Apple has set September 12 as the date for its biggest product-upgrade event of the year, when it’s set to unveil the iPhone 15 line and next-generation smartwatches.
The company announced the plans on its website and via email under the tagline “Wonderlust”. The presentation will be streamed online, with an accompanying event at Apple’s Steve Jobs Theatre in California. Bloomberg News previously reported that Apple was planning to introduce the new products on that day.
Apple is under more pressure than usual with this iPhone launch. Its sales have slid for three straight quarters as the company contends with shaky demand for smartphones and other devices. The new products should help restore growth this holiday season – Apple’s biggest sales period of the year. Together, the iPhone and Apple Watch bring in the majority of the tech giant’s revenue.
The highlight of the event will be the iPhone 15 lineup, which will include two entry-level models and two high-end models. The lower-end devices, likely to be called the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, will get some capabilities of last year’s Pro models – the A16 chip, Dynamic Island interface and a 48-megapixel rear camera – but retain the current design.
More significant changes are coming to the higher-end models, including a redesigned frame that uses titanium instead of stainless steel, far thinner borders around the screen and an A17 processor that uses the more advanced 3-nanometer production method.
The titanium will also make the phones a bit lighter. And there’s a new customisable button that will replace the longstanding mute switch – a feature that’s been on the iPhone since the product first debuted in 2007.
Loading
The highest-end new iPhone, which sports a 6.7-inch screen, will also add a new camera with deeper optical zoom.
That means the camera can focus more closely on far-away objects using the physical lens itself, rather than software, making for higher-quality shots.