With WWDC behind us and summer in full swing, it won’t be long before the iPhone 15 is upon us. It’s still about two months away, but the rumor mill is already giving us a good idea of what to expect. Just as we have had for the last few years, we expect a standard iPhone 15 in regular and Plus sizes (6.1 and 6.7 inches, though slimmer bezels may make the displays ever-so-slightly larger), and the iPhone 15 Pro in nearly identical standard and Max sizes.

At the low end, pricing is expected to be similar to current iPhone 14 models: $799/£849 for the standard iPhone 15 and $899/£949 for the larger Plus model. At the high end, prices could jump by $100, with some rumors suggesting that the largest Pro model will be rebranded as the iPhone 15 Ultra and have an even higher price hike.

So why should you pay so much more? What do you get when you spring for one of the iPhone 15 Pro models? Based on the best available rumors so far, here are the differences that Apple hopes will entice you to spend hundreds more.

The A17 chip

For the last two years, Apple has put a different chip in the Pro model iPhones. The iPhone 13 Pro had an A15 Bionic like the iPhone 13, only the higher-end phone had 5 GPU cores instead of 4. With the iPhone 14, Apple went further and made the A16 Bionic exclusive to the Pro models–the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus got the A15 again (with 5 GPU cores).

If you want the A17 and all the benefits it brings, you’re going to need to buy the iPhone 15 Pro or Max. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are going to get the A16 found in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. That’s still a very fast chip, but we have high hopes that the new 3nm process will allow Apple to really push the A17 design in new ways instead of just making it 15-20 percent faster.

The titanium body

The iPhone 15 Pro’s enclosure may be made of titanium instead of stainless steel, just like the Apple Watch Ultra. That would be the first time Apple used a new material in the iPhone Pro since the model launched in 2019.

Steel tends to be a little stronger and harder than titanium (it varies widely depending on the exact composition and heat treatment of the steel), but titanium is still very strong and hard and weighs about half as much as steel. That means a much lighter and more comfortable iPhone–especially the largest Max/Ultra model, which currently tips the scales at 240 grams.

The telephoto camera

The regular iPhones have a standard (wide) and an ultrawide camera. The Pro models include a telephoto camera–currently a 12MP camera with 3x zoom in the iPhone 14 Pro.

Some say the iPhone 15 will have the same big 48MP wide-angle camera as the iPhone 14 Pro, which could be a reason to not buy the Pro model. But consider this: the non-Pro iPhones have thus far not supported the ProRAW format, which is required to capture full-sized 48MP photos–in standard HEIF or JPG formats you only get pixel-binned 12MP photos. Since ProRAW likely isn’t coming to the non-Pro iPhone 15, we assume iPhone 15 photos will be limited to 12MP images, so you’ll still need an iPhone 15 Pro to take full advantage of the 48MP camera.

Regardless, the iPhone 15 Pro is sure to have a telephoto camera that the iPhone 15 doesn’t have. And if you’re looking at a larger phone, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is said to feature a new periscope lens telephoto camera with an optical zoom of 5x-6x and a digital zoom of at least 20X, both substantially better than they the iPhone 14 Pro.

Furthermore, the Pro iPhones also have LiDAR sensors, which is good for AR apps and for improving focus and portrait mode in dark environments. It also might be useful when the Vision Pro ships next year.

The Action button

With the iPhone 15 Pro models, Apple is rumored to finally replace the mute switch, which has been with us since the original iPhone, with a button. This so-called “Action button” would perform different functions depending on how you’re using your phone. For example, when locked it will mute or unmute your iPhone, but perhaps when using the Camera app, it could take on another function like quickly switching between video and photo modes. Maybe a double-tap of the button from your home screen will perform a shortcut from a list of options, similar to the “back tap” accessibility feature?

There’s no reason that mute needs to be a toggle switch rather than a button, and a button provides a lot more flexibility. Plus, it means cases without awkward cutouts. And it look like you’ll only get it on the Pro phones.

The display

The iPhone 15 is expected to have an OLED display with the Dynamic Island, as found on the iPhone 14 Pro today. But even so, the Pro models are still far superior, with features like higher peak and outdoor brightness, always-on display, and ProMotion. And that always-on display will get even more useful in iOS 17 thanks to the new StandBy feature.

The USB-C port

All iPhone 15 models are expected to ditch the Lightning connector in favor of USB-C. The European Union’s new laws require it on future products. The rumors suggest that we can expect USB 2.0 data transfer speeds on the regular iPhone 15 (480 Mbits per second, just like Lightning), while the iPhone 15 Pro will get USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3 support, giving data transfer speeds of up to 20 or 40 Gbits per second.

Faster charging speeds are a possibility, though some rumors suggest that those higher speeds will be limited to special USB-C cables that have authentication chips in them like Lightning cables do today.

iPhone

With WWDC behind us and summer in full swing, it won’t be long before the iPhone 15 is upon us. It’s still about two months away, but the rumor mill is already giving us a good idea of what to expect. Just as we have had for the last few years, we expect a standard iPhone 15 in regular and Plus sizes (6.1 and 6.7 inches, though slimmer bezels may make the displays ever-so-slightly larger), and the iPhone 15 Pro in nearly identical standard and Max sizes.

At the low end, pricing is expected to be similar to current iPhone 14 models: $799/£849 for the standard iPhone 15 and $899/£949 for the larger Plus model. At the high end, prices could jump by $100, with some rumors suggesting that the largest Pro model will be rebranded as the iPhone 15 Ultra and have an even higher price hike.

So why should you pay so much more? What do you get when you spring for one of the iPhone 15 Pro models? Based on the best available rumors so far, here are the differences that Apple hopes will entice you to spend hundreds more.

The A17 chip

For the last two years, Apple has put a different chip in the Pro model iPhones. The iPhone 13 Pro had an A15 Bionic like the iPhone 13, only the higher-end phone had 5 GPU cores instead of 4. With the iPhone 14, Apple went further and made the A16 Bionic exclusive to the Pro models–the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus got the A15 again (with 5 GPU cores).

If you want the A17 and all the benefits it brings, you’re going to need to buy the iPhone 15 Pro or Max. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are going to get the A16 found in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. That’s still a very fast chip, but we have high hopes that the new 3nm process will allow Apple to really push the A17 design in new ways instead of just making it 15-20 percent faster.

A titanium body

The iPhone 15 Pro’s enclosure may be made of titanium instead of stainless steel, just like the Apple Watch Ultra. That would be the first time Apple used a new material in the iPhone Pro since the model launched in 2019.

Steel tends to be a little stronger and harder than titanium (it varies widely depending on the exact composition and heat treatment of the steel), but titanium is still very strong and hard and weighs about half as much as steel. That means a much lighter and more comfortable iPhone–especially the largest Max/Ultra model, which currently tips the scales at 240 grams.

A telephoto camera

The regular iPhones have a standard (wide) and an ultrawide camera. The Pro models include a telephoto camera–currently a 12MP camera with 3x zoom in the iPhone 14 Pro.

Some say the iPhone 15 will have the same big 48MP wide-angle camera as the iPhone 14 Pro, which could be a reason to not buy the Pro model. But consider this: the non-Pro iPhones have thus far not supported the ProRAW format, which is required to capture full-sized 48MP photos–in standard HEIF or JPG formats you only get pixel-binned 12MP photos. Since ProRAW likely isn’t coming to the non-Pro iPhone 15, we assume iPhone 15 photos will be limited to 12MP images, so you’ll still need an iPhone 15 Pro to take full advantage of the 48MP camera.

Regardless, the iPhone 15 Pro is sure to have a telephoto camera that the iPhone 15 doesn’t have. And if you’re looking at a larger phone, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is said to feature a new periscope lens telephoto camera with an optical zoom of 5x-6x and a digital zoom of at least 20X, both substantially better than they the iPhone 14 Pro.

Furthermore, the Pro iPhones also have LiDAR sensors, which is good for AR apps and for improving focus and portrait mode in dark environments. It also might be useful when the Vision Pro ships next year.

An Action button

With the iPhone 15 Pro models, Apple is rumored to finally replace the mute switch, which has been with us since the original iPhone, with a button. This so-called “Action button” would perform different functions depending on how you’re using your phone. For example, when locked it will mute or unmute your iPhone, but perhaps when using the Camera app, it could take on another function like quickly switching between video and photo modes. Maybe a double-tap of the button from your home screen will perform a shortcut from a list of options, similar to the “back tap” accessibility feature?

There’s no reason that mute needs to be a toggle switch rather than a button, and a button provides a lot more flexibility. Plus, it means cases without awkward cutouts. And it look like you’ll only get it on the Pro phones.

A better display

The iPhone 15 is expected to have an OLED display with the Dynamic Island, as found on the iPhone 14 Pro today. But even so, the Pro models are still far superior, with features like higher peak and outdoor brightness, always-on display, and ProMotion. And that always-on display will get even more useful in iOS 17 thanks to the new StandBy feature.

Faster USB-C

All iPhone 15 models are expected to ditch the Lightning connector in favor of USB-C. The European Union’s new laws require it on future products. The rumors suggest that we can expect USB 2.0 data transfer speeds on the regular iPhone 15 (480 Mbits per second, just like Lightning), while the iPhone 15 Pro will get USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3 support, giving data transfer speeds of up to 20 or 40 Mbits per second.

Faster charging speeds are a possibility, though some rumors suggest that those higher speeds will be limited to special USB-C cables that have authentication chips in them like Lightning cables do today.

iPhone

The first iOS 17 Developer Beta was released on the first day of WWDC, as is tradition. While it is meant for developers to begin building apps using new frameworks and APIs, and to test and send bug reports if their apps don’t work with the new software, it is technically available to anyone with a developer account.

In fact, the Developer Beta used to require a paid membership to the developer program, which costs $99 a year. With iOS 17, Apple changed its policy to allow even those with free developer accounts (which otherwise only provide access to the developer forums and Xcode) to download the iOS 17 Developer Beta.

Still, we recommend waiting for the Public Beta to begin, likely in June; the fourth or fifth Developer Beta will probably be the first Public Beta.

Update 07/05/23: Apple has released the third beta of iOS 17 to registered developers. We still expect the first public beta in July, probably in a week or two coinciding with beta 4.

iOS 17: New Features

As iOS 17 is a major release, it is full of new features. Some of our favorite iOS 17 features include live voicemail transcription, vastly improved autocorrect, better Siri (including the ability to trigger it with “Siri” rather than “Hey Siri”), contact posters, and StandBy.

Our iOS 17 guide has more on all the features coming this fall to your iPhone. Here, we’ll highlight any of the particularly interesting changes and updates in the latest beta release.

Beta 3 has just landed and we don’t yet know what significant changes it brings, but here’s what was new in beta 2:

AirDrop: The ability to hold phones near each other for AirDrop is finally implemented in beta 2.

Haptic Touch: The accessibility setting for Haptic Touch speed has been expanded from “Fast / Slow” to “Fast / Default / Slow.”. The new Default is equivalent to the old Fast, and Fast is now faster than before.

Apple Music: There are new widgets and a slider to adjust crossfade time.

StandBy: You now have the option to prevent notifications from displaying when in StandBy. Critical notifications will show regardless.

iOS 17: How to install the public beta

If you want to be among the first to test iOS 17, you can sign up for the public beta test. The process for installing a beta has changed in iOS 16.4. Here’s how the new process works now:

1. Click Sign Up on the Apple Beta page and register with your Apple ID.
2. Log in to the Beta Software Program.
3. Click Enroll your iOS device.
4. Open the Settings app, tap General, then Software Update.
5. In the Beta Updates section, select the iOS Public Beta.

It may take a few moments after registering for the beta option to appear in Software Update.

The public beta test for iOS 17 is expected to begin in July, and we suggest most users wait for it–as buggy as public betas can be, the early developer betas of major new OS releases are often even more error-prone and incomplete.

iOS 17: How to install the developer beta

You’ll need to be registered as an Apple developer. Beginning with iOS 17, you don’t need to be in the $99 per year developer program to access the developer beta. A free developer account will do. You can get one via Xcode or the Apple Developer app in iOS. Here’s how to do it via the Apple Developer app:

1. Download the Apple Developer App from the App Store.
2. Open the app.
3. Tap on Account.
4. Sign in using your usual Apple ID. 

If you want to sell applications to the App Store you’ll need to pay $99/£79 per year for a paid account. Sign up to the Apple Developer Program (here) or through Apple’s Developer App. You can compare the free and paid accounts here.

Registered developers can choose to get the Public Beta instead by selecting iOS Public Beta in the Software Update screen. It may take a little time after registering as a developer for the option to appear in Software Updates.

Some developers have an Apple ID registered for developer access that is different from the Apple ID associated with their personal Apple account and data. To use a different Apple ID for beta access than is used throughout the rest of iOS, open Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates and select the Apple ID at the bottom of the screen.

iOS 17 beta: Risks and precautions

Betas are test versions of upcoming software. They are by definition unfinished, and while they should include most or all of the features in the finished product, there will be cosmetic differences and, inevitably, some glitches and problems that will need to be fixed. The glitches and problems are why Apple bothers to beta-test iOS in the first place.

In other words, don’t expect a perfect user experience. In particular, don’t expect existing apps (including ones that you may rely on) to work properly. In extreme cases, you may even find that your device is bricked by the beta, and cannot be used until the next beta comes along and hopefully fixes the problem. It’s not uncommon for early beta software to exhibit problems like excessive battery drain, too.

The closer we get to the final launch and iOS version, the more polished and feature-complete we can expect the available betas to become. The counter to that, of course, is there will be less time left to wait for the official launch anyway.

We can’t stress enough how important it is to back up your iPhone before you install an iOS beta, or better still, use a secondary device rather than your main iPhone. You won’t lose everything if something goes wrong while the beta is installing, and you’ll be able to go back to the last version should you want to.

iOS