Apple launched the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus globally on Tuesday at its ‘Wonderlust’ launch event. Both handsets feature a few notable hardware upgrades over last year’s iPhone models. They include the company’s A16 Bionic chipset, Dynamic Island, and a 48-megapixel primary camera — features available on last year’s Pro models.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus also come with a refreshed design, including an all-new matte finish for the back of both devices. Apple says the new color options are more durable and should help protect the phones against scratches. The phones also get a redesigned power button that has been contoured and can be programmed to launch a variety of functions.
This year’s iPhone models are the first to be equipped with a USB Type-C port. The technology is more than 20 times faster than USB 3 and supports high-resolution video formats, powerful pro workflows, and many other features that appeal to mobile creatives. In addition to the port change, both the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus have a new ultra-wideband chip that offers improved performance for wireless data transfers and cellular network connections, as well as an innovative satellite infrastructure that can connect users to Roadside Assistance via GPS when they run into trouble on the go.
There’s also a new display on the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus. Both phones now have a Super Retina HDR display with peak brightness of up to 2,000 nits, double the previous generation. The display is more accurate and can show twice as many pixels in a single frame when using the TrueDepth camera system to unlock the phone or to activate Face ID.
As for the cameras, both phones have a new sensor that’s called Dynamic Island. It groups the pixels in a single photo to give you a 24MP image with better low-light performance, sharper details, and 2x zoom without losing quality. The sensor also uses the secondary 12MP camera to deliver a Portrait Mode with adjustable blur and enhanced face detection.
The camera improvements might be the most significant difference between this year’s iPhone model and its predecessor. The iPhone 14 had a 12MP dual-camera setup.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are available to order starting this Friday, with deliveries beginning mid-October. Pricing starts at $799 for the iPhone 15 and $849 for the iPhone 15 Plus.
