iPhone 15 event: all the news on Apple’s new phones

Following Apple’s iPhone 15 announcement and the news that the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will come with a Thread radio, I did some more digging into how Apple might deploy this wireless connectivity protocol in its ecosystem.

The smart home is the obvious answer and the one Apple halfheartedly offered (Thread is a main protocol for Matter). But adding the low-power, low-bandwidth, mesh-based Thread protocol could also signal the company is moving away from relying solely on Bluetooth for connecting to peripherals like the Apple Watch. Here’s a look at some of the ways that new wireless connectivity could be put to use.

This week, Apple confirmed longstanding rumors that it was finally abandoning the Lightning connector for USB-C with the debut of its iPhone 15 and 15 Pro phones. The connector’s decade-long run might be over, but that doesn’t mean you need to toss out all your Lightning cables — not yet, anyway.

There are still a number of products in Apple’s vast catalog that haven’t made the switch, and it’s a safe bet that many of them are due for USB-C refreshes in the near future. Here’s a list of everything still using Lightning that we could find new on the company’s online store.

To the surprise of no one, Apple announced the new iPhone 15 during its Wonderlust event on Tuesday, introducing it alongside the new Apple Watch Series 9 and an updated pair of AirPods Pro that come with a USB-C charging case. That means, as of today, Apple’s iPhone lineup consists of the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max, as well as the last-gen iPhone 14, iPhone 13, and the third-gen iPhone SE. The iPhone 15 lineup won’t be available until September 22nd, but you can preorder the phones on September 15th, starting at $799.

Every phone in the new iPhone 15 lineup comes with a USB-C port and does away with the notch in favor of Apple’s Dynamic Island feature. Meanwhile, the more premium phones — specifically the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max — come equipped with the new A17 Pro chip, an Action Button, and 10Gbps transfer speeds.

Now that the iPhone has USB-C ports, Apple is selling wired EarPods with a USB-C connector that you can use with the new smartphones — and, thankfully, a bunch of Apple devices.

According to Apple’s page for the USB-C EarPods, they’ll work with iPhones, iPads, and Macs with USB-C ports; however, they’ll have to be on semi-recent operating systems to be compatible with the updated headphones. Specifically:

Apple officially announced the new iPhone 15 lineup at its Wonderlust event, which will go up for preorder on September 15th and ship a week later on September 22nd. Much like last year, there’s a baseline iPhone 15, a larger iPhone 15 Plus, and a pair of Pro models known as the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. But while the expected processor bump to a new A17 Pro Bionic chip is here for the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max (the standard 15 and 15 Plus get last year’s A16 Bionic), what’s vastly different this time around is the presence of a USB-C charging / data port and the inclusion of Dynamic Island on all new models.

While we still have to see how all these new iPhones shape up in our upcoming reviews, early adopters will have a chance to put in preorders beginning September 15th. If you’re stoked enough by the changes Apple made this year to warrant a day-one purchase, below is a breakdown of the various iPhone 15 models and links to Apple’s pricing and configuration details. We’ll update this post with more info once preorders officially begin and other retailers / carriers have more information.

It’s that time of year again. During its Wonderlust event on Tuesday, Apple introduced a number of new gadgets, including the much-rumored iPhone 15 with USB-C and the new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. The Series 9 starts at $399, and the Watch Ultra 2 starts at $799, with both set to arrive on Friday, September 22nd.

Both watches will ship with watchOS 10 and come equipped with Apple’s S9 SiP, which is based on the A15 chip first seen in the iPhone 13. That should translate to improved performance and battery life while allowing on-device Siri processing. They’ll also be able to use Apple’s new “double-tap” feature, which will be available next month and is a kind of spin on Apple’s existing AssistiveTouch. The setting allows you to answer calls, stop timers, play music, and more by tapping your index finger and thumb together.

Apple finally got with the program and put USB-C on its new iPhones, but how do they compare to Android phones from the likes of Samsung and Google, where USB-C is nothing but old hat?

The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro models Apple announced at its “Wonderlust” keynote have various other updates and niceties aside from a new port — like new cameras, Dynamic Islands up and down the line, Roadside Assistance through the satellite function, and an Action Button and lighter titanium build on the Pros — but these still look quite like iPhones until you plug in a charger. And just like many years prior, USB-C represents yet another iPhone adoption that Android phones have had for years.

Apple’s iPhone 15 launch event had a big focus on the company’s move toward carbon neutrality, but it also introduced a new smart home feature that can help you leave a lighter footprint on the planet.

Arriving with iOS 17, Grid Forecast is a new tool in the Apple Home app that shows you when your electrical grid has relatively clean or less clean energy sources available. This could help you decide when to run your tumble dryer or charge your EV to take advantage of “cleaner” energy when you have higher consumption.

Apple’s iPhone is finally getting some new ringtones with iOS 17. As reported by 9to5Mac, the iOS 17 release candidate (RC) has a bunch of additional ringtones, and assuming nothing changes between the RC and the update’s official release, you’re going to have a few additional sounds to choose from very soon.

iOS 17 includes more than 20 new “ringtone options and sound alerts,” 9to5Mac says. I’ve installed the RC and listened to many of the new sounds, and I’m a big fan. I’m particularly drawn to the new “Journey” ringtone, which sounds like something out of a classic RPG. If you want to hear a few of the new tones, 9to5Mac has a short video you can check out.

The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro are the first phones to ship with the new Qi2 magnetic wireless charging standard. Well, sort of: it turns out they aren’t Qi2-certified yet. But neither is anything else.

Qi2 is an update to the Qi wireless charging standard that adds a ring of magnets to ensure proper alignment of the charging coils. You know, like MagSafe. Unlike MagSafe, Qi2 is an open standard — Apple even contributed its “magnetic power profile” to it — and Android phone makers are expected to adopt it as well. That’s great. Few things are more frustrating than waking up to a dead phone because you plopped it on the charger a few millimeters off-center, and magnetic alignment fixes that. (So does plugging it in, but bear with me.)

During the iPhone 15 launch event in Cupertino, Apple announced it’s adding satellite-powered Roadside Assistance to the iPhone in a partnership with AAA. Buying and activating a new iPhone 14 or iPhone 15 series device will include two years of Emergency SOS and Roadside Assistance access for free. The services they connect you to are covered under the AAA membership terms or available on a pay-per-use basis for non-AAA members.

The Roadside Assistance service — which is US only — is an expansion of the Emergency SOS via satellite feature launched with iPhone 14 last year. If you have car trouble, you can text AAA for assistance for your emergencies, such as being locked out, running out of fuel, or a flat tire (you know, those times when you wouldn’t call 911 but still need help). The service works by leveraging Apple’s Emergency Text via satellite option when you have no cellular or Wi-Fi coverage.

It’s that time of year again — the time when millions around the world nail their eyeballs to the Apple Store website and wait, unblinking, to find out whether the new iPhones and Apple Watches are compatible with the $19 Polishing Cloth Apple launched in 2021. After all, you bought the cloth as soon as Apple announced it, and you know all about planned obsolescence. Did you waste 19 bucks two years ago?

I did some digging, and I am pleased as punch to report that, no, you didn’t. Even the brushed titanium-framed iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are supported. Apple updated its website this afternoon to add no less than six new devices to the cloth’s diverse stable of compatible screen-having Apple products. That brings the grand total to almost 120 supported devices, per my quick count.

The latest iPhones will be the first Thread-enabled smartphones, according to Apple. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max (but not the iPhone 15) will support the open-source smart home protocol Thread to “open up future opportunities for Home app integrations,” the company announced during its iPhone 15 event in Cupertino.

How exactly this will impact Apple’s smart home isn’t immediately clear. The Verge asked around on the ground at the event, and it doesn't seem like even Apple is sure what the Thread radio will do yet.

During its iPhone 15 event, Apple announced that the second-generation AirPods Pro will soon ship with a USB-C case. But it turns out the company quietly made other upgrades that go beyond swapping the case’s charging port. For one, the USB-C AirPods Pro have tacked dust resistance onto their existing water and sweat resistance: they’re rated IP54 versus the IPX4 of last year’s Lightning model. But perhaps more interesting is that these USB-C AirPods Pro will support lossless audio when used with Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro headset.

This marks the first time that Apple’s wireless earbuds have offered lossless playback. “The H2 chip in the latest AirPods Pro and Apple Vision Pro, combined with a groundbreaking wireless audio protocol, unlocks powerful 20-bit, 48 kHz Lossless Audio with a massive reduction in audio latency,” the company’s press release reads. Typically, high-resolution audio comes in at 24-bit / 48kHz, so it seems like Apple’s solution stops just short of that bit depth.

Apple has removed the MagSafe Battery Pack and the MagSafe Duo from its online store, reports 9to5Mac, following today’s iPhone 15 event. The pricey accessories have their quirks, but despite the valid criticisms, both devices have some devoted fans, even here at The Verge.

Apple began selling the MagSafe Duo in December of 2020 and launched the MagSafe Battery Pack in July of 2021, both during the iPhone 12 generation of phones.

The newly announced iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will soon let you capture “spatial video” that you can watch on the forthcoming Apple Vision Pro headset.

The new phones will be able to use the main and ultrawide cameras to “create a three-dimensional video,” Apple SVP Greg Joswiak said during Tuesday’s Wonderlust event. You’ll then be able to watch the video captured from those cameras on the Apple Vision Pro, which the company is still planning to release in early 2024.