iPhone 15 Review: A Big Upgrade for Older iPhone Owners

Speaker 1: I've been using the iPhone 15 for a few days and it's given me some deja vu. It has the Dynamic Island Apple's, a 16 bionic processor and a 48 megapixel main camera. If that sounds familiar, it's because those features can also be found in last year's iPhone 14 Pro. That's not to say that iPhone 15 is just a rehash of the iPhone 14 Pro. It has a new design, a second generation ultra wideband chip that lets you find other iPhone 15 owners [00:00:30] in a crowd and a camera system that is different from the iPhone 14 pros despite their shared resolution. Oh, and did I mention that you can finally say goodbye to your lightning cables? Yes. The iPhone 15 lineup has U S B C charging instead of lightning for the first time. But it's clear that Apple drew inspiration from the iPhone 14 pro and it comes together in a way that should feel like a big step forward for those with an older iPhone. Speaker 1: [00:01:00] I've only had a few days with the iPhone 15 so far, so you'll have to check out my written review for my full impressions. But the iPhone 15 already feels like a bigger step forward than last year's jump from the iPhone 13 to the iPhone 14. The iPhone 15 launches on September 22nd and starts at 7 99 for the regular model and 8 99 for the larger plus model. My favorite thing about the design so far is this new back glass that's apparently infused with color and you can really tell it has this nice [00:01:30] kind of softer matte finish to it. I really like it. It feels nice to hold. In fact, I don't want to use a case with it, so I hope it's durable because I don't want to hide it in a case. So we'll see how that holds up. But one thing that is already standing out to me is I feel like this design is much better for preventing fingerprint smudges. Speaker 1: It's matte so it doesn't have that glossy kind of look that the iPhone 14 had. So I think I'll be able to use this without a case without having to constantly wipe it down. The iPhone [00:02:00] 15 is available in two size options, just like last year, the 6.1 inch iPhone 15 and the 6.7 inch iPhone 15 plus. Other than their size, both phones are almost identical. While the new design and dynamic island may be the first differences you notice when picking up the iPhone 15, apple also made another important physical change. It swapped out the lightning charging port for U S B C, which the European Union has deemed standard on future smartphones sold in Europe. This switch should help you cut down on clutter [00:02:30] from cables since you can now use the same cord for your Mac and your iPhone. If you have a newer iPad, like the fifth generation iPad air, or 10th generation regular iPad, you'll also be able to charge that with U S B C. Speaker 1: Overall, this is a good move for iPhone owners, even though you may still have some lightning powered gadgets lying around like your AirPods, a magic mouse or an older iPad, the shift to U S B C should make things a lot easier moving forward. For the iPhone 15, the shift to U S B C is all about convenience. You'll need the iPhone [00:03:00] 15 pro if you want faster data transfer speeds, but the iPhone 15, apple is finally saying goodbye to the notch like last year's iPhone 14 pro. The iPhone 15 has the dynamic island. It's like a small secondary screen at the top of your display. The dynamic island can show bits of information like sports scores or your Uber's E T A without having to jump between apps. There isn't anything new with the Dynamic island compared to last year from what I can tell, but its arrival on the iPhone 15 is significant [00:03:30] because it shows that Apple now sees it as being a core part of the iPhone experience, not just a niche. For pro users. Speaker 1: The iPhone 15 has a brighter screen than last year's phone, so I'm going to see how it compares to the iPhone 14. Like the iPhone 14 pro, the iPhone 15 screen [00:04:00] can reach up to 1000 knits of brightness in typical conditions compared to the iPhone fourteens 800 knits peak outdoor brightness can reach up to 2000 knits cranking up the brightness on right now. And then here we have the 15, especially in this area where the CNET logo is, you can really kind of see that it's a bit brighter and it's easier to see those white letters standing out against the red background. [00:04:30] I'm here at Tech Interactive in San Jose. I thought this would be a great place to try out the iPhone fifteens brand new camera. Speaker 1: [00:05:00] When shooting with the main camera, you can choose to capture images in either a 24 megapixel resolution, which is the default or the full 48 megapixel resolution. The iPhone 15 lacks a dedicated telephoto lens, but Apple has improved the main camera Zoom quality. There's a new two x telephoto option which uses the middle 12 megapixels in the iPhone fifteens new camera sensor. I compared this against the regular pinch to zoom functionality on the iPhone 14 and notice some sharper [00:05:30] details in the iPhone fifteens photo, so the new iPhone can recognize if you're taking a picture of people or certain pets, it'll capture that depth information in case you want to change it into a portrait mode photo after the fact. So here's the photo I just took. When I slide this all the way back over the background details are sharper, and then once I start to toggle it in this direction, that's when you get that portrait effect. While it's not a game changer, it's a fun feature play around with, especially if you take a lot of photos of your pets. [00:06:00] I'm still in the process of testing the iPhone fifteens camera, so I'll have a lot more to say about it in my full written review. But it's nice to see Apple giving the regular iPhone some new camera hardware rather than just saving those upgrades for the Speaker 1: IPhone 15 runs on the same, a 16 bionic processor that powers last year's iPhone 14. Pro performance is fast and fluid, just as you would expect from a phone of this price. [00:06:30] You won't get the console level gaming performance Apple's promising on the iPhone 15 Pro, which runs on the new a 17 Pro Chip, but the A 16 Bionic is fast enough for playing mobile games, launching apps quickly, multitasking with the dynamic island and editing photos. And if you're upgrading from a phone that's several years old, you'll notice a speed boost. Battery life is rated the same as the iPhone 14, which cnet Patrick Holland said easily lasts a full day in his review. I'm still testing the iPhone fifteens battery [00:07:00] life, so be sure to check out my written review for more thoughts on that. Even though the iPhone 15 has the iPhone 14 pros processor, it is getting a new ultra wideband chip. Ultra wideband is the proximity detecting tech that makes it possible to find your air tags. The iPhone 15 lineup has Apple's second generation ultra wideband chip, which enables a new feature in the Find My App. If you're sharing your location with a friend or family member, the app can help you find their exact location. But since it only works with other iPhone 15 models, [00:07:30] you can only use it with your friends and family members if they also upgrade their phone. Speaker 1: The iPhone 15 feels like a light version of last year's iPhone 14 pro, and that's a good thing in my book because it shows that Apple is bringing more of its pro features down to regular iPhones, and that means you may not always have to buy apple's most expensive iPhones to get new tech. That said, if you have an iPhone 13 or 14, you can likely wait before upgrading. The Dynamic Island and U S B C alone [00:08:00] aren't worth buying a new phone for most people, and the camera and performance upgrades will feel much more noticeable. If you're coming from an older device, be sure to check out my full review on CNET for more details. So what are your thoughts on the iPhone 15? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to follow CNET for more iPhone coverage. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.