Dec 8, 2023
Richard Lawler
It’s time for the annual MKBHD Blind Smartphone Camera Test.
Marques Brownlee is once again crowdsourcing opinions on photos. You can head to the voting site where, in three categories (standard, low-light, and portrait mode), you’ll see the same photo taken by 20 different smartphones and judge which one you prefer in side-by-side comparisons.
Last year’s results revealed some notable differences in how different phones process the same situation — we’ll find out soon how far apart they are now.
Sep 15, 2023
Emma Roth
The iPhone 15 Pro’s 5G modem reportedly boosts speeds by up to 24 percent
Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge
The iPhone 15 Pro could come with better 5G connectivity. That’s according to data from SpeedSmart (via 9to5Mac), which indicates that the iPhone 15 Pro will offer up to 24 percent faster download 5G speeds when compared to its iPhone 14 Pro predecessor.
As shown by the data from SpeedSmart, the biggest jump occurred on Verizon’s network, which showed an average download speed of 195.83Mbps on the iPhone 14 Pro, as opposed to 243.06Mbps on the iPhone 15 Pro. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro on T-Mobile had the fastest average 5G download speeds at 300.92Mbps, as opposed to 204.34Mbps on AT&T.
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Sep 6, 2023
Jon Porter
The iPhone 15 might be a little dull on the outside.
We could be in for a muted iPhone color selection this year. YouTuber Jon Rettinger has gotten his hands on dummy units in what appear to be the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro’s launch colors. Those are black, white, light blue, light yellow, and a soft pink for the 15, while the 15 Pro could come in blue, dark gray, light gray, and white.
Aug 30, 2023
Wes Davis
Pastel iPhones, titanium frames, and production issues, oh my.
This post on X (formerly Twitter) could show the colors for the standard iPhone 15 — at least, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo lists similar colors in a blog post on Medium.
Kuo also corroborates the oft-rumored titanium frame for the 15 Pro phones, which may have contributed to production issues. He also mentions a possible iPhone 15 Pro gray color, which has been rumored recently.
Aug 28, 2023
Wes Davis
This might be the iPhone 15’s USB-C port
Image: Majin Bu
Apple said last year it will bring USB-C to the iPhone, and now alleged pictures of the iPhone 15’s USB-C port hint at light blue and green colors for Apple’s new non-Pro phones, according to leaker Majin Bu (via AppleInsider). The images, which were shared on X (formerly Twitter) this morning, show three naked USB-C modules in the two colors, as well as a dark, black shade. In addition, Majin Bu shared pictures of somewhat crude mock-ups of the phone, including one with an apparently off-center hole for the USB-C port.
Majin Bu later clarified that the existence of a green USB-C port doesn’t mean there will actually be a green iPhone at launch, guessing Apple will release it in the spring, something the company’s done with lighter colors for a few years now.
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Aug 24, 2023
Jay Peters
No gold — but maybe gray.
9to5Mac reports that the iPhone 15 Pro won’t come in a gold option. Instead, the publication says you can expect space black, silver, a new gray that “embraces the natural color of titanium,” and a dark blue. There apparently won’t be a red.
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Update August 24th, 6:07PM ET: 9to5Mac posted images of what appears to be the new “Titan Gray” color for the iPhone 15 Pro. I think it looks really nice.
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9to5Mac expects the iPhone 15 non-Pro to come in black, green, blue, yellow, and pink.
Image: 9to5Mac
More evidence points toward an action button on the iPhone 15 Pro.
As spotted by 9to5Mac, the iOS 17 beta 7 has a new haptic feedback pattern that makes the “phone vibrate more prominently” to signal when silent mode is on or off.
That would make sense if Apple ends up replacing the mute switch with a solid-state action button, as the vibration could help users determine which mode it's in.
Aug 18, 2023
Jess Weatherbed
The iPhone 15 might have faster charging speeds
Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Apple is set to introduce the iPhone 15 in the next few weeks, and the device’s long-rumored transition from Lightning to USB-C may provide a boost to its charging speed. According to 9to5Mac, some of the new iPhone 15 models will support charging up to 35W, compared to the 27W speeds that the current iPhone 14 Pro is limited to.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo made similar predictions last year, claiming that Apple’s supply chain indicated the company would ditch Lightning in favor of USB-C in 2023. According to Kuo, the switch would enable faster charging speeds for iPhone 15 Pro models, but the feature may only be supported via Apple-certified cables. Apple stopped bundling its iPhones with power adapters back in 2020 to try and combat e-waste, so the company may instead recommend that customers purchase the 35W dual USB-C charger it released last year, or the 30W USB-C charger that’s designed for the MacBook Air if it isn’t planning to sell a dedicated iPhone 15 charger.
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Aug 7, 2023
Umar Shakir
Inside the arrangement that helps Apple keep its edge in chips.
The Information reports that in Apple's deal with TSMC, the costs of defective chips are eaten by the chip manufacturer instead of Apple, its biggest customer. It's a boon to Apple over competitions as it moves forward using new 3nm technology that has lower production yields.
Apple’s also paying more than ever for the chips. That might be why there’s a continued split on new iPhones, with the top chips going to the most expensive models.
How Apple Will Save Billions of Dollars on Chips for New iPhone
[The Information]
Jul 30, 2023
Jacob Kastrenakes
iPhone 15 Pro might get a titanium frame, thinner bezels, and a price hike
Image: Nilay Patel / The Verge
Some big changes are expected to come to this year’s iPhone 15 Pro lineup —but they might come alongside a price hike, too. In Bloomberg this morning, reporter Mark Gurman confirmed a handful of details that have been floating around all year about what to expect when the next iPhone lineup is announced in just over a month.
The new Pro models will both come with titanium frames, instead of stainless steel, making them stronger and lighter, according to Gurman. Their screens will also have thinner bezels, thanks to a new display technology, shrinking the size of the black border by about a third. (Earlier leaks show what that might look like.) And as previously reported, expect the mute switch to be swapped out for a customizable button and the Lightning port to be replaced by USB-C.
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Jul 27, 2023
Emma Roth
The iPhone 15 Pro’s rumored action button sounds pretty useful.
The upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are expected to come with an action button — similar to the one on the Apple Watch Ultra — that replaces the device’s ring/silent switch. But now, we have a better idea of what it might be able to do.
As spotted by MacRumors, code in the iOS 17 beta 4 suggests you can program nine different functions into the action button, potentially allowing you to quickly access the Camera app, turn on the flashlight, launch the Translate app, and more.
Jul 24, 2023
Jess Weatherbed
Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models could be more expensive
Image: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
According to a new report by Bloomberg, Apple is allegedly planning to hike the price of its upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models in a bid to increase revenue during a projected slump in smartphone sales.
The publication claims that Apple has a target to produce around 85 million iPhone 15 units this year, which isn’t far off the 90 million iPhone 14 units the company is said to have requested from its suppliers last year. Essentially, Apple is hoping it can produce a similar number of devices but keep its revenue high (in spite of things like ongoing inflation and lower demand for consumer tech) by increasing the price of its more expensive iPhone models, according to “people familiar with the matter.”
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Jul 4, 2023
Jess Weatherbed
Leaked Pixel 8 Pro photos give first real look at Google’s upcoming flagship
Poor Google doesn’t have much luck with keeping its unreleased Pixel devices under wraps, and the Pixel 8 Pro is no exception. Two leaked photos of Google’s upcoming Pixel flagship were posted to Reddit on Monday, giving us our first look at the front and rear of what appears to be a real Pixel 8 Pro out in the wild. Those original pictures were swiftly removed from Reddit, but thankfully, not before Droidlife could grab a copy.
The design is recognizably that of a Pixel device, though there are a few notable differences compared to its predecessor, the Pixel 7 Pro. The photo of the back of the Pixel 8 Pro gives us a clear view of the new triple-camera setup, which is now housed entirely in a single glass oval, unlike the 7 Pro’s separate telephoto lens. A new sensor that can measure the user’s body temperature can also be seen under the flash. There’s no additional information regarding the camera specifications, though previous leaks suggest it’ll be equipped with a 50-megapixel main sensor, 64-megapixel ultrawide, and a 48-megapixel telephoto.
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Jun 19, 2023
Richard Lawler
UWB, Wi-Fi 7 upgrades for future iPhones could help them work with the Vision Pro.
In a pair of tweets, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple would “aggressively” upgrade hardware specs with an eye to the ecosystem around its $3,499 headset.
That includes bumping the iPhone 15’s ultra-wideband (UWB) chip to a new 7nm process and a likely update to Wi-Fi 7 on the iPhone 16. Wi-Fi 7 devices should support faster mesh networking features and lower in-home latency. Qualcomm has said it will enable “peak speeds up to 5.8 Gbps” to a single device.
May 16, 2023
Thomas Ricker
Apple iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have even larger displays.
Next year’s iPhone 16 Pro display will jump from 6.1 inches (iPhone 15 Pro) to 6.3 inches, while the Pro Max will jump from 6.7 (iPhone 15 Pro Max) to 6.9 inches, say analysts Kuo and Young.
Kuo says the extra space will make room for periscope lenses with better zoom performance, also expected on this year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max.
May 15, 2023
Wes Davis
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus might be hard to get at launch.
MacRumors got ahold of a research note from supply chain analyst Jeff Pu at Haitong International Securities suggesting a new 48MP sensor stack for the camera in these non-Pro phones will lead to production issues.
MacRumors notes Pu was the first to claim that “design issues” would keep iPhone 15 Pro models from switching to solid-state buttons, which leaks and other analysts have backed up since then.
Apr 17, 2023
Jon Porter
Here’s our best look yet at what Apple’s announcing in June
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Apple’s long-anticipating mixed reality headset won’t be the only piece of hardware it announces at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who’s published a new overview of the event. Expected launches include new MacBooks, as well as a “major” update to the Apple Watch’s watchOS software.
Let’s start with the Macs. Gurman doesn’t explicitly say which macOS-powered computers Apple could announce in June, but lists around half a dozen devices it currently plans to release this year or early 2024. There’s an all new 15-inch MacBook Air, an updated 13-inch MacBook Air, and new 13-inch and “high-end” MacBook Pros. Meanwhile on the Mac side Apple still needs to replace its last Intel-powered device, the Mac Pro, with an Apple Silicon model, and it also reportedly has plans to refresh its all-in-one 24-inch iMac.
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Apr 13, 2023
Jay Peters
Rumors about the iPhone 15 Pro’s volume buttons are changing again.
According to MacRumors, a button will indeed replace the mute switch, but the long-rumored unified volume rocker isn’t happening. Instead, the iPhone 15 Pro line will apparently have two separate volume buttons. The news follows analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s report that Apple would not use solid-state buttons for the volume and mute buttons.
Basically, it seems like the only major difference to expect from that side of your iPhone is a mute button. Hopefully Apple treats it like the Apple Watch Ultra’s Action Button.
Apr 12, 2023
Jon Porter
iPhone 15 Pro could end up having physical rather than solid-state buttons after all
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
After months of leaks saying Apple will ditch the physical volume and power buttons on this year’s iPhone 15 Pro in favor of fancy solid-state replacements, one of the original sources of the rumor now says it’s not happening.
“My latest survey indicates that due to unresolved technical issues before mass production, both high-end iPhone 15 Pro models (Pro & Pro Max) will abandon the closely-watched solid-state button design and revert to the traditional physical button design,” reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a Medium post. 9to5Mac reports that another analyst, Haitong Tech’s Jeff Pu, also thinks Apple will stick with traditional mechanical buttons for iPhone 15 Pro models.
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Apr 10, 2023
Jay Peters
Want to get an idea of what the iPhone 15 Pro might look like in your hands?
A user on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) shared a video of what looks to be a dummy model of the iPhone 15 Pro (via MacRumors), and it provides a decent look at how big the phone might be in real life. The dummy appears to match up with 9to5Mac’s detailed iPhone 15 Pro renders shared last week. The cameras are enormous.
Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge
Apr 7, 2023
Mitchell Clark
Is this the iPhone 15 Pro?
9to5Mac says it’s gotten more details on the iPhone 15 Pro via a “detailed CAD” file and other sources, and it’s showing us what the upcoming phone could look like. We’ve heard a lot of the rumors before — titanium frame, USB-C, thinner bezels, a great new color — but the renders really bring this story to life.
Mar 20, 2023
Jay Peters
New iPhone 15 Pro renders show that rumored mute button.
The fancier iPhones will apparently switch from a mute switch to a mute button this year, and new renders in a video spotted by leaker ShrimpApplePro reveal that it, well, looks like a button. If this is the real deal, I’m curious if it will be an improvement over the switch, which has been an iPhone staple since the very first one.
In the video, you can also see the iPhone 15 Pro’s rumored unified volume button and that the iPhone 15 will apparently keep the mute switch and separate volume buttons.
Feb 26, 2023
Emma Roth
The iPhone 15 Pro Max (Ultra?) could have a more subdued camera bump.
That’s according to leaker Ice Universe, who shared renders of what’s supposed to be the iPhone 15 Ultra, which 9to5Mac later corroborated.
In addition to a USB-C port, smaller bezels, and a buttonless design, the image shows a much less obnoxious camera bump when compared to the one we saw on the render of the iPhone 15 Pro.
Feb 25, 2023
Jay Peters
And here’s the iPhone 15 Plus, apparently.
9to5Mac’s latest renders depict the iPhone 15 Plus, which seems to still be in the works despite reportedly poor sales of the iPhone 14 Plus. The Plus phone looks to also be switching over to a Dynamic Island and USB-C, but if I had to pick an iPhone 15 model based on what we know now, I think I’d go with the rumored Pro red.
Image: 9to5Mac
Feb 23, 2023
Jay Peters
The iPhone 15 Pro’s special color might be a good-looking red.
9to5Mac has the details. I usually just get a black phone, but I’d seriously consider getting this nice red.
Image: 9to5Mac
FAQs
All the rumors about this year’s iPhone 15 lineup? ›
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What is rumored for iPhone 15? ›The 2023 iPhone 15 models feature USB-C instead of Lightning, faster A16 chip, the Dynamic Island instead of a notch in the display, upgraded camera technology, and more.
What iPhone 15 models will there be? ›The iPhone 15 range includes the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus (7/10, WIRED Recommends) are exactly the same except for their size and battery life.
What are the special features of iPhone 15? ›- FaceTime audio.
- Voice over LTE (VoLTE) 5
- Wi‑Fi calling 5
- Share experiences like movies, TV, music and other apps in a FaceTime call with SharePlay.
- Screen sharing.
- Spatial Audio.
- Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum microphone modes.
The rear glass is now a single piece for a cleaner look, while the edges are slightly contoured to feel more comfortable in your hand. The bezels are also a bit thinner, which helps the iPhone 15 look more modern. The iPhone 15 lineup (left) is much paler than the iPhone 14 lineup (right).
Will iPhone 15 be a big change? ›Upgrading to the iPhone 15 will not only mean getting access to new features, but you'll also experience significantly longer battery life, a larger screen and 5G network speeds.
Is the iPhone 15 worth buying? ›Yes, the iPhone 15 is worth it, although we reckon it depends on what phone you're upgrading from. Still rocking an iPhone XR or an 11 with a cracked screen and a blurry camera? You're going to find levelling up to the iPhone 15 a revelation.
Is iPhone 15 Pro worth buying? ›The bottom line: The iPhone 15 Pro is a worthwhile upgrade coming from the iPhone 12 Pro, but you should really only upgrade if you're starting to feel performance and battery life slowing down.
Is it worth getting the iPhone 15 Pro Max? ›That said, someone who is upgrading from an older iPhone, especially one that was not in the "Pro Max" category, will notice a huge improvement in features and performance – especially since you'll now have access to a larger display, a longer battery life, a faster processor and, if your previous iPhone was several ...
What is better iPhone 14 or 15? ›Across a variety of tests and benchmarks, the A16 Bionic in the iPhone 15 outperforms the A15 Bionic in the iPhone 14 in every way. The differences can be as great as a 10 to 15% improvement in most areas including compute power, graphics processing and power efficiency, all of which are really great.
Will iPhone 15 have better camera? ›
Higher Resolution: The iPhone 15 Pro Max packs a 48-megapixel main camera which is a significant upgrade in resolution compared to the iPhone 12's 12-megapixels. Telephoto: Having a telephoto lens is one thing, but you'll be upgrading to a 3× or 5× optical zoom.
Will the iPhone 15 be much better than 14? ›Both iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 deliver impressive performance. However, the second-generation Ultra Wideband chip on iPhone 15 is a definite upgrade. This superfast A16 Bionic chipset supports all of the phone's advanced features like computational photography, Dynamic Island, and Voice Isolation for phone calls.
What are the new changes in iPhone 15? ›The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro have officially launched. The biggest change this year is that Apple is finally switching from a Lightning port to a USB-C port, meaning the phones will probably be that much easier to integrate into your charging ecosystem. But the devices have some other notable upgrades as well.
Which model of iPhone 15 is best? ›The iPhone 15 Pro Max is not just the best camera iPhone but will likely end up being the best camera smartphone overall and is the right choice for those who want nothing but the best. If you are a gamer, go with the Pro Max, which not only offers a smoother display but is also capable of running AAA titles.
How much is the iPhone 15 Pro rumored to cost? ›The iPhone 15 Pro will cost you at least $999 / £999 / AU$1,849, the same as the iPhone 14 Pro, which gets you a model with 128GB of storage. iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $1,199 /£1,199 / AU$2,199, which comes with 256GB of storage. Check out our round-up of iPhone 15 deals to see if you can save on the Pro.
Is going from iPhone 14 to 15 worth it? ›So if you're cost conscious, you will not regret buying the iPhone 14. But you really should buy the 15. Apple has made it clear that the Dynamic Island and USB-C are the way of the future for the company, and it will only continue to expand those capabilities year in and year out.
What is the iPhone 15 going to cost? ›At $799, the entry-level iPhone 15 shares the same starting price as the past three models, from the iPhone 12 (2020) to the iPhone 14 (2022).
Should i buy iPhone 14 or 15? ›A lot remains the same – including battery life, 6.1-inch screen size, water resistance rating, storage options and the addition of a Plus model to get a bigger screen – but as a package the iPhone 15 is much closer to a Pro-level experience, while the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus feel much more separated specs-wise ...