After months of leaks, renders, rumours and anticipation, Apple has finally released the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, as well as the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max at its Wonderlust event at Apple Campus in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday, September 12. The big news is that all new iPhone models will now have a USB Type-C charging port, which replaces the 12-year-old Lightning port.
Titanium frame
The Pro series will now sport a titanium frame instead of the stainless steel frame that has been a mainstay in Apple’s flagship smartphones since the iPhone X. The frame has a brushed texture, which will improve grip and bring down the weight of the heavy Pro models. Apple claims this is the same material as the one used on the Mars rover.
The Pro models also have thinner bezels and come in four colours — black, blue, white and “natural” titanium. The Pro models will be powered by the A17 Pro SoC, which Apple claims was made using a 3nm process and contains 19 billion transistors. Apple said the A17 Pro is 10 percent faster than the A16 Bionic.
While there was no mention of battery life during the keynote, Apple’s official website says the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will support up to 23 and 29 hours of video playback, respectively — the same as the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. Even the base iPhone models have the same advertised battery life. The iPhone 14 has 3,279 mAh battery, 14 Plus has 4,325 mAh, 14 Pro has 3,200 mAh, and 14 Pro Max has 4,323 mAh.
The iconic ring switch has been replaced by a programmable haptic button. While the default state is still the ring switch, it can be set to open any app, run shortcuts and mapped to other functions, Apple said.
The iPhone 15 Pro now comes with the base storage as last year, 128 GB, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max now has a base storage of 256 GB and gets a price bump.
Cameras
Just like last year, the Pro models come with a 48 MP, larger main sensor that Apple claims takes better portrait photos, and a 12 MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. The Pro Max will get an exclusive, upgraded 12 MP telephoto lens with a 5x optical zoom. Both models have a 12 MP ultrawide lens. On the front is a 12 MP camera along with the FaceID array housed in the Dynamic Island.
Apple said the ultrawide and main sensor can be used to record Spatial Video, which creates a 3D effect when viewed on the Vision Pro.
Focus on gaming
Apple said the A17 Pro is optimised for gaming, and supports ray-tracing which it said will be harnessed by developers to build games especially for the iPhone.
Programmable action button
The iconic ring switch is gone — at least on the Pro models. The iPhone and OnePlus are the only smartphone companies to include a physical ring switch on their smartphones — OnePlus calls it the alert slider. While the ring switch lives on in the base 15 series, it will be replaced by a programmable Action Button on the Pro series.
Apple says the Action Button’s default will be the ring switch function, but it can be configured to trigger various apps and functions — Focus mode, camera, flashlight, voice memo (recorder), translate, magnifier, Siri Shortcuts, and accessibility features.
Goodbye, Notch!
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus now sport the Dynamic Island, which made its debut in the 14 Pro series last year. The 15 has a 6.1-inch screen, while the Plus model has a 6.7-inch screen. The phones will be powered by the A16 Bionic chip, which powered the 14 Pro series last year.
The iPhone 15 is priced starting at Rs 79,900, while the iPhone 15 Plus starts at Rs 89,900. The base variant still has 128 GB of storage.
It comes in five pastel colours — pink, yellow, green, blue and black. The enclosure is made of brushed aluminium. But the big upgrade this year is the primary camera, which received a major bump up from 12 megapixels last year to 48 MP this year. Using the same technology as last year, the primary sensor now supports 2x optical zoom, bringing telephoto capabilities for the first time to the base iPhone. The screen on the base 15 series now has a peak brightness of 2,000 nits.
The iPhone Pro series received a price bump in India. The iPhone 15 Pro, which will sell for the same price as last in the US, $999, will now cost Rs 1,34,900 — Rs 5,000 more than the 14 Pro, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max will start at Rs 1,59,900, which is a Rs 20,000 hike. In the US, the 15 Pro Max will start at $1,199.
Pre-orders start at 5.30 pm on Friday, September 15, and will be available for general purchase starting Friday, September 22.
The display
The displays come in the same two sizes as the 14 series — 6.1 inches for the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro, and 6.7 inches for the 15 Plus and 15 Pro Max. However, the big change this year, apart from Dynamic Island, is that all the iPhone models have the same levels of brightness — 1,000 nits of peak brightness (typical), 1,600 nits on HDR playback, and 2,000 nits in bright sunlight. In comparison, last year’s iPhone 14 and 14 Plus had 800 nits of typical peak brightness and 1,200 nits on HDR playback.
Price decreased on older models
Apple has reduced the prices of its older models — the iPhone 13 now starts at Rs 59,900, the iPhone 14 at Rs 69,900, and the iPhone 14 Plus at Rs 79,900. The iPhone 13 Mini has been discontinued.