iPhone 15: release date rumors, price, specs and leaks

iPhone 15 rumors: Cheat sheet

• All four iPhone 15 models are tipped to switch from Lightning to USB-C connectivity.
• The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are expected to run on an A16 Bionic chip while the new A17 Bionic will power the iPhone 15 Pro models.
• The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus should join the iPhone 15 Pro models in featuring a Dynamic Island cutout instead of a notch.
• The iPhone 15 is expected to adapt the 48MP main camera Apple added to last year's iPhone 14 Pro models.
• The iPhone 15 Pro will see more substantial changes such as a titanium frame and, in the case of the Pro Max, a periscope-style telephoto lens.
• The iPhone 15 colors are tipped to be Black, White, Yellow and Blue, and there could be a Orange/Coral Pink option. 

The iPhone 15 launches in just a few days at the Apple event on September 12. So it's time to break down the rumors and leaks you need to know before the iPhone 15 release date is here.

The Phone 15 Pro figures to get the most substantial changes, from a new A17 Bionic processor to a stronger and lighter titanium frame. And the iPhone 15 Pro Max could get an exclusive periscope zoom lens. 

But don't sleep on the standard iPhone 15 even with the large expected iPhone 15 vs iPhone 15 Pro divide. The regular model is likely to pick up features introduced in last year's iPhone 14 Pro lineup such as the Dynamic Island and main 48MP camera. And like all new iPhones, we're expecting the iPhone 15 to do away with the Lightning port in favor of USB-C and get larger bateries for more staying power.

Here’s everything we know about the iPhone 15 series so far. 

iPhone 15 rumors: Specs

Elsewhere, we brea down the iPhone 15 specs for each model, but here's a chart summarizing what we've heard so far.

iPhone 15 rumors: Release date

Apple's hosting an event on September 12, which will most likely be the day we see the new iPhones appear. That also gives us a pretty good sense of what the iPhone 15 release date could be, as Apple typically releases phones 10 days after its product launch. That likely means you'll be able to buy the iPhone 15 on September 22.

There's been concern from some analysts that Apple can't get enough camera parts from Sony, which could lead to delays. But now we're hearing that Apple's shipping out Pro Max units already, which suggests any problems it faced may have been resolved quietly already.

iPhone 15 rumors: Price

iPhone 14 prices currently go from $799 / £849 / AU$1,399 for the 128GB entry-level iPhone 14 all the way up to $1,599 / £1,749 / AU$2,769 for the 1TB iPhone 14 Pro Max. We would expect something similar this time around, but it’s entirely possible that the iPhone 15 will see the price rise that the U.S. missed out on in 2022. 

As it happens, price hikes have already been tipped for the iPhone 15 Pro. One claims that we could be looking at an increase of $100, while a more recent rumor claims that the price could rise by as much as $200. DigiTimes' sources back up these claims too.

If the $100 figure is accurate, the iPhone 15 Pro would top $1,000, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max would cost as much as a $1,199 Galaxy S23 Ultra. It's not clear if this price hike will apply to the U.K., Australia or other regions since we're talking in USD, but it stands to reason that all regions would see a hike of some kind if U.S. prices are going up.

iPhone 15 rumors: Models and colors

For its 2022 releases, Apple killed the iPhone mini model, and introduced the iPhone 14 Plus in its place. That simplified the choice: whether you wanted to go Pro or not, you could get either a 6.1- or 6.7-inch screen. We have more on why the iPhone 15 mini is unlikely to return this fall.

Instead, we will probably see the following four models: the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. In a last-minute twist, rumors that Apple will change the name of the iPhone 15 Pro Max to the iPhone 15 Ultra have resurfaced.

This would make sense given Apple's recent naming patterns with the Apple Watch Ultra or Apple M2 Ultra chipset, and better reflect the spec differences between the iPhone 15 Pro and the Pro Max/Ultra, as we'll discuss more below.

As for iPhone 15 colors, the regular iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are tipped to come in black, white, blue, yellow and pink. And there's a leaked iPhone 15 video to back that up. 

The iPhone 15 Pro is tipped to come in Space black, titanium gray, and blue with no gold color option. We previously heard that the iPhone 15 Pro could be gaining Titan Gray and dark blue. 

iPhone 15 rumors: Design

The last iPhone to sport a curved-edge display was the iPhone 11 Pro Max, but several design leaks for the iPhone 15 suggests that the new model could bring back a curved design, even if leakers say that the display will remain flat. Indeed, dummy units for the likely iPhone 15 models show devices with rounded edges that match the size and shape of current iPhones.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims all iPhone 15 models will get the Dynamic Island, which has been backed up by alleged real-life photos of the standard iPhone 15 and renders reportedly based on CAD files for the iPhone 15 Plus . This could see more developers get spurred on to make apps that adapt to the morphing camera cutout/display feature, further adding to its capabilities. 

The camera bump on the back of the iPhone 15 could also have a new design. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro may see the most dramatic increase, as early renders show the individual lenses have doubled in size from the previous generation. 

The iPhone 15 Pro Max doesn’t appear to have anywhere near as big an increase planned — with exception of it its lenses that protrude less, which would support rumors that the Pro Max could sport a new periscope zoom lens. 

Apple may be adding titanium frames to the Pro models. One leaker @URedditor on Twitter says that the iPhone 15 Pro series will specifically use grade 5 titanium, which is also known as Ti-6Al-4V.  Back-of-the-envelope calculations published at 9to5Mac suggest the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max could weigh half-an-ounce less than their iPhone 14 counterparts.

Other cosmetic changes from leaked iPhone 15 Pro cases hint at the power and volume buttons being repositioned slightly, along with a cutout for the Action button that could replace the mute switch on some iPhone 15 models. According to reports, the iPhone 15 Pro's Action button will be customizable and double as a mute button.

Another big change to the iPhone's design could be the arrival of USB-C. This isn’t wholly surprising: not only has the company adopted the connection for its laptops and tablets, but the European Union has officially mandated that all phones will have to use USB-C by 2024. 

Really, it's a question of when, not if, for USB-C iPhones. Apple has already confirmed the change is coming, and all that's left to decide is if it's included in the iPhone 15 to get ahead of the 2024 deadline or if Apple puts off the move to next year's phones.

This seems to have been further confirmed by leaked images of a test iPhone 15 unit. There's no mistaking the port in these images for the Lightning port of previous iPhones.

The type of USB-C used could differ between Pro and non-Pro models though, says Ming-Chi Kuo. He claims that the regular iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus could still have the same data transfer speeds as current Lightning iPhones, while only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max would get faster speeds as a result of their USB-C ports. In that vein, a report claims that some iPhone 15 models will offer Thunderbolt connectivity through the USB-C port. 

For more, see our roundup of all the biggest iPhone 15 design changes we expect. 

iPhone 15 rumors: Cameras

After raising the megapixels bar to 48MP on the iPhone 14 Pro models, word is that the standard iPhone 15 models will get 48MP cameras. It could be a new "three-stacked" sensor too for enhanced light intake.

Analysts at Nomura believe that the basic iPhone 15 will get a Pro-like camera this time. In a note, they mention, “They will have main cameras (wide) upgraded to 48MP with image sensor size at 1/1.5” (slightly smaller than the iPhone 14 Pro’s 48MP sensor size, but much better than i14’s 12MP one)". We've had this backed up by another source since, saying also that the 1/1.28-inch sensor from the iPhone 14 Pro will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro again this time.

In addition, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is tipped fo feature a periscope camera for better long-range photography and zoom capabilities, supposedly along with improved lenses for better quality photos. It could offer a 6x optical zoom, up from 3x on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. But don't expect the periscope zoom to come to the iPhone 15 Pro. 

Another potential upgrade could be on the way for the iPhone 15 Pro's LiDAR sensor. Apple's apparently moving suppliers for the AR/portrait mode auxiliary sensor, which will apparently mean enhanced efficiency or better performance for those specific camera modes.

iPhone 15 rumors: Display

We've assumed Apple would stick to form and come out with four models that match the current iPhone offerings, with 6.1-inch iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro OLED panels, and 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro Max screens.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max has been tipped for a 2,500-nit display. This would be well above the rated 2,000 nits display of the iPhone 14 Pro Max and possibly the brightest panel ever on a phone. This tidbit comes from ShrimpApple Pro and OreXda on Twitter.

Don't expect to see the ProMotion adaptive refresh rate appear on the standard iPhone 15 model, however. Despite originally launching on the iPhone 13 Pro, Ross Young claims that the standard models won't be getting the silky-smooth LTPO displays until at least 2025.

This would be a little disappointing, as many of the best Android phones now have 90Hz to 120Hz displays. And a 120Hz display as standard is something we feel would be a problem the iPhone 15 could fix, but we're not going to hold our breath. 

Additional leaked renders, along with apparent real-life images, seem to confirm the Pro iPhone 15 models will get smaller bezels around their displays, with the iPhone 15 Pro likely to have 1.55mm bezels compared to 2.1mm for the iPhone 14 Pro. This was later corroborated by Mark Gurman, who claims the slimmer bezel will arrive thanks to the same LIPO technology as that used in the Apple Watch.

iPhone 15 rumors: Performance

We certainly expect an A17 Bionic chipset for some iPhone 15 models, though not all four. Last year, only the iPhone 14 Pro models benefited from an all-new chipset, while the regular iPhone used a slightly souped-up version of the A15. We would assume this is the new normal, so the iPhone 15 Pro handsets could get the A17, while the regular iPhone 15 might get an enhanced version of the A16. 

A TrendForce report claims that Apple plans to bump the capacity and specification of the iPhone 15's RAM. For the Pro models, that could equal 8GB total. For the iPhone 15, that might mean swapping to the faster LPDDR5 standard but keeping the same 6GB capacity.

A more recent rumor, citing findings within a beta release for tvOS, suggests that Apple may not be adding more RAM to the Pro models, but the A17 chip could at least bring a sixth GPU core for better graphics performance.

The same source, Unknownz21, says Apple's tested both 6GB and 8GB versions of the iPhone 15 Pro, and the capacity in a given model could be tied to how much storage you spec.

Obviously, that doesn’t tell us much about performance, but the A17 is expected to be the first chip to be made with the 3nm manufacturing process which could mean big things for both speed and efficiency. Specifically, chip manufacturer TSMC predicts a 35% improvement in power efficiency, which bodes well for iPhone 15 Pro battery life.

This speed increase seems to be in evidence in alleged Geekbench benchmarks for the A17. The results are much more impressive than even the existing iPhone 14 Pro or rival Android phones, with more recent tests confirming the leap.

We've heard that Apple has exclusive rights to the 3-nanometer chips made by TSMC for a whole year, as well as other favorable terms as part of a deal with its key production partner. If that's true, it could mean a big advantage for devices like the iPhone 15 Pro in terms of performance and power efficiency. In fact, suppliers are now tipping the A17 Bionic to drive a lot of interest among people upgrading their phone, suggesting the iPhone 15 Pro models could be the most popular of Apple's upcoming releases.

There's also a rumor based on a Barclay analysis that says that Wi-Fi 6E could come to the iPhone 15, though it may be a Pro exclusive. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has further corroborated this rumor.

If that is the case, then it follows that Kuo has also claimed that the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard is coming to the iPhone 16. This leak also told us to look out for an updated ultrawide-band chip in the iPhone 15 though, which could help it work better with accessories like the AirTag, or the Apple Vision Pro headset.

iPhone 15 Rumors: Battery life

We're glad that the one big rumor on iPhone 15 batteries is that all iPhone 15s will get more battery capacity. More battery is always good news, and could help rectify the battery life drop between generations we saw with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro.

This upgrade could be managed, at least in part, by a new stacked battery system, using the same tech that powers electric vehicles. It could also enable faster charging on future iPhones too.

The exact size increase for the top iPhone 15 model is up for debate though. The earlier rumor claimed the battery would expand to 4,852 mAh, but we may end up with a smaller 4,422 mAh battery instead according to a newer rumor.

We've heard no news on the charging front yet, but it's widely assumed we'll still get a maximum of 20W like with other recent iPhones. Charging speeds for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max could be increasing to 27W according to one source, though a more recent rumor claims that we could see that figure rise to 35W instead. Either way it's a win, but the latter will definitely be a lot more convenient for us.

Although the standard iPhone and the Plus model will likely stick with the existing 20W standard. It's not clear whether Apple will introduce reverse wireless charging in the iPhone 15. The iPhone 11 Pro Max was the first model to have the right hardware for reverse wireless charging, albeit deactivated. A report from 9to5Mac claims that development of the feature is still happening, but it's not entirely clear if and when it might arrive.

Support for Qi2 wireless charging could also come to iPhone 15, with rumors even claiming it'll match MagSafe's 15W charging speeds. Another rumor also suggests that the iPhone 15 Pro may get 15W wireless charging speeds from all third party wireless chargers — which is double that of previous models. 

iPhone 15 Rumors: Software

You'd expect the iPhone 15 to ship around the same time iOS 17 comes out. Apple previewed its new software at WWDC 2023 in June, and the iOS 17 public beta and developer betas are currently available to download. The big changes to iOS 17 include new features in Messages, improvements to the Phone and FaceTime apps and a brand new Journal app.

So far none of the iOS 17 changes Apple has discussed publicly have offered any hints about iPhone 15 features.

iPhone 15 rumors: Outlook

Given all these rumors, what have we (possibly) learned about the iPhone 15? The expected introduction of USB-C could tempt those yet to fall for the charms of iOS, while the anticipated gains of the 3nm A17 chip for the iPhone 15 Pro series, and the periscope zoom camera of the Pro Max could cement the already commanding lead Apple has over the best Android phones in terms of raw speed and camera performance. But even the standard iPhone 15 looks to be getting some important improvements, at least based on the rumors detailed above.

A possible increase in price is a big worry for the Pro and Pro Max though, and could kill any excitement that users get from the new chip, cameras or Action button. Apple has a big task ahead if it wants to successfully market these phones to users around the world feeling the squeeze of a cost-of-living crisis.