iPhone 15 Ultra: release date, price, features and news

In this article, we’ll round up everything there is to know about the iPhone 15 Ultra, including news, initial leak rumors, and our expectations. However, the rumors about the iPhone 15 Ultra are still in their early stages.

When it comes to Apple, we like to think we know pretty well when their new iPhones will be announced and released. Apple regularly likes to hold an official iPhone announcement event on the second Tuesday in September and then release the devices on shelves about ten days later, always on a Friday. In 2023, the second Tuesday in September falls on September 12, so there you have it, the most likely announcement date for the iPhone 15 Ultra.

We anticipate that the iPhone 15 Ultra will get a significant price difference compared to the Pro models and will cost at least $100 more than the iPhone 14 Pro Max at launch, bringing its starting price to $1,199. While we expected a similar price increase for the iPhone 14 series, Apple chooses to keep them untouched in the US, which is why an iPhone 14 Pro Max costs as much as a iPhone 13 ProMax it did so in 2021. However, prices in the rest of the world were readjusted according to the market and, in general, increased significantly. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro will likely also get a respective price bump from $100 to $1099.

* – advance prices

iPhone 15 Ultra Name

Going back to the name, there’s a good chance that Apple’s next biggest iPhone, usually a Pro Max model, could be called “iPhone 15 Ultra” to better stand out from the rest of the lineup. So the iPhone 15 Ultra model that replaces the iPhone Pro Max makes a lot of sense, as it’s not your standard big phone. gurman brand he firmly believes that, given his track record, we should definitely have a big one in mind.

Thanks to the Apple Watch Ultra, the diversification implied by the cool-sounding “Ultra” suffix is poised to be embraced by the iPhone lineup. And with the iPhone 14 series, Apple showed us that it will never shy away from a product name change: We were all hoping for an iPhone 14 Max, but we got a iPhone 14 plus instead. The most expensive Apple Watch is actually a great smartwatch, as we found out in our Apple Watch Ultra Reviewso an iPhone 15 Ultra will have some pretty big shoes to fill, sort of.

At the same time, we anticipate that the iPhone 15 Pro name will stick, as no rumors indicate a name change for that exact model.

iPhone 15 Ultra camera

Now that Apple has finally ditched the restrictive 12MP sensor it used for years and switched to a new 48MP camera system with the iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max, the future looks pretty bright for the iPhone 15 Ultra. In particular, we have high hopes for some exceptional camera improvements.

While the new camera isn’t much better than, say, the iPhone 13 Pro Max, it does lay the groundwork for a lot more improvements to come, as Apple definitely hasn’t realized the true potential of the new sensor. Yes, there is a lot of potential for improvements here, both in terms of features and image processing.

The 48MP snapper in the iPhone 14 Pro Max uses four-pixel binning to combine the data from four pixels for better image quality in low light, but the changes aren’t as marked as you might expect. That said, if the user explicitly wants to take 48MP images, they need to enable the ProRAW setting, which unlocks the full potential of the 48MP sensor. We were quite impressed with the sheer amount of detail and overall quality of the 48MP ProRAW images, which typically weigh in at over 80MB.

One aspect of the iPhone 15 Ultra that we hope to improve is the telephoto lens. Offering 3X optical magnification and up to 15X hybrid zoom, the telephoto camera generally falls behind the competition in terms of range. As the telephoto of the iPhone 14 Pro series remained unchanged from the iPhone 13 series, the iPhone 15 Ultra is poised for a telephoto upgrade, possibly a 5X Periscope that would take the versatility of the camera package to an entirely new level. new. .

iPhone 15 Ultra storage

It’s too early to describe the storage capacity versions of the iPhone 15 Ultra, but we don’t really see Apple changing its Pro-tier storage tiers too much. So we’ll probably see storage return from 128GB to 1TB for a while. year more.

Storage capacity of the Apple iPhone 15 Ultra:

iPhone 15 Ultra Design

So far, little to no specific design changes to the iPhone 15 Ultra have been described. Any potential changes would border on pure speculation on our part, except for one pretty big feature that’s apparently anticipated by just about any insider at Apple who’s shared their two cents on the 2023 iPhone lineup.

Indeed, 2023 and the iPhone 15 series will likely finally mark Apple’s move away from its proprietary Lightning connector in a long-awaited switch to USB C. The move has certainly been pondered by Apple for years, but it was a recent ruling by the EU. which forced Cupertino to publicly admit that he will have to meet and adopt the universal standard. the bug in question requires all portable devices sold in the EU by the end of 2024 to have a USB Type-C charging port.

Recently, Apple’s chief marketing officer, Greg “Joz” Joswiak, confirmed that Apple will comply with the failure and the transition to USB C. However, no specific time frame was given for the transition to USB C. While Apple technically has time until 2024 and the iPhone 16 generation, analyst Mark Gurman expects the company don’t delay the move any longer and use full USB C with the iPhone 15 generation in 2023. Gurman expects other design changes as well, but hopefully we will. hear about these sooner rather than later.

While we’re not convinced, certain rumors call for a bigger iPhone 15 Ultra, with a bigger screen and bigger battery, but unless we hear more talk on the air, we’d keep those on the air. “fan fiction” section for now. No such rumors have been shared about the iPhone 15 Pro so far.

iPhone 15 Ultra screen

Aside from some rumors that we might be seeing a bigger screen in the iPhone 15 Ultra, we’re expecting a similarly sized 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, with a 1-120Hz refresh rate and super-high brightness. .

The Dynamic Island element and Always On display functionality will certainly return and hopefully get improvements in functionality and efficiency that would make them must-haves.

iPhone 15 Ultra battery

A battery with a capacity similar to that of the iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max will likely grace the iPhone 15 Ultra. Think of something in the ballpark of 4,300mAh, or even more, if rumors of a larger phone generally turn out to be true.

Cargo is another area where we’d love to see some improvements. Apple smartphones have never been known for their charging speed, and despite some improvements in speed in recent years, iPhones still lag behind the competition when it comes to raw charging speed. The iPhone 15 Ultra could address that, and hopefully Apple gives us faster charging that would still prioritize battery chemistry and not be detrimental to the device’s battery health.

iPhone 15 Ultra features and software

iOS 17 will be the software of choice on the iPhone 15 Ultra. The beta version of the upcoming software will be released shortly after Apple’s next WWDC developer summit, which traditionally takes place in late May or early June.

Hopefully we’ll get some improvements to the general functionality of iOS in the form of customization and enhanced features, with a good focus on privacy and security as well.

iPhone 15 Ultra Hardware and Specs

It is very likely that Apple will adorn the iPhone 15 Ultra with the Apple A17 Bionic chipset. While it’s still too early to anticipate anything in particular, rumors have it that the A17 will be built on TSMC’s 3nm enhanced manufacturing node, known as N3E, bringing performance and efficiency gains.

Should I wait for the iPhone 15 Ultra?

You should wait for the iPhone 15 Ultra yes you’re holding back an older Pro model from the iPhone lineup, think iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11 Pro Max, and even iPhone 12 ProMax. The generation jump is sure to feel like a timely upgrade if you can keep your device. Improvements in hardware and camera technology probably seem much more important compared to users who update frequently. If you live on the edge of technology, it would make sense to opt for that one.

You shouldn’t wait for the iPhone 15 Ultra if just upgraded to iPhone 14 ProMax, which is easily the best iPhone we’ve handled so far. Also, if you’re happy with your stock iPhone, the iPhone 15 Ultra is probably a great upgrade, but it’s not something you should feel compelled to do.