Does the new Apple iPhone 15 have lightning?
Several hours remain till Apple releases the most recent edition of its best-selling product, the iPhone.
The handset has been under criticism recently from both the EU and China on their own terms. Sales of smartphones are slowing down globally, and Apple's much awaited virtual reality headset – which the corporation seemed to be pitching as a potential future iPhone – won't be on sale until next year.
When it does, it will cost an outrageous $3,500 (£2,780).
So, in the meanwhile, we get to see the 16th iteration of a gadget that, upon release in 2007, completely altered the smartphone market.
Despite there being no official previews from Apple themselves, there are now more than 230 million Google search results for the keyword “iPhone 15”. It may be, ahem, mature, but it still draws great curiosity today.
The iPhone 15 models are probably going to be a bit lighter than their predecessors, with an upgraded SoC, greater battery life, better camera, and titanium chassis, if you dig in and start reading the rumors and “leaks” floating about.
You would think that I might have written something somewhat comparable at this time last year or the year before. I most likely did.
Like other technologies, Apple phone generations often only include minor advancements. It's one of the problems cited as the cause of the global sales decline. People are keeping their smartphones longer since there is no longer the same compelling reason to treat yourself to an upgrade, in addition to the fact that they are expensive both financially and ecologically.
While we probably won't see a significantly different iPhone on stage at Apple's annual September event in the US this evening, what we will see is the theater of a wealthy company experienced in performing for its fan club. “I think Apple probably realize they've reached a point where there's such a critical mass of iPhones that simply maintaining those volumes is a phenomenal achievement,” Ben Wood, a smartphone expert at the analysts CCS Insight, told me.
The iPhone 15 will almost certainly have a USB-C charging cable point; currently, iPhones use a proprietary lightning cable, while most devices, including those made by Apple, tend to use USB-C. The crucial physical difference is that the two are different shapes, so if you have an iPhone and a Kindle, for example, your iPhone charger won't fit in the port for your Kindle, and vice versa. By December 2024, be able to use a universal charger. And the rest of the consumer tech business isn't about to change to lightning, even if Apple were to let it.
But rather than discarding the cable, you could be justified in adding it to your cable drawer (you know the one) – Ben Wood claims that the market for used iPhones is increasing, particularly in Africa.
“People now have access to iPhones who previously couldn't afford them… and it locks them into the Apple ecosystem,” he said.
There are other regions enforcing law than the EU. Last week, According to reports, China has outlawed the iPhone in state-run facilities (of which there are a lot, as you would expect).
This is more about the continuing tech dispute between China and the US than it is about the phone specifically, but it nevertheless produced a blip in Apple's share price. The iPhone is the most popular premium (by which I mean top-dollar) handset in China, despite the fact that the majority of people use Android handsets.
Additionally problematic is the fact that Apple still manufactures there. It has made an effort to distance itself from China — the iPhone 14 is made in India, for instance — but it still needed Chinese businesses and factories.
China is still necessary for Apple. How much of the new iPhone do the rest of us actually require or want? We'll soon find out.
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