From the USB-C-fication of iPhones and AirPods to the successor of the Apple Watch Ultra, here’s what’s new from Apple.
Apple took the stage at its annual fall event to unveil some of its newest hardware, including iPhone 15, Apple Watch Series 9, and AirPods ahead of the quickly approaching holiday season.
The company also finally made the change from its Lightning port to a USB-C port with an emphasis on user convenience and environmental sustainability.
The last time Apple made a shift that monumental was with the release of the iPhone 7 in 2016 when Apple switched from a headphone jack to a Lightning port for audio, which makes this year’s event a memorable one for Apple products.
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max were this year’s headlining act, with new and improved form factors, updated processors, and the latest advancements in the iPhone camera.
The biggest change, at least on the surface, is the slimmer and lighter design, which has new contoured edges, Grade 5 Titanium, and the thinnest borders ever on an iPhone.
The iPhone 15 Pro features the fastest mobile CPU — A17 Pro. The new CPU can run up to 10% faster than the A16 Bionic chip in last year’s iPhone 14 Pro. Compared to Apple’s previous iterations, the neural engine is up to two times faster, and the pro-class GPU is up to 20 times faster, optimizing overall smartphone performance.
As for the cameras, the Pro variants feature a 48MP main camera, which allows users to switch between the 24mm, 28mm, and 35mm focal lengths and supports 48MP HEIF images with up to four times the resolution.
The Pro Max also features a 5X telephoto lens, the longest optical zoom ever on iPhone.
Like on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, users won’t have to switch to Portrait mode, but instead, the phone will detect the depth information of the photo’s subject, allowing users to later turn any photo into a portrait.
The quality of photos in low light will also improve with a night mode that provides sharper detail and more vivid colors.
Besides the cameras, another major selling point is the Action Button which replaces the traditional alert slider. The Action Button will function as a ring and silent button by default but can be personalized to be a mappable quick key for turning on the camera app, flashlight, Siri, Shortcuts, and more.
