Apple’s September event is happening in less than 12 hours, where the Cupertino company is expected to unveil the new iPhone 15 series. Plenty of rumours surrounding the next iPhone lineup were posted prior to the launch tonight, so we figured it’d be good to do a recap of them.
Of course, besides the new iPhones, Apple is said to be releasing a number of other products at the event too, including a new Apple Watch and an updated AirPods Pro charging case – more on these further down the article.
How to Watch Apple’s iPhone 15 Event?
You can catch the iPhone 15 launch event in the YouTube video embedded above, or through Apple’s very own website. The launch is set to begin at 1AM Malaysian time on 13 September, and rest assured, we will be doing a live coverage of the event.
Going by previous Apple launches, we expect the Cupertino company to reveal the Malaysian pricing of every product introduced at the event right after the keynote has concluded. That’s right, we will find out the local prices of the new iPhone 15 lineup very, very soon.
Four New iPhones With USB-C, Camera Upgrade, Thinner Bezels
As usual, four different devices are expected to make up the new iPhone 15 series. These include the standard iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, though previous rumours claim that Apple may use the “Ultra” branding for the Pro Max.
Branding aside, the biggest change to the iPhone 15 lineup is the transition from Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector to the widely used USB-C port. If you’ve got a lot of USB-C cables lying around, this is great news. In fact, Android users may be more incentivised to make the jump to iPhone with this port change.
However, some reports claim that not all phones in the iPhone 15 series will get faster data transfer despite the transition to USB-C. Only the Pro and Pro Max models will supposedly support “at least” USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3, while the base iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus gets only USB 2.0.
On the bright side, at least all devices in the iPhone 15 lineup are said to support faster 35W charging rates with the switch to USB-C.
Dynamic Island is said to be offered on all phones in the iPhone 15 lineup too, though the chips powering them will be different. The Pro models are believed to be powered by Apple’s new A17 chip built on a 3nm process, while the regular iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will be packed with the A16 chip. The latter is currently found in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Beyond that, the Pro models in the iPhone 15 series are said to get a number of exclusive features as well. Apple is claimed to be moving from the stainless steel frame to a titanium one for the Pro iPhones, and thinner bezels are on the cards too. There’s also one other big update to the iPhone 15 Pro Max: better zoom performance.
If rumours are to be believed, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is said to feature a periscope telephoto lens, allowing it to zoom in closer to a subject with minimal loss in image fidelity. Currently, the iPhone 14 Pro Max can only do 3x optical zoom, so if this rumour proves to be true, we can expect to see even better zoom performance out of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
It’s quite interesting that only the Pro Max model is reportedly getting a periscope telephoto camera while the regular Pro isn’t, given that both iPhone Pro models usually have the same camera configuration.
Updated Apple Watch Lineup
New Apple Watches could also debut at the September Apple event. The Apple Watch Ultra, for one, could be getting a new S9 processor based on the A15 chip that first appeared in the iPhone 13 series. The range-topping Apple Watch is rumoured to be getting a new darker titanium case as well.
As for the Apple Watch Series 9, it’s said to feature the same S9 processor too, along with a new pink colour option. It is also reported to feature a new band option that comes with a magnetic buckle.
New AirPods Pro USB-C Charging Case
The iPhone 15 isn’t the only one that’s going to get USB-C. Supposedly, the AirPods Pro – more specifically, the charging case – will be updated with an USB-C port from the Lightning connector. Whether or not the earbuds themselves will get some changes as well remain to be seen.
To recap, the “Wonderlust” September Apple event is slated to start at 1AM Malaysian time on 13 September. We’ll find out then just what the new iPhone 15 lineup, Apple Watch, and AirPods Pro will bring to the table.