Apple’s iPhone 15 is a notable step over the iPhone 14

What’s most interesting about Apple’s iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus is that this year, Apple’s base-level iPhone feels like more of an update than its ‘Pro’ models and blurs the line between the two tiers of devices.

From the ‘Dynamic Island’ to new camera upgrades like 2x zoom through sensor cropping and a subtly refreshed design with curved edges, there’s a lot to like about Apple’s entry-level smartphone this year.

The Dynamic Island expands

The unique but under-utilized Dynamic Island introduced last year with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max has made its way to the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. I still think the screen cut-out has a lot of potential, and I’m hoping that now that it has a wider audience, more third-party developers will take advantage of it.

Next up, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus now features curved edges, similar to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The design isn’t quite as curved as pre-iPhone 11 devices, and its squared-off edges are only slightly chamfered. It’s a subtle design change that makes the smartphone more comfortable to hold in your hand, giving it a unique look compared to other recent iPhones.

I’m also a fan of this year’s iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus colours, including ‘Pink,’ ‘Yellow,’ ‘Green,’ ‘Blue’ and ‘Black.’ They have a unique pastel hue that really shifts under certain lighting. It’s almost washed out sometimes, but it can also look intense from some angles, especially Apple’s new take on Yellow (the new Yellow hue reminds me of the Yellow 24-inch iMac). 

Along with the new colours, there’s a textured matte finish on the rear of Apple’s entry-level iPhone 15 models, making the back feel very similar to the Pro iPhones from the last few years. Unfortunately, it’s a fingerprint magnet, unlike the higher-end iPhone, especially in darker colours like Blue and Black. Still, I prefer it to the glossy back the standard iPhone has featured for the past few years because it feels more premium.

Camera upgrades

The other notable upgrade this year comes in the camera. First up, the iPhone 15/iPhone 15 Plus feature a new 48-megapixel main camera that’s very similar to the iPhone 14 Pro’s primary shooter, only with a slightly smaller sensor size. I expect the photo quality to be nearly identical to last year’s Pro iPhone, but I’ll need to spend more time testing it. The same shots I checked out in the hands-on area at Apple’s event were very impressive, though.

There’s also 2x zoom now thanks to the larger sensor, though it’s not optical. Instead, Apple crops the 48-megapixel down to 24-megapixels, allowing it to offer this feature without adding an additional lens to the iPhone 15. Sensor cropping doesn’t result in images that are quite as clear as real optical zoom, but it’s noticeably better than digital zoom and will likely be good enough for most users. I’ve always said that the ability to zoom is more useful than an ultra wide-angle lens, so it’s great to see 2x zoom come to the base-level iPhone models.

It’s not perfect

One thing I’m disappointed about is the lack of a higher refresh rate display, especially since even Google offers a 90Hz screen in its entry-level Pixel 7. While the iPhone 15’s display looks great, I notice the subtle blur when scrolling rapidly through apps on iOS. In the Android world, 90Hz feels like the bare minimum with display refresh rates, and it would be great to see Apple offer something similar with its base-level iPhone.

USB-C comes to Apple’s base-level iPhone, but only at USB 2.0 data transfer speeds. Image credit: Bradley Bennet

It’s also strange that despite switching to USB-C, Apple stuck with USB 2.0 transfer speeds at 480Mbps. Transfer speeds aren’t important to how I use my the iPhone (I’m not offloading big files and when I do, it’s wirelessly, but it’s still a misstep on the tech giant’s part not to modernize the iPhone 15/iPhone 15 Plus’ port alongside its Pro models now that it’s adopted USB-C.

The lines are blurring

All of these upgrades combine to offer a smartphone package that blends the line between the Pro iPhones and Apple’s base offerings. Of course, there are still notable differences, including the fact that the iPhone 15/iPhone 15 Plus features USB 2.0 instead of USB 3.0 like the iPhone 15 Pro/iPhone 15 Pro Max, the lack of 5x zoom, and still using the last-gen A16 chip.

The new Purple colour looks great. Image credit: Bradley Bennet

But I’d argue most of these features only matter to people that are really into their iPhone. The iPhone 15 snaps great photos (including even the post-production Portrait Mode Blue the Pro offers), is more than powerful enough for most people’s needs and feels very similar to the iPhone 15 Pro design-wise.

For the average iPhone user, this is more than enough to not feel the need to upgrade to the Pro.

The iPhone 15 starts at $1,129, while the iPhone 15 Plus starts at $1,279. The smartphone is available to pre-order on September 15th and starts shipping on September 22nd

A colourful collection. Image credit: Patrick O’Rourke

Follow this link for my hands-on with the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max. All of our Apple fall hardware event content can be found here.

Header image credit: Bradley Bennett