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iPhone 15 got the BIGGEST update!

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The iPhone 15 line is announced: the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. The Pros are getting all the buzz, with the new titanium and the 5× zoom on the Pro Max. But if you’re upgrading from an earlier iPhone, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus offer the biggest upgrade for your money. Apple put the biggest changes inside the regular line, making it the bigger deal. Essentially, the iPhone 15 is the “Pro Light,” or the iPhone Pro SE.

The display

The 15 gets the same Super Retina XDR OLED display from the 14 Pro: up to 1,000 nits for regular use, 1,600 nits for HDR, and 2,000 nits outside in direct sunlight, with a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It’s stunning: HDR is crisp and bright, everything pops, and outside you can actually read your iPhone (until it heats up and dims, but for those couple of minutes you can get something done).

The only part of the 14 Pro’s display it doesn’t get is ProMotion, the dynamic refresh rate from about 10 Hz to 120 Hz. I love 120 Hz on my iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pros, and hate going without it, but most people don’t know what it is, can’t see it, or don’t care. The brightness, they can absolutely see.

The Dynamic Island

Introduced on the 14 Pro. Apple calls it a magical way to interact with your iPhone; I don’t know about that, but it’s been useful: checking flight information when I travel to Europe, waiting for an Uber, tracking a pizza delivery, and watching timers, which is mostly what I use it for. It’s a neat feature, and I’m glad the 15 and 15 Plus get it.

The camera

The Pro-level 48 MP sensor comes to the base iPhone. On the 14 Pro it captured lots of light and detail, then pixel-binned to 12 MP photos. On the 15 it creates 24 MP images, optimized for detail and brightness, plus a 2× zoom that crops into the main sensor for a full optical-quality photo. That’s a major step up from the regular iPhone’s previous 12 MP photos.

The chip

The A16, the 14 Pro’s chip, is now in the regular 15, and no other mobile chips come close. Apple’s numbers put it about 12% faster than the A15 and 35% faster than the A14 in CPU multi-core, and 36% faster than the A15 and nearly 60% faster than the A14 in graphics. For reference, the A17 Pro in the 15 Pro models is only about 10% faster in CPU and 20% faster in GPU than the A16, a pretty small upgrade by previous years’ standards. So no apps or games will play badly on the A16 compared with the A17 Pro, at least until ray tracing shows up in some games.

Value

Those three Pro-level features, taken directly from the Pros, are the biggest upgrade of the year and the best bang for your buck, starting at $799.

What every iPhone 15 gets

  • A second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, with three times the range for tracking.
  • USB-C replacing Lightning for the first time.
  • A new design with slightly rounded edges for a hopefully more comfortable grip.
  • Roadside assistance via satellite.
  • New camera features like automatic portrait mode and depth mapping, so you can change focus later.

What the Pros still have over it

Wi-Fi 6E, USB 3.0 speeds, Thread support, the 3× or 5× zoom, titanium, and the Action button. But the new regular iPhones feel more “Pro” than ever.

Does the iPhone 15 have all the features you want, or do you need the little extra the Pro offers?

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