This is the brand new iPhone 15.
It's the biggest redesign we've seen come to the iPhone in years.
Look at it.
If you're thinking that this doesn't look all that different from the previous iPhone
14, then you're wrong. Because the edges are softer and the front glass curves into them.
The back glass is frosted, the colors much more muted, and of course there's a wildly
different port. See? It's completely different.
Okay, while I joke about the stale state of phone design these days, the iPhone 15
is a far more compelling phone than the 14 was when it came out last year.
And it heralds a promising future for the iPhone as a whole.
The biggest news for this iPhone is that it now comes with a USB-C port.
Lightning is over. We've been waiting impatiently a long time for this.
Introduced in 2012, Lightning was the best mobile USB plug you could imagine at the time.
It's reversible, doesn't break quite like Micro-B, and provides a satisfying click when
plugged in, so long as your receptacle isn't full of lint.
But it was also expensive as Apple charged a 30% tax to accessories and cable makers
who then passed it down to us. Which was blatantly obvious if you compared cable prices at IKEA.
Lightning was also locked down, so if you needed to plug in a USB drive, memory card,
or television via HDMI, you'd either have to use Apple's expensive dongles, or Amazon's
dubious ones. But no more.
Apple had a huge hand in the development of USB-C.
Let's make the most versatile connector we've ever put in a notebook.
And they were the first to introduce it to consumers in a laptop with the old single
port MacBook. But in keeping with their tradition of using a port for a decade before ditching it, and
some pressure from the EU, they waited until now to give it to us.
The USB-C port on this iPhone can do everything.
Anything that you can plug into your MacBook will work on here.
Watch. You want to plug into any monitor?
It works in up to 4K62. Want to plug in a USB flash drive?
Look, it shows up in the files app. Want to plug into Ethernet?
Yep. Want to do it all at the same time through a hub?
Look. Though watch your battery. I recommend a powered hub.
It's amazing how easy and useful this is. The iPhone finally is working more like the computer it's always been.
There is however one caveat. The iPhone 15 is using the USB 2 spec.
It's over 15 years old and is limited to maximum transfer speeds of 480 megabits per
second. On this iPhone right now, I think that's fine, butâ¦
Maybe much less expensive Pixel 7a's transfer speeds are 20 times faster, and I think for
the future of the iPhone, you shouldn't have to upgrade to the Pro to get something
reasonable. I'd even love 5 gigabits per second like on the Samsung Galaxy S23.
The mainstream 15 received a bunch of features from last year's Pro model, which is really
nice to see. Especially the dynamic island, which I mentioned last year should trickle down to this.
And it did. It does the most to make the phone feel up to date.
I've always liked the way the dynamic island looks, but I still don't like how it works.
I should be able to expand by tapping, not holding.
The iPhone also gets last year's A16 chip.
I still remember when the mainstream iPhones had chip parity, but that party didn't last.
It used to be that iPhone chip speeds doubled each year, but that curve has leveled off.
So much so that Apple in their marketing is comparing this to their 3 year old iPhones.
And so while the A17 Pro chip is cool, most don't need it.
Our lab's gaming tests show the iPhone providing decent frame rates in the most popular games,
pushing almost 60 in all cases. Which isn't usually much worse than the Pro iPhones, which need faster frame rates because
of their ProMotion screens. However, my Lightroom test confirms that the gap between the last three generations of
Apple Silicon is getting quite narrow.
The next hand me down is the much brighter 2000-nit screen.
Every year I try to show you that the screen is brighter on the newer phone outside, and
then they always look the same. What do you want me to do?
Now with Labs, we can actually confirm the iPhone 15 punches up to that brightness and
beyond. It is brighter. Though, you'll need auto brightness on, and we got that reading with 18% of the screen
being white and the rest black. The last thing the iPhone 15 gets from the previous Pro model is the 48 megapixel camera.
So this one's not quite the same as it has a smaller sensor and doesn't support Pro
RAW. Instead, Apple's doing some magic processing by default to give you high-quality 24 megapixel
photos, which I think is a nice balance between file size and image quality improvements.
This higher resolution sensor is interesting because it finally gives mainstream iPhone
users a 2x telephoto option like the one offered during the iPhone 7 Plus to 12 Pro
era. I see lots of people digital zoom out in the wild, and I always judge them for making
their photos look worse. You can just crop after the fact.
So I'll try my best to withhold judgment. Another neat addition is that you can now portraitize photos after you've taken them.
This is a welcome addition, as switching to portrait mode requires an intention I rarely
have in the moment. Now look, don't ask, there's a toggle right up here.
But while it looks good when it works, there is still a risk of glitches, and if you see
any, you can turn it off. Or you can adjust what's in focus after the fact too.
Though it's still having trouble with that screwdriver. This is neat, but I'm surprised that it's only introduced now.
Cinematic mode added to the iPhone 13 two years ago offered that for video.
I do want to warn you that these photos can still have a depth of field.
So in the case of this photo, even though I set the focus on Arthur, he's still blurry.
I did give the next generation wideband chip a try. Shouldn't it be called U2?
It's neat that you can more precisely find friends at an event, but only if they have
a 15 generation iPhone and don't hide in closets.
It says it's here. I didn't try the emergency SOS roadside assistance feature because it's not available
in Canada yet, and I drive a Honda that never breaks down.
All this is still available at the same base price of $800, with the Plus model costing
another hundred more. If you're a big phone lover, I'm going to recommend going with the 15 Plus.
And if you're like me and prefer small phones, pour one out for the mini because it's out
of the lineup completely. I've been using an iPhone 14 Pro for the past year and it's been quite nice if a bit
heavy. However, if I'm honest about how I use my iPhone, I don't think I ever took advantage
of its luxuries. So I might simply consider buying this, though I haven't had a chance to use the 15 Pro
yet, so subscribe to see if it can win me over.
What won't win me over are these colors. Despite Apple infusing the back glass with color, these are even more muted than last
years. One of my colorblind colleagues didn't believe this is pink.
I can't believe how much I don't like it. The green is nicer, but is it green enough for me?
I have no idea what color I'd pick. But at least, this year I won't scold anyone for being boring and picking black.
Also, could the fading colors of the iPhone over the years mean that Apple will be returning
to some form of black and white? One thing I love about iPhones is that they last a very long time.
I know a few people in the office here who are finally upgrading their iPhones this year
from the 10s generation. That's five years old.
The two-year upgrade cycle is truly for the wealthy and wasteful.
In fact, me being ever so frugal, I don't think you need to upgrade to this unless you're
using a 10R or older. And if you do, this is one of those iPhone updates that's moved the bar enough to be
the one that'll last you another five years. So see you with the 20?
Thanks for keeping this Mac Address for so long. If you're one of those people who does keep their phone for five years, give this video
a like. And if you're one of those people who upgrades every year, well, then you might as well subscribe.
I'm curious in the comments below if this iPhone 15 actually is enough to make you forgo
the pro.