iPhone 15 Pro rumors: Release date, features, colors, specs, price, and more
The iPhone 15 Pro leaks have overflowed the dam at this point with new details emerging weekly, and at times daily, on what we can expect from Apple come this September.
With that said, these are rumors. Even the best, most reliable sources have some misses, whether they are a year early on a hardware change or something is dropped ahead of launch, so take everything with a grain of salt.
With that preamble aside, here’s a look at everything we’ve gathered about the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max so far.
iPhone 15 Pro latest news (Updated August 1)
The iPhone 15 Pro OLED displays have gone into production at Samsung and LG per The Elec's supply chain sources
The iPhone 15 battery is set to get a whole lot better, as Apple is moving to stacking battery layers — greatly expanding the capacity.
However, while the speed of charging has improved, iPhone still won't charge as quickly as many Android phones.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is getting a camera layout change, but it won't look much different from its predecessor
iPhone 15 Pro solid-state buttons may not be coming after all
iPhone 15 Pro release date
We can be reasonably confident that the iPhone 15 will launch in the first half of September of 2023.
Apple has stuck almost unwaveringly to these dates for a decade now, except for the iPhone 12 launch, which was impacted by COVID-19. If we had to venture a guess at the exact date, it would be September 12, 2023, but just circle that date in pencil for right now.
iPhone 15 Pro price
Despite rumors to the contrary, Apple didn't make any changes to its pricing for the iPhone 14, but the drumbeat is picking up for a price hike in 2023. The good news is that it may not be across the board as a March 15 report from tech analyst Jeff Pu indicated that only the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will be more expensive. So this could be the pricing for the iPhone 15 in the U.S.:
iPhone 15: $799
iPhone 15 Plus: $899
iPhone 15 Pro: $1,099
iPhone 15 Pro Max: $1,199
For context, the launch prices for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max were $999 and $1,099, respectively, so the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models are reportedly getting a $100 increases in their price tags.
iPhone 15 Pro design
Thanks to a recent design leak from 9to5Mac, we now have a clear look at what the iPhone 15 Pro is set to look like. Changes include a titanium casing with curved edges, a far bigger camera bump for the periscope lens, thinner bezels (1.55mm now), and a new gorgeous red finish.
And on top of that, thanks to those smaller bezels, the iPhone 15 Pro may actually be a little smaller than the outgoing 14 Pro.
iPhone 15 Pro: 5.76 x 2.77 x 0.32 inches
iPhone 14 Pro: 5.80 x 2.81 x 0.31 inches
iPhone 15 moves to USB-C
The other potential major design change is a move to USB-C for charging. The EU mandated the move to USB-C by 2024, and while some projected Apple going to an entirely wireless design rather than using USB-C, that doesn’t seem feasible. Apple would need to include a MagSafe charger in the box, and while wired data transfer isn’t incredibly common on phones anymore, it is relevant for service and for the professional videographers that Apple likes to court with its class-leading video performance. Instead Apple may try to maintain its control over accessories by applying its "Made for iPhone" strategy to USB-C, although that also could be illegal under new EU rules.
According to @analyst941, an anonymous Twitter user that digs into Apple software, the USB-C port will specifically be Thunderbolt 3, meaning high-speed data transfers.
Otherwise, the current leaks suggest that the basic squared-off redesign that the iPhone 12 kicked off will remain through the iPhone 15. That shouldn’t come as a shock; this design has rolled out across Apple’s entire lineup to an overwhelmingly positive response and the company is not known for frequent design shakeups. However, Content Editor Jason England is disappointed the company did not go further.
New buttons?
And finally, let's talk about buttons. Earlier in the rumor cycle, there was a lot of chitchat that the iPhone 15 Pro would have something called "solid-state buttons" with sensors and Taptic Engines that simulate the feel of a real button click.
However, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, although that was in the works at first, due to technical difficulties, the iPhone 15 Pro is ditching the solid-state buttons concept. All buttons will still have physical buttons like the previous generation, but one notable difference is that the iPhone 15 Pro will have more of a unified volume rocker as opposed to last gen's dedicated volume buttons.
Now, let's take a look at the possibility of the elimination of the mute switch. Check out our report about leaked iPhone cases revealing that the Cupertino-based tech giant may have ditched the mute switch in favor of an "action button."
This action button can be programmed by users to perform the following tasks:
Turn on/off flashlight.
Enable/disable Do Not Disturb.
Ring/Silent.
Lock/Unlock Rotation.
Take Screenshot.
Show the Home Screen.
Show the Lock Screen.
Keep in mind, though, that the above bulleted list is not exhaustive. According to Phone Arena, the same options available for iPhone's back-tap system can be applied to the reported new action button.
It's also worth nothing that a leak on Chinese social media network Weibo revealed that the power and volume buttons will be placed lower than their current positions on the iPhone 14 Pro models.
iPhone 15 Pro colors
Wondering what colors you can expect from the iPhone 15 Pro line? Unknownz21, a source that has proven to be reliable with accurate information about other iDevices (e.g. Apple Vision Pro), told MacRumors that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models will roll out in a unique dark blue color with a grayish hue.
MacRumors claims that it is very similar to the blue Apple introduced with the iPhone 12 line called Pacific Blue.
However, MacRumors claims that it's a slightly darker tone that compliments the titanium casing upgrade expected for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models.
According to 9to5Mac, however, we're getting a different story. This tech outlet claims that the new color for the upper-tier iPhone 15 models will be a Deep Red (color #410D0D to be precise). Unknownz21 claims that they haven't seen nor heard about a "Deep Red" iPhone 15 Pro in development.
We don't know which source to believe, but either way, this new color is expected to replace the purple shade featured in the iPhone 14 Pro models.
iPhone 15 Pro specs
The only spec update of note so far regarding the iPhone 15 is about the A17 Bionic processor. While that name could change, the rumor is that this will mark the move to a 3-nanometer chip for Apple’s A-series processor, which points to a more significant performance bump than a typical year-on-year update. Given that Apple just moved to a 4-nanometer chip with the A16 found in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max this year, the company is moving pretty fast.
Projections are for roughly a 10-15% boost to performance, but perhaps more exciting is up to a 30% reduction in power consumption. Twitter leaker AppleTrack claims to have information regarding the battery capacity expected of each iPhone 15 model, including the base iPhone 15 (3877 mAh), iPhone 15 Plus (4,912 mAh), iPhone 15 Pro (3,650 mAh), and iPhone 15 Pro Max (4,852 mAh). This is a 11 to 15% increase in battery capacity. This could cement them at the top of the list for the phones with the best battery life. A Geekbench 6 result allegedly for an A17 Bionic posted to Weibo in March showed an even greater bump, nearly 25% higher than the A16 Bionic.
iPhone 15 Pro cameras
While Apple finally updated the cameras in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, the iPhone 15 Pro Max may finally get a true telephoto zoom lens, even if it still comes up short of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. However, prospective iPhone 15 Pro buyers shouldn't get their hopes up, the rumors have consistently indicated it is only the Pro Max getting the periscope zoom.
This is one of the only irrefutable weaknesses in Apple’s mobile photography compared to Android flagships, so it’s a much-needed upgrade that could put Apple back on top the top.
According to leaker @Unknownz21, there is a minor change to the iPhone 15 Pro Max's camera layout, but it's nothing you would notice with your naked eye. The updated telephoto lens (periscope) would typically sit on top of the main camera (e.g., iPhone 14 Pro Max), but on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it will be between the LiDAR scanner and flash. In other words, the periscope lens will swap places with the ultrawide camera.
In the end, though, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's triple rear camera setup will look exactly the same, even though the updated telephoto (periscope lens) switched places with the ultrawide shooter.
iPhone 15 Pro battery
We're starting to get some information about the iPhone 15 Pro battery, which is set to get a big capacity upgrade thanks to a big change inside.
We’ve already seen a version of a stacked battery cell from Apple before, as the company layered battery slices to fit the contours of the previous generation MacBook Air.
But this is a lot more complex, folding the elements and separators into zig-zag layers, which uses significantly less space than the traditional method of rolling up the battery elements. Not only that but heat is dissipated more evenly across the whole battery — rather than getting super hot in a single area. That means you won’t feel one particular hotspot, and it elongates the cell's lifespan too.
This seems to tie in nicely with a reported leak of iPhone 15 battery capacities, which showed these increases over the iPhone 14 models:
iPhone 15: 3,877mAh (+15%)
iPhone 15 Plus: 4,912mAh (+12%)
iPhone 15 Pro: 3,650mAh (+12%)
iPhone 15 Pro Max: 4,852mAh (+11%)
iPhone 15 Pro outlook
That’s everything we know so far about the iPhone 15. The pieces are all starting to come together, but there's plenty more still to uncover.
The iPhone 15 will undoubtedly remain one of the most popular phones on the market regardless of what upgrades come to the lineup, but there are several potential updates that we have been waiting years for and could win over more converts from Android. Some of the latest leaks, such as the 48MP cameras for the standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus have us hopeful that Apple is narrowing that gap with the Pros a bit again, but we'll see as more rumors bubble up to the surface.
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