iPhone 15 Series: Another year of refinement
Apple has a track record of not making drastic design changes year on year, instead opting to make subtle changes and refinements. The iPhone series is more of the same
It has been almost a month since Apple launched the iPhone 15 series smartphones, consisting of four devices– iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. Although, as of now, people no longer expect drastic changes in the yearly update of iPhones, these new devices bring some meaningful upgrades and features over their predecessors.
Design and Build
Apple has a track record of using the same design over and over and fine-tuning that design every year. Well, the iPhone 15 series is no exception to that. The iPhone 15s come in basically the same design that has been used for the last few years.
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That being said, USB type-C is the new headline addition to the iPhones, thanks to the EU's new regulation on USB type-C. The side frames on the pro phones are now made of titanium, while the non-pro phones retain the aluminium frame. The pro phones are now lighter than their predecessors, thanks to the lighter metal in use. The frames are also a little bit rounded now, making it less strenuous for the hand to hold the phone for a longer period of time.
A small but useful change in the pro phones is the new action button, which replaced the mute switch. It can be customised to do various tasks, ranging from opening any app to running a group of tasks via shortcuts.
Display
Dynamic Island, which was previously exclusive to the pro iPhones, is now present on all the devices across the lineup. All four devices come with high resolution Super Retina XDR OLED displays. 6.1-inch display on the base and the Pro and 6.7-inch display on the Plus and the Pro Max model. While the pro phones have ProMotion feature that enables smoother scrolling, browsing and gaming, unfortunately, the non-pro phones miss out on that. The iPhone 15 and the 15 Plus come with 60Hz panels, unlike their pricier siblings, with 120Hz LTPO panels.
Cameras
The non-pro phones' upgrade in the camera section comes in the form of improved details and dynamic range– thanks to the upgraded 48-megapixel sensor. The selfie camera and the secondary ultrawide 12-megapixel sensor remain the same as their predecessors.
Previously, the pro models shared the same front and rear camera setup. Although both the phones share the same improved 48-megapixel main shooter and the 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor, the telephoto camera is different this year. The 15 Pro Max model boasts a larger sensor with a higher 5X optical zoom range, while the 15 Pro goes up to 3X optical zoom.
Although the camera specs have been the same for a while, there are some brand-new features in the camera section as well. One notable feature is that you no longer have to manually turn the portrait mode on. You can click the photo in regular mode and turn it into a portrait photo later in your Photos app.
Apple added new zoom modes within the camera app, which uses digital cropping without losing details of the image– thanks to the new improved high-resolution sensor. The larger sensor also translates to improved daylight and night photos.
Performance
In 2022, Apple started using the previous year's flagship processor in the non-pro devices while keeping the updated processor only for the pro devices. Last year's A16 Bionic processor powers this year's iPhone 15 and 15 Plus phones, while the all-new A17 Pro chip handles processor duty for the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max models.
For comparison, the new A17 Pro is roughly 10 per cent faster than the A16, which was already one of the most powerful and efficient mobile processors.
Battery and Charging
Last year's iPhones already had great battery life and so have this year's iPhones. There is not much of an improvement in battery size this year. As the pro phones get a more power-efficient chip, they are expected to have improved battery life.
It's a shame that USB type-C didn't substantially improve charging speed–which is moderate by 2023's standards. All the phones can charge up to 50 per cent within half an hour.
Issues
Some users have reported some issues with their brand-new iPhone 15 devices. One of the major issues was the overheating issue. The pro phones heat up very quickly while using some specific apps. Some other users have reported display burn-in issues– the OLED display going white or pink out of nowhere in some cases. In many cases, multiple glitching lines showed up on the display.
Apple has addressed this issue and has committed to solving the issue with a software update. Talking about software updates, what you cannot fix with software updates is the actual body of the device. Some users are annoyed with the new titanium frame on the new pro phones, which start catching smudges and fingerprints the moment you put your hands on it. After a while, the frame looks quite dirty. So, you might want to put a case on it.
Pricing and Availability
While the international pricing for the new iPhones remains the same, the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers a bit more at the same price– 256 GB of base storage.
However, in Bangladesh, the price of the base iPhone 15 starts at around Tk1,10,000, while the Pro models start at around Tk1,42,000.
