New chips, periscope cameras and the end of lightning charging? What to expect from Apple’s new iPhone 15

Apple’s regular products event is set to take place on Tuesday, with the company almost certain to unveil its latest smartphones. A number of leaks in recent weeks have revealed what could be some of the main details of the phones.

But the tech giant undoubtedly has one or two surprises up its sleeve too. Apple sent out the usual cryptic invitations, with “Wonderlust” as the theme, and as usual, very little else.

The event will be live-streamed here and begins at 6pm Irish time. So what should we expect to see?

The iPhone 15

New iPhones are a given at this stage. Apple nearly always announces its new smartphones in September – aside from 2020, when the pandemic forced everything to a virtual platform – so expect to see the iPhone 15 announced at this week’s event.

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Four different models are expected: the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, the iPhone 15 Pro and the 15 Pro Max, assuming there are no surprise name changes. So far, nothing out of the ordinary; the screen sizes are also expected to remain the same, at 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches.

If the company follows its form from previous years, we will see the A17 chip make an appearance in the Pro models, with the 15 and 15 Plus likely to get last year’s A16 chip.

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Apple has been trying to draw a more obvious line between the base 15 and the 15 Pro models in recent years, and this year may see more of that. The Pro models are expected to get a bit of a redesign, with some expecting the stainless steel to be replaced with titanium, making the device a bit lighter and thinner, and a few more curves thrown into the mix if online leaks are correct.

The biggest difference though could come with the camera. While the base iPhone 15 models are expected to get an upgrade to the 48 megapixel camera, the Pro Max may win the battle here, with talk of a periscope camera that would bring more powerful zoom capabilities to the iPhone.

It won’t be the first smartphone with the new camera, with the technology behind the powerful zoom in Samsung’s Galaxy S23 and other models.

The iPhone 15 is almost certain to ditch the lightning charging port, with moves by the EU to force electronics makers to standardise charging ports finally forcing Apple to change to USB C ahead of a 2024 deadline. That change will be implemented across the iPhone 15 range, although the capabilities of the port may be expanded for the Pro models.

Speaking of ditching things, the underused mute switch on the side of the iPhone could also be in for a change. Instead, it looks set to become an action button that you could assign to shortcuts

Dynamic Island – that much-mocked feature on the Pro that displays content and apps running in the background, such as Maps or Music – could also be coming to the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. That means saying goodbye – permanently – to the notch that has divided iPhone fans since the company introduced it in 2017.

Dynamic Island may not have set the world on fire, but it you are an iPhone 14 owner there is a good chance that you’ve made a lot more use of the feature than you originally thought you would.

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But the always-on display and the promotion technology that have been a staple of the Pro models in recent years are not likely to be extended to the entire range.

And lastly, there will almost certainly be new colours brought in, with blue and coral looking the most likely additions.

Apple Watch

With a big update expected for the Series 10 next year, Apple isn’t predicted to do anything major with the Apple Watch Series 9. We should get some small updates, including the new S9 chip that sources say will not only make the watch run faster and more smoothly, but could be better for battery life too.

We could also see the second series of Apple’s adventure-focused watch introduced last year, the Ultra, unveiled, although details around that are sparse.

AirPods

There are suggestions that AirPods could feature at this week’s event. Don’t get your hopes up for drastically new ear buds though; any updates are likely to be around the case, and specifically the replacement of lightning with USB C.

That leave the AirPods Max, which haven’t had an update since they launched in 2020. With the EU seeking to impose USB C for headphones before the end of 2024, it is logical to think the AirPods Max will be getting an update sooner rather than later.