iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro: 10 things you need to know

Over the years, September has generally been deemed as the iPhone launch month and things are no different for 2023. During its Wonderlust event early last week, Apple officially revealed the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro together with the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Consumers in Malaysia don’t have to wait too long to get their hands on the phones as they will be officially available in our market starting from Friday, 29 September. If you need a quick explainer of the new things that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro are bringing to the table ahead of its official release, you have come to the right place.

USB-C port on all new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro devices

It is the end of an era for the Lighting port as Apple has decided (after much pestering by the European Union) to replace the proprietary port with USB-C. That being said, the capability of the USB-C port on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models is quite different to each other.

As our deep dive article pointed out, the USB-C port on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus is limited to USB 2.0 standards. This means that the data transfer speed maxes out at 480Mbps which is no different from the Lightning port.

On the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, things are much better. Thanks to the new USB controller inside the new A17 Pro processor, both devices can support the USB 3.0 transfer speed of 10Gbps provided that you are using a USB-C cable that can support the speed.

Apple didn’t clarify whether the move to USB-C resulted in any improvements to the charging speed though. In fact, the fast-charge capabilities of all four new models remained identical with their iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 counterparts which is up to 50% in 35 minutes for the Pro models and 30 minutes for the non-Pro devices when charged with a 20W adapter or higher.

That being said, all four new iPhone models also come with a reverse charging feature. This allows them to act like a power bank although the feature can only be used with devices that support USB Power Delivery of up to 4.5W which include AirPods and Apple Watch.

By the way, Apple has also released a USB-C to Lightning adapter for anyone out there who plans to continue using their favourite Lightning-based accessories with the new iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro devices. It doesn’t come cheap though, at RM159 per unit.

The new 48MP camera system on non-Pro iPhone 15 models

While the company has made continuous improvements on the iPhone’s camera, it has been seven years since Apple started using 12MP image sensors for its smartphone. So, it is great to see that the company has finally implemented a higher resolution camera system on the mainstream iPhone models.

What made the new camera even more interesting is that it also came with some extra trick in its pocket. Made possible by the new 48MP sensor, it came in the form of a telephoto feature with up to 2X zoom even though the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus do not have the actual optical telephoto hardware.

The image captured by the telephoto feature is saved at a much lower 12MP resolution though since this feature utilises pixel binning. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus continue to feature a 12MP ultra-wide rear camera and a 12MP TrueDepth front camera.

Dynamic Island is no longer exclusive to the Pro model

When the feature was first introduced last year through the iPhone 14 Pro devices, Dynamic Island immediately became the talk of the town. Similar to the 48MP camera sensor, the Pro-level feature has now made its way to the mainstream crowd via iPhone 15 models.

Based on all the demonstrations and early looks that we have seen so far, the Dynamic Island implementation on iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus seems identical to the iPhone 14 Pro devices. It continues to show notifications as well as app-specific features phone call control, music playback, Voice Memo recording, Apple Maps directions, Timer countdown, low battery warning, and many more.

Bye-bye stainless steel, hello titanium

For the first time, Apple has decided to use titanium as the building material for the iPhone. This allows the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max to be 19 grams lighter than their predecessors which made them the lightest iPhone Pro lineup to date.

Apple also said that it has implemented a new substructure into the Pro models which was made from 100% recycled aluminium. It apparently helped improve thermal dissipation while allowing the back glass to be removed for replacement much easier.

While it might be hard to see at a glance, the company also claimed that the new Pro devices have the thinnest borders on iPhone to date. They also feature new contoured edges but whether these new iPhone Pro models feel better to hold…well, guess we have to wait for them to be officially released in Malaysia later this month.

Action Button replaces the iconic mute switch on the iPhone 15 Pro

The Action Button was one of the signature features of the Apple Watch Ultra and has since made its way to the iPhone realms via iPhone 15 Pro devices. The new customisable button has replaced the iconic mute switch which has been part of the iPhone family since 2007 although it still exists on the non-Pro iPhone 15 models.

Users can still use the new Action Button to mute their device but it can be set to turn on other features. The list includes Focus mode and apps such as Camera, Flashlight, Voice Memo, and Magnifier.

Here comes the first 3nm Apple Silicon chip

Given that they are the latest and greatest from Apple, the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max naturally deliver more performance than their predecessors. In order to do this, the company has introduced the new A17 Pro processor with the new flagship-class devices.

You may have expected the chip to be called A17 but with a “Pro” label on it? That caught many by surprise including us and according to Apple, this is the company’s first-ever 3nm processor.

Apple also said that the new processor carries 19 billion transistors. That figure is six billion more than its predecessor, the A16 Bionic which is now powering the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.

While it still comes with two high-performance cores and four energy-efficient cores just like A16 Bionic, the CPU performance of the processor is apparently 10 percent faster. The same goes for the chip’s Neural Engine which still has 16 cores but is now two times faster.

The A17 Pro also features a brand-new GPU which has a six-core design alongside up to 20% better performance than the predecessor. More importantly, it is also capable of delivering hardware-accelerated ray tracing to help more realistic lighting and shadows for a more immersive gaming experience.

Aside from delivering better performance, Apple has also equipped the processor with a dedicated USB 3 controller. This is why the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are able to deliver data transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps which made the next feature possible.

iPhone 15 Pro can record video directly to an external solid state drive

In another move to position the iPhone as a go-to tool for content creators and professionals alike, the iPhone 15 Pro devices can record up to ProRes 4K at 60 fps directly into an external SSD via their USB-C port. Of course, you also need a proper USB-C 10Gbps cable in order to utilise this feature.

Apple has yet to reveal further details regarding this feature but MacRumors has said that the code within iOS 17 Release Candidates (RC) stated that it also supports ProRes 2.8K at 60 fps. However, the external SSD must be formatted to exFAT or APFS for it to work with this feature, according to the RC codes.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro series is also the first mobile device that supports the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) which is said to be a global standard for colour workflows. Aside from that, video professionals can also take advantage of the new Log encoding option.

The new tetraprism-based 5x telephoto feature on iPhone 15 Pro Max

Apple is giving consumers one additional reason to consider its top-of-the-range iPhone 15 Pro Max: a new 5x telephoto camera. As a comparison, the smaller iPhone 15 Pro still has a 3x telephoto camera just like its predecessor.

The increase in focal length was achieved by implementing a tetraprism design into the telephoto camera. It also comes with a combined optical image stabilization and autofocus 3D sensor-shift module.

Aside from that, Apple also said that the Night Mode and Smart HDR features have received some improvements on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The A17 Pro processor inside these devices also helped improve video recording especially low-light recording and Action Mode.

Before we forget, there is one more thing though: the pricing. This is not exactly good news, so brace for the impact.

iPhone price in Malaysia went up again

When the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models were launched last year, you can’t help but notice that they cost much higher than their predecessors. Unfortunately, the same applies to the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro although the price jump is not so significant this time around. Here is how the new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro price looks like side-by-side with their predecessor:

Unlike last year where the price differences were between RM300 to RM700, the difference between 2023’s iPhone offerings and their predecessors is exactly RM200. Interestingly, Apple has also decided to not include the 128GB option for the iPhone 15 Pro Max which means that the base price for the Pro Max is now much higher than before.

If you feel that the increase is a bit too much for your budget, Apple did slash the price tag for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. While you are no longer able to purchase iPhone Pro 14 devices from Apple Malaysia’s website, you should be able to find them at your favourite phone retailer or telco.

iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro pre-order opens on Friday, 22 September

On the other hand, if the pricing doesn’t faze you, the pre-orders for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro will be opened later this week on Friday, 22 September. You can do so either through Apple Malaysia’s website or selecte d Apple Authorised Resellers.

For those who want to consider the telco options, all of Apple’s local telco partners including CelcomDigi, Maxis, and U Mobile will also kick off their iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro pre-orders on the same day.

iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro: 10 things you need to know

Chief Chapree

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