Apple just announced and presented the iPhone 15 last night during their annual presentation. Is it worth upgrading to? Read on to find out the 7 key features that stood out for us.
The tech giant, Apple (as it does every September), unveiled its latest products yesterday during its annual keynote presentation event called “Wonderlust” They announced and presented the new iPhone 15, Apple Watch, AirPods and the iOS 17 and USB-C updates were announced.
The event is an integral showcase for the brand to convince and entice consumers to upgrade their older iPhone for their latest releases. Apple fanatics, the much awaited update has now launched. Rushing to upgrade or skeptic about the features? Curious to know if the exorbitant price tags of the iPhone are justified? Is it just a reiteration or a must buy, a once in a decade iPhone? The company announced the new iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Though not so surprisingly, there is nothing revolutionary about the release but cutting edge? Yes, here are 7 interesting features you should know about!
1. Appearance: New Colors & Materials
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will be available in five colors: Pink, yellow, green, blue and black. The shades except for black stick to the pastel. The iPhone 15 Pro models on the other hand will come in black titanium, white titanium, blue titanium or a natural titanium finish. The main difference between the iPhone 15 base models and the iPhone 15 Pro is the use of titanium sides/bezels which replaces the stainless steel used since the iPhone X. The titanium is also fingerprint-resistant as opposed to the previous steel version. The switch is said to make the phone about 10% lighter and the bezel is much less sharp.
2. Claims Of All Day Charging, But Isn’t That A Given?
The tech company highlighted how the new release promises a full day of charging. While Apple doesn’t reveal batter capacities, the company did say that the iPhone 15 will last for up to 20 hours of video playback, 16 hours of streamed video, and 80 hours of audio playback. That’s the same as the quoted figures for the iPhone 14 which the brand is terming as a wow factor of all day charging but hmm, isn’t that the most basic thing they could be offering at the steep price point?
3. Converting To The USB-C Type!
The biggest feature revelation from the event was Apple’s adaption of the universal USB-C charger! There’s a new port on the iPhone and users can now use anybody’s charger anywhere. Many would consider this is a great update, no more worrying about finding an Apple specific charger in the middle of nowhere.
After 11 years of the Lightning charging port it is now replaced with a USB-C cable which has been present on Macbooks, iPads, Android phones and windows laptops and many more types of devices across various categories. Often dubbed as the “universal connector,” its primary benefit here is that you can finally use the same cable to recharge most of your devices. Though, it could be credited to the European Union mandate that USB-C must be on all new phones, tablets, and cameras by the end of 2024.
4. Dynamic Island
All the four models in the 15th line up have the Dynamic Island feature which was only introduced last year in selectively the iPhone 14 Pro models. This is the pill-shaped cutout at the top of the display housing the TrueDepth selfie camera. The notorious notch at the top of your iPhone screens is now gone that first was seen on iPhone X. But the Dynamic Island, as its name suggests, is adaptive, almost acting like a second screen. If you’re waiting for an Uber ride, the driver’s arrival time will show up in the Dynamic Island. You can also see passive information from alarms, timers, flight information, and live sports game scores without ever having to hop onto an app itself.
5. The GPU
Apple claims that the graphics processor unit is the “most significant overhaul in Apple GPU history,” reporting a 20 percent performance increase compared to its predecessor. The new GPU is said to enhance the level of detail in mobile games while being more energy-efficient. Furthermore, it now features hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which is four times faster. Consequently, Apple asserts that you can enjoy console games such as “Resident Evil: Village” on the iPhone 15 Pro, and titles like the upcoming “Assassin’s Creed Mirage” will have iPhone versions in addition to console and PC releases.
6. Camera Upgrade But Did Samsung Do It First?
The standard iPhone 15 models will have an improved camera that will allow for greater optical zoom and a wide depth of field, switching from a 12-megapixel main camera sensor to a 48-megapixel version. The new camera has the same resolution as the camera on the iPhone 14 Pro.
The considerable new camera change is the addition of a periscope zoom camera exclusively for the iPhone 15 Pro Max model. According to reviewers, this technology isn’t new. Samsung has had a 10X optical zoom camera in its Galaxy Ultra phones for a few years and even the Google Pixel 7 Pro uses a 5X optical periscope zoom camera. Apple says it enables 5X optical zoom, allowing users to capture subjects from a distance in high quality. Though the smaller iPhone 15 model Pro is capped at 3X zoom.
7. Emergency Roadside Assistance & Find My Friends
Apparently a feature no other smart phone has, Apple has introduced an additional feature within the same system as the SOS function, offering roadside assistance. In situations where drivers find themselves lost in an area with no cell service, they can activate this feature by sending a text message. This will enable them to share their location using satellite technology. Initially, AAA will be the provider for this roadside assistance feature when it is rolled out.
iPhone 15 users can now easily share their locations and locate each other, even in crowds. This new iPhone model will be equipped with Apple’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, extending its connectivity range to other devices equipped with the same chip, reaching up to three times farther. This capability helps you to efficiently navigate through crowded places, such as concerts, stations, or markets, to locate friends who are sharing their locations with you. Much like the precision-finding functions previously used to locate lost items and devices, you can now receive precise directions and distance indicators to guide you directly to your friends, thanks to these enhanced locating capabilities.
8. What? No Extra Cost?
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will keep their prices unchanged at $799 and $899, respectively. The iPhone 15 Pro will also stay at $999, but the iPhone 15 Pro Max is going up to $1,199, marking a $100 increase compared to the previous models. It’s worth noting that the iPhone 15 Pro Max now comes with 256 GB of storage, which is the same as the 256-GB iPhone 14 Pro Max, at no extra cost. These phones will be available for pre-order starting on Friday, September 15, and will officially launch on September 22.
So who is upgrading and who is not? Do you think it will be worth it?
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Sources: WIRED, Tech Radar
