That's a wrap! Apple's Wonderlust 12 September event is done and dusted, with just shy of 90 minutes presentation revealing the iPhone 15 series and all-new Apple Watch devices (and, quietly, USB-C-toting AirPods Pro 2 too!).
There was a lot to take in: the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus with Dynamic Island design; the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max with new Titanium design; an all-new 5x zoom for the iPhone 15 Pro Max; plus a trio of watches in the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and entry-level Apple Watch SE 2 update.
Here's a rundown of all the expanded coverage that the T3 team has concocted during the event, with links to each article below, or scroll beyond for the original live blog as it happened beat for beat:
iPhone 15 series
- Apple once again sets the iPhone 15 Pro Max apart as the king of the hill
- Here's why the iPhone 15 Pro Max's new camera is the one to beat
- iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models show off massive new features
- iPhone 15 sounds like a photography monster
- The iPhone 15's ray tracing sounds like a every gamer's dream
- iPhone 15 Pro brings strength, action and the best camera yet to the Apple flagship
Apple Watch
- Apple Watch Ultra 2 adds new ultra-bright display, new features and more
- Apple Watch Series 9 adds double tap gesture and it's mind-blowing
- Apple Watch Series 9 comes with a much brighter screen
Original live blog follows below:
I've been following Apple iPhone launches and reviewing the iPhone since the beginning – all the way back in 2007! In the 16 years since the iPhone has become a dominant force; Apple changed the face of the mobile market forever – and continues to innovate.
Colour me excited...
As I was writing the intro to this Apple iPhone 15 live blog it got me thinking about iPhone's colour options. As you can see from the render above there's largely expected to be a red/pink finish, plus there's already been word of a refresh of the colour palette for the iPhone 15 series with wider options.
But then I couldn't stop staring at the Wonderlust teaser animation and its swirling of silvers and blues. It could just be me imagining it, but is Apple about to drop a more pearlescent finish with a new blue hue (try saying that 15 times in a row, eh)? I know the iPhone has offered a blue finish prior to now, but this is 2023, so it's time for a fresher shade of it...
The ultimate iPhone?
Happy Apple Day! Tech Staff Writer Andy Sansom here, the iPhone Ultra of Staff Writers. What is an iPhone Ultra you ask? Well, earlier this year there was a genuine belief that there would be a mysterious fifth model that would go beyond even the Pro Max model. Dubbed the iPhone Ultra, it was supposedly the ultimate bells and whistles iPhone, but sorry to break your heart, we aren't expecting it later today.
It is instead believed that the iPhone Ultra will come with the iPhone 16 range, likely releasing about this time next year! So see you all then as well. Do stay tuned however because we have a hunch Apple has some interesting reveals in store for today.
Made of tough stuff
One of the most persistent rumours about the iPhone Pro models could change the look and feel of the phone forever. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are made from a stainless steel body, but the new phones are believed to be made of titanium.
Titanium (atomic number 22) is both stronger and lighter than stainless steel, but also more expensive. We're hopeful that this means we could see either a significant weight reduction and/or the toughest iPhone ever. It may also however see the price go up a chunk.
All action
It looks like we've had our first new featue confirmation of the day... kind of. Case manufacturer Spigen has been a bit cheeky and seemingly revealed the brand-new 'action button' believed to replace the mute slider.
This button above the volume controls is suspected to be a bit of a mini-marvel capable of a host of different things. Muting is of course one of them iOS 17 source code has given us clues it could also be used for "Accessibility, Shortcuts, Silent Mode, Camera, Flashlight, Focus, Magnifier, Translate, and Voice Memos."
That's one busy button.
Up periscope
Another headline feature we expect to see is bound to bring a smile to the face of amateur photographers everywhere. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is rumoured to be getting a periscope lens camera. This will greatly improve the optical zoom capabilities of the camera, believed to be up to 6x magnification. Any camera enthusiast will tell you that optical zoom eats digital zoom for breakfast, so this would be a massive upgrade.
The best thing about a perisocpe lens is that you get all of the improved performance without a giant lens weighing the phone down. Sounds great right!
What(ch) else?
It may be all some of us can think about, but it's not only the iPhone 15 that we are expecting to see today. The Apple Watch Series 9 is rumoured to be revealed too, with big changes and improvements expected for WatchOS, particularly if you're a cyclist or keen hiker.
We are hopeful as well that Apple's latest wearable will include Apple's A15 chip to dramatically improve the battery life of the watch. There's also talk of AirPods news, although that may just be unveiling the move to USB-C that many expect.
Vision Pro no show?
This gentleman may be very happy to be wearing his Apple Vision Pro, but we don't expect there to be any significant news on Apple's headset today. Revealed at WWDC 2023, the Vision Pro is set to be released in 2024 while today is more about products launching imminently.
That being said we can always cross our fingers for snippets of how development is going. There has been talk on how an iPhone 16 Ultra could be influenced by the Vision Pro, with a camera capable of taking 3D images.
USB-C(razy)
Unless you've been living under a rock you'll probably know that it seems almost certain that the iPhone 15 will be the first to come with a USB-C port. This standardised charger is a big deal and will save those switching from Android hassle and money. It could however be a problem for iPhone loyalists.
The iPhone 15 is expected to come with a USB-C to USB-C cable in the box (probably not quite as cool as the Nothing cable above), but not a USB-C plug. If you're firmly ensconced in the Apple ecosystem, you might not have many handy. It may be worth investing in one, as even if the iPhone 15 gets a wireless charging upgrade, it's probably not going to be as quick as plugging in.
Base model camera bump?
While it's the iPhone 15 Pro Max that everyone expects to get the headline camera upgrade, the cheaper iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus might get the most significant.
The talk is that the base models will swap their current 12MP sensors for a 48MP sensor provided by Sony with a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera added to boot. That's a serious jump in specs. If you've been put off by the price of the Pro phones, it could be a good year to try one of the more affordable offerings.
3 nm, what does it mean?
We have seen word that the iPhone 15 Pro models could be the first phones to feature a 3nm (nanometer) processor, Apple's A17 Bionic chip. That sounds great, but what does it mean?
Well in layman's terms, 3nm refers to the size of the transistors in the phone's chips. With smaller transistors, Apple can shove more into the phone and make it perform a lot better. It's expected that the jump to 3nm could bring 15% more speed with the same level of power consumption or up to 30% less power consumption without slowing the speed of the phone. That's a pretty hefty upgrade.