If you’re prone to using USB-C chargers in your day-to-day life, you might just be jumping for joy if you’re an iPhone user. CEO Tim Cook took to the stage yesterday in Apple Park, California to announce the brand-new iPhone 15 range, alongside two new smartwatches: the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
While the iPhone 15 has a bunch of new upgrades (faster processors, 48MP camera, iOS17, and cool new colour options), the topic on everyone’s lips was the fact that Apple has finally ditched its infamous Lighting charger introduced in 2012 and switched back to the industry standard USB-C.
Why is it a good thing? USB-C cables are affordable, and you’ll find great options on Amazon, as opposed to Apple’s steep price of £19.00. Secondly, chances are you already have a bunch of USB-C cables around your home, so making the change won’t be that difficult.
The change comes from the European Union’s legislation, which gives consumers the freedom of not buying a different charger every time they purchase a new device, forcing Apple into adopting the USB-C chargers for their new iPhones.
Now you’re all caught up, here are five new changes coming to the iPhone 15.
New action button
Since its launch in 2007, the iPhone has had the ring/vibrate switch, but after 16 years, the iPhone 15 Pro has decided to switch things up.
The Action Button is a versatile tool that can do things like “activating the camera, turning on the flashlight, starting a Voice Memo, opening a note, switching Focus modes, or running your custom shortcuts. You can also set accessibility options like Magnifier,” The Verge states.
If you’ve read that and thought, no thanks, you’ll be glad to know the regular iPhone 15 will keep its physical switch.
New A17 processor
Powering the new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, this A17 Pro chip packs a punch. According to Engadget.com, “the 3-nanometer chip features 17 billion transistors and a six-core CPU.
“Apple claims its two performance cores are 10 per cent faster than the A16, while its four efficiency cores offer far better performance per watt. The 6-core GPU is also 20 per cent faster than before, and it features advanced graphics features like hardware accelerated ray tracing.”
The new chip is allegedly strong enough for users to play some of their favourite video games. Apple recently announced that the full versions of Resident Evil 4 Remake, Resident Evil Village, and Death Stranding are all expected this year.
Upgraded camera technology
Whether you’re taking photos at your favourite concert, or taking a few selfies that will never see the light of day, you might want to know about the iPhone 15’s new camera specs.
According to CNET.com, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have pretty much the same camera hardware, including the 48-megapixel wide-angle main camera and the 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. Its front camera has also had some upgrades too, with Apple announcing a TrueDepth technology that focuses on you and your friends, for spectacular selfies and super-sharp FaceTime calls.
For more specific details about Apple’s new camera technology, this TikTok by @inverse sums it up pretty well:
New colour schemes
Much like the iPhone 5C (remember that?), the iPhone 15 comes with colourful pastel shades on top of their regular grey and black hues. One colour in particular that caught people’s eyes was one that has been asked of by Apple for a long time – pastel pink (Barbie lovers unite).
Check out the colourways in this TikTok by @katamogs.
iOS17
In a post by HuffPost.com, we discussed some brand new features of iOS17 that we thought consumers would love, especially if you’re big on privacy.
Apple’s new Link Tracking Protection Feature prevents websites and apps from tracking you, as well as stopping websites from adding extra information about you in their URLs for marketing purposes.
They also announced Live Voicemail: a feature that allows you to see who’s calling via a live transcription on your screen whenever who’s calling leaves a voicemail. It also allows you to pick up the phone as well, just in case it does end up being important.
“iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max represent the best of Apple design and industry-first innovations to help enrich the everyday experiences of our users while enabling them to unleash their creativity,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
The iPhone 15, 15 Plus, Pro, and Pro Max are available for pre-order from September 15th and will cost from £799 to £1,199.