iPhone 15 - What we know from the announcement

It’s here! The new iPhone 15 was announced by Apple in their Wonderlust on 12 September 2023 (or early morning 13 September in Australian time), with pre-orders available from 10PM (AEST) on 15 September and official launch from 22 September. As expected, there are 4 models available: iPhone 15 | 15 Plus | 15 Pro | 15 Pro Max (unfortunately no switch to the name Ultra this year). The rumours about the switch to USB-C port, the use of the lighter and stronger titanium and the new 3nm A17 chip (in iPhone 15 Pro models), improved camera function  and have all proven to be true.

The price of  the iPhone 15 will differ due to depending on four different models, as well as, each of the  different capacities (ranging from 128GB to a whopping 1TB in iPhone Pro models).

The lowest starting price for a new iPhone 15 is $1,499 (Australian dollars) and the highest price is $2,899 in the Pro line-up . Doesn’t  matter whether you’re shopping for an iPhone 15 in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart or elsewhere across Australia.

What do you get for your money?

Let’s dive into features, specs and, oh  yeah, and the all-important colour options!.

Colours: Apple has decided that it’s time for some softer colours for the non-pro versions. So, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus both come in fun pastel-style shades of pink, yellow, green and blue as well as good old black. 

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max come in different colours, inspired by their innovative and new use of titanium. You can choose from a natural, blue, white or black. That’s not a bright blue or a bright white; instead, think of metallic-inspired shades.

Materials: 2023 sees the iPhone 15 Pro models (Pro and Pro Max) introduce the use of titanium, a lightweight and highly durable material that’s used in aircraft and spaceships (as well as the more down-to-earth golf clubs and bicycles!). Titanium’s high strength-to-weight ratio is attractive to those who love using their iPhones while on the go.

The base models (iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus) still use aluminium, as in previous models. The main difference is behind the scenes rather than obvious - 75 percent of the aluminium used is coming from recycled sources. That’s all part of Apple’s commitment to decarbonise its entire supply chain by 2030.

Charging/New Port: A major rumoured change was confirmed at Apple’s launch of iPhone 15. iPhone 15s no longer use the lightning charger cable. This is no great surprise as recent legislation means that devices sold in Europe need to have this universal charging option (in contrast to lightning, which was patented to Apple). This is good news for people lost in a sea of cables at home as you’ll likely be able to use the same charging cord for your phone as well as your speaker and other tech.

The iPhone Pro’s will have a greater advantage with support for USB 3 and up to 20x faster file transfers (from pervious iPhone model transfer speeds) with a compatible cable. Will definitely help transfer those large ProRes video files if you like taking high quality video with your iPhone.

Camera: iPhone cameras just keep getting better and better. All the iPhone 15 models have what was previously only available on iPhone 14 Pro models - that’s a 48 megapixel camera. If you’re into photography and videography in a big way, we suggest you check out all the specs by comparing the Apple iPhone 15 models.

However, if like most of us, you simply want your pics to look amazing without knowing your f-stop from your ppi, iPhone 15 has got you sorted with technology that finds the perfect balance between light and detail, gives you even better night- and low-light images and uses fancy ‘computational’ tech to give your memories high resolution within manageable file sizes.

Portrait mode photography continues to improve, with machine learning even able to pick up your pets’ faces to create stunning portraits of your furry friends (ooo, so cute!).

The basic iPhone 15 versions still have 2 lenses while the Pro models have three lenses with the iPhone 15 Pro Max exclusively getting the up to 5x telephoto zoom or as Apple have marketed it its “120mm of pure Pro zoom”. The potential to record ‘spatial videos (a 3D format that will be compatible with the new Apple Vision Pro headset due for release in 2024) and  compatibility for high-volume video recording directly to an external drive is also new.

Dynamic Island: No, this is not a new reality TV show! The Dynamic Island was introduced in iPhone 14 Pro models last year. It’s coming back for the iPhone 15 Pro models but is a new design language on the non-Pro lineup.

The shape-shifting island that appears at the top of the phone screen with the most important information you need for how you’re using your phone at the time. So, the Dynamic Island might show anything from an incoming call to the very next turn you need to take, to which airport gate to go to for your flight. It’s there when you need it, grows in size when the info is more complex, then disappears when you don’t.

Action button: iPhone 15 basic models still have the good old silent-sound button on the side but a new feature on the Pro models is the replacement of this button with a more dynamic and user-designated option called the ‘Action’ button. The new ‘Action’ button that allows you to switch between single-touch functionality of your choice. This has been taken from the design of the Apple watch Ultra with its orange (we like to this of it as an amaysim orange) Action button. This has the ability to activate the camera, start a voice-memo,  switch your phone to ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode or even launch Shortcut commands which opens it up to anything you can program it to in the Shortcuts app.

Call quality: Sometimes it’s easy to forget that phones were originally about making voice calls. Apple’s iPhone 15 knows that actual phone calls are still important to many people, so they’ve improved the capacity for calls to prioritise your voice over other surrounding sounds. You can even activate a ‘voice isolation’ option for when you’re in a particularly busy spot.

Size: A potentially confusing aspect of the iPhone 15 and other recent versions is the different sizes. However, once you wrap your head around it, the sizes can help make sense of the different models. Basically, there is a smaller and larger model both of the basic range and the Pro range.

So, the standard iPhone 15 is 6.1 inches versus the iPhone 15 Plus, which is 6.7 inches. Similarly, the iPhone 15 Pro is the smaller 6.1 inches and the iPhone 15 Pro Max is 6.7 inches. All of these measurements relate to the diagonal distance - so from the top right to the bottom left of the screen.

A change from iPhone 14 and previous models is that the iPhone 15 design maximises screen size within the overall phone. In tech speak, this means that the screen edge is reduced. That means you get maximum screen size for whether you’re texting, photographing or gaming.

Battery: Despite all the new features, all iPhone 15 models have impressive battery life, Apple is calling “all-day battery life”. Apple’s way of measuring battery life is a very functional one - how long you could watch video for.

See the table below for specifics for different iPhone 15 models but, in summary, you’re looking at between 20-29 hours of continuous video watching (note:  we don’t recommend you test this in real life: remember to rest your eyes and see some sky, people!).

Screen: All iPhone 15 models have the new ceramic shield technology, giving increased durability as well as water and dust resistance.

Hardware and processor: This is the stuff that drives all the good stuff you use on a daily basis. In terms of chips, the iPhone 15 Pro models introduce the A17 chip and the basic models still have the A16 bionic chip. The new A17 chip will have a new 6 core CPU and GPU which will make the iPhone 15 Pro models more appealing for mobile gaming. The  ‘Pro-class’ GPU  will enable amazing graphics and the improvements in the A17 chip will allow faster single-function actions and the phone’s capacity for juggling multiple demands at the one time.

Pro models also have 8GB of RAM (Random Access Memory - the part of the phone that stores the operating system (iOS) and the apps and data -  an increase from the basic models which have the previous model 6GB

All iPhone 15 models are 5G network compatible. And all continue to have a slot for a physical SIM card as well as eSIM compatibility (if you need info or a refresher on what an eSIM is and how it works, see our eSIM page).

That’s a lot of excitement to take in.

Now you’ve got a sense of what’s new with iPhone 15, here’s a summary to help you decide which model is right for you:

If you’re finding yourself wondering about how we got to the 15th generation of iPhones, here’s an overview of previous iPhone releases up to and including the iPhone 15 (please note that specific dates may have varied slightly depending on whether you’re looking at iPhone Australian release dates or overseas, as well as the chosen telecommunications company.

And, if you’re looking for a new phone yet the new 2023 iPhone 15 isn’t for you, check out our offers on all iPhone models.

Apple have been releasing a new generation of iPhones annually since 2007. Each year there are new features and specs that make iPhones more powerful, functional and appealing and 2023 is no different.

iPhone 15 models see the use of new materials (titanium), new chips (A17), new specs (USB-C port/charging), new camera technology (48 megapixel and 5x telephoto zoom), new user-features (Dynamic Island) and, of course, new colours.

Will you be one to get the new iPhone 15 or save some money and get the previous model iPhones?