The iPhone 15 lineup includes four models: the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max (not Ultra). All four finally use USB-C, thankfully.
The iPhone 15 series retains the screen sizes of the previous generation – 6.1 and 6.7 inches. Both devices are powered by the A16 Bionic chip, the same chip found in the iPhone 14 Pro series. The screen now reaches 2,000 nits in full sunlight – double that of the iPhone 14. Dynamic Island also comes to the standard versions of the iPhone.
The main camera now has 48 MP, previously it was 12 MP – it’s carried over from the Pro models in the 14 series. In normal mode, four and four pixels are combined, which provides better light sensitivity, among other things. In addition, the new sensor offers the ability to “zoom” the 48-megapixel image two times, which is a kind of zoom option, even if there is no optical zoom lens.
Pricing for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus starts at $799 and $899, respectively.
As for Apple’s real flagships of the year: the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. This is where the new brushed titanium finish comes into play, which Apple says is the most lavish material ever used for an iPhone. As titanium is lighter than stainless steel, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are now the lightest Pro models ever.
Inside is the new A17 Pro chip, the industry’s first 3-nanometer chip, which has 19 billion transistors – compared to 16 billion in the A16 Bionic. The chip consists of two high-performance cores and four efficiency cores, the latter of which Apple says are twice as efficient as competing chips. The chip also includes a new USB controller (USB 3) that enables up to 20 times faster transfers than standard models (USB 2).
The new graphics processor in the chip is said to be 20% faster than the previous generation. It also features hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a technology that is typically only found in high-end PC graphics cards. This will allow the chip to deliver significantly better performance in games, up to four times faster than devices that use software-based ray tracing. In addition, several hot gaming companies have teamed up with Apple to optimize their games for the iPhone 15, so hopefully we will have a much better gaming experience on this year’s iPhone Pro models.
The iPhone 15’s camera system has been upgraded with a larger main sensor and a new standard mode with 24 megapixels. The wide-angle camera has a new anti-reflective coating and macro mode, and the zoom camera has the most advanced image stabilization ever from Apple, with up to 10,000 micro adjustments per second.
The new iPhone 15 Pro models have also replaced the mute switch with a new Action button that can be customized to perform a variety of actions, such as launching the camera, turning on the flashlight, or starting a voice memo.
The price of the 15 Pro is the same as last year at $999. The Pro Max model has been bumped up to $1,199, but now comes with 256GB of storage. Just like the Apple Watch, all new iPhone models can be ordered now and will be available in stores on September 22.