Apple today unveiled its revamped iPhone lineup, and as expected, the iPhone 15 drops Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector for USB-C and extends the Dynamic Island to the full lineup, alongside the usual processor and camera updates.
The base level iPhone 15 and 15 Plus run the A16 Bionic found in the iPhone 14 Pro, while the Pro models feature Apple’s new A17 Pro chip.
Looks-wise, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus feature a textured matte finish and new contoured edge. The Pro models have a titanium design and swap the traditional phone-silence switch for a customizable Action Button that you can long-press to do things like start voice memos, launch the camera, or activate dictation.
The Pro models also feature an always-on display, which will facilitate StandBy in iOS 17 to turn the phone into a bedside smart display.
As expected, these iPhones add a USB-C connector. We’ve heard rumors about the demise of Lightning for years, but Apple has never been one to adopt something before it’s ready. The EU forced its hand, however, by requiring all phones, tablets, and cameras to use USB-C for charging before the end of 2024. As Greg Joswiak, Apple's SVP of Marketing, admitted a year ago, "we have no choice” but to embrace USB-C.
In its typical fashion, however, Apple made it sound like the switch to USB-C was a natural progression. It's "been built into Apple products for years," Kaiann Drance, VP of worldwide product marketing, said today, referring to the USB-C connections on iPads and Macs.
The switch comes 11 years after Lightning replaced the 30-pin connector on the iPhone 5. Top Android phones, of course, have had USB-C for years, something Google made sure to mock in a recent teaser video for its upcoming Pixel 8 event.
Those who upgraded to the iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, meanwhile, will be familiar with the Dynamic Island, which swaps the notch cut-out for an interactive feature that displays notifications for Apple Pay transactions, low battery warnings, AirDrop transfers, and privacy indicators, plus various background tasks. With the iPhone 15, Apple bids farewell to the notch across its lineup.
The iPhone 14 also added an Emergency SOS feature for when you’re in trouble in remote locations. With the iPhone 15, you also get Roadside Assistance via satellite, which connects people having car trouble to AAA. Like Emergency SOS, it’ll have you fill out a brief questionnaire, and that data will be sent to AAA via satellite. Apple will offer it for free for two years; it hasn’t discussed how much this or Emergency SOS will cost after that.
All iPhone 15 phones support Precision Finding for Find My friends, which lets people get more precise location information to help them find friends in crowded areas.
For photography enthusiasts, the Pro models “both pack the equivalent of seven pro lenses,” Apple says. There’s a 48MP main camera and new 24MP super-high-resolution default. Switch between three focal lengths — 24 mm, 28 mm, and 35 mm. The iPhone 15 Pro has a 3x Telephoto camera, and iPhone 15 Pro Max has 5x optical zoom at 120 mm.
The base iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus also have 48MP main cameras and 24MP super-high-resolution default, with a quad-pixel sensor. There’s a 2x Telephoto option for three optical-quality zoom levels — 0.5x, 1x, 2x.
The base 6.1-inch iPhone 15 still starts at $799 for a 128GB variant, while the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Plus is $899. Despite rumors of a $200 price bump, the iPhone 15 Pro still starts at $999, though the iPhone 15 Pro Max jumps up by $100 to $1,199. Rumors about a 2TB iPhone also didn’t pan out; the Pro models max out at 1TB like last year.
Instead, we get two new iCloud+ plans: 6TB for $29.99 per month and 12TB for $59.99 per month, effective Sept. 18. That's the same day iOS 17, iPadOS17, and watchOS 10 launch.
All models will be available to pre-order on Friday, Sept. 15 and hit stores a week later. For more, check out our hands on with the phones from Apple's Tuesday event.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus come in black, blue, green, yellow, and pink. The Pro models come in black titanium, white titanium, blue titanium, and natural titanium. (RIP gold and purple.)