We are just a week away from Apple’s Wanderlust event where the company will announce the new iPhone 15 series. Following the trend, this year’s iPhone 15 lineup will consist of four models – iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Specifications of the upcoming iPhone are already out and now rumors of pricing have started surfacing.
DigiTimes’ senior analyst Luke Lin believes that the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will not see much of a difference in pricing as compared to its predecessor. However, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are set to get a major price hike this year.
Two reasons for iPhone 15 Pro price hike
Lin has provided two major reasons for the expected increase in the pricing of Pro iPhones. First, both models will be equipped with titanium frames, bringing a shift from the stainless steel frame found in the current iPhones. The titanium frame will not only bring durability and a significant reduction in the weight of iPhones, but it will also accentuate the visual appeal of Pro models.
The second reason cited by Lin for the price hike is the camera upgrades. It is believed that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will become the first iPhone to get a periscope lens. The new periscope lens will allow up to 5-6x optical zoom and better photography in low light conditions. While the periscope lens will be limited only to the Pro Max model this year, we have heard ramrod that Apple is planning to bring it to iPhone 16 Pro in next year’s lineup.
“Lin believes the pricing of the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will not see much of a change from the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, but the Pro series is likely to suffer from a major price hike because of the chassis upgrades from stainless steel to titanium and the periscope lens upgrade, which is only for the Pro Max, for performing 5-6x optical zoom, ” writes DigiTimes.
As far as camera upgrades are concerned, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are touted to arrive with a 48MP lens, which is a major upgrade from the current camera specifications.
iPhone 15 orders slashed by Apple
Further in the report, Lin mentions that Apple is conservative about iPhone demand amid weakening smartphone demand. The company has cut down iPhone orders from the supply chain for the second half of 2023 to 80-90 million units. In comparison, Apple ordered 90-100 million units of iPhone 14 during the same time period last year.
Sharing the possible specifications of the upcoming iPhone 15 series, Lin says the standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will also be equipped with Dynamic Island this year but will retain last year’s A16 Bionic chipset. iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, on the other hand, will arrive with a new chip fabricated using TSMC’s 3nm process.
This is not the first time we have seen a rumor about a price hike in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Since DigiTimes sources its information directly from the supply chain, the report is quite reliable.