The iPhone 15 rumor season is well underway. We’ve already heard about Apple ditching the Lightning port for USB-C, a titanium finish with subtle curved edges, and solid-state volume buttons.
In October, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple could use HPMS (Haptic Power Management System) from Cirrus Logic to provide haptic feedback in place of the physical buttons. This would eliminate two openings in the phone and improve water resistance.
Enhanced Haptic Feedback
The iPhone 15 is expected to feature haptic feedback on the volume and power buttons. The buttons are rumoured to use capacitive sensing and Taptic Engine haptic feedback to simulate the feeling of pressing them without moving, similar to the home button on recent iPhone SE models and the Force Touch trackpad on newer MacBooks. This would allow for improved water resistance and eliminate moving parts that could break or wear out over time.
Initial reports from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested the iPhone 15 Pro would ditch the traditional physical mute switch and volume buttons, replacing them with solid-state buttons that use haptic engines to provide feedback. That was then all but confirmed by CAD renders shared by 9to5Mac, which show only a single volume button and a new Action button above it that’s rumoured to be programmable.
Now a second source has come forward to suggest the same, although this time it’s research firm Barclays. Citing a shareholder letter from Cirrus Logic, which makes high-performance mixed signal chips including haptic drivers that power Apple’s Taptic Engine, the report suggests that the company is working on a new component for smartphones that will enable haptic buttons. The letter said the new technology should be ready “next year,” which narrows down the timeline to the back half of iphone 15 next year — right around when we expect the iPhone 15 Pro models to launch.
Slow Sync Flash
Apple’s premium smartphones have some of the best cameras in the market. But the company hasn’t caught up to its biggest rival, Samsung’s Galaxy S-series, in terms of camera specifications. That may change with the iPhone 15 series.
The Pro and Pro Max models are expected to get a periscope-lens camera with 10x optical zoom. This feature would give the phones better zoom capabilities than the current 13MP camera on the iPhone 14. The Pro models will also get a bigger memory capacity. According to a report by Taiwanese research firm TrendForce, the iPhone 15 Pro Max could get 8GB of LPDDR5.
Another change will be USB-C connectivity replacing Lightning port on the iPhone 15. According to analyst and sometimes leaker Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models will use USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3. That would mean faster data transfer speeds compared to the current 480Mb/s with Lightning.
Kuo also predicts that the iPhone 15 Pro will support 4K resolution on its LCD display. This will give it a higher refresh rate compared to the standard iPhones that only have a 60Hz LCD screen. But Kuo doesn’t expect the 120Hz LTPO display to make it to the regular iPhones until 2024.
Increased Data Transfer Speeds
Having a USB-C port in place of Lightning is expected to boost data transfer speeds on the iPhone 15. Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that the Pro models of the new phone will support at least USB 3.2, while Thunderbolt 3 could take it even further. The higher-end option can achieve up to 40Gb/s, which would be a big upgrade over the 480Mb/s maximum offered by Lightning.
In addition to faster data transfers, the iPhone 15 is also rumored to feature upgraded charging capabilities. It’s tipped to support Qi2 wireless charging, which would allow it to achieve up to 15W speeds with compatible third-party accessories that don’t officially support MagSafe.
Respected display analyst Ross Young hints that the Apple A17 Bionic chip in the new phones will be more energy efficient, potentially helping to prolong battery life. He suggests that the screen driver circuitry will consume less power than before, which should help with battery drain from one of the phone’s main energy hogs.
Other rumor details about the iPhone 15 include a removal of the headphone jack, the introduction of a USB-C port, and a larger display size. CAD renders of the new phone shared by 9to5Mac show a titanium frame, subtle curved edges, and capacitive volume buttons instead of physical ones.
