Apple September event: iPhone 15, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and every announcement live

Happy Apple event day!

The big day is here, and just like usual, Apple is pulling out its own custom like animation on X (Twitter). Have a go on our own post just below!

Beware the eSIM future

If you didn’t make the leap to the iPhone 14 last year then one new reality of the iPhone 15 lineup for you is that they are eSIM-only. Hopefully, things go better this time around, but after my recent eSIM disaster, I’m not so confident.

In my case, they accidentally swapped two phones on my account and then it took them hours to get it sorted out with multiple calls to the national support line as the individual stores have no capacity to resolve eSIM issues at a certain level.

I was hardly alone though, many experienced getting basically locked out of their phone line at least temporarily as their number got stuck in eSIM purgatory after switching it off their current phone, but not having it complete the transfer to the new phone.

When it goes off without a hitch eSIM is great, no worrying about a special tool to get the SIM tray out and no fumbling with the now tiny nanoSIM cards, but I miss the ease of swapping my phone with a SIM card and knowing without a doubt that it would work.

I’m not trying to scare you, chances are the eSIM swap will go fine, but maybe hold off on the swap until you can comfortably be without your phone for a few hours, just in case.

What would entice you to go for the iPhone 15?

So if the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are getting most of the major upgrades, what may win over buyers to the iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Plus?

If you are considering picking up the iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Plus after the iPhone 15 announcement to save some money there are some reasons to consider going for the latest (if not greatest).

One reason would be the Dynamic Island, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus should be adopting the design element that debuted on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. We’re still a bit disappointed in the Dynamic Island, but it’s clear that it isn’t going away and Apple will continue to add features and functionality to it, so you don’t want to be left out of that.

Another reason is the upgraded primary camera. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus should be jumping to a 48MP sensor similar to what we saw in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max last year. We’ll need to see if it really offers similar performance as that sensor, but it’s a safe bet that it’s going to be a solid upgrade from the 12MP sensor regardless.

Finally, while the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are only bumping up to the A16 Bionic and not the 3nm A17 Bionic, so we aren’t looking at a big efficiency leap there, but rumors all point to a considerable boost in battery size this year that should add hours to their battery longevity with roughly a 3,877 mAh for iPhone 15, 4,912 mAh for Phone 15 Plus 3,279 mAh for iPhone 14, 4,325 mAh for iPhone 14 Plus

• 3,877 mAh for iPhone 15 vs. 3,279 mAh for iPhone 14
• 4,912 mAh for Phone 15 Plus vs. 4,325 mAh for iPhone 14 Plus

Late-breaking iPhone 15 Pro storage and RAM rumors

According to a new report from MacRumors, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max won’t get the previously rumored upgrade from 128GB to 256GB of base storage. That bump was making the projected $200 price increase for this year feel slightly more palatable, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that MacRumors is wrong, but we wouldn’t bet on it.

However, they aren’t quite ready to dump water on another internal upgrade rumor as while their sources confirmed that Apple tested iPhone 15 Pro models with 6GB and 8GB of RAM, it was still unclear which made it into the final shipping product. While Apple gets by just fine from a performance standpoint without the kind of RAM we see in flagship Android phones, we are expecting OnePlus and others to deliver phones with 24GB of RAM this year, so 8GB on the top-end iPhone 15 models seems reasonable.

Apple doesn’t reveal the RAM in the iPhones, so this one will have to wait for a teardown for the real answer.

Apple Watch Series 9

We’ve already given you an overview of what to expect with the Apple Watch Ultra 2, but for those who can’t see spending $799+ on an Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 9 should offer some upgrades of its own.

While the overall design is expected to remain the rumored move to an A15 Bionic-based chipset should deliver both improved performance and efficiency. This would be the first upgrade to the chipset since the Apple Watch Series 6, so if you’ve sat out the last couple of generations this isn’t a bad time to jump in. 

However, before you put that pre-order in you may want to take a look at some of the rumors regarding the Apple Watch Series X.

iPhone 15 Pro or no?

The question of whether to go with the “Pro” iPhone model has become increasingly difficult in recent years with the vast majority of the upgrades going exclusively to the pricier models. The question of whether to go with the iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro will be no different and we recently took a thorough look at the widening inequality gap between the options with an eye to the iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro.

It increasingly feels like you are getting last year’s phone if you don’t opt for the Pro model. Now last year’s iPhone is nothing to sneeze at, but when you are buying a brand-new phone it does feel like a bit of a bait and switch. The catch is that Apple doesn’t continue to offer the previous year’s Pro models, so your choice is to get the brand-new iPhone 15 or 15 Plus, which is a lesser version of last year’s iPhone 14 Pro or you can save money by getting an iPhone 14 or 14 Plus, which is essentially a lesser iPhone 13 Pro. 

If you don’t particularly care about having the best phone then by all means just find a good deal and go with that, but if you value the best phone experience possible, save up for a Pro model even if it means skipping another year. 

This might be your last chance to buy an iPhone 13 mini

One iPhone 15 model you won’t be seeing of course is a mini. Last year the iPhone 14 Plus replaced the mini in the lineup and after using it for a year one of our staunchest Android fans was won over by several features.

However, while the mini may not have gotten a new model, the iPhone 13 mini did get to stick around on the Apple Store at a new more affordable price, offering small phone fans a chance to snap up the mighty mite of a phone. Well with the iPhone 15 arriving the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are destined to hit the Apple Store discount bin and that will likely mean the end of iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini availability. 

So if you’ve been holding out on that iPhone 13 mini purchase and just can’t stand going with a 6+ inch phone then this might be your last chance.

iPhone’s are going to have Qualcomm inside through 2026

What does the iPhone 15 have to do with Qualcomm? While Apple produces the Bionic A17 that we expect to see inside the iPhone 15, Qualcomm still makes the modem that gives your iPhone its cellular connection.

We weren’t expecting a change for the iPhone 15, Apple indicated it was targeting 2024 to move to its own modem, but just today Qualcomm announced that it is locked in to produce 5G  chips for Apple’s products through 2026, meaning the iPhone 18 would be the first to feature all-Apple chips.

The only connectivity feature we’ll be curious to keep an eye on tomorrow is whether Apple has any improvements to its emergency satellite SOS with the news that Google may have a better rival feature coming soon.

What is the ‘periscope zoom’ on the iPhone 15 Pro Max?

One of the major upgrades expected exclusively for the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the addition of a “periscope zoom” lens. If you want a deep dive into the question then read our full coverage on what is a periscope zoom, but if you want the TL;DR version it is essentially is reflecting light through a prism set at 90-degrees in order to allow for multiple stacked lenses within the camera array that wouldn’t otherwise fit in the body of a phone.

The end result is that we are anticipating the iPhone 15 Pro Max to offer a 6x optical zoom compared to 3x on the iPhone 15 Pro. Now whether you think that’s important may be another matter. I’ve made my case for why you need a telephoto zoom on a phone before, but it’s certainly a matter of personal preference and your actual mobile photography usage.

Regardless, I certainly hope this rumor is true, as I can’t wait to do a telephoto face-off with the Android competition that isn’t completely stacked in Samsung’s favor.

Are we getting an iPad mini 7?

One wildcard device for tomorrow’s event is the iPad mini 7. We’ve seen Mark Gurman of Bloomberg and trusted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo indicate that the smallest iPad won’t get an update until early 2024, while ShrimpApplePro, another popular Apple leaker, hinted that the iPad mini 7 is due to be released later this year.

At this point we are leaning toward it not appearing tomorrow as the leaks have quieted down, while details regarding the rest of the devices known to be coming tomorrow have continued to spike. The fact that it sounds like a fairly iterative update with an upgrade to potentially the A17 Bionic chipset and a base storage bump means Apple could easily just quietly announce it in a press release in October rather than taking up time during the September event.

Either way, we’ll know soon enough.

iPhone 15 battery life is set to get a whole lot better

We love the iPhone, but battery life is a common complaint across all our reviews. Apple is set to tackle this problem with a huge hardware upgrade in the iPhone 15!

According to Twitter user “RGcloudS,” the company is moving the new iPhones over to a stacked battery technology, which will not only increase the energy capacity, but make the battery keep performing at its best for a whole lot longer too. For context, here’s the predicted capacities.

• iPhone 15: 3,877mAh (+15%)
• iPhone 15 Plus: 4,912mAh (+12%)
• iPhone 15 Pro: 3,650mAh (+12%)
• iPhone 15 Pro Max: 4,852mAh (+11%)

That’s a big jump up, which is definitely needed. Each version of Apple’s own silicon may be getting some improvements in power efficiency, but there’s no avoiding the fact they get a little more power-hungry too.

Let’s talk pricing (it’s not good news for your bank account)

It started with the iPhone 14 lineup getting an unexpected price bump in the UK and EU (thanks to inflation), but the US looks set to see the 15 lineage get its increase too.

Several rumors are pointing to the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max getting a $100 bump. The reasoning behind this seems to be two fold — reduced demand and the cost of expensive materials like titanium.

This means we can wave goodbye to the $999 Pro iPhone.

Should you really be waiting for the Apple Watch Series X?

We already know Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 are getting announced at the event tomorrow. However, based on what’s coming in 2024, you may want to skip this minor upgrade.

According to Mark Gurman, the Apple Watch X is set to bring a huge redesign that changes everything about the wearable, and the secret sauce is magnets.

Apple has stuck rigidly to a mechanical system for attaching watch straps, and it’s been great for maintaining the reusability of old straps. But they have been awkward for the company to workaround, as they are taking up a lot of space.

That’s where the magnets will come in. According to these leaks, watch straps will attach magnetically, which enables Apple to both make the Watch X smaller, and stuff it with more battery/improving the internal components.

AirPods may also be making the jump to USB-C

USB-C has basically been confirmed many times over for the new iPhone 15 models, given the hardware leaks and the need for Apple to abide by EU’s new rules.

But another device may be making the transition too, as rumors suggest AirPods will be reintroduced with the new port at tomorrow’s ‘WonderLust’ event. 

This claim relates to the standard AirPods, and it is unclear whether AirPods Pro will be making the switch over (unless the company quietly changes it on the website after the event). 

However, Gurman has previously reported on Apple possibly releasing a USB-C AirPods Pro case alongside the iPhone 15. Elsewhere, expectations are being set for a hearing test-esque feature in the software, which will “play different tones and sounds” to help determine how well a person can hear. 

iPhone 15 and 15 Pro dimensions have been leaked

We’ve heard a lot of rumors, but today, MacRumors gave us a clear view of the dimensions and weight of the new iPhones.

In short, the iPhone 15 isn’t changing much at all, and the iPhone 15 Pro models are benefitting from smaller bezels and a titanium frame that reduces the weight by up to 10%.

Let’s talk Apple Watch Ultra 2

You already know that we love the Apple Watch Ultra. From the bold, utilitarian design to the impressive battery life, this is an ideal watch for pro athletes and average Joes with a little money for sure!

The rumors are circling a new model dropping at tomorrow’s event, so let’s take a closer look at what we can expect from Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Let’s start with the star of the show…

Welcome to Laptop Mag’s Apple ‘Wanderlust’ event live blog! Keep checking in here for the latest news, analysis, and maybe a cheeky meme or two about everything the Cupertino chums announce!

Let’s start by talking about one of the more dead cert announcements that will take all the headlines tomorrow — the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.

There have been numerous rumors rolling out about these new top tier blowers from Apple, and we’ve got them all documented just below.