In his latest “Power On” newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the standard iPhone 15 models will trade in the notch for the Dynamic Island, while the Pro and Pro Max displays will be made with a new technology: low-injection pressure over-molding, or “LIPO” as it’s dubbed inside Apple.
“That new process will shrink the border size around the display to 1.5 millimeters (from about 2.2 millimeters on current iPhones),” he expounds. “LIPO was first used in the Apple Watch Series 7 to make that device’s borders thinner and increase the size of the display. And Apple plans to eventually bring the feature to the iPad as well, I’m told.”
He adds that beyond the new screens, the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro lines will get a series of other new features, marking the biggest update since the device added 5G capability three years ago. Those new features include:
° The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will look similar to the current models but add major camera improvements and the A16 chip from the iPhone 14 Pro line. They’ll also swap out the current Lightning connector for USB-C.
° The pro models will get a new design, replacing the shiny and fingerprint-prone stainless-steel edges with something stronger, lighter and more premium: titanium. Apple has long sought to bring titanium to the iPhone and using the metal with recent watches was a test for bringing that material to its highest-volume device.
° The design of the Pro models retains the frosted glass back of the prior few phones, but the edges connecting the side and front are now less sharp than before.
° The inside of the iPhone 15 Pro is redesigned to match the revamped aluminum chassis from the regular iPhone 14. That overhaul makes the phone easier to repair.
° The iPhone 15 is moving to USB-C. That will enable faster data transfer speeds for those who still sync with a cable, but some consumers will see the change as a costly headache.
° Major rear camera upgrades, including updated lenses and the ability to get a much wider range of optical zoom on the largest model.
° With the regular iPhone 15 models getting last year’s A16 processor, the new pro phones are moving to a 3-nanometer chip that is noticeably snappier.
This info from Gurman is from the free edition of “Power On”. If you like it, consider subscribing to Bloomberg.com—you’ll receive the newsletter earlier and get exclusive access to a Q&A section.
