Should I Buy the iPhone 14 or Wait Another Year? A Preview of the iPhone 15

Expected appearance of iPhone 15 without notch. Photo by MacRumors

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Soo-yeon] Recently, Apple released the iPhone 14 series, and interest is growing in the iPhone 15, which is expected to be launched next year.

According to industry sources on the 11th, Apple held a special event on the 7th (local time) at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, USA, unveiling new products including the iPhone 14 series.

The iPhone 14 series has attracted attention by significantly improving performance in the Pro lineup despite price increases due to exchange rate effects. At the same time, interest is rising in the performance of the next-generation iPhone 15 series, expected to be released next year.

According to IT media MacRumors, the features that the iPhone 15 to be released next year will offer include ▲ USB-C port ▲ punch-hole design applied to iPhone 15 and 15 Plus ▲ under-display Touch ID fingerprint scanner ▲ A17 chip ▲ periscope telephoto camera exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Guo Mingchi, a well-known Apple analyst and researcher at Taiwan's TF International Securities, revealed that some iPhone 15 models scheduled for release in the second half of 2023 will be equipped with USB-C ports instead of the current Lightning connector. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg also reported that Apple is testing iPhones with USB-C instead of Lightning connectors. He added that Apple will release a USB-C port adapter to allow the use of Lightning-based accessories or cables when equipping iPhones with USB-C.

Apple has equipped the Lightning connector since the iPhone 5, released in 2012. However, recently, USB-C has become an international standard, and the European Union (EU) passed a law to unify mobile device chargers to USB-C by 2024.

MacRumors stated, "It is not certain which iPhone 15 models will have USB-C, but this feature may be adopted for the Pro models. If so, this year's iPhone 14 Pro could be the last flagship iPhone with a Lightning port."

From next year, the so-called 'M-shaped hair loss' may disappear even from the basic and Plus models of the iPhone 15.

Ross Young, founder of the display market research firm DSCC, predicted that from the iPhone 15 series launching next year, the punch-hole design will be applied to the basic and Plus models as well. Earlier, after leaks of iPhone 14 Pro parts, Young was the first in the industry to reveal that Apple would apply a punch-hole design instead of the traditional notch for the Pro models. In fact, Apple adopted a punch-hole instead of the notch, known as 'M-shaped hair loss,' on the iPhone 14 Pro models.

Under-display Touch ID fingerprint scanner. Photo by MacRumors

The iPhone 15 is expected to feature an under-display fingerprint recognition scanner.

According to Joanna Stern of The Wall Street Journal and Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Apple initially tested under-display Touch ID on some iPhone 13 models but did not officially pursue it.

Researcher Guo predicted in a research note last August that Apple would release an iPhone with under-display Touch ID in the second half of 2023.

The iPhone 15 series will be equipped with the advanced A17 chip. MacRumors reported that Apple has committed to ordering chips manufactured with a 3-nanometer process from TSMC, which is believed to be the A17 chip to be installed in the iPhone 15 series. Apple equipped the A16 chip in the iPhone 14 Pro models released this year.

Meanwhile, there was speculation that Apple is developing a custom 5G modem to be installed in the iPhone 15 series, but it seems difficult to apply it immediately. Researcher Guo initially expected Apple to use its own designed modem chip instead of Qualcomm chips in the iPhone to be released next year, but in June, he predicted that Qualcomm would maintain its position as the exclusive supplier of 5G chips for the iPhone 15. He said Apple will continue developing its own 5G chip, but it will take considerable time to develop performance suitable for application in the iPhone.

It is speculated that the so-called 'camera bump' phenomenon will be significantly improved in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. MacRumors stated that Apple may apply a periscope telephoto lens to the iPhone 15 Pro Max model.

Currently, the iPhone series has a 'camera bump' design where the rear camera protrudes. Equipping a periscope telephoto lens can minimize the camera bump. This will bring significant changes not only in performance but also in design. Researcher Guo expects the iPhone 15 Pro Max to adopt the periscope lens, while the iPhone 15 Pro will maintain the current telephoto lens.