The five weeks from iPhone 14 Family (opens in a new tab) released has seen rumors surrounding the iPhone 15, which we expect to see in September 2023, increase significantly. The most recent comes from the generally reliable @LeaksApplePro (opens in a new tab) and says that there will be an iPhone 15 Ultra and that it will be made of titanium. Titanium instead of a stainless steel case, which Apple has been using since 2017’s iPhone X…
Two words come to mind when we think of a titanium iPhone: rugged and expensive. Making a flagship out of titanium would allow Apple to make a very strong phone: Titanium is three to four times stronger than stainless steel and is often used in aircraft components.
Compared to stainless steel, at the same weight, titanium’s strength-to-weight ratio means it can provide the same strength at 40 percent of the weight, so Apple could build an immensely strong phone or a very light one (without sacrifice strength).
Less exciting are our views on the costs of the rumored titanium iPhone 15 Ultra. Since titanium is one of the most expensive industrial metals (at least ten times the price of stainless steel), we don’t know, or rather we’re afraid to think, how much Apple would charge for the alleged titanium superflagship.
Using titanium would certainly help Apple justify a significantly more expensive phone, so we can’t dismiss the rumor as unlikely, especially since @LeaksApplePro (opens in a new tab) has a good track record.
iPhone 15: rumors so far
According to a recent rumour, we can’t expect Apple’s long-awaited chip to debut until at least 2025, so Qualcomm is projected to remain the modem provider for everyone. iPhone 15 (opens in a new tab) and iPhone 16 models instead. Currently, all iPhone 15 models are expected to be powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon X70 modem, which was announced in February.
The X70 supports download speeds of up to 10Gbps (as does the Snapdragon X65 modem in iPhone 14 models (opens in a new tab) but it has additional AI capabilities for faster average speeds, improved coverage, lower latency, better signal quality, and most importantly, up to 60% more energy efficiency.
@LeaksApplePro (opens in a new tab) It has already spread several iPhone 15 rumours, including Dynamic Island dropping out of being a Pro exclusive and featuring on all models instead and all iPhone 15 series models ditching the Lightning port in favor of USB Type-C.
The Apple iPhone 14 sees the newer SoC only in the Pro model and @LeaksApplePro (opens in a new tab) says this will also be the case next year with the standard iPhone 15 models getting the A16 Bionic and the Pro models getting an all-new A17.
It is alleged, again by @LeaksApplePro (opens in a new tab), that Apple will use a new naming scheme for the iPhone15 and that the Pro Max tag could be dropped. This would mean we’d get the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Ultra, potentially in titanium. Also, this leak says that the 6.7-inch Ultra model (which would replace the Pro Max as we now know the range) could have exclusive features in addition to the bigger screen.
Finally, the prolific leaker has also shared that Apple may be working on support for 8K video recording and that the tech giant is looking to improve battery life for the new series. It is rumored that on the iPhone 15 Ultra model, Apple is aiming for an additional 3-4 hours of battery life.
There’s plenty of time for a plethora of leaks and rumors ahead of the iPhone 15 family’s release; we expect it to be in September 2023, in line with Apple’s booth launch model.
If you’re wondering which iPhone 14 model you should buy, check out our iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 14 Pro (opens in a new tab) comparison guide of the four new models. you might also like the best iPhone for photography (opens in a new tab).