(Image credit: 4RMD)
More recently, several fairly credible analysts put the firm time frame of 2023 for the emergence of a new type of periscope objective. Another rumor making the rounds has been saying that Apple is working on new periscope lens technology for some time now. It seems Apple was working on a periscope-equipped telephoto lens internally, but it never made it to the final cut.
Expect the ports to be moved around, and Apple could end up improving the telephoto camera in the Apple. While an iPhone 14 Pro camera upgrade looks quite nice on paper, next year may see us finally getting an upgrade for telephoto in an iPhone 15 Pro model, one that can compete with the Galaxy S22 Ultra and other Android flagships. Most people are expecting that the camera will be a feature once again to differentiate the iPhone 15 Ultra, which is likely with the better Periscope Telephoto Camera (see below).
As is customary, you can expect that the camera sensor found in the iPhone 14 Pro models continues to exist in the vanilla iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. The only concrete camera-related rumors at this point are that the iPhone 15 Pro Max could feature a periscope-style telephoto camera, giving it optical zoom, probably somewhere around 5x-10x. With the help of the periscope lens, Apple may be offering an optical zoom of 5x and maybe 10x, compared with the 3x on the current iPhone 14 Pro models.
The 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Ultra may receive a periscope lens, allowing much better optical zoom. Even then, recent iPhone 15 rumors indicate only the iPhone 15 Pro Max would receive the periscope zoom, so going bigger on the camera might mean going bigger for the whole iPhone. That will let iPhones finally push past the 3X zoom barrier, making much better use of the 48-megapixel primary (MP) camera expected to arrive in the iPhone 14 this year.
iPhone 15 Early rumors: Storage and ports
The iPhone 15 Pro model may gain 8GB RAM, compared with 6GB, possibly to support new features such as the Periscope Lens Technology. The swap will match that of the Apples Watch Ultra, and could give Apple the justification for restricting some features on higher-end iPhones, such as periscope lens technology. Adopt would fit a strategy Apple has taken with its iPad line, in which all last-generation models had USB-C, but even high-end iPad Pro models supported Thunderbolt.
With the EU mandating USB-C ports on all smartphones starting in mid-2024, Apple may finally be making the switch next year. The biggest change expected from the iPhone 15 is the availability of USB-C ports. Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that both the 15 and 15 Plus will also have USB-C ports, but just like the 10th-generation iPads from 2022, will be stuck at the same USB 2.0 speeds that they had under Lighting.
iPhone 15 rumors: Notch or Dynamic island
Unfortunately, Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo does not think this advantage is coming to regular iPhones in 2023. A name that you are likely familiar with if you have been following Apple-related leaks is Ming-Chi Kuo. We do not know what size screen we are getting in the iPhone 15, for now, but Kuo points to 2024 as the year when Apple launches an actual, full-screen iPhone, as well as a line-up adopting under-display front cameras and face identification.
As expected, we are also guessing that the iPhone 15 Pro will feature a 6.1-inch screen, with the Ultra Edition going with a 6.7-inch one. Apple might want to distinguish the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Ultra, as the standard iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, and iPhone 15 Pro are likely all going to feature a dynamic island without any notch.
Apple introduced Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, and cheaper iPhone 14 models still have the notch. The Dynamic Island ditches the notch and instead goes with two distinct display cuts, which are made to appear as if they are one, using some impressive software integration. If Apple is not going to introduce Dynamic Island on the iPhone 15, then at the very least, I would hope that Apple makes the notch a little less intrusive.
Next year’s iPhone 15 will have the notch removed from the entire line. Reducing the notch size would likely lead to increased screen real estate and a more modern appearance on the iPhone 15. This addition would likely be limited to the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Ultra, probably because of space concerns.
iPhone 15 rumors: Other Specifications
On the iPhone 14 line, Apple dropped the Mini option for the larger, 6.7-inch model, The Plus. As early as May, Ming-Chi Kuo reported that the effort had reached roadblocks, while Mark Gurman reported in November that Qualcomm was expected to supply the majority of new modems for the iPhone 15.
Ming-Chi Kuo said the iPhone in 2023 would receive an on-screen Touch ID – as this launch year matches up with iPhone 15, it is a safe bet that, if this is accurate, Touch ID would be returning for iPhone 15, and would be built-in underneath the display (Apple has even won the patent on a below-the-display biometric sensor). Potentially faster charging, and quicker data speeds for those who connect the iPhone to a Mac or PC.
While this may be the case, USB Type-C supports higher data transmission speeds. Thunderbolt speeds would be a huge boost to creatives, particularly those working with large-scale ProRes video files. CPU speeds, screen sizes, color options, battery life, and so on, need to be considered.
