Here’s why I would choose the iPhone 15 over the Pro this year

It might feel strange to hear this, but we may already know practically everything there is to know about the iPhone 15. Apple will surely pull surprises like last year’s Dynamic Island. But we already have a large number of iPhone 15 leaks from reliable sources that paint the same general picture about the 2023 flagship phones. That’s why I’m about to tell you that the iPhone 15 will be the iPhone to buy this year, not the Pro or the Ultra.

That’s especially true if you’ve been dying to buy the iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max and you still haven’t had the chance to get yours.

There’s no question that Apple fumbled its iPhone 14 marketing this year. As I said before, the iPhone 14 Pro is an amazing device, especially when it comes to battery life. But I could have easily purchased the cheaper iPhone 14 variant without missing too much of the Pro experience. The battery life, however, is an excellent reason to get the Pro.

Buyers largely ignored the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus this year. This might prompt Apple to alter the iPhone 15 lineup or cut the prices of the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. The latter option would be an amazing reason to buy the non-Pro new iPhones in September.

Customers avoided the cheaper iPhone 14 models because the handsets felt like iPhone 13s upgrades. But that’s a bad take, and I’ll explain why. The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are more affordable variants of the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max. They’re incredible devices featuring powerful specs. Even though they have last year’s processor and design, they’re still far more powerful than most Android flagships.

Similarly, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will be equivalents of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max when it comes to performance. They’ll use the same A16 Bionic chip as the iPhone 14 Pro.

Before you say you want the A17 Bionic in your next iPhone upgrade, I’ll stop you right there. We’re slowly reaching peak iPhone performance. Apple is rumored to be focused on battery life improvements for the A17 Bionic instead of speed gains.

That’s because the A17 might not be that much faster than the A16. And the A16 already outperforms all rivals. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that will power most 2023 Android flagships will come close, but it won’t match the A16.

That’s why the processor bump won’t matter as much this year, especially if Apple cuts the entry price for the base 2023 iPhones.

Unlike the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, their successors will get the new Dynamic Island design. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will look like the current Pro models. And that will immediately fix one of Apple’s problems with the cheaper iPhone 14 models. They won’t look like old iPhones anymore.

Also, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will reportedly get the 48-megapixel camera that Apple introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro models. That’s another great reason to choose the more affordable iPhone 15 models over the Pros.

Finally, all iPhone 15 models will reportedly feature USB-C connectivity this year. If that’s the upgrade you’ve been waiting for, it sure looks like the iPhone 15 series will deliver it. The Pro models might offer faster data transfer speed, but if you don’t use Lightning to transfer data, you won’t care about it.

If you’re looking for a larger display and better battery life, the iPhone 15 Plus might be a better option than the Ultra. It’ll give you an iPhone 14 Pro Max experience without a few bells and whistles like ProMotion (120Hz refresh rate) and a triple-lens camera. But you get to save plenty of cash in the process.

And yes, we’re working with incomplete, unofficial information. But some of these iPhone 15 leaks come from trusted sources who have been accurate time and time again. Add common sense based on Apple’s iPhone release patterns, and the iPhone 15 becomes a compelling option. One that’s going to be a lot more attractive to buyers than the iPhone 14, as long as it’s marketed properly this time around.