Apple announced its next flagship smartphone during a livestreamed event today. The iPhone 15 mostly resembles its predecessor, but it swaps the top-of-screen notch for the “Dynamic Island”Apple introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro last year, and it ditches Apple’s proprietary Lightning port in favor of the industry-standard USB-C.
Like the iPhone 14, the iPhone 15 comes in two screen sizes: 6.1 inches for the standard phone, and 6.7 for the iPhone 15 Plus. The two models are the same apart from the screen sizes. Its overall design is also similar to that of its predecessor, with a glass back and front and an aluminum enclosure.
As far as the internals go, we’re looking at a modest bump from the A15 system-on-a-chip to the A16, which was first seen in last year’s iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. You can expect about 15-20 percent improved performance.
Apple’s upgraded the camera on the new iPhone. The main camera’s specced at 48MP and can take 24MP photos using a computational photography process.
You can also take photos with the new 2x telephoto option. Machine learning will automatically switch the main camera into portrait mode, with richer color and low-light performance, when appropriate. The camera also introduces focus and depth control, which lets you switch focus on the image from one subject to the other after the photo’s been taken. Night Mode and Smart HDR are said to be improved too.
The Dynamic Island aims to make the best of the necessary gap in the front-facing screen that contains the selfie camera and Face ID sensors. It uses the area around that hardware to display various UI elements, like notifications. In our review of the iPhone 14 Pro last year, we said we liked this feature but didn’t necessarily consider it enough of a reason to justify upgrading to the Pro model—but now it seems it will be available across all of Apple’s flagship phones.
The big news for many is, of course, the USB-C port replacing Apple’s Lightning port.
On the bright side, the iPhone will now use the same kind of charging and data cable you’ll find in most other contemporary mobile devices. On the not-so-bright side, those upgrading from an older iPhone may have to invest in new cables, accessories, and adapters. The new iPhones also support MagSafe accessories.
There’s also a Super Retina XDR OLED display that’s supposed to have thinner borders and be brighter with HDR brightness of 1,600 nits and a peak brightness outdoors of 2,000 nits, which is twice as bright as the iPhone 14.
New wireless features include the adoption of the second-gen ultra-wideband chip also found in the new Apple Watch, which Apple said should connect with other devices from up to three times the distance as before.
The iPhone 15-series audio quality is also supposed to be better, thanks to a new machine learning model that automatically prioritizes your voice and can filter out more background noise, if you select “voice isolation”mode during a call.
Apple’s also adding Roadside Assistance via Satellite with the new devices. Users will be able to text roadside assistance and the select the type of assistance required through a menu that comes up in response. The feature will debut in the US with AAA.
The edge of the aluminum enclosure has a new contoured design that looks a bit different from the iPhone 14. The new iPhone will come in yellow, green, blue, and black.
The iPhone 15 starts at $799 (128GB), and the iPhone 15 Plus starts at $899 (128GB).
Apple’s September product announcements are ongoing. This post will be updated with new details as we have them. You can follow along with our live coverage here.