Recapping the Week’s Apple News: iPhone 15 Pro Design Leaks, iPhone 13 Mini Outperformed, Charging Challenges, AirPods Updates and iPad battling it out with the MacBook. WholeTech is here to get you up to speed on the recent apple leaks and rumours in our new segment: “The AppleWhole!”
The AppleWhole: iPhone 15 Pro with Slimmer Bezels
New information has emerged about the design of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. One notable feature? Significantly thinner bezels. And since people who don’t want to spend $2000 every year clearly don’t understand anything about the “Apple lifestyle” they don’t need these improvements. Thus, the key changes are reserved for the higher-end – Pro models.
Reducing the bezel size offers a more immersive experience and allows for a larger screen in the same chassis size or a similarly sized screen in a more compact device. Apple seems to have chosen the latter based on leaked iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro dimensions, resulting in slightly more pocket-friendly devices.
The AppleWhole: iPhone 15 Pro’s Buttons and Switches
Another major design change is the removal of separate volume buttons in favor of a single rocker button, as well as the elimination of the mute switch:
“Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for adjusting the volume up or down. Meanwhile, the mute switch that has been present since the original iPhone in 2007 is expected to become a mute button that can be pressed to turn the iPhone’s ringer on or off.” – (MacRumors).
The AppleWhole: iPhone 15 Pro – Go big or go home.
The biggest selling models for apple are undoubtedly the iPhone 14 Pro and his big brother Pro Max. However, iPhone 14 Plus has been ramping up in favour with consumers and has steadily taken the third slot of the line-up, just beating the iPhone 13 Mini. This change will surely affect Apples marketing and production decisions in the coming years, possibly shifting their focus to larger screens and, therefore, panels. This will have to be seen specifically for the iPhone SE that is meant to come out sometime in 2024:
“According to the DSCC report, which compares iPhone panel shipment data from June 2022 through April 2023 (allocating a two-month forecast), shipments for the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus are 59% higher than they were for the 5.4-inch iPhone 13 mini over the equivalent period year-on-year.” – (MacRumors).
The AppleWhole: iPhone 15 Pro – USB-we’ll See.
After being mandated by the new European regulation to use the universal USB-C charger for all of their devices apple marketing department had to work overtime to find a place where one could skim some profit off of licensing fees for wires. Having used basically a USB-2 wire for the past 10 years apple now wants to limit charging speeds on wires and plugs that are not in house licensed. So much for limiting innovation in the charging space!
“Apple will optimize the performance of fast charging with USB-C on iPhone 15 models. Currently, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 support up to 20W of maximum charging speed, while Pro models support up to 27W. This means that users will be able to recharge their iPhones faster, but only if they have the right charger…” [Analyst Ming-Chi] Kuo (9to5Mac) states this and reveals that EVEN if you have the correct cable it may not work with uncertified plug. The questions raised by this are numerous: what about in wall chargers like we’ve seen with USB-A? What about charging from a lightning port on a windows computer or an old mac? What about connecting using a dongle since the MacBook Air only has TWO connectors?! Who knows.
The 14 model here with a discount!
The AppleWhole: iPhone 15 Pro and AirPods-C
Since all their devices have to switch to the type-C connector it looks like their flagship earphones will have to adapt also:
“…One possibility is that Apple will update the case for, say, the current AirPods Pro to power it with a USB-C cable rather than Lightning. Apple has changed AirPods cases in the past without changing the model number. For instance, the AirPods Pro charging case introduced in 2019 had the model number A2190… This suggests that when a model number changes, it indicates a substantial change, like a size or shape change. A switch from Lightning to USB-C might qualify as well.” – (Forbes).
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The AppleWhole: Making An iPad Out of a Mac
“Apple’s continued attempts to push the iPad into the Mac space have been cute but are still falling short.” Is something people who think apple does not know what they are doing might say (Forbes). The bottom line is that while the iPad is alive and well the standard Mac line up will never get the touchscreen. Similarly, while the MacBook line up is rolling in those sweet-sweet USD the iPad will never get the full application support. This is happening because of the rightful fear that if one of these things happen than the product target audiences will overlap, and this will hurt the bottom line. Taking this into account we are not expecting any significant changes to these products in the short term.
