The iPhone 15 release date has been and gone, following confirmation at the Apple event in September 2023. There are four new iPhones, the 15 and 15 Plus, as well as the 15 Pro and Pro Max.
The iPhone 15 announcement also brought with it pricing news and more, all below. For more in the Apple space, check out our guides to the best iPad and the best gaming iPhone, or we’ve also got the best portable gaming consoles so you can get your tech fix.
Anyway, here’s everything you need to know about the iPhone 15 release date and beyond:
When is the iPhone 15 release date?
The iPhone 15 lineup launch was on Friday, September 22, 2023. All four handsets are now available. These phones are the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Apple revealed them all at the event on September 12, 2023, where the company also announced the new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
What are the iPhone 15 specs?
The new iPhone models share a similar spec outline to the previous generation, except there are a few specific improvements in certain areas, as below.
What is the iPhone 15 price?
In the US, all the iPhone 15s stay the same price as the previous generation, technically. While the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s starting price is $100 higher, it comes with more storage, so the price is in line with last year’s in the same configuration. In the UK, the prices are slightly reduced.
- iPhone 15 – $799 (£799)
- iPhone 15 Plus – $899 (£899)
- iPhone 15 Pro – $999 (£999)
- iPhone 15 Pro Max – $1,199 (£1,199)
Is there a new iPhone 15 design?
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus see very slight design changes. The most noticeable is the addition of Dynamic Island, a pill-shaped cutout in the screen, replacing the notch we’ve known since the iPhone X. Apple first introduced Dynamic Island with the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022.
Other than that, the base iPhones now have frosted glass on the backs, as well as color-matched glass in the camera bumps. The whole back of the phone is one continuous piece of glass, which is new. As well as this, the edges of the phone are slightly contoured, rather than the sharper edges we’ve had since the iPhone 12.
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max also get these contoured edges, though there are bigger differences. The body is now made out of titanium, which is lighter and stronger than the aluminum used previously. It also offers this brushed metal texture to the rails, and CNBC has reported it to be a bit of a fingerprint magnet.
What are the iPhone 15 colors?
The iPhone 15 lineup offers new colors across the board, given the new materials used by Apple. Here are all the iPhone 15 colors:
- iPhone 15/Plus
- Blue, Pink, Yellow, Green, Black
- iPhone 15 Pro/Max
- Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium, Black Titanium
What are the iPhone 15 model variations?
The same model naming conventions apply to the iPhone 15 lineup as previously. There’s the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. While these naming conventions have previously meant two tiers of identical phones only with different sizes, that’s not the case here for the Pros.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are identical phones beyond the difference in size and battery life, as the bigger phones have more space for a bigger battery, resulting in longer use time. The really noticeable changes come with the Pro phones.
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max share numerous features, whether it’s the Pro Motion display, the titanium body, or the A17 Pro chip on the inside. The difference between the two only applies to the cameras and battery life. The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a slightly longer battery life, due to having more space.
The difference between the cameras might be a bigger deal for any habitual snappers. The iPhone 15 Pro Max offers an improved camera system, with the headline feature being 5x optical zoom. We’ve got a full spec breakdown in our camera section below, so you can get into the minutiae.
What’s new with the iPhone 15 cameras?
Here, we break down the differences between all the new iPhone 15 camera improvements.
iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus cameras
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus have the exact same camera system, with the following features courtesy of Apple:
- 48MP Main: 26mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, sensor‑shift optical image stabilization, 100% Focus Pixels, support for super-high-resolution photos (24MP and 48MP)
- 12MP Ultra Wide: 13mm, ƒ/2.4 aperture and 120° field of view
- 12MP 2x Telephoto (enabled by quad-pixel sensor): 52mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift optical image stabilization, 100% Focus Pixels
- 2x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 4x optical zoom range
- Digital zoom up to 10x
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max cameras
The smaller iPhone 15 Pro features a slightly less capable camera system versus the bigger brother, though the 48MP main camera is improved over last year’s. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro Max camera system is completely unique among the lineup, offering the best optical zoom::
Is the iPhone 15 display new?
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus see clear display improvements this year, with the phones’ peak brightness now hitting 2000 nits, which is double that of the iPhone 14. Apple calls its display tech Super Retina XDR, which basically means it’s pixel-matched OLED tech. Both displays have a 60Hz refresh rate and a pixel density of 460 ppi.
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max offer the best iPhone screens available, though it’s not clear how they differ from the 14 Pro and Pro Max. While the bezels are slightly thinner, reducing the overall height and width of the phone, the tech is still described as Super Retina XDR, even though the Pro phones offer an 120Hz variable refresh rate. These handsets also have an always-on display, though Apple introduced that feature on iPhone 14 Pro. If something noticeable had changed, we’re pretty sure Apple would’ve mentioned it – so for our money, these displays are the same as last year’s.
iPhone 15 performance
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus both get the A16 Bionic chip, which Apple introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro last year. While having a year-old chip may not sound that palatable, Apple’s A16 SoC is still industry-leading against Android competition, and it’s capable of excellent gaming, smooth animations, and all manner of creative workflows. Here are the specs:
A16 Bionic
- 6‑core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores
- 5‑core GPU
- 16‑core Neural Engine
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max get a brand new chip this year, and it’s the first time Apple has ever called an iPhone chip ‘pro’. This year’s A17 Pro chip is the first 3nm chip in a smartphone too, which, while it may sound very techy, is a very big deal.
Previous high-end chips used a 4nm process, which is the size of the process node on a chip. The smaller the process node, the more transistors you can fit into the chip – which helps increase performance by increasing capacity. If that’s all too techy for you, here are the straight-up specs:
A17 Pro
What is the iPhone 15’s battery life?
We’re yet to get exact milliampere-hour numbers for the iPhone 15 lineup, so we can’t give you those. Still, with Apple’s vertical integration, mAh is often not the most useful number. Apple’s own use-time numbers are all we have to go on for now, so here they are:
iPhone 15
- Video playback up to 20 hours
- Video playback (streamed) up to 16 hours
- Audio playback up to 80 hours
iPhone 15 Plus
- Video playback up to 26 hours
- Video playback (streamed) up to 20 hours
- Audio playback up to 100 hours
iPhone 15 Pro
- Video playback up to 23 hours
- Video playback (streamed) up to 20 hours
- Audio playback up to 75 hours
iPhone 15 Pro Max
- Video playback up to 29 hours
- Video playback (streamed) up to 25 hours
- Audio playback up to 95 hours
All models offer a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W, Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W, and Apple’s version of fast-charging: up to 50% charge in around 30 minutes with 20W adapter or higher.
Perhaps that last point is the most notable of all – Apple hasn’t improved the charging speeds with the iPhone 15 lineup, even though the company has switched all the handsets over to USB-C. Given the ridiculous 200W speeds we’re seeing from other USB-C Android handsets, we expected a vague bump. Que sera, sera – especially with Apple, eh?
What is the iPhone 15 operating system?
There are a bunch of new iOS 17 features across the whole iPhone 15 line. We’ve actually had our hands on them thanks to the iOS 17 Beta, so be sure to check out all our thoughts. There is, however, still a notable difference.
Only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have always-on displays. The cheaper models don’t, as their screens don’t have Pro Motion. This feature allows the display to reduce its refresh rate down to 1Hz and conserve a bunch of battery, meaning the always-on display doesn’t drain your charge.
Beyond this, however, all phones get the new Stand By feature, where your phone has an always-on display when charging. You can show a clock, calendar, slideshow of photos, or a bunch more things, and it’s perfect when paired with a MagSafe dock, making your phone a sort of smart hub for your home. Check out our Pitaka MagEZ Slider 2 review for one of the latest MagSafe contraptions.
Anyway, that’s all we have on the iPhone 15 release date and more. Make sure you check out our guides to the best rugged smartphones, best cell phone providers, and the best gaming phones to find some fresh tech.