As typically happens in September, Apple unveiled the new iPhone 15 lineup and a trio of new Apple Watches during its keynote.
For the new iPhone 15 phones, Apple sticks with the same sizes as the iPhone 14 duo, where you can choose between the iPhone 15 with a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED or the iPhone 15 Plus with a 6.7-inch XDR OLED, both of which are made of Ceramic Shield for tougher glass. They also get the Dynamic Island, first introduced in the Pro models before, which is the strip at the top near the front camera that expands to show contextual information when you need it, like flight information and audio playback, among other things.
The rear camera has two lenses to shoot with, a regular wide and ultra-wide. The wide has enough resolution that you can zoom in 2x to get a decent shot despite not having a telephoto lens. Machine learning within the Camera app will recognize people and pets in the frame and automatically enable portrait mode. You can also take a portrait photo and then change the focus after you’ve taken it, meaning you could switch focus between someone in the foreground or background.
Phone calls should be clearer through a new feature called Voice Isolation, which uses active noise cancellation to block out background noise. Find My by Satellite and Emergency SOS are also on these phones, except the satellite feature is only available in select countries (Canada is included). It will include roadside assistance support in the U.S. as well.
As for the Pro models, there’s the iPhone 15 Pro with its 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED, and Pro Max with its 6.7-inch XDR OLED — twice as bright as their predecessors. The design includes a titanium frame (with aluminum underneath) that easily makes these two more durable than other iPhones in that respect. This only applies to the edges, not the back or the front, which uses Ceramic Shield. Apple also says it changed the internal chassis to make repairs easier — great news if that’s ever been a problem for you.
The Pro modes have a new third button above the volume called the Action Button. Depending on how you press it, you can open the camera automatically, launch a favourite app or start an audio recording.
The Pro and Pro Max have a 48-megapixel main camera with a larger image sensor that lets you change the focal length of 24mm, 28mm or 35mm equivalents. Apple claims there is 2x better low-light performance with this lens as well. On top of that, there is a newer telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and the widest aperture available (f/2.8) to gather more light, plus the 12-megapixel ultra-wide that also doubles as a macro camera for super close-up shots. You can shoot in ProRAW or video in ProRes, just like with the 14 Pro models. Shooting spatial videos for the company’s upcoming Vision Pro headset will also be possible, though there are no other details beyond Apple mentioning it.
Powering all this is Apple’s new A17 Pro chip, the first 3-nanometer silicon in a phone, helping speed up pretty much everything the iPhone 15 Pro models can do.
Pre-orders begin September 15 for the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, available starting September 22. Both come in the same colours: pink, yellow, green, blue, and black. Storage options include 128GB, 256GB and 512GB.
The iPhone 15 Pro models also start pre-orders on September 15, with full availability September 22. Colour options are black titanium, white titanium, blue titanium and natural titanium. Storage goes from 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB.
One of the biggest changes applying to all four of the new iPhones is the switch to USB-C for the charging port. This puts Apple’s latest devices in line with all other smartphones, as well as most other devices and accessories that already charge or connect using the same port. There are some cool implementations, like using Capture One on a Mac connected to the iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, letting you take photos and have them appear on the computer right away.
Another change is Apple will no longer make leather cases, choosing instead to use a proprietary FineWoven fabric mostly made up of recycled materials.
New Apple Watches
Apple unveiled the new Watch Series 9 as its latest flagship smartwatch, which will run on Apple’s new S9 chip that the company claims is 30% faster than the previous one. The screen is double the brightness of the previous Series 8. When not in use, the watch can drop down to just one nit, which can help preserve battery life.
Siri will now be embedded in the watch itself, letting you ask it for data stored on the phone, like health or fitness metrics and music you want to hear, for example. Precision Finding is a new feature that improves how easy it is to connect and find your iPhone in case you’ve misplaced it.
Double Tap controls the primary button on an app, letting you answer/end calls, play/pause music, take photos and much more. It works when you raise your wrist to look at the watch and double tap your index finger with your thumb, meaning you can control these features without even touching the watch.
Key past features like Crash Detection and SOS Emergency also return and supposedly get better. It’s not entirely clear how much fitness or health tracking improves with this watch overall, but Apple hinted users can expect better results.
Pre-orders begin September 12 and availability starts September 22. Colour options are starlight, silver, midnight, pink and Product Red. The stainless steel version will come in silver, gold and graphite.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 will have one of the brightest screens ever seen in a smartwatch at 3000 nits, making it much more readable in bright sunlight. This is Apple’s more ruggedized watch aimed at people who are seriously active and need the extra durability. The Double Tap feature also works here for various things, while Siri can help without an Internet connection. For example, you can set a waypoint on a hike or ask how much more you need to go to reach your destination.
Expect up to 36 hours per charge, or 72 hours in low power mode. The casing is now made with 95% recycled materials, though retains its titanium body for the ultimate rigidity.
Pre-orders for the Ultra 2 begin September 12 and availability starts September 22. Colour options depend on which band you get with it.
Last up is the Apple Watch SE 3rd Gen, the entry-level smartwatch that gets some modest upgrades from the previous model. It will come in midnight, starlight or silver. Pre-orders begin September 12 with full availability September 22.
Availability
Here are pricing and storage options (all prices CAD):
iPhone 15 Pro
128GB – $1,449
256GB – $1,599
512GB – $1,899
1TB – $2,199
iPhone 15 Pro Max
256GB – $1,749
512GB – $2,049
1TB – $2,349
iPhone 15
128GB – $1,129
256GB – $1,279
512GB – $1,549
iPhone 15 Plus
128GB – $1,279
256GB – $1,429
512GB – $1,729
Apple Watch Ultra
$1,099
Apple Watch Series 9
Aluminum – Starts at $549
Stainless Steel – Starts at $899
Apple Watch SE 3rd Generation
Starts at $329