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Apple has launched the latest iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max at the recently concluded Wonderlust event at the Apple Park in Cupertino, California. The reviews are in, and the general consensus is that the vanilla iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are the best vanilla models ever launched by the Cupertino tech giant.
The long and short of it would be that the new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are repackaged from last year's Pro models. They sport the A16 Bionic processor, Dynamic Island display, 48MP primary camera, and more. Here's a laydown of new features that the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus come with.
Top new features of the new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus
While the features of the 15 and iPhone 15 Plus have been seen before, these features are new to the vanilla lineup, making them the best base variants from Apple.
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1) New colours
Apple is a stickler for standard colors, and apart from (PRODUCT) Red and a rare yellow or green here and there, the brand has launched every new iPhone in Black, Grey, and Silver so far. However, they have changed things up this year.
The new 15 and 15 Plus have been launched in stunning Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink colorways. The company has discontinued the Starlight and (PRODUCT) Red. However, these new colors with pastel hues look stunning and are a sharp detour from Apple's design philosophy.
2) New design
Speaking of design, while the 15 and 15 Plus are not that different from their predecessors, the devil is in the details. Apple has introduced a new color-infused glass back panel, reinforced with an optimized dual-ion exchange process and polished with nanocrystalline particles for a luxurious silky satin matte finish.
Additionally, subtle contouring on the edges of the aerospace-grade aluminum frame makes the new iPhone 15 quite ergonomic. A small but exciting detail shared by Apple is that the company has rearranged the components inside the frame, which makes the back panel easier to remove. Apart from these, the new iPhone 15 and 15 Plus retain the ceramic shield protection for the display and the water/dust resistance from their predecessors.
3) Dynamic Display
In 2022, Apple finally got rid of the ubiquitous display notch in favor of the pill-shaped cutout with the interactive Dynamic Island functionality. Unfortunately, the feature was restricted to iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max to distinguish between the vanilla and pro variants.
That's no longer the case, as the 15 and 15 Plus feature 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch Super XDR Retina OLED display, respectively, with Dynamic Island. Users can interact with various notifications, alerts, and task progress like music or timers from the top of their iPhone 15 or 15 Plus display. However, Apple has also kept the 120Hz ProMotion display restricted to the Pro models this year.
4) 48MP main camera
Another Pro exclusive feature last year was the introduction of the larger 48MP camera on the more expensive iPhone 14 Pro models. In contrast, vanilla iPhone 14 models had the same 12MP camera with a 12MP ultra-wide lens. This year, Apple has brought the 48MP sensor to the vanilla iPhone 15 models with a 12MP secondary lens.
Apple claims the new iPhones use computational imaging to offer 24MP super-high-resolution shots by default. Even in low-light conditions, we can expect highly detailed, punchy, and sharp pictures. Apple has also improved the night mode, Smart HDR, and other features.
5) Telephoto lens
With the new 15 and 15 Plus, Apple is bringing the Telephoto option to the dual-camera system for the first time. According to Apple, the new vanilla models use the seamless integration between software and hardware to offer 2X optical zoom to users. This is the first time vanilla iPhone models will offer three optical zoom levels - 1.5x, 1x, and 2x. Notably, previous models only offered 1.5x and 1x.
6) Powerful portrait imaging
Apple has also enhanced the portrait imaging on the new 15 and 15 Plus models. For the first time in the history of the base variant iPhone, users can capture portrait shots without having to switch to portrait mode and adjust the distance from the subject.
When clicking pictures of a person or an animal or when the user taps to focus, the new iPhone 15 models automatically capture depth information. This helps users adjust focus points later on in the Photos app.
7) A16 Bionic
Apple has fitted the new 15 and 15 Plus with the Apple A16 Bionic chipset, which powered last year's Pro models. The chipset brings proven performance chops to the new models, which drives Dynamic Island functionality, computational imaging, enhanced gaming, and more. It is a hexa-core processor with two performance cores and four efficiency cores.
The chipset is further mated to a 5-core GPU, which offers 50% more RAM bandwidth for smooth graphics while gaming or enjoying multimedia content. Additionally, a 16-core Neural Engine enables faster and more efficient processing of AI features like iOS 17's live transcriptions.
8) U2 Ultra Wideband chip
Apple has also equipped the 15 and 15 Plus with the latest second-generation U2 Ultra Wideband chip. For the uninitiated, the Ultra Wideband or UWB is a low-energy, secure radio protocol used for determining location with unparalleled accuracy. Apple uses the UWB chip to power the Find My feature on the iPhone.
With the latest UWB chip, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus allow users to share their location and find each other even in crowded places. Find My now offers haptic feedback and accurate onscreen instructions to guide users to their friends or family.
9) USB-C connector
The most significant update to the new iPhones is the addition of the USB-C port. While it might be stuck to the USB 2.0 standard for data transfer and 20W charging like a lightning connector, it opens the door to many possibilities.
For example, users can use the same charger to charge their iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and even the latest AirPods Pro 2nd generation with a USB-C charging case. Additionally, the charging cable that comes with the new iPhones can charge the new AirPods or Apple Watch directly from your iPhone.
10) iOS 17
Last but not least, the 15 and 15 Plus boot the latest and greatest iOS 17 operating system out of the box. The new iOS update is more personal and intuitive than ever, according to Apple. It brings significant updates to the Phone app, including Contact Posters, Live Voicemail, and more.
The messages app also gets refreshed with a new sticker drawer, search filters, audio message transcriptions, and send Check In. Other useful features include NameDrop, StandBy, Journal, Privacy Browsing in Safari, autofill OTP from mail, and more.
These are the latest and greatest features of the newest 15 and 15 Plus. If you plan to pick one of these, the iPhone 15 starts at $799, and the iPhone 15 Plus starts at $899. They will be available for pre-order starting September 15 and will go on sale on September 22.
