It’s that time of year!
As students return to school and as the days get shorter, that can only mean one thing: the annual September Apple event is near and approaching. Okay, maybe that’s extreme. Though for some of us Apple fanatics, “extreme” is a fair descriptor.
Every September for the past couple of years I’ve tuned into Apple’s annual iPhone announcement event. Today, Apple has just announced an official date and time for their much anticipated September event.
The event, which Apple is naming “Wonderlust” will be held on September 12th at 10:00 a.m. PT. and is streaming on Youtube and on the Apple TV app. So you might be wondering, what’s new this year?
Four things I’m expecting from the new iPhones
While I anticipate Apple to announce many new products including the new iPhone 15 and 15 Pro lineup, refreshed AirPods, updates to the Apple Watch, in this article we’ll be covering the iPhone 15 lineup specifically. Here’s four of the top things to expect on the new iPhone 15 models.
iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro: Thinner Bezels, Dynamic Island, USB C, Cameras
According to well known Apple-related news reporter Mark Gurman, we can expect to see a number of physical updates to the iPhone with the iPhone 15 lineup. However, these changes while signficant, are not as extreme of a redesign as 2022’s iPhone 14 Pro was.
1. Thinner Bezels on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max
Expect to see thinner bezels on the Pro models, making it Apple’s thinnest iPhone bezel yet (see the comparision here featured in an article by AppleInsider’s William Gallagher). With the biggest design appearance overhaul since the iPhone X, by reducing and trimming the bezels, Apple is doubling down on their new design and signifiying it’s here to stay. The dimensions of the phone will stay the same and I anticipate the camera module to also remain it’s, let’s just say, agressive size. Usually by this time of the year, we see leaks from case manufacturers if there were to be a change in physical form factor.
2. USB C Coming to iPhone? End of Lightning?
Next, if you’ve read my pieces before you know I nerd out about USB C. It’s finally happening. Many experts are signalling that this is the beginging of the end to Apple’s Lightning cable charging (which has long been speculated by experts like Gurman). Rumors suggest that all iPhone 15 models and 15 Pro models will feature USB C charging. This was anticipated given the EU decision to set USB C as the universal standard of Europe in 2022. I’ve seen multiple reports saying it’s likely USB C cables will be color matched to the color of the iPhone unit they’re packaged with.
Forget your charger? Finally, you can ask your Android-using friend to lend you a charging cable. What a time to be alive! Gearadical covered the possibilty of USB C iPhones last year but I expect this year to be the year Apple makes the move to USB C. If you already own a 20W charging brick from Apple, you will be able to use that with the new USB C cable (identical to iPad charging).
3. iPhone 15 and 15 Plus Dynamic Island
For the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models, I anticipate the introduction of “Dynamic Island”. It was a pleasent surprise to recieve this feature on last year’s model and it’s slowly become one of my favorite changes. The time is now for Apple to say “out” to the clunky (now six years old) notch and “in” with the minimal and intuitive pill shaped cutout for all iPhone models.
As an iPhone 14 Pro owner, I’m excited to see this wonderful piece of hardware and software integration reach the base model lineup. Dynamic Island is an answer to the failure of the old Macbook Touchbar. This integration between software and interaction is what I think Apple wanted the Macbook to offer, but it always came short for me.
In the past year, noticeabley more devleopers latched onto Dynamic Island as time went on. If more and more developers are in on it, Apple’s not moving away from their new feature any time soon.
4. Camera Upgrades, new lens?
I also anticipate to camera upgrades to unveiled. Expect to see the 48-megapixel that was introduced last year on the 14 Pro to roll out to the base model lineup (according to analyst Jeff Pu covered by MacRumors Senior Reporter Joe Rossignol). For the iPhone 15 Pro Max (Ultra? We’ll see what they call it), I expect those models to recieve an upgrade to the telephoto lens, perhaps even replacing it with a Periscope lens. Personally, I would love to see even more improvement to the optical zoom capabilities of iPhones. While I would say overall iPhone still reigns supreme as the best overall camera experience on a smartphone in 2023, an improvement to the telephoto/periscope lens would give them a robust lead over the Pixel 7 Pro and the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
All will be revealed September 12th
I love thinking and guessing about what future tech can be. I’m curoius to see which of these predictions will hold true in a couple weeks time but until then, let the speculation continue! Not to mention we didn’t even get into the possible updated Airpods, Apple Watch series, and more that might be discussed.
Oh, and one final prediction: Expect a price increase on both iPhone 15 lines (Forbes) with the base line iPhone 15 starting at $800 and base iPhone 15 Pro at $1,099.
Block off your calendars, September 12th from 12pm – 2pm CST all will be revealed live from Cupertino, California.
