New IPHONE 15: USB-C, specs and availability

Everything you need to know about the iPhone 15

Update: Our reviews for the latest iPhone models, including the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, as well as the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, are now available. Discover how they compare to last year’s models and explore their improvements.

IPHONE 15: THE OFFICIAL FEATURES

Introducing the iPhone 15 Series: Upgraded Performance and Features

• Dynamic Island Display: The iPhone 15 (starting at $799) and iPhone 15 Plus (starting at $899) now feature the Dynamic Island display, previously exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro. This innovative display enhancement provides a more convenient way to view alerts and live activities on your device.
• Superior Brightness: The iPhone 15 Series boasts a remarkable display with up to 2,000 nits of brightness, even in direct sunlight. This is double the brightness of the iPhone 14, ensuring excellent visibility in all conditions.
• Sleek Design: Apple has redesigned the back glass panel of the iPhone 15 Series, creating a single-colored piece of material with a subtle contour for a more comfortable grip.
• Vibrant Colors: Choose from a range of captivating colors for your iPhone 15, including pink, yellow, blue, black, and green.
• Sustainable Materials: Apple continues its commitment to sustainability with the iPhone 15. The battery now contains 100% recycled cobalt, while the frame incorporates 75% recycled aluminum.
• Enhanced Camera: The primary camera receives a significant upgrade with a 48MP sensor, enabling you to capture more detail and brighter photos. It can also shoot 24MP images and zoom in at 2x magnification without sacrificing sharpness. Portrait mode is now more versatile, allowing adjustments during or after taking photos, precise control of focus and depth, improved HDR colors, and lifelike skin tones.
• Powerful Performance: The iPhone 15 Series is powered by the A16 Bionic chip, previously featured in the iPhone 14 Pro, delivering superior CPU, GPU, and machine learning performance.
• Extended Battery Life: While both models promise all-day battery life, the larger iPhone 15 Plus offers even longer usage thanks to its larger overall battery capacity.
• Improved Ultra-Wideband: The iPhone 15 Series offers enhanced ultra-wideband capabilities, extending its range for improved location tracking through features like Find My.
• Clearer Calls: Thanks to machine learning enhancements, your voice calls on the iPhone 15 will be clearer. Additionally, a Voice Isolation mode helps reduce external noise during calls.
• Emergency SOS via Satellite: You can now use Emergency SOS via Satellite to request roadside assistance, even in areas with no cellular signal. This service is available for free for two years.
• USB-C Connectivity: The iPhone 15 Series ditches the Lightning connector in favor of USB-C, offering a versatile solution for charging, data transfer, and more. You can even charge your Apple Watch or the latest AirPods Pro from your iPhone using a USB-C cable.
• Fine Woven Accessories: Apple introduces Fine Woven accessories as an alternative to traditional leather accessories, aligning with its sustainability efforts.

The iPhone 15 Series combines cutting-edge technology with sustainable design and enhanced features, making it a compelling choice for users seeking top-tier performance and innovation.

New iPhone 15 pro

The iPhone 15 Pro stands as Apple’s flagship offering, delivering the pinnacle of iPhone experiences. On the other hand, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus cater to a wider audience with their more accessible pricing while still boasting significant upgrades.

Apple has expanded the feature set of its iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus by introducing capabilities that were previously exclusive to the Pro models. Notable enhancements include the addition of Dynamic Island and a 48MP primary camera. The display has also received improvements, along with enhancements in in-camera features and overall battery and computational performance. Additionally, Apple has replaced the Lightning port with the more versatile USB-C, marking one of the most significant changes made to the iPhone lineup.

IPHONE 15: SPECS

IPHONE 15: RELEASE DATE AND PRICE

The iPhone 15 has made its debut in stores, although certain models may experience shipping delays. If you’re looking for the best iPhone 15 deals, you can potentially save on your new phone.

In terms of pricing, the iPhone 15 starts at a minimum of $799, while the iPhone 15 Plus begins at $899. These prices align with last year’s iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, which is good news for users who already found those prices to be on the higher side.

IPHONE 15: DESIGN

The iPhone 15 lineup offers four distinct models, as seen in previous iPhone releases. First, there’s the standard iPhone 15 with a 6.1-inch screen and the larger iPhone 15 Plus with a 6.7-inch display, both delivering flagship-level specifications. For those seeking the pinnacle of Apple’s technology, there’s the iPhone 15 Pro, also with a 6.1-inch screen, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, boasting a 6.7-inch display, albeit at a higher price point.

Regrettably, the iPhone mini model has been discontinued, following the discontinuation of the iPhone 13 mini as part of Apple’s latest device updates.

If you’ve been keeping up with the rumors, you might have expected an iPhone 15 Ultra, but the actual product is named the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Although there were speculations about a different name for several months, Apple has chosen to stick with its current naming convention, at least for this year.

The iPhone 15 maintains the familiar design language seen in recent iPhone generations, but it introduces some notable refinements. Its aluminum chassis now boasts subtle contours, enhancing its ergonomic feel in the hand. The rear surface sports a matte finish, with the color seamlessly integrated into the back glass, creating an aesthetically pleasing appearance, especially when compared to the more subdued color options of the iPhone 15 Pro series. Despite these design updates, the device continues to uphold its IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

Apple is set to provide a variety of color options for the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, including black, green, blue, yellow, and pink.

For those concerned about Apple’s environmental efforts, it’s worth noting that the iPhone 15 is designed to incorporate sustainable materials. Specifically, it is expected to utilize 100% recycled cobalt in its battery composition and incorporate 75% recycled aluminum in its frame, aligning with Apple’s commitment to eco-friendly practices.

IPHONE 15: DISPLAY AND DYNAMIC ISLAND

The Dynamic Island feature, originally introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro, is now available on all models of the iPhone 15. This enhancement provides users with a slightly larger display area compared to iPhones with notches of the same size, along with the added benefit of utilizing the unique adaptive widgets found exclusively on the Island.

The screen itself has received an increase in brightness, boasting a rated maximum of 1,600 nits HDR brightness, which rises to 2,000 nits when used outdoors, as per Apple’s specifications. However, during our testing, it reached a peak of 1,401 nits when HDR was activated. While this falls slightly short of Apple’s claim, we still found it to be highly usable even in direct sunlight.

IPHONE 15: USB-C

One of the most significant changes in the iPhone 15 is the introduction of a USB-C port. The familiar Lightning connector has been replaced with the more widely adopted USB-C standard, which has been in use by iPads, Macs, and Android phones for several years. As a result, if you’re not already using a device with a USB-C connection, you may need to replace your existing iPhone cables to adapt to this change.

There’s a slight distinction between the USB-C ports used on the standard iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Pro. As expected from the Pro model, the iPhone 15 Pro offers faster data transfer speeds, reaching up to 10 Gbps.

This new port also provides the convenience of charging accessories, such as an Apple Watch or AirPods Pro with the new USB-C charging case, by simply connecting them to the iPhone 15.

IPHONE 15: CAMERAS

Apple has equipped all models in the iPhone 15 lineup with a 48MP main camera, extending this feature beyond just the Pro models. However, it’s worth noting that the 48MP sensor used in the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus differs from the one employed in the Pro variants.

Rather than capturing images at the previous 12MP resolution with a basic 1x magnification, the new camera introduces a 24MP mode, prioritizing detail. Additionally, it offers a 2x lossless zoom mode, providing some of the advantages typically associated with a telephoto camera, similar to what the iPhone 15 Pro offers. Below, you can view some sample images we took using the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus to get an impression of their performance.

IPHONE 15: PERFORMANCE

The iPhone 15 has adopted the A16 Bionic chipset, which was featured in last year’s Pro model. This chipset brings notable improvements in CPU, GPU, and machine learning performance.

In our testing, both the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus with the A16 Bionic chipset showed significant performance gains compared to their predecessors. While gaming performance was impressive, it’s important to note that these phones come with a 60Hz display refresh rate. While it handles today’s action-packed titles well, it lacks the ultra-smooth animations that are typically associated with displays featuring refresh rates of 90Hz or higher.

Apple’s promising all-day battery life once again for the iPhone 15 series, and our custom TG battery test reveals that it’s accurate. Apple itself admitted that the iPhone 15 Plus, with its larger battery, lasts longer than the standard iPhone 15 — and our testing showed us that. The iPhone 15 Plus is one of the best battery life phones around with its time of 14 hours and 14 minutes, which is much longer than the iPhone 15’s time of 11 hours and 5 minutes.

Charging speeds haven’t changed despite the new charging ports, so don’t expect super speedy charging from any of the new iPhones. But at least wireless charging is now at 15W whether you’re using MagSafe or a third-party Qi2 charger.

Storage configurations have remained consistent with previous models, offering a default 128GB storage capacity for both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. For those seeking greater storage, options include 256GB or 512GB onboard storage, available at an additional cost.

IPHONE 15: SOFTWARE AND SPECIAL FEATURES

All iPhone 15 models come pre-installed with iOS 17. This operating system was made available to other recent iPhone models starting on September 18. Therefore, if you’re considering an upgrade solely for the new software features, like StandBy mode, you may want to weigh your decision carefully.

What sets the iPhone 15 apart, however, is its improved ultra-wideband connectivity. This enhancement enables the use of Precision Finding mode, allowing you to locate lost items or even your friends’ locations from distances up to three times greater than before.

The Emergency SOS via Satellite feature has received an upgrade, including a roadside assistance mode. This enables users to request AAA assistance at their location, even if they are beyond cellular coverage and not currently AAA members (though there will be a fee for each use). For the first two years following the purchase of an iPhone 15, this service is provided free of charge. However, Apple has not disclosed the pricing for these features once the initial two-year period expires.

Apple has implemented an advanced machine learning system to enhance call clarity. The iPhone 15 introduces a more robust Voice Isolation mode, which effectively reduces background noise for improved call quality.

IPHONE 15: OUTLOOK

We understand the anticipation surrounding the Pro iPhone models, but the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus have seen significant enhancements in their specifications. These phones are certainly worth considering for those seeking a top-tier mobile experience.

The pricing for this year’s model remains consistent with last year’s, but now comes with added features including a more comfortable design, a Dynamic Island camera cutout, a 48MP rear camera capable of capturing 24MP photos and providing 2x lossless zoom, as well as the convenience of USB-C charging. These are substantial enhancements to the iPhone 14.