Five reasons to buy the iPhone 15 (and five reasons to skip it)

That’s right, Apple will be releasing the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max next month following a mid-September announcement.

Of course, the rumor mill has been abuzz with rumors and whispers about everything there is to know about the upcoming iPhone 15 series. Pretty much everything has leaked or has at least been talked about on the interwebs.

But should you queue up for the iPhone 15 or… not?

Top reasons to consider the iPhone 15 series

USB Type-C is here

Well, the day is finally here––Apple is transitioning to the USB Type-C standard. A bit willy-nilly at first, as the change was mostly enforced by EU lawmakers that apparently didn’t fancy losing their Lightning cables all the time. However, even though Apple had enough time to postpone the transition to USB Type-C till the end of 2024, Cupertino decided to tear the bandaid as soon as possible.

All this means that you will be able to use a single cable for charging up almost all of your electronics in a watershed moment for iPhone users, who’ve been subjected to cable segregation for more than a decade.

There are some excellent benefits attached to the transition from Lightning to USB Type-C.

First and foremost, USB Type-C cables can potentially carry much greater electric currents, starting at 3A and potentially topping up at 5A. The Lightning standard pales in comparison with a maximum power throughput of 2.4A max, which has greatly limited the fast-charging capabilities of the iPhone lineup thus far.

Data transfer speeds are also much greater with USB Type-C, with the potential speeds supporting between 5 and 40Gbps, whereas the Lightning cable caps out at 480Mbps. Of course, there’s always the possibility of Apple hampering the potential data speeds on the non-Pro models; remains to be seen.

The fastest mobile chipset so far

The iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max will come with the Apple A17 Bionic chipset, which will be the first widely available 3nm mobile chipset. Up until this point, all smartphone chips, no matter how advanced, have always been a smidgen away from the coveted and hyped-up 3nm manufacturing process.

What are the benefits of the 3nm Apple A17 Bionic chipset? Obviously, the much denser manufacturing process would allow for a couple billion extra transistors to be fitted inside the chip, which would potentially allow for a drastic improvement in performance, and therefore, efficiency.

The chipset will be able to churn out billions of calculations more in comparison with the old A16 Bionic for the same amount of time while consuming the same or even less amount of battery power. This would greatly improve the endurance of the device and allow it to achieve much better battery life in comparison with previous iPhones.

So, the potential for much better performance, and at the same time, even better battery life, is all laid out there in front of us. All of this is potentially coming in an iPhone 15 Pro or an iPhone 15 Pro Max near you next month.

A periscope camera, finally on the iPhone

Obviously, the big thing about the iPhone 15 range and the iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular is the addition of a periscope camera, a first for the iPhone. We keep hearing rumors that this camera will offer optical zoom between 5.0X and 6.0X order of magnification in comparison with the regular wide-angle camera. The periscope camera of the iPhone 15 Pro Max will use a folded lens mechanism akin to the periscope lenses used on rivals like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the Pixel 7 Pro, and others.

This will drastically improve the image quality when zooming in on a subject when compared to the previous 3.0X telephoto camera found on the Pro lineup. Potentially, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will allow you to zoom up all the way to and will potentially allow you to zoom up to 50X of combined zoom or even more.

Naturally, thаt’s still behind flagships like potent Android flagships like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, which offer up to 100X of hybrid (optical+digital) zoom or even more. However, anything past the real magnification of the periscope lens will hardly deliver great image quality, and is mostly there for bragging rights.

Refreshed design on all models

Tired of the notch? Nobody blames you, it’s nearly 2024 already and we still have to deal with the eyesore. Well, the Dynamic Island is an eyesore as well, but on a smaller scale, so if you’re willing to break away from the now-dated notched design of old, then the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus might catch your fancy.

At the same time, Apple is likely dumping stainless steel in favor of titanium on the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This move would potentially introduce great weight savings as well as make the two premium devices more robust and durable. There’s also gossip about slightly curved design at the rear that will potentially boost the ergonomics of the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max and make them easier to handle.

Larger batteries all across the board

Yes, all four iPhone 15 models are now rumored to be scoring larger batteries. This is a major development that could potentially turn your regular iPhone usage up on its head. In a excellent combination with the much more efficient Apple A17 Bionic, the larger batteries will likely deliver much better battery backup in comparison with previous iPhone models.

As always, you can never have battery life that’s too good, so any potential improvement in this area is a definitely a big win.

Image Credit – PhoneArena

Top reasons to skip the iPhone 15 series

iPhones are only getting more expensive

No two way around it: the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are likely getting at least $100 pricier from the offset. While Apple hasn’t actually changed iPhone pricing in the US in the past few years, it seems that the days of the $999 iPhone Pro and the $1099 iPhone Pro Max are all but over.

While most of the extra cost would be soaked up by monthly installments and potential trade-in savings, those customers who usually pony up and buy their iPhones in full might be facing a rather bitter and piggybank-breaking scenario come iPhone season.

At this moment, it doesn’t seem like the regular iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus will be subjected to a price increase, so you might be safe if you’re eyeing the regular iPhones for your potential purchase.

You’ve upgraded (fairly) recently

Sure, all of the iPhone 15 series’ iPhones are shaping up to be more than decent upgrades over their immediate predecessors, but if you’ve recently upgraded to an iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, or iPhone 14 Pro/iPhone 14 Pro Max, then you probably wouldn’t be too keen on upgrading your still perfectly capable iPhone just yet.

As a matter of fact, the same applies to folks who are perfectly happy with their iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, or iPhone 13 Pro Max. I’m a happy camper with the latter and while tempted, I don’t really feel that upgrading would be necessary until the iPhone 16/iPhone 17 series rolls out.

Even if you’re using older iPhones, like those belonging to the iPhone 12 or even iPhone 11 series might not feel like upgrading, and that’s perfectly fine if they wish to stretch the value of their devices even further. However, in all honesty, I’d abandon the iPhone 11 in favor of the iPhone 15 in a heartbeat, and so should you.

You are still longing for a compact iPhone

If you wish to get a compact powerhouse like the iPhone 12 mini or the iPhone 13 mini, then the iPhone 15 series would give you little reasons to upgrade.

Alas, the iPhone 13 mini go down as the last proper small iPhone. Apple abruptly ended the line of compact powerhouses with the iPhone 14 series; the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus took the spot usually reserved for a smaller 5.4-inch iPhone.

Those longing for a truly compact iPhone might have to hold off for the potential arrival of the iPhone SE 4th Gen, which might closely follow the iPhone 14 in terms of design, as revealed by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and a few other leaksters.

You’re swayed by the competition

Android users switch to the iPhone all the time… but honestly, the vice versa is also true. Even if you’ve been a long-time iPhone users, being swayed by the competition is a perfectly valid reason to not be swayed by the iPhone 15 series. In fact, it’s getting harder and harder not to: Android manufacturers are really stepping up their game in terms of overall quality and are definitely on a level playing field with Cupertino.

With devices like the super-versatile Galaxy S23 Ultra, foldable juggernauts like the Pixel Fold and the Galaxy Z Fold 5, as well as potent exotic phones like the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and the OnePlus 11, it’s very hard not to be enticed by Android’s most competent champs.

You’re not part of the Apple ecosystem

Well, if you’re not part of the Apple ecosystem and you’re not willing to switch things up, then there’s probably no way of making you consider the iPhone 15 series. Granted, Apple’s upcoming phones would probably be the perfect entry point into the ecosystem, there’s probably no way of changing the heart of a stubborn one.

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