iPhone 15 & iPhone 15 Pro specs: What's coming to Apple's next iPhones?

(Image credit: Apple)

iPHONE 15: What you need to know

Teaser image for Apple Wonderlust event — (Image credit: Apple)

- Apple Event - LIVE updates
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Pro /iPhone 15 Pro Max
- Apple Watch Series 9 / Ultra 2
- iOS 17
- watchOS 10

The final Apple Event of the year has finally aired and with this came the announcement of the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, as well as brand new details on the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max models.

Due to arrive in just one week, they have some impressive new changes whilst retaining much of what people love about Apple's range of iPhones. Being among the best iPhones out there, here's everything we know about the specs of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro.

iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are getting some noteworthy upgrades in some aspects, including borrowing some features and tech from the iPhone 14 Pro models of 2023.

The highlight of the new specifications is arguably the arrival of the Dynamic Island across the range, adding support for things like improved Live Activities while the iPhone is in use. That addition of a new display feature doesn't mean that it will get all of the display specs of the current Pro models, however. That means buyers should expect a 6.1-inch iPhone 15 and 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Plus, both with a 60Hz refresh rate.

Battery sizes won't change that much, with Apple promising up to 20 hours of video playback from a single charge — the same results as last year's model.

In terms of processing power, an A16 Bionic is used in both models, while 6GB of RAM will power it all.

Camera-wise, both models gain a new 48-megapixel camera similar to that of the one in the iPhone 14 Pro. A 12-megapixel ultrawide camera will round out the rear-facing cameras with the same 12-megapixel FaceTime camera.

Like the rest of the new iPhone lineup, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are also moving away from Lightning and use a USB-C charging and data port for the first time.

Storage? Well, both models come in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB offerings.

iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

iPhone 14 Pro Max on a grey background — (Image credit: Alex Walker-Todd / Future)

When it comes to Apple's best iPhones there will be plenty going on.

Both models are set to get the same 6.1 and 6.7-inch displays of yesteryear's models, with ProMotion support including a variable 120Hz refresh rate. An upgrade to a new A17 Pro Bionic chip will help power ray-traced gaming. That should also ensure faster app load times and better gaming performance while also unlocking potential new photography features.

That A17 Pro chip will be joined by 8GB of RAM. In terms of batteries, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will have the same battery life as last year's model, promising up to 23 hours of video playback from the Pro and 29 from the Pro Max.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max cameras are another area where things will be improved. The 48-megapixel wide and 12-megapixel ultrawide cameras are what we're used to of course, but the 12-megapixel telephoto is all-new thanks to the addition of a periscope lens for the first time. Zoom levels of up to 5x will be available on the Pro Max but not the Pro model.

Again, USB-C will be the order of the day. This could potentially come with faster data transfer speeds.

Those data speeds will help get files off the new iPhones more quickly, but there will still be the same storage limit of 1TB at the high end. 256GB and 512GB options are also available.

Worthy upgrades

All of this means that no matter which iPhone you choose this year you can expect to enjoy some worthy upgrades over your previous handset. The arrival of the Dynamic Island on the non-Pro models is a huge deal, as are the new zoom capabilities of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

We'll have to get our hands on the iPhone 15 lineup to see if those upgrades are as good as Apple say they are.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.

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