It is expected that the announcement related to the iPhone 15 will take place tomorrow at 2 AM. I usually watch the live broadcast of this event every year without fail..
Since I've been busy and haven't been following the rumors much, I've selected a few of the recently revealed rumors and organized them, focusing on content that might be useful to reference during the event.
1. Exterior Design
First, the most noticeable content will likely be about the design.
However, according to known news, it is expected that there will be no noticeable major changes in this iPhone 15. Instead, rumors suggest that the Dynamic Island, which was only applied to Pro/Max models in the 14 series, will also be applied to the iPhone 15/Plus.
The iPhone 15/Plus lineup, usually responsible for the value-oriented lineup, adds character through color differences, and this time there are prospects for a coral blue mixed with pink, orange, white, black, green, and yellow.
It seems to be because it is a lineup that relatively young students prefer.. Since they subtly differentiate the colors a little bit every time, it would be best to go to the store and check the colors in person once the actual product is released.
For the Pro/Max line, it is said to feature a rounded titanium frame, new buttons, and a massive camera bump.
The expansion of the camera bump size seems to be due to rumors that the iPhone 15 Ultra will feature a periscope zoom lens, which has been utilized in the Galaxy series.. While the area has increased, it is said that the size of the protruding camera has decreased.
It is said that the curvature of the glass edges of the iPhone 15/Plus and Pro/Max will be slightly different, and it is known that the Pro/Max lines will have a narrower bezel size compared to the base lines.
However, given that Apple has traditionally maintained a relatively wide bezel to protect the most expensive component, the display, it seems unlikely that they would suddenly use a drastically reduced bezel for this series... I predict that the size reduction will be relatively modest.
Also, there are predictions that the weight of the Pro model will decrease from 206g to 188g, a reduction of 18g, and the Max model will decrease from 240g to 221g, a reduction of 19g, due to the use of titanium and other materials.. Since the Pro/Max lines have been steadily getting heavier over the past few years, this reduction would likely be a meaningful change.
2. USB-C Port Implementation
The biggest change expected in this iPhone 15 is the adoption of a USB-C port.
Since Apple received a ruling in Europe that using Lightning ports is illegal, there were rumors that all future iPhones would use USB-C ports.. It is now expected that the iPhone 15 will be the first to feature a USB-C port.
Since USB-C components expected to be included in the iPhone 15 series were leaked as early as last August, this fact has become almost a foregone conclusion.. Given that Apple has stuck with Lightning cables for such a long time, the adoption of this USB-C type port will likely feel unfamiliar from various perspectives.
However, regarding whether the data transfer speed of this USB-C port will support the USB transfer speeds used in other existing devices, various observations have been made.
First, as known, since it supports data transfer at the level of Thunderbolt 3, it is possible to transmit at speeds up to 40 Gb/s, but it is predicted that the basic USB-C cable provided will be at the level of a USB 2.0 cable with 480MB/s.
It is probably expected because Thunderbolt support cables are so expensive.. However, since it is 2023, I also hope they provide a cable supporting USB 3.2 or so. (Maybe they won't provide a cable while shouting for USB-C..)
3. Chipset Performance
Suddenly, Apple has become the leader driving the development of AP chipsets in the mobile device market.
It seems to have become a company that sets the standard for the market. Although it is a smartphone company, it is said to make the best chips.. (Intel/AMD won't like this story.)
So, I'm curious about what chip it will release this time as well..
According to known reports, it is said to be the first to feature an A-series chip built on TSMC's next-generation 3-nanometer node. There are predictions that performance will improve by about 15% compared to existing chipsets, and power consumption will decrease by 35%.
According to leaked benchmark tests, it is said to be measured at nearly 30% higher performance compared to the A14.
Of course, the data suspected to be leaked varies widely, and since the performance is too high compared to the A14.. it seems to be estimated as inaccurate data.. but if it's real, it looks like Apple's Bionic series is running away again, while the Snapdragon in the Android formation is barely catching up..
Apple... Are they moving even further towards being a chipmaking master?
Instead, similar to the 14 series, the base models, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, are said to be equipped with the A16 chip used in the 14 series.
Well... since the A16 chip used in the iPhone 14 is still top-tier specs for its class, even if it turns out as rumored, the iPhone 15 and Plus models should still hold a very good position in terms of performance.
Also, rumors are circulating that there will finally be a change to the RAM in the iPhone series after a long time.
It is anticipated that the high-spec Pro models and Pro Max models will be equipped with 8GB of RAM, rather than 6GB.
Also, there are rumors that it will switch to LPDDR5X instead of LPDDR5, though some say this will apply to the iPhone 16 rather than the iPhone 15.
虽然我不确定这两个确切规格的差异会带来什么样的性能变化，但苹果传统上对内存升级一直非常保守，所以听说就连在 Pro 系列上也会进行内存升级，这听起来是个好消息。（还是稍微增加一点吧……）
However, since RAM prices have dropped significantly, I hope Apple will allocate more RAM to the iPhone lineup, which currently seems to lack sufficient memory compared to Android competitors that pack in a lot of RAM. We should be able to verify the validity of these rumors tomorrow.
4. Camera Performance
So, where will they use chips like the A17, which will appear with a bang showing off a huge performance gap, just as observed above?!! Of course, they will guarantee gaming performance, but.. Apple is a company that utilizes chip performance well to implement camera performance.
So, naturally, there is a lot of curiosity about the changes to the iPhone 15 camera.
Unfortunately, it is expected that the image sensor size, which most significantly affects photo quality, will not change significantly.
However, it is said that the pixel count will increase significantly from the existing 12 million to 48 million.. This is said to enable detailed and high-resolution image creation.
It is also expected that the Pro Max models will feature a Sony IMX903 sensor with a 1/1.14-inch size.. Since the accuracy varies greatly depending on the rumor, we will need to look for stories after the actual announcement.
Apple rarely talks about sensor size when announcing the iPhone. They only mention it when there's a significant upgrade... If there are any changes this time, they will likely boast about it, so just think 'Oh, the sensor got bigger' and wait for the exact specs to be released.
Additionally, there are rumors that the iPhone 15 Max series will feature the periscope lens for the first time in the iPhone series. Due to size constraints, it is said to be exclusive to the Max series... This suggests that we can expect excellent optical performance on the iPhone, similar to the Galaxy series.
5. Price
So, how much will the price be?
To summarize, the base/Plus models of the iPhone 15, which see no major changes, are expected to launch at $799 and $899 based on base capacity, just like the 14 series. However, the Pro and Max models are said to be $100 to $200 more expensive at $1,099 and $1,299, respectively.
In other words, for me, who mainly uses the Max model, I have to bear a significant expense.. ( Aaaaaah no.. )
Based on today's exchange rate, buying the base model of the Max costs as much as 1.75 million won.. hehehe.. I don't know how amazing its performance is, but.. it's an expensive computer price.
Also, although the exchange rate was slightly lower at the beginning of the year, it is now soaring again, so purchasing domestically is disadvantageous in terms of exchange rates.. Therefore, it appears that a significant expenditure will be required to purchase a high-end iPhone line.
However, the exchange rate has dropped a bit compared to when the iPhone was announced last year.. I wish the domestic price could be lowered even a little. ㅠㅠ ( It's too expensive.. Cook hyung.. )
6. Other Rumors - iPhone 15 Ultra?
Aside from rumors about cases and modem chips, there are various minor rumors, but among them, the rumor that personally caught my eye was about the "Ultra" model.
Huh? Ultra? That's a bit of a random topic, but..
Apple, having enjoyed success with the massive iPhone Max in the past, was expected to release another expensive iPhone series as time passed.
With the release of the incredibly powerful A17 chip... one might wonder what they will do with it. There are predictions that they will release an Ultra model that can be used for other purposes, related to the Vision Pro announced in the first half of the year..
Actually, in the Mixed Reality method used by the Vision Pro, which renders space, there is a process required to convert surrounding information into digital data. Since you cannot use the Vision Pro every time to shoot / change it, the Ultra model and the high chipset functionality of the iPhone 15 series, which have a spatial camera attached, can be used to create spatial data for the Vision Pro. The outlook is that this device is for people like me in professional IT, photography, and computer graphics rather than individual users.
It's not entirely wrong, though.. Since I also used to handle camera and spatial shooting equipment in a lab over a decade ago to shoot and convert images.. And considering that equipment capable of such shooting is currently being sold at quite high prices.. If the iPhone 15 Ultra makes such tasks easily possible, I think it could actually be a good value-for-money device even if it comes out at a high price.
Actually, Apple made a splash last year by unveiling the Apple Watch Ultra, releasing a high-spec Apple Watch for users beyond the usual crowd—those enjoying extreme sports or simply wanting a more powerful device—which garnered significant popularity.
So, for these high-end users, the appearance of a professional iPhone that goes beyond a simple smartphone and sits on the boundary between work and daily life is also expected.
However, given Apple's history, I wonder if they might release it under a completely different lineup rather than the iPhone name... like the iPhone Pro... or VisionPhone... something like that naming convention... starting at $2,999, you know... ( ㅠㅠ )
And maybe... maybe a rare surprise... the Apple iPhone fold... was the Ultra!! I hope for such a twist.
If Apple were to release a foldable phone.. maybe.. I'd work even harder to buy it, shouting Take my money..
There used to be many surprises due to Apple announcements like the iPad or MacBook Air popping up out of nowhere.. I hope something like this comes out again.
In Conclusion..
Based on the current time, the Apple announcement for the iPhone 15 is expected in about 14 hours. Aside from the content covered above, other products or news might make a surprise appearance... Since it is Apple's announcement, which I always trust and enjoy, I need to go to sleep early today to watch the early morning announcement.
I wonder if Apple will surprise the world again this time, or if they will make an announcement to maintain the status quo..
I'll do another roundup after the announcement.