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Apple’s Wanderlust event has come and gone, and alongwith it, we now have a new lineup of iPhones: the Apple Watch 9, the second-generation Apple Watch Ultra and the second-generation Apple AirPods Pro. While this is no short list of new tech, the new iPhones have drawn the most attention — understandably so.
Other than a few changes to the design and some hardware upgrades, including slapping the latest A17 Bionic chip in the iPhone 15 Pro models, the good old “all new iPhones are the same” debate is going around town again. So, if you’re also considering upgrading your iPhone, look no further.
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What does the new iPhone have to offer?
To quickly go over everything new, here’s what you get with the new iPhone 15 lineup, regardless of the model:
- A brighter display, up to 2,000 nits
- Dynamic Island across the lineup
- Better cameras (48-megapixel main camera across the lineup)
- Action button (Pro models only)
- USB-C (spec varies between models)
- A17 Bionic (Pro models only)
And that’s about all you get. The new iPhone also has a slightly different colour theme, with the entire line getting a more pastel colourway and a matte back, compared to the brighter colours and glossy back until the iPhone 14 lineup. Oh, and for the first time, there’s now an official pink iPhone.
You still get the 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen sizes as well, although there are slight differences in dimensions between the two lineups, so there’s a chance your old cases might not transfer as well.
Additionally, since the iPhone 15 Pro lineup ditches stainless steel for titanium, expect a lighter, sturdier feeling phone to the touch. The iPhone 15, on the other hand, retains its aluminium build.
Hardware improvements
Starting from the top, the iPhone 15s get the A16 Bionic chip, Apple’s flagship SoC last year that debuted in the iPhone 14 Pro lineup. Since Apple has started limited SoC upgrades to its Pro lineup, you only get the A17 Pro SoCs in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Remember that the name change from ‘Bionic’ to ‘Pro’ doesn’t mean anything; Apple is just trying to get its iPhone silicon nomenclature consistent with its M-series of processors.
Apple claims big efficiency and performance gains for the new chip, claiming better battery life and more performance in terms of multi-tasking and gaming. Considering the iPhone 15 Pros are rocking a solid trio of cameras. They can even 3D video recording (to be viewed on Apple’s Vision Pro headset); the new performance gains will be useful.
Speaking of cameras, as mentioned above, you no longer need to upgrade to the Pro models to access a 48MP main camera, as it’s the standard main camera across the iPhone 15 lineup now. This is a big upgrade from the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus’ 12MP main camera and possibly the biggest reason for an upgrade.
However, other than the main camera upgrade, your secondary and tertiary cameras remain more or less the same. However, the A16 Bionic and A17 Pro chips can provide better computational photography power, meaning your photos and videos will look better than those on your iPhone 14 or older.
Good photos won’t look as good unless you have the right display. The non-Pro iPhone 15s has more or less the same Super Retina XDR display you see on the iPhone 14s, available in 6.1 and 6.7 inches. You’re still stuck with a 60Hz display, and that’s a big bummer. The iPhone 15 Pros are also the same story.
Except for the Dynamic Island being included on all four iPhone 15s and the peak brightness being 2000 nits, you’re not going to notice much difference between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 displays, regardless of the model.
If you’re nit-picking, you will find that the iPhone 15 lineup features a superior display, but that’s about all there is to the new phones when it comes to the screen.
One of the biggest changes is the USB-C port on the iPhone 15 lineup. It supports 20W charging, DisplayPort output and, of course, data transfer. The port situation is a little confusing between the Pro and non-Pro models, so know that the USB-C port on the non-Pro iPhone 15s is slower (USB 2, up to 480 Mbps) than what you get in the iPhone 15 Pro lineup (USB 3, up to 10 Gbps).
Last, you get a customisable action button instead of the iPhone 15 Pro lineup mute switch. The button does exactly what it sounds like — launches an action or app that can be customised in the phone settings upon being pressed whether or not you’d want this instead of the regular mute switch that the entire iPhone user base is used to.
Software features and additions
The iPhone 15 lineup will ship with iOS 17 — Apple’s upcoming software release for iPhones. The update has already started rolling out for existing iPhones starting September 18. While features are consistent between the two devices regarding software, the iPhone 15 lineup gets an additional year of software support.
So, as of now, you don’t get any advantage in terms of software features except those enabled by hardware. Both phones will give you all the benefits of using iOS and inclusion into Apple’s very well-optimised and cohesive but strongly-walled garden.
Pricing and availability
Except for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the entire lineup is launching at the same price as the iPhone 14 model. The iPhone 15 Pro Max will run you $100 more now because Apple decided to eliminate the baseline 128GB model. Here is what each of the new iPhones cost at launch.
- iPhone 15: Starting at $799
- iPhone 15 Plus: Starting at $899
- iPhone 15 Pro: Starting at $999
- iPhone 15 Pro Max: Starting at $1,199
All iPhone 15 models are available for pre-order at the time of writing and will be available for purchase starting September 2022.
Is it worth upgrading to the iPhone 15?
Unless you’re already using an iPhone 14 Pro Max, we wouldn’t recommend upgrading just after a year of use. Sure, its next-generation counterpart offers a slightly better feature set, but they’re just about neck to neck for the most part.
This stands true for most of the iPhone 14 lineup. Unless you want USB-C connectivity, Dynamic Island and a better camera, there’s not much between your iPhone 14 and Apple’s shiny new toy. If you can foot the bill, by all means, go for the upgrade. But don’t feel the need to get your hands on the latest and greatest just because it’s there.
Your iPhone 14 will serve you well for the time being.
However, if you’re on an older iPhone and want to upgrade, we’d recommend skipping the iPhone 14 lineup and heading straight to iPhone 15. That said, with the launch of the new phone, iPhone 14 prices have come down and will continue to do so in the coming future.
If you want an iPhone and are willing to sacrifice the perks provided by the iPhone 15 lineup, this is the best time to get a great deal on an iPhone 14, regardless of the model. But, if you can foot the bill, iPhone 15 is the iPhone to get.
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