The much-awaited iPhone 15 series is now official!
At the Wonderlust event on Tuesday, September 12, Cupertino tech giant Apple announced the iPhone 15 series, Apple Watch, Airpods Pro 2, and other accessories. All these products will go on sale from September 22.
Here are the key takeaways from the announcements:
iPhone 15 and 15 Plus
Apple announced the release of iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. The new models come equipped with a dynamic island, which, according to the company, is an innovative way to interact with important alerts and live activities. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus still use the same A16 bionic processor that powered the iPhone 14 Pro series.
Apple’s iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models feature 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch OLED Super Retina XDR displays, respectively. Both models boast a peak brightness of up to 2000 nits, which is twice as bright as the previous generation.
Additionally, these displays come with a 60Hz refresh rate and are protected by the Ceramic Shield technology, which was first introduced in the iPhone 12 series.
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are equipped with a powerful 48MP camera featuring a quad-pixel sensor that combines every four pixels into a single large quad-pixel equivalent, resulting in a 2.44 µm at 12MP.
It also has the additional 2x Telephoto option, giving users three optical-quality zoom levels — 0.5x, 1x, 2x — for the first time on an iPhone dual-camera system.
Additionally, both models have a 12MP ultra-wide camera and sensor-shift optical image stabilisation for better image quality.
The iPhone 15 series also has new features, including an auto portrait mode that eliminates the need to manually switch to portrait mode. Additionally, users can adjust the focus from one subject to another after taking a photo. Another notable addition is the Emergency SOS feature via satellite, which is free for the first two years.
The iPhone 15 series now features a USB-C port, replacing the lightning port, while retaining MagSafe wireless charging support.
“Both models use a USB‑C connector, a universally accepted standard for charging and transferring data, allowing the same cable to charge iPhone, Mac, iPad, and the updated AirPods Pro (2nd generation),” says the company.
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
The iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max come in aerospace-grade titanium, which the company claims to be “strong yet lightweight.”
“This premium alloy — the same used in spacecraft — has one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios of any metal, making this Apple’s lightest Pro lineup ever,” says the company.
Both models feature a new refined brush texture, contoured edges, and the thinnest borders on iPhone.
The iPhone 15 Pro series uses an industry-first thermo-mechanical process, the titanium bands encase a new substructure made from 100 percent recycled aluminium, bonding these two metals through solid-state diffusion.
The 15 Pro series is powered by Apple’s latest A17 Pro chip, the industry’s first chip on a 3-nanometer architecture. According to the company’s claims, the new CPU is up to 10 percent faster with microarchitectural and design improvements, and the Neural Engine is now up to 2x faster, powering features like autocorrect and Personal Voice in iOS 17.
The pro-class GPU is up to 20 percent faster, featuring a new 6-core design that increases peak performance and energy efficiency. A17 Pro includes a dedicated AV1 decoder, enabling more efficient, high-quality video experiences for streaming services.
Additionally, a new USB controller enables USB 3 speeds on iPhone for the first time, now supporting much higher transfer speeds and video output up to 4K at 60 fps HDR.
With the 15 Pro series, Apple introduced the Action Button, replacing the single-function switch used to toggle between ring and silent. The action button offers additional options so users can choose between quickly accessing the camera or flashlight; activating Voice Memos, Focus modes, Translate, and accessibility features like Magnifier; or using Shortcuts for more options.
The 15 Pro series features a 48MP Main camera with a new 24MP super-high-resolution default and allows users to switch between 24 mm, 28 mm, and 35 mm. In addition to 48MP ProRAW, the Main camera also supports 48MP HEIF images with 4x more resolution.
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models are equipped with advanced telephoto cameras. The iPhone 15 Pro features a 3x telephoto camera, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 5x telephoto camera that uses a tetraprism design.
This design, combined with an optical image stabilisation and autofocus 3D sensor-shift module, makes it the most advanced stabilisation system yet, according to Apple. The telephoto camera on the iPhone 15 Pro Max can zoom up to 120 mm, a first for an iPhone.
Apple claims that Night mode captures images with sharper details, more vivid colours, and better low-light performance. Additionally, the LiDAR scanner enables Night mode portraits.
ProRes video recording directly to external storage is now possible on iPhone 15 Pro, enabling higher recording options up to 4K at 60 fps.
Apple has introduced a new option for Log encoding and claims that the iPhone 15 Pro is the first smartphone in the world to support ACES, the Academy Color Encoding System, which is a global standard for colour workflows.
Spatial video capture will also be made available later this year.
“Users will be able to capture precious moments in three dimensions and relive those memories with incredible depth on Apple Vision Pro,” says the company.
Both models use the USB‑C connector and support USB 3 for data transfer speeds up to 10 gigabits per second, up to 20x faster than before.
Apple Watch Series 9
Apple also introduced its Watch Series 9 powered by the new S9 SiP with systemwide improvements and brand-new features. Apple Watch Series 9 also has a new 4-core Neural Engine that can process machine learning tasks up to twice as fast when compared with Apple Watch Series 8.
The power efficiency of the S9 SiP allows the Apple Watch Series 9 to maintain all-day 18-hour battery life.
With a new double tap gesture, users can easily control the Apple Watch Series 9 using just one hand and without touching the display. Users can tap the index finger and thumb of their watch hand together twice to perform many of the most common actions on the Apple Watch Series 9.
The gesture can be used to answer and end a phone call, and even to take a photo with the Camera Remote on the Apple Watch.
The power-efficient S9 SiP increases the maximum brightness of the Apple Watch Series 9 display up to 2000 nits, double that of Series 8, making it even easier to read the text in bright sunlight, claims the company.
Apple Watch Series 9 is available in 41mm and 45mm sizes in starlight, midnight, silver, (PRODUCT)RED, and a new pink aluminium case, as well as stainless steel in gold, silver, and graphite cases.
Apple also claims the Watch Series 9 is 100 per cent carbon neutral, the company’s first.
Apple Watch Ultra 2
The highly anticipated successor to last year’s Watch Ultra is officially here. Apple Watch Ultra 2 features new S9 SiP, Apple’s brightest display ever (up to 3000 nits), and much more.
According to Apple, the Watch Ultra 2 is designed for extremes and has been tested for use across the range of altitudes for any Apple product, from 500 metres below sea level and up to 9,000 metres above.
The built-in Depth app now saves a log of each session so users can review the most recent sessions on Apple Watch Ultra or view the complete history of all dives with a GPS entry point in the Fitness app on iPhone.
It runs on watchOS 10, which offers a range of redesigned apps, the new Smart Stack, exciting cycling experiences, and features designed to enhance outdoor exploration.
For the first time on the Apple Watch, Siri requests can be processed on the device. For requests that do not require information from the internet, like starting a workout or setting a timer, Siri does not rely on Wi-Fi or cellular networks, resulting in quicker and more reliable responses.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 is available in 49 mm and is carbon neutral when paired with a new Trail Loop or Alpine Loop. New band colours are available for the Alpine Loop (blue, indigo, olive), Trail Loop (orange/beige, green/grey, blue/black), and Ocean Band (blue, orange).
Airpods Pro 2
Apple also launched the second generation of the world’s most popular TWS at the launch in Cupertino – Airpods Pro 2.
The new AirPods Pro are updated with a USB‐C connector, allowing users to charge the device directly with iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, which also come with a USB‐C connector.
It features an improved IP54 rating for the earbuds and the case also offers additional dust resistance.
The second-generation AirPods Pro now has a MagSafe Case with a USB-C port, a speaker, and a lanyard loop.
They use the Apple H2 headphone chip and the Apple U1 chip in the MagSafe USB-C Charging Case. Users can control them with touch and voice commands.
The AirPods Pro 2 are equipped with Bluetooth 5.3 and Adaptive EQ. They come with two microphones that can isolate user voice for better phone call quality. These latest AirPods Pro also support ‘Personalized Spatial Audio’, which provides a more immersive listening experience by simulating sound from various directions.
The H2 chip in the latest AirPods Pro and Apple Vision Pro, combined with wireless audio protocol, unlocks powerful 20-bit, 48 kHz Lossless Audio with a massive reduction in audio latency, says the company.
The new AirPods Pro are designed with numerous materials and features to minimise their impact on the environment, including the use of 100 per cent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets and 100 per cent recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards.
The case also uses 100 per cent recycled tin in the solder of the main logic board and 100 per cent recycled aluminium in the hinge.
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