Apple iPhone 15 (Plus) – specifications, pictures and prices

Apple has yesterday as part of the September keynote 2023 presented its new iPhone models. This time the standard models are: iPhone 15 and 15 iPhone Plus. In addition to the 6,1-inch and 6,7-inch displays, they come with the A16 Bionic chip, which was introduced last year with the Pro models of the iPhone 14. In addition, the Dynamic Island is now part of the standard equipment. Furthermore, USB-C has now made it to the iPhone, although in the models presented here there is no increase in data transfer speed. You can find all the important technical data including pictures and the iPhone 15 (Plus) price below.

Apple iPhone 15 (Plus) - Specifications

Since the Apple iPhone 15 and the Apple iPhone 15 Plus differ primarily in the size of the display and housing, most of the technical data of both models can be summarized. If there are different details, this is noted accordingly in the following specs list. If no separation is made, the information applies to both models.

• Manufacturer: Apple
• Model: iPhone 15 / iPhone 15 Plus
• Device type: Smartphone with iOS
• iPhone 15 Size (H x W x D): 147,6 x 71,6 x 7,8 mm
• iPhone 15 Weight: 171g
• iPhone 15 Plus Size (H x W x D): 160,9 x 77,8 x 7,8 mm
• iPhone 15 Plus Weight: 201g
• Rounded edges: yes
• Display size and resolution of the iPhone 15: 6,1 inches (15,5 cm) diagonal, 2.556 x 1.179 pixels with 460 ppi
• Display size and resolution of the iPhone 15 Plus: 6,7 inches (17 cm) diagonal, 2.796 x 1.290 pixels with 460 ppi
• Display specifications: Dynamic Island, HDR display with True Tone technology and P3 color space, 2.000.000:1 contrast, maximum brightness of 2.000 nits and up to 1.600 nits for HDR content and 1.000 nits typical brightness
• Protection class: IEC 60529 / IP68 dustproof and waterproof (up to 30 minutes at a depth of 6 meters)
• Chip: A16 Bionic chip with 6-core CPU (4 efficiency and 2 performance cores), 5-core GPU and 16-core neural engine
• Operating system: iOS 17
• Main camera: Two-camera system with 48 MP main camera (26 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture) and 12 MP ultra wide angle (13 mm, ƒ/2.4 aperture and 120° field of view)
• Software telephoto lens: 2x telephoto, 52 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture with 12 MP using the quad pixel sensor
• Zoom: 4x optical (2x zoom in, 2x zoom out) and 10x digital
• Video resolution: 4K with 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps / 1080p Full HD with 25 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps / 720p HD with 30 fps
• Video recording modes: Cinema mode up to 4K HDR with 30 fps / Action mode up to 2,8K with 60 fps / HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K with 60 fps / Slow motion in Full HD with 120 fps or 240 fps / Time lapse with image stabilization / Night mode time-lapse
• Image Stabilization: Optical stabilization with sensor shift for photos and videos
• Other camera, photo and video specs: True Tone Flash, Smart HDR 5, Deep Fusion and Photonic Engine, new generation portrait modes, automatic portrait detection, night mode, wide color space, red-eye correction, panoramic image with up to 63 MP, JPEG and HEIF as photo formats, HEVC and H.264 for video recordings
• Selfie camera: TrueDepth camera with 12 MP and ƒ/1.9 aperture and autofocus
• Features for the TrueDepth camera: Autofocus with Focus Pixels, Smart HDR 5, Deep Fusion and Photonic Engine, Retina Flash, portrait modes with new technology, Memoji and Animoji, night mode, 4K and Full HD videos with up to 60 fps each, Slow motion in Full HD at 120 fps, and more
• Action button: No. The silent switch is still located above the volume buttons on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
• Identification without entering an unlock code: Face ID
• Sensors: Face ID, barometer, gyroscope, high-g accelerometer (for crash detection), proximity sensor, 2 x ambient light sensor
• SIM card: Dual SIM via physical Nano SIM and eSIM / Dual SIM with two eSIMs
• Cellular: 5G, 4G LTE, 3G UMTS / HSPA+ / DC-HSDPA and 2G UMTS / EDGE
• WiFi: WiFi 6 802.11ax
• Other radio technology: Bluetooth 5.3, U2 chip for "spatial awareness", NFC
• Location detection: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou, digital compass, WiFi, cellular and iBeacon micro-location
• Safety functions: accident detection, emergency call SOS via satellite
• Satellite communication: Help implemented for precise alignment with the satellite, emergency calls possible via text message with selectable content, Where is? via satellite for sharing the location without cell phone and WiFi
• Physical interface: USB-C for charging and data transfer (only USB 2 with up to 480 MBit/s)
• iPhone 15 battery life: Up to 20 hours of local video playback or up to 16 hours of video streaming / up to 80 hours of audio playback
• iPhone 15 Plus battery life: Up to 26 hours of local video playback or up to 20 hours of video streaming / up to 100 hours of audio playback
• Quick charge function: Up to 50% battery capacity in 30 minutes with chargers from 20 watts of power
• Wireless charging: MagSafe– and Qi chargers with up to 15 watts of power
• Scope of delivery: iPhone 15 (Plus) with iOS 17, 1 m USB-C charging cable, documentation

New possibilities with the iPhone 15 camera

As you could already see in the specs list, Apple has updated the main camera. Instead of the 12 MP camera with 26 mm and ƒ/1.5 aperture, there is now a 48 MP camera with 26 mm and ƒ/1.6 aperture. This and the A16 Bionic Chip open up new photography possibilities, such as HDR 5.

High-resolution HDR photos are made possible by applying the Photonic Engine's calculations to a 24MP version of the image and then combining them with the details of the 48MP version of the image. This creates high-resolution, colorful images even in low light.

By combining four pixels into one (“quad-pixel sensor”), the 48MP camera becomes a (virtual) 12MP camera. This can be used for the new zoom level. This results in the native zoom settings of 0,5x, 1x and 2x even with just two lenses.

USB-C on the iPhone: transfer data, charge accessories, use EarPods

Pressure from the EU helped, so that the Apple iPhone now has USB-C instead of Lightning as a physical interface. In yesterday's presentation, Apple of course did not present the whole thing as compliance with a political regulation, but rather as the inclusion of the iPhone (and the charging case for the AirPods Pro 2) in the ranks of its own USB-C devices, previously the MacBook and iPad.

However, Apple knows how to disappoint when it comes to data transfer. Since only USB 2 is used as standard, the maximum speed is only 480 MBit/s - so there is no increase in data rate on the iPhone 15 (Plus) compared to Lightning. The iPhone 15 (Pro), on the other hand, uses USB 3 with up to 10 GBit/s. Accessory products such as AirPods or the Apple Watch can be charged on the iPhone.

After eliminating the headphone jack starting with the iPhone 7 and the second generation iPhone SE, Apple offered its EarPods with Lightning connector. These can now only be used with a Lightning to USB-C adapter on the latest Apple smartphones. If you don't want to use an adapter, you can also switch to the new Apple EarPods with USB-C. These were also made during yesterday Keynote gezeigt.

Rounded edges and colored glass on the back

The housing of the new standard iPhone models no longer has 90° edges, but rather rounded edges. For daily use (without a case), I imagine it will be much more comfortable than the previous design. Furthermore, it was highlighted during yesterday's presentation that the housing color is now also implemented in the glass on the back including the camera surround. An even more uniform design is offered for the new housing colors pink, yellow, green, blue and black.

Information about Action Mode, Accident Detection, Satellite SOS and Fitness+

Last year, Apple introduced a few exciting innovations for the standard models of the iOS smartphone with the iPhone 14 (Plus). I won't go into these again separately here. If you want to find out more about the camera's Action Mode as well as accident detection, satellite SOS and Fitness+ without Apple Watch, then click here: Apple iPhone 14 (Plus) – specifications, pictures and prices.

When to buy the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus?

Both models can be pre-ordered starting this Friday, September 15, 2023. This should be possible in Apple's official online shop from 14 p.m. The iPhone 00 and iPhone 15 Plus will be available for free sale from next Friday, September 15nd, 22. Then, in addition to Apple, you can also get it from Amazon, MediaMarkt, Saturn, Expert, Cyberport, in mobile phone stores, and from mobile phone providers in a bundle buy with a contract and the like.

The price: How much does the iPhone 15 (Plus) cost?

The price of the Apple iPhone 15 depends on the size of the memory and starts at 949 euros for the 6,1-inch model and 1.099 euros for the 6,7-inch model iPhone 15 Plus (each 50 euros less than last year ). In the following table you will find all the prices that are officially listed in advance by Apple.

iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus in the video

A short introduction video that Apple released for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:

And here is the pre-recorded and streamed presentation from September 12, 2023 as a video:

Johannes Domke

[On vacation] After graduating from high school, Johannes completed training as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which led to his independence. He has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others, for several years now. His articles include product introductions, news, instructions, video games, consoles and much more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.