Jeff Pu of Haitong International Tech Research today said that he expects the iPhone 15 series to enter mass production in August, on track to build around 84 million made for the second half of 2023.
This is up about 12% compared to the iPhone 14 builds last year, suggesting Apple thinks demand will be strong. However, Pu warns that he believes the iPhone 15 Pro Max will be priced higher than the $1,099 starting price of iPhone 14 Pro Max. Unlike last year, we expect the iPhone 15 Pro Max to have exclusive features not found on the 6.1-inch Pro.
For a couple generations, the Pro and Pro Max have been spec-for-spec identical apart from screen size (and battery size). But that is set to change this year. The current expectation is that the new periscope zoom lens will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, giving the Pro Max the best camera system.
The periscope lens will result in higher range of optical zoom than seen on any previous iPhone, expected to jump up to around 6x compared to the current 3x maximum. The camera sensors on Pro and Pro Max will also be upgraded to use new 3-stacked sensors, potentially offering better image quality across the Pro range.
Looking further ahead, Pu’s report says that the iPhone 16 will use a new “metalens” technology for the proximity sensor. The “metalens” technology may help Apple dramatically reduce the size of the Face ID sensor hardware in future generations. Corroborating previous reports, the iPhone 16 will also support the latest WiFi 7 networking standard.
We expect Apple to officially unveil the iPhone 15 this fall, likely at a media event in September. Alongside camera upgrades, customers can expect a refined Pro chassis design with titanium sides, a new action button instead of a mute switch, and the Lightning port will finally be replaced by a USB-C connector for standards-compliant data transfer and fast charging.
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