iPhone 15 and 15 Plus

iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus

These phones were introduced to the world in September 2023 and are currently reigning as two of Apple’s current flagship phones. The other two phones currently reigning in the market alongside these phones are the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

If you are the techy type and you need something more challenging, you might want to consider the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The Pro and Max comes with several upgrades such as:

• Always on display with ProMotion technology
• They come with a customisable action button instead of a ring/silent switch on the side.
• The pro chip is A17 which means that it’s faster.
• The advanced camera comes with telephoto and more.

The iPhone 15 and 15 plus comes with better features compared to the iPhone 14 and 14 plus and are available in five colours:

• Pink
• Yellow
• Green
• Blue
• And Black

The significant difference about this phone compared to previous iPhone is the transfer from the lighting port that was present in other models for years to a USB-C port. The data transfer on this module remains the same as the USB 2.0 speed that was available with the lighting.

The dynamic island which debuts in the iPhone 14 model is also feature in iPhone 15, it replaces the previous notch at the top of the display and houses the front facing True Depth camera and other sensors.

These physical components are hidden by the software inside the black dynamic island that fluidly adapts to allow the display of vital information and paves way for user’s interactions.

The iPhone 15 and 15 plus uses:

A16 Bionic chip which debut in iPhone 14, it uses 20 percent less power and delivers 50 percent more memory bandwidth in comparison to A15 bionic chip in iPhone 14.

Face ID

• Face ID is now backed into the dynamic island and functions as the one in iPhone 14
• Face ID is use across the iOS for unlocking the iPhone
• It gives access to third party passcode protected apps
• Confirms app purchases
• Authenticate Apple payments
• Face ID works through a set of sensors and cameras
• Thousands of invisible infrared dots are projected by Dot projector onto the surface of the skin to create a 3D facial scan that maps the curves and plate of each face with the scan read by an infrared camera.

The facial depth map is relayed to the A16 chip and transformed into a mathematical model that the iPhone uses to authenticate identity. Face ID works in both light and dark conditions with:

• Hats
• Beards
• Glasses
• Sunglasses
• Scarves
• Masks
• And other accessories that partially obscure the face

TrueDepth Camera

• A new 48 – megapixel main camera for breath-taking smile.
• It comes with a quad pixel sensor that defaults to capturing 24 – megapixel photos
• It allows for a new 2X Telephoto option intelligently cropped from the full camera capture
• Portrait is no longer needed to switch to portrait mode
• Captures depth information of a person, cat or dog detected in the frame
• The datils are sharper
• The colours are more vivid
• There’s an improvement to the low lighting performance to portraits
• Improvements to night mode
• Proximity – based functionality is enhanced by the second-generation ultra-wide chip
• iPhone can connections to one another at three-time range compared to previous connection
• Track your friends in a dense crowd with and updated find my app

Front Facing Camera

• 12 Megapixel front facing camera with an f/1.9 aperture
• Built in retina flash
• Supports all the features available in the rear camera
• Selfie night mode
• An improvement to the smart HDR 5 Integration
• Dolby vision HDR recording
• Deep fusion to expose the finer details
• A photonic engine that improves low light performance
• Portrait modes takes images and converts them to portrait shots later
• 4K video recording
• Quick take video
• Slo mo video
• Portrait mode
• Portrait lighting
• Photographic styles feature is for edits application

Dual Lens – Rear Camera

• An introduction of the new 48-megapixel main camera in comparison to the 12-megapixel camera in iPhone 14
• It features a 26 mm focal length with f/1.6 aperture which allows lots of light in low lighting conditions
• A sensor shift optical image stabilization was added for less movement and crisper photos and videos
• The lens supports both 24-megapixel and 48-megapixel high resolution images
• The 24-megapixel option allows every two pixels to be combined as one pixel which produces high resolution images with impressive details and low light performance without any effect from the file size.
• 48-megapixel images are also supported and can be saved in either RAW or HEIF format.
• An upgrade to the 48-megapixel lens means Apple added 2 x telephoto option that uses the middle 12 megapixel on the sensor for full resolution 2x photo with no digital zoom.
• This phone has no optical zoom lens and is the first time Apple decide to disable any kind of optical zoom option on a standard iPhone.
• A 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with and/2.4 aperture and 120 degrees field view

More Camera Features

Smart HDR 5 – The contrast is optimised for contrast, lightning, and skin tones when there are one of more people in a scene to ensure that everybody looks great. The upgrade delivers better colour and truer to life skin tones.

Photonic Engine – A combination of the best pixels from a high-resolution image and image optimised for capturing light, leading to a 24-megapixel image with detail drawn from an image twice the resolution.

Photographic style – The filters are smart and adjustable they will perform wonders like boosting or muting colours with any effect on the skin tone. Styles are selectively applied to an image compared to a filter that applies to an entire image.

Photographic style includes:

• Vibrant (Boost colours)
• Rich contrast (Darker shadows and deeper colours
• Warm (accentuates golden undertones)
• Cool (accentuates blue undertones)

Tone and warmth are customisable for each style to get the exact look that you want.

Night Mode – A collection of images are taken with a few seconds and aggregates them to allow for photography in poor lighting conditions and produces colourful and sharper images.

Deep Fusion – Image produce in poor lighting conditions comes out with rich texture and are detailed.

Portrait Lighting – The lighting of portrait mode photos changes with effects that includes:

• Natural
• Studio
• Contour
• Stage
• Stage Mono
• And high key Mono

True Tone Flash – It’s a built-in flash designed to the match the ambient lighting so that the white balance is not thrown off when camera is in use, the flash is brighter and more consistent with lighting conditions.

Cinematic Mode – The focus is kept on the main subject that you’re filming as you move around because of the video mode.

Action Mode – Shaly handheld videos are enhanced by image stabilisation.

Panorama – Captures panoramic shots up to 63 megapixels

Burst Mode – Various images are permitted to be capture at once and is good for high action slots

Video Capabilities

It offers 4K recording at:

• 24
• 25
• 30
• 0r 60 Frames per seconds
• HDR Recording
• ProRes video
• Cinematic mode
• Action mode
• Slo mo video
• And time lapse

Battery

• Better performance compared to previous iPhone models
• Video playback is up to 20 hours
• Supports 5G connectivity (Both sub-6GHz and mm Wave in the United States
• It uses a new Qualcomm X70 modem

Emergency

This started with iPhone 14 line up and has been expanded to roadside assistance via satellite when cellular and Wi-Fi connections are not available. Apple designed a new emergency SOS via satellite feature to allow the iPhone antennas to connect to satellites operated by globe stars.

Apple partners with services Agencies such as AAA in the United States. Users experiencing difficulties with poor connection can request an assistance as part of their AAA membership or on a fee basis.

If you can’t connect via Wi-Fi or a cellular, satellite communications are available in emergency situations. They are designed to be used in open spaces with few trees so that the phone can easily connect to a satellite.

There’s a walkthrough interface that instructs you about how to hold the iPhone to connect to a satellite. The company has developed a compressed messaging protocol because to send date via satellite could last few minutes.

A message can be sent as little as 15 seconds to the emergency services if there are no obstructions.

Crash Detection

The iPhone 15 models have a feature which is a high dynamic range gyroscope and a dual-core accelerometer that can detect a G-force measurements of up to 256Gs in this iPhone model. It can also pair with other iPhone sensor like a barometer that can detect cabin pressure changes caused by deployed airbags, this hardware enables a crash detection feature.

This model can detect a severe car crash and dial the emergency services automatically if the occupant is badly injured and unable to reach his phone. The GPs will detect the speed changes and the microphone is able to recognise loud sound associated with severe car crashes.

Car crash detection is also available on the Apple watch, the iPhone and watch work together to contact the emergency services any time an accident occurs.

Storage

They are available in:

• 128 GB
• 256 GB
• And 512 GB

In addition to the wired charging via USB-C it also supports wireless charging via Magsafe and Q12 and Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3

Design

• 1 inch is measured diagonally at the display for iPhone 15
• 7 inch is measured diagonally at the display for iPhone 15 plus
• Similar design to the iPhone 14 models
• The edges are more curvy compares to the 14 models
• The look is more modern compared to previous models
• iPhone 15 measures at 5.81 inches (147.6mm) tall and 2.82 (71.6mm) wide, 0.31 inches (7.80 mm) thick, it weighs at 6.02 ounces (171) grams
• iPhone 15 Pro measures at 6.33 inches (160.9mm) tall and 3.06 (77.8mm) wide, 0.31 inches (7.80 mm) thick, it weighs at 6.02 ounces (171) grams
• Features an all-glass front and colourful
• It has a mate glass back that is framed by a colour matched aerospace – grade aluminium
• Apple uses a new process to infuse colour throughout the back glass
• The black glass is protected by what Apple describes as “Dual-ion exchange process”

Display

• OLED Super Retina XDR Display.
• Improvements to brightness.
• Better performance in sunlight.
• Belter HDR.
• Typical max brightness is now 1000 nits (up from 800).
• Peak HDR brightness is 1600 nits (up from 1200).
• Apple claims it can reach up to 2000 nits’ peak brightness outdoors.
• A display feature introduced in iPhone 14 was expanded in iPhone 15.
• Resolution is 2556 by 1179 with 460 pixels per inch.
• 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (Unchanged).
• Wide colour supports vivid wide true to life colours.
• The white balance of the display of the ambient light is match by true tone offering paper like viewing experience which is less straining on the eyes.
• A fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating which supports haptic touch that provides haptic feedback as you interact with the display.
• The ceramic shield protects the display material which is made by infusing nano – ceramic crystal into glass.
• Toughness is maintained because the ceramic crystals were manipulated to optimise clarity with the display created in partnership with corning.
• Ceramic shield is the toughest smartphone glass with a dual-ion exchange process which ensures protection against scratches and wear and tear.
• The phone does not support the ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate or the always on display technologies available on the iPhone 14.

MagSafe

Magsafe magnet is fixed to the back of this iPhone, these magnets will connect to the charger and other magnetic accessories. The apple’s official Magsafe chargers and authorized third parties can wirelessly charge the iPhone 15 at up to 15W.

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS and Ultra-wideband.

• The phone supports Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 4×4 MIMO and Bluetooth 5.3.
• There’s an NFC chip with a reader’s mode and a second-generation ultra-wideband chip.
• The new ultra-wideband chip provides improved spatial awareness that allows the phone to locate another Apple device with ultra-wideband chip.
• The chip allows tow iPhone to connect at three time the range compared to previous range.
• Ultra-wideband chip is used for precision tracking as when locating Air tags.
• Ultra-wideband is also used for directional airdrop that interacts with Home Pod mini
• A precision finding feature for locating friends with an iPhone 15 in a crowded area

As for the GPs, the phone 15 model supports:

• GPS
• GLONASS
• Galileo
• QZSS
• And BeiDou location services

A16 Bionic Chip

This chip was described by Apple as a proven powerhouse.

This chip powers all kinds of advanced features such as computational photography used for 24MP photos and next-gen portraits. Voice isolation for phone calls and smooth performance for graphics intensive games. These are all with incredible efficiency for a greater battery life.

In Conclusion

The review about these iPhones from other sources are positive and most reviewers believes that these iPhones will deliver on their promises. What matters to the customers also matters to Apple, therefore you have control over your data regarding privacy protection. The use of more recycled material helps to minimise environmental impact and lastly the invention of built in features that makes the iPhone accessible to everyone.