Among all the iPhone 15 Pro rumors, there are only two that I really care about

We’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. As reported by 9to5Mac many times, Apple has been planning a refreshed design with slightly curved edges, plus a new titanium frame for the Pro models. There are also rumors about the entire lineup getting the Dynamic Island and USB-C. But among all these rumors, there are only two that I really care about.

What the rumors say about iPhone 15 Pro

Let me focus on the Pro models, since those are Apple’s flagship phones. If the rumors are right, iPhone 15 Pro will have a slightly new design with rounder edges and thinner borders around the screen. Other than that, the phone won’t look too different from current iPhones in terms of design and size. The display will keep the same technologies and the same Dynamic Island as the iPhone 14 Pro.

There were rumors about new haptic volume buttons, but it seems Apple has given up on that idea and postponed its plans for the 2024 models. Even so, rumors still suggest that the mute switch will become an “Action Button” similar to what Apple introduced with Apple Watch Ultra last year.

There are also rumors about USB-C replacing the Lightning port, bigger batteries, a new periscope lens on the Pro Max model, and new colors.

I’m disappointed with iPhone 14 Pro Max

As a person who upgrades my iPhone every year, I’m used to not getting too excited about new models as the changes get less and less significant. Still, I consider the iPhone 14 Pro Max one of the most disappointing upgrades ever – again, from the perspective of someone who had an iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Dynamic Island is cool, but as time goes on, I realize it’s more of a gimmick than anything. It doesn’t really change how I interact with my iPhone. And compared to my 13 Pro Max, I feel that iPhone 14 Pro Max has become worse in some aspects. And that’s where two important iPhone 15 Pro Max rumors come in: cameras and battery.

I have to be honest. The iPhone 14 Pro Max battery sucks. With iPhone 13 Pro Max, I could use my phone all day and it still had some battery left for the next day. iPhone 14 Pro Max, on the other hand, requires me to recharge my phone at least twice a day. The biggest proof of this is that Apple itself promotes iPhone 14 Plus – and not the 14 Pro Max – as the iPhone with the longest battery life.

iPhone 14 Pro Max has about the same battery capacity as the 13 Pro Max (4352mAh vs. 4323mAh). However, iPhone 14 Pro Max is the first to have an Always-on Display, and that means it drains more battery than its predecessor. Sure, I could turn that feature off, but what’s the point of buying a new phone and turning off one of its key new features?

I also believe that part of this is due to poor software optimization (iOS 16 wasn’t a good release) and the A16 Bionic chip not bringing great improvements compared to the A15.

Let’s talk about cameras

I’ve always preferred having iPhones because I use my phone’s camera a lot. But in recent years, the competition has been doing a good job with the cameras, while Apple has just been doing the basics – and sometimes ruining things that were perfect. We need an option to turn off Smart HDR, Apple.

But one thing that really disappoints me with the iPhone is the lack of a good zoom. Since iPhone 7 Plus, Apple has been investing in telephoto lenses for optical zoom with better quality. At the time, having that kind of zoom on a phone was pretty game-changing. But as the years go by, the competition has been investing in technologies to take optical zoom on phones much further.

iPhone 14 Pro introduced a 2x digital zoom thanks to the new 48MP sensor (which is a cool feature, I must say) and kept the same 3x telephoto lens as the iPhone 13 Pro. I use zoom a lot, and at this point, iPhone zoom is mediocre.

Companies like Google and Samsung have already been offering phones with a periscope lens for years, which enable optical zoom of up to 10x. Combined with AI and digital zoom, these phones feature zoom ranges of up to 100x. As a plane spotter, this aspect of the iPhone camera really disappoints me.

iPhone 15 Pro Max might solve these two things

According to a recent rumor, Apple will increase the battery capacity on all iPhone 15 models. When it comes to the Pro Max model, the battery is expected to go from 4352mAh to 4852mAh, an increase of about 10%. Combined with the A17 chip, the first to be built with 3nm technology, battery life could return to the good levels of the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

At the same time, it seems that iPhone 15 Pro Max (and only the Pro Max model) will feature a new periscope lens for better optical zoom. It’s still unclear what the zoom range of the new camera will be, but analysts say it will be somewhere between 5x and 6x zoom.

I don’t care much about the new design or new colors, and performance is not an issue for any of the current iPhones. USB-C and thinner bezels around the display will be nice to have, but I really hope the iPhone 15 Pro Max has better battery life and cameras that make me want to take pictures with an iPhone again.

What about you? What do you expect for the new iPhones? Let me know in the comments section below.

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