It’s official—Apple has announced that its annual September event will be happening on 13th September 2023 at 1am Malaysian time, at its usual venue: the Steve Jobs Theatre at Apple Park in Cupertino.
Themed “Wonderlust” according to invites sent to select media, this year’s event will almost certainly be headlined by the reveal of the new iPhone 15 series. The new smartphones are set to feature the biggest change on the iPhone in years, with the switch from a Lightning port to USB Type C being a shoo-in at this point, thanks to forthcoming EU regulations mandating a standardised charging port.
Other expected changes include the rollout of the Dynamic Island—which debuted on last year’s iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max—across the entire iPhone 15 line. Disappointingly (but unsurprisingly), however, the non-Pro models are expected to retain a 60Hz refresh rate screen, instead of the 120Hz ProMotion displays—with always-on functionality, also introduced last year—on the more expensive devices.
On the flip side, the regular iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will inherit the 48MP main camera from last year’s Pro models, finally leaving the 12MP shooter in the dust. A new stacked sensor should enable it to capture more light and lead to better low-light performance, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Of course, most of the rumoured new features will be reserved for the Pro models, chief of which being a new titanium finish—instead of stainless steel—and slimmer bezels that should result in ever so slightly smaller dimensions. Also new is a customisable Action button similar to the Apple Watch Ultra, replacing the usual mute switch.
It’s also been reported that these devices will not only get upgraded cameras but also a periscope telephoto lens that should extend the optical zoom range beyond the current 3x. However, the latter will apparently be limited to the larger Pro Max.
Under the skin, the Pro models is expected to feature a new A17 Bionic chip, reportedly built on a 3nm process. The standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus should graduate to the A16 Bionic used in the iPhone 14 Pro, keeping to the staggered chip release cycle introduced on the iPhone 14 series.
Lastly, pricing. It’s been reported that after keeping prices the same last year, Apple is raising the starting price of the Pro models in the US by as much as USD 200 (around RM929) on the Pro Max. Of course, the phones will likely be more expensive across the board in Malaysia—as was the case last year—anyway, no thanks to the unfavourable exchange rate.
You should also expect some new, hitherto unannounced features coming to the new devices. Last year, the iPhone 14 received the Dynamic Island for the Pro models and a satellite connectivity function that was also rolled out to the Apple Watch Series 8. Speaking of which, this year’s event will likely also see the debut of the Apple Watch Series 9, a revised Apple Watch Ultra and perhaps some new AirPods. Might we suggest a long-overdue overhaul of the AirPods Max?
