Did you recently watch the new yellow iPhone 14 and feel that it is not enjoyable, and I thought that this is it?
Don't worry, Apple has big things to do this year, and more than one. From Macs to iPhones, it's all holding back.
If you no longer have expectations for smartphone innovation, then this year's Apple iPhone 15 series may bring you a lot of surprises.
Some people ridicule that the iPhone should be "bought in different generations" or "pay instead of buying double", if last year was the "small year" of the iPhone, then 2023 is likely to become the biggest "big year" for the iPhone in the past three years.
iPhone 15 Pro concept art, source: Appleinsider
Since the release of the iPhone 14 last year, all kinds of exposure information about the iPhone 15 have been "impatient" to come out, which shows that everyone's expectations for this year's new products are high.
The two "Apple exposure kings" of the East and West, Guo Mingxi of Tianfeng Securities and Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, have even opened the air-to-line mode, and whenever new news is released, both sides will react almost at the same time, or "prove" each other, or "falsify" each other, so that it is not lively.
In addition to the strongest mobile chip A17 that has long been planned, Apple will also add a curved titanium alloy middle frame to the new iPhone, making the phone look like a large Apple Watch, and the iPhone's power and volume buttons may all be "solid" - you can't find a gap in the entire bezel.
For the first time, the new iPhone will also feature a periscope telephoto lens and Sony's exclusive custom image sensor. In addition, the ten-year ancestral Lightning interface is finally going to be replaced with USB-C!
iPhone 15 Pro concept art, source: Phonearena
But don't worry, behind these upgrades are a variety of Cook's superb "knife skills" interpretation, it is likely that you can only experience it if you buy the top "iPhone 15 Ultra". That's right, it's "Ultra," and Apple is likely to add a new iPhone model!
Overall, the iPhone 15 series has a total of ten important changes in seven aspects, such as product naming, body design, photography, screen, interface, chip, and storage specifications.
It is not difficult to find that Apple is likely to bring many new trends in the smartphone industry this time, and some technological upgrades will also have a profound impact on the industrial chain. Behind the key upgrade points of iPhone 15, what are Apple's thoughts and preparations, and how may the Android camp react?
Whether you buy this year's iPhone 15 or not, be sure to find out.
By the way, we also let the AI generate a concept image of the iPhone 15, although it is quite sci-fi, but let former Apple legendary designer Jony Ive look at this picture, may increase blood pressure.
▲AI-generated iPhone 15 concept art
First, there is an additional "Ultra" - the top-of-the-top, highest-end iPhone is coming
I have to say that in the past two years, there have really been more and more products named "Ultra", maybe it is really that Pro and Plus are not enough?
From Xiaomi 11 Ultra, Samsung S21 Ultra smartphone, to Apple M1 Ultra mobile chip, to Apple Watch Ultra smart watch, Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra laptop, there are even exposed information that Huawei's upcoming P60 series will also have "P60 Ultra".
This time Apple is likely to rename the iPhone 15 Pro Max to "iPhone 15 Ultra", yes, a higher configuration but more expensive iPhone.
However, there is also a saying that Apple will not replace Pro Max with Ultra, and Ultra will become a new product in 2024, that is, next year, representing the highest-end, top-of-the-line iPhone, when the iPhone lineup will include SE, Plus, Pro, Pro Max and Ultra.
Of course, if you don't know the naming, it doesn't matter, buy the most expensive and you will definitely enjoy the latest upgrade, that's for sure.
In addition to the joke, calmly look at it, what medicine is sold in this gourd of apples? In fact, Apple will continue to widen the gap in configuration and features between different versions. This year, you only saw that the same generation of iPhone new and old chips are mixed, and the smart island has a none, and the gap between the standard version and Pro and Ultra may become larger and larger, and new upgrade points will only appear on high-end models.
Why? Apple is pushing customers to buy higher-end iPhones, thereby increasing profits and increasing the average price of iPhones.
That's right, even if the iPhone is already synonymous with "high-end" phones, Apple still has to take the iPhone to a higher-end series. It is said that in the future, not only Ultra, but also the "iPhone Fold" folding screen mobile phone priced at more than $2,000.
▲ Folding screen iPhone concept art, source: Appleinsider
Of course, products are becoming more and more "noble (high-end, expensive)", is also one of the general trends of smart phones and even the entire consumer electronics industry, smart phones, PCs these traditional electronic products market has long been mature, even too "mature", consumers because of the need for a certain previously not available features or experience and the demand to buy products has become less and less, market demand is basically saturated.
According to a survey by Guo Mingxi in February, Android mobile phone manufacturers generally face high inventory pressure, and Xiaomi's inventory cycle is as high as 12 to 16 weeks.
At this time, instead of "greed", perhaps "selling one to earn one" will be a wiser choice, especially when the mobile phone market falls into a decade of harsh winter, making money and surviving may be more important than market share.
Second, titanium alloy arc edge middle frame, solid state button? Only what you can't think of, no iPhone can't change
After meeting the new members of the iPhone 15 series, let's talk about the appearance design of the new iPhone.
Some people say that the high-end sense of the product is decided from the moment it is "started".
It is true that successive generations of iPhones have indeed performed well in the body process, but the shortcomings are not without them.
For example, the Pro Max version of the naked motor is close to half a pound of weight, so that many Apple users have painfully chosen the Pro version with a smaller screen, but in fact, the screen of all mainstream Android phones is already about 6.7 inches, and the 6.1-inch screen of the Pro version in the iPhone is actually slightly smaller.
In addition to the weight, the figure of the Pro Max version plus the "straight middle frame" will easily bring a "cutting feeling", especially the transition between the screen, the middle frame, and the back panel are all "right angles", which further amplifies the discomfort brought by the straight middle frame to hold.
Admittedly, the iPhone 4 is also a straight middle frame, but it can't stand the screen of the year is only 3.5 inches, the width of the fuselage is only 5.86 cm, and today's iPhone 14 Pro Max body width reaches 7.76 cm, nearly one-third wider.
However, in this year's iPhone 15 series of high-end models, Apple is likely to form a wave of "anti-killing" in the matter of "feeling", and the iPhone 15 Pro will even "feel bursting".
iPhone 15 Pro concept art, source: Appleinsider
First of all, Apple will probably use a new titanium alloy frame, titanium alloy and stainless steel compared with what is different, the simple understanding is, stronger, more scratch-resistant, and lighter at the same time! That's right, fish and bear's paw can have both. The larger the model, the more obvious the weight loss, such as Pro Max or Ultra.
In addition to being lighter, Apple's titanium alloy middle frame will also use a "rounded" design, but how to round the specific method, now the industry is different, but generally believe that the middle frame and the back panel will adopt a more rounded transition, the appearance may look the same as the iPhone 5C or the new MacBook Pro.
But the iPhone 5C and MacBook Pro bezel and back panel are "integrated", if the new iPhone still uses a metal middle frame + glass back panel, then it may be difficult to do an integrated one, Apple can only make the transition between the two materials as natural as possible, which will inevitably involve extremely complex processing technology.
For the transition between the screen and the middle frame, Apple is likely to adopt a design similar to that on the Apple Watch Series 8, the edge of the screen will do "micro-arc" processing, and the transition between the screen edge and the middle frame will not be "right angle".
▲Apple Watch Series 8
Overall, from the appearance, the new iPhone 15 Pro may look like a "large Apple Watch".
However, objectively, in recent years, Apple's product design has a trend towards "unification", from iPhone, iPad, iMac, have begun to go to the "straight frame" style, if this iPhone suddenly returned to the "arc", does it represent another major adjustment of product design style?
After Apple's genius designer Jony Ive left, Apple's hardware design team has always been in an "unstable" state, it is reported that after the departure of industrial design director Evans Hankey this year, Apple will not appoint a new industrial design director, and Apple's designer team of about 20 people will be directly controlled by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams.
Although we always say that you can always trust Apple's product design. But today, Apple's product design may also undergo unprecedented tests.
In any case, if Apple really uses the titanium alloy frame, it will inevitably make some important innovations and breakthroughs in metal processing technology and assembly process, and these technological innovations will inevitably become a new direction for the Android camp to catch up.
Although Apple will most likely master a certain monopoly advantage in the supply chain process in the early stage, how the follow-up Android manufacturers should respond and catch up is what we will continue to pay attention to.
In addition to the titanium alloy frame, Apple's iPhone 15 series may also use a "solid-state button" design, simply understood, that is, the power and volume buttons are changed to "fake buttons", the buttons can be pressed, and there will be feedback like physical buttons after pressing, but this feedback is simulated by a vibration motor.
The solid-state buttons are actually similar to the Home button of the iPhone 7 and the Force Touch trackpad on the MacBook, both of which simulate mechanical button feedback through vibration.
Doing so obviously requires more motor participation, so more Taptic Engine may be used in the iPhone 15 series, so Apple's vibration motor and haptic driver chip suppliers will be important beneficiaries of this change.
Overall, a thinner body, a more rounded, stronger, and textured titanium alloy middle frame, and a more advanced, high-tech solid-state button, if the exposure is true, then the iPhone 15 series in the body design changes are really not small.
It's definitely easier to let others find out you're using a new iPhone.
Third, Apple finally used the periscope lens, and the front photo was changed to "dual camera" for the first time
In terms of photography, compared with the previous generation of iPhone in the pixel number of upgrades, this time Apple may add a periscope telephoto lens to the iPhone 15 Ultra, which is also the first time Apple has used such a lens.
However, the periscope camera will obviously take up more space inside the fuselage, so how Apple arranges this lens may be a big test. Whether Apple will replace the existing telephoto lens with this periscope lens, or add a fourth lens to the telephoto lens, the current industry theory is not uniform.
If this periscope lens appears as the fourth lens, Apple's three-camera tradition since the iPhone 11 in 2019 will be broken, and the design of Apple's back lens module will also face major changes and break the "triangle" lens position, resulting in Apple's photo algorithm also needing to be adjusted.
At the same time, the addition of Apple's periscope lens and the addition of more Taptic Engines to squeeze the internal space, will the battery capacity of the iPhone be further compressed, bringing challenges to battery life?
In any case, according to supply chain information, since April last year, a number of supply chain manufacturers have begun to produce the required parts for the periscope lens module in the iPhone 15 series, which is said to be ordered for the iPhone 15, including the mainland fruit chain company Lante Optics.
As we all know, in the Android camp, periscope lenses already seem to be a "play leftover" technology, and even recently Android flagship phones have gradually abandoned periscope lenses, and returned to the traditional wide-angle main camera + ultra-wide-angle + telephoto three-camera combination.
Admittedly, this aspect is for the consideration of controlling costs, but also to give up functions or features that are less obvious to the user, in exchange for better performance in terms of performance, heat dissipation, and battery life, which are more obvious for the user's perception.
But objectively speaking, even if the current periscope lens has been iterated for two or three years, it still has not achieved the final "complete body" - continuous optical zoom lens. The periscope lens equipped in Android phones is still a "fixed focus lens", but the periscope structure provides more fixed focus positions, such as 3x, 5x, and 10x.
▲Periscope lens module in Samsung S21 Ultra
Between these fixed focal lengths, the phone still transitions through digital zoom, not continuous optical zoom. In the past two years, the research and development of continuous optical zoom modules has made new progress, and domestic head manufacturers such as Sunny have had the relevant technology and production capacity of continuous optical zoom lenses, but there are no specific products applied in mobile phones.
Apple's periscope lens, whether it can take the lead in achieving continuous optical zoom, or bring any new ideas in the gameplay of periscope lenses, is worth looking forward to.
But it is foreseeable that Apple's iPhone 15 Ultra for the application of periscope lenses will inevitably re-bring the "periscope lens" trend of the Android camp. According to industry information, in 2023, Xiaomi, Huawei, and OPPO will all have flagship mobile phones equipped with high-specification periscope lenses in progress.
At that time, Apple's entry will inevitably set off a new round of telephoto photography wars.
In addition to this periscope lens, in terms of the main camera, Apple will also jointly develop "black technology" with Sony to double the "pixel saturation signal level" of the CMOS image sensor, enhance the light sensitivity of the mobile phone, improve the imaging dynamic range and reduce the picture noise.
It is worth mentioning that Apple may put two front lenses in the "Spirit Island" this time, which is also the first time that the iPhone uses a front-facing dual camera combination. One of the two front cameras is likely to be a wide-angle or ultra-wide-angle lens, how Apple will use these two lenses to play new selfie tricks, and whether Android phone manufacturers will also follow up with the front dual camera, it remains to be seen.
At present, Android mobile phones generally use a single screen hole screen design, the increase of the second front camera, may test the trade-offs of manufacturers, perhaps the under-screen camera technology, will help solve the screen multiple holes, but in terms of the actual performance of the current under-screen camera technology, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the photo effect.
Regardless of how Android manufacturers react, the two front-facing lenses may cause some problems for Apple's own Spirit Island software adaptation. Because the use of two front lenses will lead to a wider area of the island of spirit, less white space on both sides, for small iPhones, the information that can be displayed by the blank space on both sides will be extremely limited.
The solution is to adjust the size of the Face ID module and further reduce the distance between the two front lenses, which has to be said to be another test of the design of the Face ID module and the internal structure design of the fuselage.
Some insiders believe that the Face ID technology under the screen will be a solution, which can ensure that the width of the flexible island will not increase. The Face ID module can not affect the display at the bottom of the screen, and the new front camera can be placed in the position of the original Face ID module.
Apple under-screen camera related patents, source: Patently Apple
However, according to the market research agency DSCC forecast, Apple will use under-screen Face ID as early as 2025 iPhone 17 series, this time whether Apple will increase the front camera, how to deal with the Spirit Island area, still need to wait for Apple to reveal the answer.
Fourth, the strongest screen on the surface of 2500nit is coming, and the 10,000 yuan folding screen iPhone is on the way
Since the spirit island and Face ID under the screen are mentioned, we have to say some important upgrades that the iPhone 15 series may have in terms of screen.
This time, Apple will still use the top Samsung flexible AMOLED screen, and it is said that the peak brightness may reach 2500nit, which is improved again on the basis of the previous generation of 2000nit.
However, compared with the peak brightness improvement of a small area, the problem of "automatic brightness reduction" during Apple iPhone games obviously needs to be optimized as soon as possible, in fact, in daily use, the brightness of 1000nit has been more "dazzling" for many ordinary people, and the peak brightness of 2500nit is rarely seen in daily use.
In addition to the improvement of the brightness of the iPhone screen, Apple will apply the smart island design to all iPhone 15 series, from standard version to Ultra.
According to the Apple screen design roadmap given by DSCC, Apple's smart island design will be used until 2024, and from 2025, all iPhones will use the design of Face ID + single punch hole under the screen. By 2026, the "Apple iPhone 18" will become the first "true full-screen" iPhone, without any punching, Face ID and front camera are located under the screen.
▲ Apple's screen morphological evolution roadmap prediction, source: DSCC
In terms of screens, Apple's first folding screen iPhone has also been attracting industry attention, but according to the latest news, we will not see the folding screen iPhone for a year at the earliest. And this "iPhone Fold" may be the ultra-high-end and most expensive iPhone in history launched by Apple in 2024, and it is expected to cost about $1,500 (about 10,226 yuan).
However, this price is obviously not enough "Apple", if Apple's first folding screen is only 10,000 yuan, then the Android folding screen market is bound to be seriously impacted.
Fifty or ten years later, Lightning will finally become history, tears!
Last year, the European Union just passed legislation requiring smartphone manufacturers to replace smartphone product interfaces with USB-C by 2024.
However, according to the information of several whistleblowers, Apple's iPhone 15 series from Lightning interface to USB-C should be a very high probability event, Apple even developed its own USB-C and Lightning interface chips, used in this year's new iPhone and MFI certification products.
Since the emergence of the Lightning interface, ten years have passed, and Apple has replaced the more ancient 30pin interface with the Lightning interface, realizing the two-way transmission function and better interface waterproofness. And this time, we're finally going to say goodbye to Lightning.
Of course, the conversion period will definitely experience pain, just as the switch from the 30pin interface to Lightnig was that year, there are still many devices on the market that use the Lightning interface, and these devices will face a round of updates, and in the process of updating, various adapters and converters will inevitably become important transition products.
Apple's third-party accessories manufacturers may have new business.
30pin interface (left) and Lightning interface (right)
However, it is worth noting that even if they all use USB-C ports, the interface transmission speed of the Pro version and the standard version is not the same, the Pro version is USB 3.2 (20Gbps) or Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) speed, and the standard version is USB 2.0 speed (480Mbps), which is basically the same as the previous Lighting interface transmission speed.
Yes, to this day, Apple is still one of the few manufacturers whose mobile phone interface still only supports USB 2.0, and users of the iPhone 15 standard version may continue to enjoy this "privilege".
There are also rumors that Apple may make the USB-C interface in the iPhone 15 Pro support the Thunderbolt 3 protocol, so that the phone can transmit ProRes format video more quickly, of course, the Thunderbolt interface also has the characteristics of charging and transmitting data at the same time.
If we look further, the existence of USB-C interface on the iPhone may not last long, because Apple may adopt the "full body without interface" design, even the USB-C port will be canceled, whether the iPhone is charging or transmitting data, it must rely on "wireless" transmission.
The specific way Apple wants to achieve it, there is still no conclusion, there is a view that the future MagSafe charging may take into account the data transmission function.
Of course, these are all afterthoughts.
For ordinary consumers, after replacing the USB-C port, whether the Apple iPhone can really support "fast charging", and whether it can be better connected with the mobile phone charger of the Android camp, so as to improve the unity of the USB-C port charging ecology, so that we can have a good experience with different brands of mobile phone charger charging, which is a more practical problem.
Sixth, using the strongest A17 on the surface, self-developed 5G baseband and WiFi chip is "pigeons"
Smartphone development to today, chip upgrade is undoubtedly one of the most core factors driving the replacement of mobile phone products, in recent years few people have discussed "excess performance", no matter how much performance is not too much, now the focus of competition is how to provide stronger performance at the same time, more power saving.
Because no matter how strong the mobile phone function, it can not get rid of the shackles of lithium batteries, and if the battery material does not break through for a day, the mobile phone will always be "dancing in shackles", and the upper limit has been locked.
Therefore, in the limited power, improving the performance of the chip and reducing the power consumption of the chip is the focus of the efforts of various chip manufacturers.
When it comes to energy efficiency ratio, Apple's A-series chips in recent years have not encountered opponents, and the A17 chip to be used in the iPhone 15 series is using TSMC's latest 3nm process, although the performance is expected to be only about 10% to 15% improvement, but the power consumption is expected to decrease by 35%, which is really not small.
Does the decrease in power consumption leave room for "castration" of battery capacity, allowing more of the aforementioned Taptic Engine motors and periscope lenses to have a place? It deserves further attention.
No matter how chip performance changes, Cook's "knife technique" is still a familiar taste. It is said that the standard version of the iPhone 15 is still only equipped with the previous generation A16 chip, and only the Pro and above versions will use the latest A17 chip.
Sure enough, apples are forcing you to buy more expensive.
It is worth mentioning that Apple's chip design team has experienced a series of personnel turmoil, and the GPU performance improvement of Apple A15 is much lower than expected, which is said to be related to the problems within the chip design department.
In addition to the energy efficiency ratio upgrade brought by TSMC's 3nm, Apple's generation of A17 can make more progress in the CPU and GPU architecture, and whether the IPC performance of the CPU and GPU can be significantly improved will be the focus of follow-up attention.
Next, let's talk about the communication aspect that Apple is "not very good at". Recently, the news that Apple's iPhone 15 series will support WiFi 6E is quite hot, but calm down and take a look, you will find that the flagship chips of Qualcomm and MediaTek have officially supported WiFi 7, and Apple's new products if they still want to use WiFi 6E technology, but are somewhat "backward".
Apple has actually been promoting the research and development of self-developed 5G baseband and related communication chips, but according to industry information, Apple will still use Qualcomm solutions in 2023, and Apple's self-developed WiFi chips and cellular network chips, its projects have also been shelved.
Apple's expansion in its own "unfamiliar" field is obviously not very smooth.
7. 2TB of huge storage, the top iPhone with 14,000 is coming!
Finally, let's talk about the price you might care about the most.
Directly speaking, all kinds of whistleblowers basically believe that the top-of-the-line version of the iPhone is likely to increase in price, because this year Apple may add a 2TB version of the iPhone to cope with the extremely high storage occupation of ProRes video.
The 2TB version of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is likely to cost more than $2,000 (about 13,635 yuan), and the price of other versions will not fluctuate significantly.
iPhone 15 series price forecast, source: Phonearena
For most of Apple's old users, small fluctuations in price will not affect their purchase decisions, and they are more concerned about whether the new generation of products will have "negative optimization" than price.
Of course, these prices are predictions, and every year before the release of the iPhone, there are various "price increase" rumors, but in the end, most of them are confirmed to be rumors.
However, according to South Korean media predictions, Apple may indeed further reduce the price of the iPhone 15 standard version on the basis of increasing the price of the top version.
The benefits of this are obvious, reducing the price of the standard version, Apple will grab more high-end market from Android mobile phone manufacturers, and increasing the price of the top-equipped version will further increase the average price and profit.
In any case, for Android mobile phone manufacturers, Apple's "price reduction" operation must be focused on "beware".
After all, price cuts are one of Cook's most playful killer tricks.
Conclusion: How much inventory does Cook's big move still have?
Throughout the history of Apple's iPhone development, the upgrades of the iPhone in recent years seem to be some things that have been in the past, but every time in terms of experience fluency, functional integrity and overall completion, Apple can create new heights, or bring new ways to play.
Apple's entry will always lead to a rapid increase in production capacity and processes in a certain field, and then the supply chain cost of similar designs will also decrease. At the same time, Apple's brand power will quickly deliver a certain feature to a wide range of consumers, and even cause hot topics, and manufacturers can also get more attention and traffic with similar designs.
Most of the changes in Apple's products will have a clear impact on the industry and should not be underestimated. What's more, Apple's iPhone 15 has changed so much this time, and 2023 is bound to become a "big year"
In the future, Apple's MR headset release, whether mobile phone manufacturers will follow up, folding screen iPhone, screen Face ID these technologies will bring about what kind of industrial changes, are worth looking forward to.
Although Apple products have been less "unprecedented and unexpected" changes in recent years, the "surprise" is still full.