iPhone 15 Plus Intro
The iPhone 15 series is one of the most anticipated releases this year, and as the date draws near, it’s time to summarize everything we know about the upcoming Apple flagships. Today, we’ll be focusing on the iPhone 15 Plus, the second iteration of the resurrected “Plus” lineup, and Apple’s attempt to give people a big-screen iPhone that’s not crazy expensive.The information at this point is based primarily on leaks, rumors, and industry insights, so we advise caution and a healthy grain of salt. That being said, there are pretty solid sources with a decent track record that all more or less agree on what the iPhone 15 Plus will look like. So, let’s check out what we know so far!
What’s new about the iPhone 15 Plus?
- 48MP main camera (taken from the iPhone 14 Pro)
- Dynamic Island
- A16 Bionic chipset (taken from the iPhone 14 Pro)
- Slimmer bezels
- USB-C
- Faster charging (potentially)
Table of contents:
iPhone 15 Plus Unboxing
We expect the iPhone 15 Plus to arrive in the same slim retail box as its predecessor. Apple ditched the charging brick a couple generations ago, so we don’t expect a charger in the box. What will probably be different is the cable inside. This year, all iPhone 15 series models will sport a USB-C port, so the cable included in the box should be USB-C on both ends.
iPhone 15 Plus Specs
Check out the iPhone 15 Plus rumored specs in the table below.
| iPhone 15 Plus | |
|---|---|
| Size, weight | unknown |
| Screen | 6.7″ OLED 60Hz |
| Processor | A16 Bionic 4nm |
| RAM, Storage | 6/128GB 6/256GB 6/512GB – LPDDR5* |
| Cameras | 48MP main 12MP ultra – 12MP front |
| Battery | 4325 mAh* |
| Charging | USB-C 20W wired MagSafe |
iPhone 15 Plus Design and Colors
Last year, Apple decided to go big or go home and ditch the iPhone mini for a plus-sized model. This absolutely intentional pun brought us the iPhone 14 Plus, a 6.7-inch slab of metal and glass. We don’t expect huge changes in the design of the iPhone 15 Plus. According to the latest rumors, we might get slimmer bezels (that’s almost a certainty for the Pro models), but all in all, the design will largely remain the same.
One big change that could be viewed as a design upgrade is the transformation of the notch into a pill-shaped cutout. With the Dynamic Island onboard, the iPhone 15 Plus will look different and much more similar to the Pro models of last year, sporting the aforementioned cutout in its display.
We expect the same flat display design from last year, the same glass back, and the same aluminum frame. Of course, a USB-C port will take the place of the Lightning port on the phone’s bottom.
As far as colors are concerned, we expect two new hues to make their way onto the iPhone 15 Plus. You can check out the expected iPhone 15 Plus colors below.
iPhone 15 Plus rumored colors:
- midnight
- starlight
- (PRODUCT)RED
- dark pink
- light blue
- yellow
iPhone 15 Plus Display
There’s some bad news and some good news, as the proverbial story begins. The good news is that we’ll be getting Dynamic Island with its full functionality and glory. The bad news? According to industry insiders, the display of the iPhone 15 Plus will most likely be the same as the one found in its predecessor. Which means no ProMotion and no always on mode.
We expect the same 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate, a 2778×1284 pixel resolution, and a pixel density of 458 PPI (pixels per inch). The brightness will most likely also be the same: 800 nits nominal and up to 1200 nits peak HDR brightness. It’s not all bad, the iPhone 14 Plus display received excellent scores in our tests, so we’re expecting the same from the iPhone 15 Plus.
iPhone 15 Plus Camera
The iPhone 15 Plus is expected to sport a dual camera setup on the back, with one main, wide lens and a secondary, ultrawide camera. The big difference everyone is talking about is the new 48MP main camera, transferred from the Pro models of last year.
The latest leaks and rumors suggest that we’ll get 12MP shots from the new camera through pixel binning, and the performance of the main camera, especially in low-light conditions, should be improved by the additional pixels. It’s not clear whether the iPhone 15 Plus will be able to shoot in 48MP ProRaw, as this feature was reserved for the Pro models last year. There’s a chance to see 2x sensor crop on the main camera (making use of all those pixels) which should result in some nice portraits.
The ultrawide camera is expected to be the same as the one found on the iPhone 14 Plus, no big surprises here. We expect the front camera to be the same as the one in the previous model, а 12-megapixel snapper that supports Portrait mode, Night mode and 4K, 60FPS video recording.
iPhone 15 Plus Performance
Apple decided to segregate the vanilla and Plus models from the Pros by giving the former a one-generation old chipset. We expect this strategy to remain in place for the iPhone 15 Plus, maintaining the status quo with the Pro models.
The iPhone 15 Plus is therefore expected to come equipped with the A16 Bionic chipset from last year’s Pro models, and that’s nothing to worry about, that silicon is plenty powerful and will most likely still be on top of the latest Qualcomm, Exynos, and MediaTek offerings (although the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 outperforms the A16 in some gaming benchmarks).
We also don’t expect any changes in RAM or storage capacity. The new Plus will most likely sport the same 6GB of RAM and three storage options – 128, 256, and 512GB.
iPhone 15 Plus Software
Apple recently announced iOS 17 during the annual WWDC developer’s forum, and there are some really cool new features coming to the iPhone. Of course, the new mobile OS will fly on the wings of the iPhone 15 series this autumn, so expect the iPhone 15 Plus to ship with iOS 17 right out of the box.
You can check out our full coverage of the event and learn more about the expected iOS 17 features here.
iPhone 15 Plus Battery and Charging
The iPhone 14 Plus is one of the battery champions in Apple’s camp. We expect the same from the iPhone 15 Plus, as it will probably sport the same 4,325mAh battery as its predecessor, coupled with the more powerful but also more efficient 4nm A16 bionic chipset. All in all, we expect great stamina from the iPhone 15 Plus.As far as charging is concerned, this is a big unknown at the moment, mainly due to the switch to USB-C. The standard allows for much faster charging support, but whether or not Apple will utilize the full potential of the new port is still a big mystery. The latest rumor is that Apple will use USB 2.0 speeds for the vanilla and Plus models, and reserve faster speed for the Pro models in the series.
Audio Quality
We were pleasantly surprised by the audio quality of the iPhone 14 Plus and its stereo setup, but that’s not surprising, most iPhones fare quite well in that category, and the bigger size of the iPhone 15 Plus surely contributes to the deeper bass and resonance.
We expect the same quality to be retained in the iPhone 15 Plus model, and this goes for haptics as well.
Summary
Should you buy the iPhone 15 Plus? When it hits the stores this autumn, that is. Well, like most things in life, the answer is: it depends. If you already own an iPhone 14 Plus, then there’s little to no reason to upgrade. If you’re coming from an older generation, things get a bit more complex and will depend on your inclination toward bigger screens.
If you’re an Android user and looking for a gateway into Apple’s ecosystem, the iPhone 15 Plus could be a great choice, given the USB-C transition, which will most likely save you some cables and chargers. With all that being said, it’s still early days, and we’ll have to wait a couple of months to get our hands on the iPhone 15 Plus and put it through its paces. Until then, stay tuned!
