Like a Picasso there is a consistent sense of intrigue about the work of the iPhone 15. Questions arise: will it have USB-C? Higher price point? Maybe even a new name, like “iPad Pro”? But of all these, what we really care about is what it will look like and how it will function. That’s why we’re going to take an in-depth look at what some of the more credible rumors are for the iPhone 15 so we can paint a better picture of what could potentially come out of Apple next fall.
As the European Union has ruled that iPhones sold in the region must switch to USB-C charging by 2024, the buzziest design rumor so far involves the iPhone 15’s charging port. The question is whether Apple will switch all iPhone models to USB-C or just those sold in the EU. The iPhone 14 already has an electronic SIM, while other variants retain the SIM slot, as Apple has already done with the iPhone 14.
As an analyst at Techsponential, Avi Greengart believes Apple has good reasons to move all iPhones to USB-C. “There are larger ecosystem, security, and accessory concerns with the power/data connector, so I think Apple will move all iPhones [globally] to USB-C in the iPhone 16 timeframe to comply with European regulations,” Greengart said.
Dynamic Island expands to all iPhone models
In the iPhone 15 lineup, Apple is expected to offer four models. Rumors suggest a design that is generally similar across the board, except for Dynamic Island, the shape-shifting cutout found on the iPhone 14 Pro.
Ross Young, a display analyst, also said in a September tweet that he didn’t expect base iPhone 15 models to have a higher refresh rate than Apple’s Pro iPhones.
The iPhone 14 Pro’s most eye-catching feature feels like it’s winking at something else
Pro iPhone 15 models get solid-state buttons
It is expected that Apple will differentiate its base and Pro models further in the coming years, according to noted Apple observer Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities. It is his expectation that the iPhone 15 Pro models will have solid-state volume and power buttons instead of the standard ones on today’s devices, he wrote in a tweet in October.
A solid-state button mimics the feel of pressing a button with haptic feedback, which also protects against water penetration, which Kuo says will be similar to the home button on the iPhone SE and iPhone 7.
Periscope-style telephoto lens for iPhone 15
Another Kuo prediction has been making the rounds about the iPhone 15’s camera. The analyst predicts that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will have a periscope-style telephoto lens. Kuo predicts that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will come with a 6x optical zoom, since this sort of telephoto lens allows for higher optical zoom levels. As compared to rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, which offers 10x optical zoom, the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s optical zoom is limited to 3x.
