iPhone 15: 3 biggest expected upgrades

The launch of the iPhone 15 series is on the horizon, and the Laptop Mag staff predicting that the phone will be revealed and revealed on specific days in September. We don’t have anything to go on outside of rumors, but many of them seem plausible and consistent with other reliable sources. 

Whether you’re interested in a base iPhone 15 or one of the iPhone 15 Pro models, you’ll want to know what the biggest and most exciting features coming to this series are. So let’s jump right into the three most exciting things coming to iPhone 15.

1. USB-C Charging

Finally! The European Union’s mandate could come to fruition with the newest iPhone 15 series, as several leaks seem to indicate that Apple will move to USB-C ports rather than its long-beloved Lightning cable for iPhone. This might begin as an inconvenience for users who exclusively use Apple products and don’t have USB-C cables available, but it’s a huge positive in the long-run.

It will likely mean you’ll have to get rid of your old Lightning ports (or purchase Lightning to USB-C connectors) over time, but it will result in far less confusion. Have you ever spent time with a friend and asked for their phone charger, only to realize that they use a totally different cable than you? And then you find yourself stuck with no way to do so? Over the next year few years, that should no longer be a problem whatsoever, and the world will be happier for it.

2. Smaller processor, longer battery life

Another leak, which we explain in our piece on why the iPhone 15 Pro Max is rumored to increase in price by $200, suggests that a new type of processor found in the iPhone 15 Pro models could yield massive improvements in both performance and longevity.

Apple’s A17 Bionic chip will be utilizing 3nm architecture for the first time, and while we already expect the company’s latest processor to be faster, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company chairman Mark Liu claims that it could use up to 35% less power. If true, we could see a massive boost in battery life for iPhone Pro models.

3. Periscope camera

One huge rumor specifically revolving around iPhone 15 Pro Max is the inclusion of a periscope camera. If you’re unsure what that means exactly, you can read our explainer breaking down how a periscope camera works. But if you don’t particularly care about the nitty gritty, all you need to know is that it will increase optical zoom to 6x, while iPhone previously only had 3x zoom.

Apple isn’t the first to include periscope into its premium tier models, as companies like Samsung and Google have done the same, but it’s about time we finally saw this come to iPhone. It’s admittedly nowhere near as impressive as Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 10x optical zoom, but it’s a step in the right direction for those seeking to take images from far away before the quality suffers.