It’s never too early to speculate on what will — or won’t — make it into the iPhone15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Rumors of an iPhone 15 Ultra have run rampant, but the latest report suggests that the Ultra may not be coming this time around. Instead, expect Apple to stick with the four models that make up its current lineup while it continues a disappoint trend.
At least, that’s what TrendForce (opens in new tab) projects will happen with next year’s phones. They expect that the iPhone 15 lineup will continue to have four models paired into two base models and two Pro models and that only the Pro phones will get a rumored A17 Bionic chip.
This split CPU move would continue Apple’s strategy from this year. Only the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max got the new A16 Bionic chip, leaving the older A15 Bionic in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. That version of the A15 featured an extra GPU core from the one that powered 2021’s iPhone 13.
While not a shock, this is definitely a disappointment. This trend continuing would almost certainly ensure that upgrades for the base iPhones remain incremental. If the new base models keep the same RAM and CPU as the older Pro models, they would be guaranteed to have hardware limitations preventing many leaps forward.
iPhone 15 Pro: Camera rumors
Additionally, TrendForce expects that the Pro series will feature an upgrade to 8GB RAM, as the Pro Max model gets a periscope telephoto lens. This lens, which has been rumored before, is expected to increase the optical zoom capabilities of the Pro Max beyond the current 3x optical zoom on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
TrendForce also tips the main camera lens for an upgrade to an 8P lens. Current iPhones use a 7P lens, which refers to the number of elements. More elements tend to improve image quality. The TrendForce report also points to a switch to USB-C for the iPhone 15, a move lots of people anticipate.
iPhone 15 Ultra: Current status
Aside from the rumored specs for the iPhone 15 lineup, the biggest potential news from the TrendForce report is that the iPhone 15 Ultra may not become a reality. The report makes doesn’t mention that model, simply referring to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus (never mentioned by name), iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
The iPhone 15 Ultra has been tipped in some quarters as the new name for the Pro Max model, and TrendForce could simply be referring to the future model by its current name for the sake of clarity.
It’s also important to note that this is all rumor and speculation and that while TrendForce is reputable they still got some things wrong in the lead-up to the iPhone 14 launch. So keep following our iPhone 15 rumors and iPhone 15 Ultra rumors to stay on top of all the latest news.