At 1 a.m. on September 13, Apple's 2023 special event "Curiosity Up" kicked off.
Under the breathless gaze of the audience, the iPhone 15 series officially debuted.
Let's talk about the upgrade points of the four models of the iPhone 15 series:
- All models are equipped with "Smart Island" as standard
- 48 million pixel lens
- The second generation UWB ultra-wideband
- USB-C
Of course, under Cook's "precision knife technique", each of the four models has some subtle changes.
Now follow Xiaolei into the exclusive iPhone 15 series of Moment.
iPhone 15/Plus: I also have a "Spirit Island"
Last year, Apple roughly enlarged the iPhone 14 and launched the iPhone 14 Plus, replacing the "mini" model with extremely poor sales.
But Cook does not seem to have guessed the real needs of "fruit fans", although the large but expensive iPhone 14 Plus, word of mouth, sales are both "on the street", let the industry see a big joke.
Fortunately, this year's base model is not so bad.
In terms of appearance design, the iPhone 15 adopts a new aviation-grade aluminum metal curved border, the whole piece of color melting glass, and the color control ability is on a higher level. Unfortunately, the basic iPhone 15 is available in pink, yellow, green, blue and black, and no longer has a "starlight color".
(Source: Apple)
The iPhone 15 comes with a new Super Retina XDR screen with a brightness of 1600 nits and a peak brightness of 2000 nits. Thanks to the increased brightness, the iPhone 15 performs better when displaying HDR and Dolby Vision content.
Not surprisingly, iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are equipped with the A16 Bionic chip exclusive to the previous generation of "Pro", which uses a 6-core CPU + 5-core GPU solution, and the neural network engine has a computing capacity of 17 trillion times per second. Compared to the A15 Bionic on the iPhone 14, the performance improvement is weak.
(Source: Apple)
The A16 Bionic is indeed not far behind today, dealing with large games, 4K video, and complex computational photography.
When it comes to computational photography, we have to focus on this "dual camera module" that looks unchanged.
(Source: Apple)
The basic iPhone 15 has been upgraded to a 48-megapixel main camera, supplemented by a 1200-pixel ultra-wide angle, forming a "dual camera solution" that we are all very familiar with. The new main lens improves the ability to image at night, while the ability to crop by 2x has been added thanks to the increased number of pixels.
It is worth noting that because "ProRaw" is still an exclusive function of "Pro", a new 24-megapixel imaging mode is provided on the iPhone 15.
Overall, the iPhone 15 series "accidentally" gained some fresh features in the case of regular hardware upgrades, such as 24 million pixel mode, double cropping, next-generation portrait mode, etc. However, the absence of "starlight color" may cause dissatisfaction among some white lovers.
(Source: Apple)
Selling price:
iPhone 15: from 5999 yuan
iPhone 15 Plus: from 6999 yuan
iPhone 15 Pro/Max: Entering the "Titanium Era"
Since the beginning of the iPhone 13 series, Apple intends to open the gap between the "basic" and "high-end" iPhones. If the first two generations of iPhone only reflected the gap between the two sides through the weakening of the core configuration, then this year, Apple did not leave any face for the "basic model".
iPhone 15 Pro uses a new "titanium" material, using a thermomechanical process, the "aluminum" and "titanium" are bonded with ultra-high pressure to create Apple's lightest "Pro" model to date. The "titanium" middle frame uses a new delicate brush mark texture, which is achieved through multiple precision processing steps such as sanding, brushing, and sandblasting.
(Source: Apple)
Compared with the iPhone 14 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro with a new "titanium" material has a stronger body structure and improved scratch resistance.
Another major cosmetic upgrade to the iPhone 15 Pro comes from the physical buttons.
The "silent switch" of the original iPhone has been replaced with the "Action button" in the new iPhone 15 Pro. By default, the "Action button" still acts as a mute switch, but this new button can provide more functions.
(Source: Apple)
For example, it can act as a shutter button in photo mode, quickly start recording, or even turn on the "shortcut" switch or switch profiles at the touch of a button.
New materials, new buttons, and four new colors: Titanium Black, Titanium White, Titanium Blue and Titanium.
In terms of performance, the iPhone 15 Pro is equipped with the world's first A17 Pro Bionic chip created by 3nm process technology.
(Source: Apple)
The A17 Pro Bionic has a 6-core CPU (2 high-performance + 4 energy-efficient), a 16-core neural network unit and a 6-core GPU. This new processor also brings hardware-level ray tracing and runs up to 4x faster than the previous generation.
Based on the powerful A17 Pro Bionic, the iPhone 15 Pro can run Resident Evil 4: Remastered and Assassin's Creed Mirage.
The highlight of the iPhone 15 Pro is the comprehensive evolution of the imaging system.
In terms of hardware, the iPhone 15 Pro is equipped with a new 48-megapixel main lens, F/1.78 aperture, 2nd generation sensor-level image stabilization, and a new non-"ProRaw" mode full pixel output. In addition, the sensor also supports 24 million pixel mode, which creates sharper photos in lower volumes.
(Source: Apple)
iPhone 15 Pro Max exclusively enjoys a new "periscope telephoto" with up to 5x optical zoom and a quadruple reflective prism structure to achieve a maximum focal length of 120mm. The new image stabilization system that moves stereoscopic in three directions and performs up to 10,000 micro-adjustments per second, twice as many as its predecessor.
The newly upgraded video system brings night portraits, a new generation of intelligent HDR, and 4K 60fps ProRes video recording.
Remember Apple's Apple Vision Pro released earlier this year? That's right, the iPhone 15 Pro now supports shooting "spatial video", using the main camera and ultra-wide angle to create videos with 3D effects. This feature allows Apple Vision Pro users to see and enjoy more realistic, live movies.
(Source: Apple)
As the "Pro" model that has changed the most in recent years, the iPhone 15 Pro has achieved a complete overhaul, with obvious changes in appearance, performance, and images, especially the iPhone 15 Pro Max that added a periscope lens for the first time, providing more comprehensive image creation capabilities. Unfortunately, Apple did not design more creative new features to serve this lens, which caused it to look like "King Kong Barbie", but how "powerful" it is remains to be seen.
(Source: Apple)
Selling price:
iPhone 15 Pro (128GB): from 7999 yuan
iPhone 15 Pro Max (256GB) from 9999 yuan
Write at the end
With the introduction of the iPhone 15 series, the annual "Technology Spring Festival Gala" has officially come to an end.
From the perspective of Apple's product layout on the iPhone 15 series, the basic iPhone 15 still continues the "cost-effective" route, using the A16 Bionic chip of the previous generation of mature technology, the same "Spirit Island" of the whole series, and the USB-C interface.
But the iPhone 15 Pro series has progressed faster and has entered two completely different eras from the basic iPhone. For example, the new "titanium" material, periscope telephoto, and the first Apple mobile chip named "Pro".
(Source: Apple)
Of course, the iPhone 15 series also has many confusing "discrimination":
- Also USB-C interface, the basic iPhone only supports USB 2.0, while the iPhone 15 Pro supports USB 3.2 Gen 2, 10Gbps rate, "extremely advanced".
- It also has a 48-megapixel main camera, but the iPhone 15 Pro can output full-pixel HEIF photos, and the basic iPhone can only take photos with a maximum size of 24 million pixels.
- There is also the cliché high refresh rate, and the basic iPhone is still stuck at the "old" 60Hz.
Admittedly, Cook's "precision knife technique" also makes the iPhone 15 Pro the most unique scenery in the current smartphone market: strong performance, exquisite design, unique materials and so on. In any case, this year's "Science and Technology Spring Festival Gala" is quite exciting.
After watching the wonderful press conference, I think all the "fruit fans" have itched and want to buy it immediately. According to Apple's official news, the four models of the iPhone 15 series are on sale at the same time: pre-orders will begin on September 15 (Friday) and officially go on sale on September 22.
As Apple's only official flagship store on the e-commerce platform, the official flagship store of Tmall Apple Store will open spot pre-sale at 8 pm on September 15, 7 days ahead of other e-commerce platforms. At the same time, the official flagship store of Tmall Apple Store shares inventory with Apple's official website, and the iPhone 15 series has sufficient goods and continues to be stocked.