Any surprises? Yes. Not too many, of course, but good ones. With its new iPhone 15 unveiled on September 12 and marketed on September 22, Apple is carrying out a much more exciting range renewal than between the iPhone 13 and 14 a year ago. While the temporary ban on the sale of the iPhone 12 in France is causing a buzz, 20 minutes takes stock of the five real new features that the iPhone 15 will bring to consumers.
The widespread USB-C socket
The change was expected. Apple has complied with European directives which intend to generalize a single charger so that the public can recharge all their equipment with a single accessory. Exit the Lighting socket, welcome to USB-C. Apple, which already had this socket on its Macs and iPads, has just made it standard on its four new iPhone 15s, but also on its 2nd generation AirPods Pro.
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus configured like the 14 Pro
Apple’s iPhone 15 and 15 Plus adopt the configuration of the iPhone 14 Pro launched a year ago. In particular, a 40-megapixel main sensor which replaces the 12-megapixel sensor still present on the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. The point here is to take advantage of technology pixel binning (which merges four sub-pixels into a single pixel) and to offer 24 megapixel photos by default, which are much brighter and more detailed.
The two new terminals also benefit from the A16 Bionic chip of the 14 Pro. And adopt a screen with the “Dynamic Island”, this small upper island which allows you to take advantage of notifications, access your playlist currently playing… No 120 Hz screen, however, nor “Always on Display” function… However, the resemblance between the 15 and 15 Plus and the 14 Pro is such that the latter is no longer on sale on the Apple store.
The periscopic zoom of the iPhone 15 Pro Max
This is an innovation at Apple. Thanks to a set of mirrors, the light captured by the IPhone 15 Pro Max is reflected four times before reaching its main sensor. This aptly named “Tetraprism” by Apple allows you to overcome the thickness constraints that a multi-lens zoom would impose. Here, Apple promises with its 15 Pro Max a 5x optical zoom (120 mm equivalent) and digital zoom up to 25x (compared to 15x previously).
Is this a revolution? No, but a good upgrade. Especially when faced with Android smartphones which have already adopted this process. The first of these was Huawei’s P30 Pro, which had a 5x periscopic zoom… four years ago! But Samsung’s new Galaxy S23 Ultra outperforms the iPhone 15 Pro Max in this area, having a periscopic zoom of up to 10x, the equivalent of a 230 mm full-frame photo.
An “Action” button to customize
The iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are playing the game changer. In addition to their titanium borders, a lighter and more resistant material, and their new 10% more powerful A17 Bionic Pro chip, the classic “Silence” button on the left border of its smartphones disappears in favor of a button named “Action” which can be personalized in the settings. So it is possible to assign a default function to it: Silent, Photo, Do not disturb, etc.
When you press this button for three seconds, the selected function starts instantly. Just a gadget? Not necessarily, because this button is configured through a perfectly designed interface which also allows you to go into details: like for the photo by selecting “Selfie”. We can’t wait, among other new features, to try it.
Falling prices
Yes, you read correctly: the prices* of the new iPhone 15s have not jumped compared to those of their predecessors. At worst they are stable (for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, sold from 1,479 euros in 256 GB, like the iPhone 14 Pro Max), but most of the time they are down by 50 to 100 euros for models with performances that are otherwise equivalent, or even better, as with the integration of the new A17 Bionic chip in the iPhone 15 Pro which nevertheless drops by 100 euros!
As surprising as this good news is in a period of inflation, the manufacturer knows that it is facing a telephony market which is slowing down. According to the Counterpoint institute, the overall decline would have been 8% between the second quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2023. Perhaps not enough to panic Apple: its sales of premium smartphones (excluding iPhone SE) would have increased by +17%. in the second quarter of 2023. The manufacturer undoubtedly wishes to consolidate its positions. And get rid of the bad image concerning its pricing policy…
* iPhone 15: 969 euros (128 GB); 1,099 euros (256 GB); 1,349 euros (512 GB).
iPhone 15 Plus: 1,119 euros (128 GB); 1,249 euros (256 GB); 1,499 euros (512 GB).
iPhone 15 Pro: 1,229 euros (128 GB); 1,359 euros (256 GB); 1,609 euros (512 GB); 1,859 euros (1 TB).
iPhone 15 Pro Max: 1,479 euros (256 GB); 1,729 euros (512 GB); 1,979 euros (1 TB).