iPhone 15 Rumored to Offer Titanium Frame, Thinner Bezels

Apple has been maintaining a "steady as she goes" strategy with its iPhone lineup recently, as nothing has changed much since the iPhone 12 came out in 2020. Sure, it added the Dynamic Island in 2022 for the iPhone 14 Pro and Max, which transformed the notch into an interactive "pill" at the top of the handset. Beyond that, though, the phones all look identical. For 2023 the company is finally looking to shake things up for the regular phones and their Pro siblings. According to a new report, the Pro model might be getting enough upgrades to make it look like an entirely new phone. The regular phones will also get some hand-me-downs from the existing Pro models. All four variants will also receive what everyone has really been waiting for: a USB-C interface.

Since the iPhone launches in September, it's no surprise that more leaks have appeared since Apple's partners are manufacturing final parts. This affords a lot of sources to inquisitive media, and according to these sources, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are due for significant upgrades. According to Engadget, the most noticeable change will be to its bezels, which will shrink from 2.2mm to a dainty 1.5mm. This will be enabled by the company switching to low-injection pressure over-molding (LIPO), which it already uses on the Apple Watch. This will provide a noticeably thinner bezel, differentiating the Pro phones from the standard models and possibly helping justify a rumored price increase.

The Pro models will also reportedly get a new titanium case, originally planned to debut with the iPhone 14 Pro. That never happened, as it shipped with the familiar stainless steel and glass combination Apple has used for years. It should allow the 15 Pro models to be lighter, more rigid, and more resistant to scratches. We also know Apple will be using brand-new 3nm silicon for the A17 Bionic SoC inside the Pro models, which should offer significant uplift in both performance and efficiency.

Another significant change to the Pro models is that they will reportedly receive a new "action" button similar to the Apple Watch Ultra. Tapping the button will trigger a pre-configured shortcut for a range of features, such as turning on the flashlight, silencing the phone, translating text on the screen, and more. This new button will reportedly replace the existing ring/silent switch.

Apple is also rumored to be working on an iPhone Ultra to align with its watch branding, but it's unclear when this model will appear. It will likely be a rugged phone with extended battery life and "extreme" features like its wrist-mounted sibling.

The non-Pro iPhone 15 will get the A16 chip used in the 14 Pro models. This will be an upgrade from the A15 chip in the current phones, albeit a small one, as both SoCs are made on the same TSMC 5/4nm process. Additionally, both phones will eliminate the notch in favor of the Dynamic Island stolen from this year's Pro phones.

All four models will also receive a USB-C connection, which will please mixed-phone households. This is due to laws recently passed in Europe that mandate all phones must use USB-C by 2024 to reduce e-waste. But Apple will reportedly only allow cables certified by Apple to work normally. Using a non-certified cable might result in a loss of fast-charging capabilities, or worse, error messages that basically say "nope."