Apple iPhone 15: What to Expect

For the past five years, Apple has consistently unveiled its iPhone lineup in the fall, with four out of those five introductions taking place in September. This yearly tradition gets plenty of people excited as they anticipate what new features and upgrades Apple will bring to its smartphones and other products. There are some things that are improved every year, like a new processor or a tweaked camera arrangement. Every once in a while, we get more significant changes like total redesigns, Face ID, and the Dynamic Island.

Since the iPhone relies on myriad components and Apple gives at least some information to third-party manufacturers to make said parts, rumors and leaks always seem to pop up about the next generation of Apple phones from various sources. We’ve collected the iPhone 15 reports that come from people with good track records and seem more plausible than not. Here they are.

USB-C Finally Comes to iPhone

According to a number of reports, the iPhone 15 will ship with a USB-C port, replacing the long-standing Lightning connector introduced in 2012. This was just a matter of time, as the EU mandated that all phones, tablets, and cameras must use USB-C by 2024. A tweet by the reliable ShrimpApplePro(Opens in a new window) says that the iPhone 15’s USB-C will be locked to its MFi certification(Opens in a new window), meaning that uncertified cables will be “software limited(Opens in a new window) in data and charging speed.” We’re not sure that follows the intent of the EU’s mandate, but Apple gonna Apple.

A Ming-Chi Kuo tweet(Opens in a new window) suggests that the 15 Pro and Pro Max will support high-speed transfers while the regular 15 will stick to USB 2.0 speeds. Either way, people looking to reduce the type of cable they carry will finally be able to ditch the Lightning.

All iPhone 15s to Have the Dynamic Island

The notch may get the boot according to a tweet(Opens in a new window) by the CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, Ross Young, which says that the Dynamic Island will come to the non-Pro versions of the iPhone 15.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Quo(Opens in a new window) also says that all iPhones will have the Dynamic Island and adds the location of a proximity sensor will change from outside the Dynamic Island to inside without that cutout section changing much at all.

Smaller Bezels, Smaller iPhone

The iPhone 15 could come with super-thin bezels measuring just 1.5mm, which is a big reduction from the iPhone 14 Pro’s 2.17mm bezel. This also means that the iPhone 15 could be a tiny bit smaller than the iPhone 14 Pro, with a 9to5Mac report(Opens in a new window) saying the 15 Pro will measure 5.77 by 2.77 by 0.32 inches (HWD) compared to the 5.81 by 2.81 by 0.31 inches of the iPhone 14 Pro. That’s not significantly smaller, but we’ll take it.

The Camera Bump Gets Bigger (Really)

The camera module of the iPhone 14 Pro extends a whopping 4.18mm (approximately 0.16 inches) from the back of the device, and it’s going to get thicker. A leak of a possible CAD file has allowed people to come up with renders of the new iPhone. Ian Zelbo(Opens in a new window) of 9to5Mac mocked it up on Twitter, showing the 14 Pro side by side with the 15 Pro and the camera bump is very, very large.

Tweet(Opens in a new window)

This isn’t too much of a shocker, though, as the camera module creep has been real for several years now.

Bye Pro Max, Hello Ultra

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the Pro Max name could be retired in favor of Ultra.(Opens in a new window) This would be in line with the Apple Watch Ultra, which has the biggest screen of the Watch line and boasts about its ruggedness with a titanium case.

The iPhone could get some Apple Watch Ultra features.
(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

Another Gurman report says that the iPhone 15 Pro would have a titanium frame(Opens in a new window). Put those two things together and we may be looking at a rugged iPhone 15 Ultra later this year.

Wi-Fi 6E, New SoC

Like other products in Apple’s lineup, Wi-Fi 6E should be coming(Opens in a new window) to the iPhone 15, but only to its Pro line. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max would be powered by a new A17 Bionic chip, whereas the 15 and 15 Max could be going with the A16 currently found in the iPhone 14 Pro.

iPhone Pro With Or Without Buttons?

The current iPhone Pro features a power button, two volume controls, and a mute toggle. At one point, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo(Opens in a new window) said that the high-end iPhone 15 may go with solid-state buttons similar to the iPhone 7 home button. Each of these solid-state areas would provide haptic feedback so they will still feel like physical buttons when pressed.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Apple has plenty of experience with this kind of thing as Force Touch trackpads have been on Mac laptops since 2015 and accurately simulate the feel of a moving trackpad thanks to haptics. However, a more recent post (Opens in a new window)by Kuo says that technical issues in manufacturing mean the move to haptics will be delayed.

Gettin’ Curvy

The edges on the metal frame and glass of the iPhone 15 could be changed to create a better transition between the materials. A 9to5Mac report says the frame is similar to the design of the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros. It does not look like this will be a major change in the design, but more of a refinement for a better feel in the hand. The iPhone 14 family is rather sharp along the metal-and-glass joint.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

New Colors Including Dark Red

A separate 9to5Mac(Opens in a new window) report says that the iPhone 15 Pro will be offered in a very dark red(Opens in a new window) colorway. Currently, the Pros are offered in Space Black, Silver, Gold, and Deep Purple. The regular iPhone 15 may be offered in pink and light blue and is in the testing phase according to the same report. Apple likes to change up its color palate from time to time, so a new coat of paint may be in the cards.

iPhone 16 Rumors Already Bubbling Up

Ming-Chi Kuo is already talking about the 2024 iPhone(Opens in a new window), saying that the display of the 16 Pro will be 0.2 inches bigger than the 14 and 15’s 6.1-inch display. The 16 Pro Max would be a huge 6.9 inches (up from 6.7 on the iPhone 14). The 16 Pro models would also feature internal periscope cameras thanks to the increased real estate inside a larger body. Periscope cameras mainly allow phone makers to add higher degrees of optical zoom.

We have a while before any Apple iPhone event becomes official. In the meantime, check out the things we did not get from the iPhone 14 that we sure would like to have come September.