The image above is PhoneArena’s best render of what to expect for the next generation iPhone. We won’t see the phone itself for six months or so, but the rumor mill is grinding out things like what you see above every day, it seems like.
If this is the iPhone 15, I’m going to hate it. And, I’ll buy it anyway. Maybe that’s the problem.
The iPhone 14 introduced us to a camera bump that was more massive than anything we’d ever seen on an Apple phone, practically on any phone. It makes the phone positively wobbly when placed on a table, and feels pretty bad in the pocket. But I suppose most people were willing to take it. iPhone 14 competed with Androids in terms of megapixels and zoom levels, never mind that most people really didn’t need those things in order to take the pictures they wanted to take.
Evolution or revolution?
If we believe the renders, the iPhone 15 won’t be a revolution. The corners will get a little more rounded. The bump will probably be a little bigger, but a little shallower. I’m willing to bet you’ll be able to tell the difference between 14 and 15 if they’re next to each other, but not if you see them separately.
The big sells for the next phone? It’s looking like the “Dynamic Island” will migrate to every phone in the lineup. It’s a neat idea that weaponizes the required camera hole instead of trying to eliminate it. The camera hole becomes part of an active notification area that just makes sense. I’m looking forward to seeing this on the less expensive phones.
The other big sell is Apple’s long-overdue move to USB-C. The Lightning connector is smaller and more elegant, but data transfers are slower and the cables are too dainty. It’s long past time that Apple gets the same connector as everyone else. While I’m not always a big fan of overarching legislation, I think the EU was right to force Apple to make this move. Apple is usually pretty quick to adopt new technology, but for some reason they stayed with Lightning for far too long.
Is it worth the upgrade?
Traditional wisdom holds that you can skip every other iPhone upgrade. If you have a 14, you probably won’t need a 15 unless you’re one of those people who has to have the latest and greatest. On the other hand, if you’re holding onto an iPhone 13 or older, the battery is probably beginning to give out anyway and you might be thinking of a new phone. I don’t really expect that iPhone 15 will bring anything to the table that most people really need. But, I’m sure it will look pretty and there’s an excellent chance I’ll buy it anyway. I will probably use its advanced features once and then spend two years complaining about the heinously large camera bump.
People love to take pictures with their phones. And, you simply can’t break the laws of physics. If you want any sort of optical zoom lens, you’re going to need a fairly thick camera. The real problem here is that people like that camera bump. They think that a big camera bump means a better camera. There’s nothing stopping Apple or anyone else from moving the camera module deeper into the chassis and making that bump all but disappear. But when you see that massive honkin’ bump, you think you’ve got a serious phone there. People love seeing it in the store, and love showing it off, but they don’t like the bruises on their backsides from those bumps. I’m not sure how you get past that problem, but I’d like to see some improvement there. What we really want is a smaller, lighter phone with a great camera and a screen we can read. Oh, and we want it to have 2-week battery life. Those may not be reasonable expectations, but that’s what we want.
As for USB-C… to be honest it’s the right move long term. Just like you, I have a dozen or so Lightning cables but they do wear out fast. I’m a little worried since Apple has said that only their “certified” USB-C cables will give you the fullest experience. But if all I’m trying to do is charge the phone, I’m sure any cable will do. It’s just going to make for some confusion in the marketplace, and that’s not a great look for anyone.
