It's already been a few months since the iPhone 14 line up was launched, and now excitement around the iPhone 15 has begun in earnest. Because while the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone Pro Max are all great phones, they weren't really an enormous leap forward from their iPhone 13 predecessors. So many are hoping Apple's been saving the big innovations for the iPhone 15 range, and will really blow our socks off this time.
So what do we know so far? While Apple is keeping quiet about the iPhone 15 for now, there have already been a lot of leaks and rumours. And while most of these can be taken with a pinch of salt, there are some we give credence to, as they come from reliable sources with a good track record for accuracy.
We've brought all this info together in the article below, and we'll keep updating this post as we learn more, so do keep it bookmarked. And if you don't fancy waiting, check out the best iPhone 14 deals available now.
Apple iPhone 15: design
We're a long way off from the likely release of an iPhone 15, but we're already certain it will feature one big design change: a move from Lightning to USB-C. That's because new EU rules announced last autumn will require all phones sold after autumn 2024 to use the USB-C connector for charging.
Apple has agreed to comply, and although technically they could still sneak out a new phone with a Lightning connector between now and the deadline, it wouldn't make much business sense to do so. And with the iPad, MacBook and most third-party accessories shifting to USB-C, it makes sense from a brand viewpoint anyway.
Every iPhone 15 model, then, is likely ditch Lightning for USB-C... but that's not the whole story. As we reported in November, leaks suggest that the capabilities of the ports won't be the same across all four iPhones. It appears that only the iPhone 15 Pro models will support USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3, while the standard iPhone 15 will just support USB 2.0, offering no speed improvement over Lightning. Bah.
In other slightly worrying news, it sounds like the iPhone 15 Pro's camera bump could be even bigger than that of the iPhone 14 Pro. Renders based on leaked CAD files show a similar design to the 14 Pro, but with an absolutely enormous set of lenses.
Other leaks and rumours about the design of the iPhone 15 range may be less grounded in fact. But where they come from reliable sources, they're still worth paying attention to. For example, many seasoned Apple leakers have claimed that the Dynamic Island, Apple's interactive notch replacement, will hit all four iPhone 15 models. That would be a big deal, as it's currently only available in the more expensive iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
There's also a persistent rumour that the iPhone 15 will replace physical buttons with haptic touch sensors; like the 'taptic' home button in the iPhone SE. We're really sure this isn't a good idea, though, as it would make it difficult to restart the phone if the software freezes, and might make using a case more problematic too. So if Apple really is thinking about this, we hope they back off the idea sooner rather than later.
And then there's the display. Recent rumours have suggested that Apple is working on brightness of up to 2500 nits – up from the 14 Pro's current max of 2000. Seeing as a brighter display is a selling point of the Apple Watch Ultra, we wouldn't be surprised to see the same thing happen with the iPhone line up.
Less concerning is the suggestion that the rumoured iPhone 15 Ultra will be made of titanium. It's not exactly something we're crying out for, but at least it wouldn't make us upset (unless it made the price prohibitive, of course).
Apple iPhone 15: camera
We don't know anything official about the iPhone 15's cameras yet, and we haven't even seen many leaks either. The biggest rumour is the prediction that the iPhone 15 Ultra will have a second selfie camera (while the iPhone 14 Pro has three main cameras on the back, the front camera remains a single lens.)
What that would be for, though, we can only speculate. It could mean the addition of an ultra-wide selfie lens (no more having to stretch your arm out of its socket to take a group selfie) or better zoom. Or it could introduce a dual system for sharper, more detailed images, or allow selfies to be taken with a shallower depth of field so subjects stand out more from the background.
Apple iPhone 15: pricing and release date
We haven't heard anything about pricing or a release date for the iPhone 15 range yet. In terms of the latter, though, past practice can point us to a likely release window.
Apple tends to launch new iPhones in the first couple of weeks of September: for example, it launched the iPhone 14 on 7 September 2021, with the 14, Plus and Pro going on sale over a week later (16 September) and the iPhone 14 Plus a little after that (7 October). The company also usually launches new stuff on a Tuesday. Taking all that into account, Tuesday 5 September or Tuesday 12 September 2023 is our educated guess for an iPhone 15 launch. If that's too far away for you, take a look at today's best iPhone 14 Pro deals below.
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