Apple will hold its fall announcement event, tag-lined "Wonderlust," on September 12 where it is expected to announce the iPhone 15 series. In addition to the entire series switching to the USB-Type C charging port and the Dynamic Island design, high-end models will feature more upgrades.
Switching from Lightning to USB Type-C: To comply with the EU's universal charging specifications, the entire iPhone 15 series will adopt the USB Type-C charging ports, no longer using Lightning. This is perhaps one of the biggest changes for the iPhone in recent years. Initially, Apple expressed dissatisfaction with the regulations, criticizing them for hindering innovation and potentially leading to more e-waste. Analysis believes that switching to USB Type-C will also affect Apple's revenue from Made for iPhone (MFi) third-party licensing fees.
Full adoption of Dynamic Island: Starting in 2022, the iPhone 14 Pro series replaced the "notch" with the Dynamic Island. Apple has made better utilizations of this "black screen" area, allowing it to act like small widgets. The entire iPhone 15 series is expected to adopt the Dynamic Island.
Photo: It's expected that the entire iPhone 15 series will adopt the Dynamic Island design.
Credit: Apple
High-end models will adopt the A17 chip: The iPhone 15 Pro series will adopt the A17 chip, which uses TSMC's 3nm process. The standard iPhone 15 series will be equipped with the A16 chip, which was previously used in the iPhone 14 Pro series.
High-end models will have narrower bezels and bigger screens: Bloomberg pointed out that the iPhone 15 Pro series will change its casing from stainless steel to titanium metal. The iPhone 15 Pro will be manufactured with low-injection pressure over-molding (LIPO) technology. This helps the phone's bezels to be even narrower, which allows the screen to be bigger. Said technology has also previously been used with some Apple Watches.
DSCC analyst Ross Young pointed out that the screen sizes of iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max will be 6.2 inches and 6.8 inches respectively, both larger than the previous generation.
High-end models switching to the Action Button: 9To5Mac and MacRumors pointed out that, based on development documents of iOS 17, the physical mute button on the iPhone 15 Pro will be replaced with an Action Button that allows users to customize its functionality. When pressed, the iPhone will give haptic feedback. The Action Button was already adopted by the Apple Watch Ultra.
Photo: Launched in 2022, the Apple Watch Ultra is the first to have the Action Button design.
Credit: Apple
High-end models will have periscope lenses: It's been reported that the iPhone 15 Pro series will feature periscope lenses, allowing optical zoom capabilities to increase up to 5x or 6x, compared to the 3x optical zoom of the iPhone 14 Pro series.
CNET noted that while this is a welcomed improvement, competitors like the Google Pixel 7 Pro already have 3x optical zoom, and Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra has even more extensive zoom capabilities at 10x optical zoom. Thus, when compared to flagship Android phones, the iPhone's specifications may not particularly stand out.
High-end models will be even easier to repair: The standard iPhone 14 was praised by iFixit as "the easiest iPhone to take apart." Bloomberg pointed out that the iPhone 15 Pro series will aim to follow in the footsteps of the iPhone 14. In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on electronic products' Right to Repair by governments in Europe and the US. Apple is expected to prioritize user-repairability more.
Price increase and market sentiment: Several analyses, including Bloomberg, expected a price increase for the iPhone 15 series. In particular, the iPhone 15 Pro can potentially see a price hike of US$100 to $200.
During its August financial report, Apple CEO Tim Cook mentioned that the US smartphone market was not performing well. He expected that the three major US telecom service providers would all introduce trade-in plans or switch incentives as usual. CIRP pointed out that nearly 80% of US consumers purchase their iPhones through telecom service providers, hence why their activity is worthing following as well.
The Chinese smartphone market remains sluggish, but the average sales price of smartphones continues to rise. Apple dominates the high-end market. IDC has noted that in recent times, only Apple has been able to achieve decent results through price reductions alone, as the iPhone 14 became noticeably more popular after a price drop.
