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Apple Event 2023: Anticipation Builds for the iPhone 15 and Beyond

We could see the iPhone 15, Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and, maybe, an iPhone 15 Ultra.

Apple’s Wonderlust event is just around the corner. It will take place at the Steve Jobs Theater on Tuesday, Sept. 12, and stream online. We expect to see the next iPhone and Apple Watches announced. The annual fall iPhone event has become a cultural touch point heralding the end of summer, right up there with pumpkin spice.

For months, a seemingly endless flow of iPhone 15 rumors have circulated online. Some hint at a rather straightforward round of year-over-year upgrades, while others point to the possibility of a rebranded larger Pro model called the iPhone 15 Ultra. As the anticipation builds, here’s everything you can expect from Apple’s fall event.

Wanderlust or wonderlust?

The event’s invite is characteristically enigmatic, showing an Apple logo made up of tiny dustlike particles. The logo has grooves carved out of it, a bit like the forms you see on windswept sand dunes.

The tagline, «Wonderlust,» is of course a play on the word wanderlust, which means a strong longing for or impulse toward wandering. Does wonderlust mean a strong longing for or impulse toward wondering? Like everyone else, we’re trying to read something into the invite and wondering what it has to do with Apple’s upcoming announcements. Could the grooved cutouts in the logo refer to a less boxy iPhone design? Could the particles refer to improved cameras capable of capturing more detail? Could the colors — metallic shades of gray, blue and even gold — be a reference to the colors of the new iPhone or Apple Watch?

Or is this all just Apple acknowledging the fleeting nature of existence? No idea. But I expect the iPhone 15 Pro will be the headliner.

The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus

As in the iPhone 14 series, there will likely be four models in the new iPhone lineup: the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has a solid record when covering Apple leaks, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will basically be a repackaged iPhone 14 Pro without the telephoto camera or stainless steel body.

The new phones would inherit a 48-megapixel main camera and the A16 chip from the 14 Pros. On the outside, the two phones will trade their display notches for the Dynamic Island cutout that also debuted on the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max.

iPhone 14 family

Despite the addition of the Dynamic Island, don’t expect any other changes to the screen. Display analyst Ross Young said in a September 2022 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he isn’t expecting base iPhone 15 models to get a high refresh rate like Apple’s Pro iPhones.

And according to a May report by ChargerLab, a battery and charging specialist website with a steady track record for rumors, all four iPhone 15 models will support 15-watt wireless charging using the Qi2 open standard announced earlier this year. If this turns out to be true, it could mean the iPhone 15 would open up a whole new world of wireless charging devices that don’t necessarily need to be licensed Apple MagSafe accessories. 

But the biggest change expected for all four iPhones will be the shift away from the Lightning connector. Likely driven by pressure from the European Union, which passed legislation adopting USB-C as a common charging standard, the iPhone 15 series will have a USB-C port instead of a Lighting port. The last time Apple switched the iPhone’s power port was in 2012, when it debuted the Lighting port on the iPhone 5, which spelled the end of the wide 30-pin iPod connector that was previously used.

It’s a bit hazy how exactly Apple will handle this, like whether USB-C will be on all new iPhones globally or just in the EU. But it’s highly likely that all new iPhone models will be sold with a USB-C port for the foreseeable future.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro camera lenses

The iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max

Of everything Apple’s expected to announce, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max could have the biggest changes. According to Bloomberg’s Gurman, stainless steel is gone, and instead the Pro model’s frame will be made from titanium. The shift in materials could help reduce the overall weight of each phone, which is hefty even without a case.

The iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max will likely get a new chip called A17 that features a supertiny, 3-nanometer processor, Apple’s smallest silicon to date. Around the front, the two phones will likely have thinner display bezels.

The Xperia 1 V's camera bump

The Pro models’ biggest change will be the USB-C port, which in a break from the regular 15 and 15 Plus could support faster data speeds for things like transferring files and ProRes video files.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max may get a new 6x optical telephoto camera. Ming-Chi Kuo, a noted Apple analyst with TF International Securities, predicts the iPhone 15 Pro Max will have a horizontal mounted periscope lens and camera unit inside the phone’s body, similar to ones in the Pixel 7 Pro, Galaxy S23 Ultra and Sony Xperia 1 V.

Doubling the native optical zoom from 3x to 6x should enable you to capture zoomed-in photos with better detail, resolution and dynamic range compared with the 6x digital zoom on a current iPhone 14 Pro.

a hand holding a phone

Kuo’s report also hints at both Pro models having solid-state volume and power buttons, which would further differentiate them from the regular 15 and 15 Plus. The buttons wouldn’t be mechanical and would be more akin to the touch sensitive area that debuted on the iPhone 7 and acts like a «home button» thanks to some clever haptic feedback. Back in 2018, the HTC U12 had solid-state buttons instead of mechanical ones; however, the experience using them wasn’t great.

There are a couple of rumors that have been circulating despite being a bit dated or unlikely. The first is that the iPhone 15 Pro Max may be rebranded as the iPhone 15 Ultra. Bloomberg’s Gurman mentioned the possibility nearly a year ago, but that should be taken with a grain of salt since more recently Gurman hasn’t brought it up.

Another up-in-the-air rumor comes by the way of MacRumors, which found code in a beta version of iOS 17 that describes functionality for an action button like the one on the Apple Watch Ultra. Such a hardware addition would be a first for Apple, and the iPhone’s action button would be for more-phone-oriented tasks like shortcuts or triggering the camera shutter. We’ll have to wait until the 12th to find out.

Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2

Apple Watch Ultra vs Series 8

In a less ambitious update, it seems the next regular Apple Watch will likely be a relatively modest year-over-year iteration of the Apple Watch Series 8. The Series 9 could come in a new color. As reported by MacRumors, based on a post by X/Twitter user ShrimpApplePro, the Apple Watch Series 9 might come in a new pink color.

The Series 9 will likely be powered by a new S9 chip, which Bloomberg’s Gurman, posting to his Power On Discord channel back in May, described as bringing improvements to performance and efficiency. That’s another way of saying the battery life might be better.

The Apple Watch Ultra could see a second-generation version. The rugged watch debuted last year, and a new version could bring a faster chip and come in a black titanium finish, according to an X/Twitter post by ShrimpApplePro. A black version of the Ultra could look amazing!

All right, let’s talk about everything else.

Potpourri and wrap-up

Apple Vision Pro on display during WWDC at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California

The AirPods case could see a new version with a USB-C connector. iOS 17 and WatchOS 10 will likely get an official release date. And I can’t imagine that Apple would pass up a chance to update everyone on its Vision Pro headset that was announced in June at WWDC.

Obviously, until Tim Cook and crew walk onto that stage in the Steve Jobs Theater and make their announcements, we won’t know anything for certain.

iPhone 14 Pro, Pro Max Get the Biggest Changes to Apple’s Phone Lineup

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Technologies

RFK Jr. Announces All Americans Need Health Tracking Devices: Here Are the Pros and Cons

The US Health Secretary plans a huge campaign to encourage health wearables: CNET knows exactly the kind of devices he’s talking about, and why accuracy may be a problem.

Many Americans already track health statistics like heart rate and sleep cycles on app-connected accessories. Now the federal government wants to jump in. On June 24, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced «one of the largest HHS campaigns in history» to encourage the use of wearables to track health conditions, a trend CNET has recently covered.

Kennedy is referring to the many different bands, watches and even clothes that use technology to track human vital signs. CNET’s reviewers have spent years testing devices like these, seeing how rings monitor health signs, straps track your heart health and the right devices lead to better sleep.

The latest version of the Apple Watch, for example, has sensors designed to detect heart rate, heart rhythm issues, falls, sleep health, sleep apnea, temperature, breathing rate and more. The newest Oura Ring can track sleep patterns, menstrual cycles, temperature, heart rate and other health details.

«We think that wearables are a key to the MAHA agenda, Making America Healthy Again ,» Kennedy told the Subcommittee on Health during its budget meeting. «My vision is that every American is wearing a wearable within four years … they can see what food is doing to their glucose levels, their heart rates and a number of other metrics as they eat it.» 

Kennedy also tweeted that «wearables put the power of health back in the hands of the American people.» 

«Wearables,» however, is a broad term encompassing everything from fitness devices that count steps to sleep trackers you wear at night. And consumer devices can’t easily replace monitoring solutions offered by medical professionals. 

For example, CNET has covered research indicating that even the best-in-class Apple Watch struggles with accuracy from metrics like steps to heart rate. Another study from California State Polytechnic University has shown that fitness-related Fitbit trackers show high inaccuracies as well. In fact, that research was used in a related Fitbit lawsuit.

Speaking of glucose monitors, Kennedy isn’t the only White House official with an interest in such health sensors. The administration’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, co-founded glucose-monitoring company Levels and sells a monitoring app as well as other wellness products.

Finally, CNET wellness experts remind everyone that wearables aren’t always a good fit. Those suffering from eating disorders or body image issues should always talk to an expert before using wearables, as they can exacerbate certain issues or lead to a unhelpful outlook. 

The US Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Technologies

What’s Included in Xbox Game Pass? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Check out the pros and cons of each Game Pass tier, and how much each costs.

Editors’ Note: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offers a slew of benefits, including a massive game library, diverse device support and both PC and console games. Nifty features like the ability to play on smart TVs, phones, tablets and PCs — not just consoles — make this a convenient gaming subscription service for a wide range of people. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs less than the price of a new game each month, yet gives access to hundreds of titles, which is why it earned a CNET Editors’ Choice Award. The original article follows.

New AAA video games used to cost $50 apiece, but it’s not unusual to see a similar game cost $70 now. That price might make you pause before you buy the game, but with an Xbox Game Pass subscription, you could play a brand-new game, and others, for a fraction of the price.

Microsoft launched Game Pass in 2017, and since then, the gaming service has grown to be one of the best values for gamers. All Game Pass plans offer member discounts for non-Game Pass titles and other perks, but figuring out which plan is right for you can be difficult.

That choice can be especially tough after Microsoft removed its Game Pass Console plan and replaced it with Game Pass Standard. The company also increased the price of Game Pass Ultimate from $17 to $20 a month.

I’ve covered the service in the past, including future releases and whether Game Pass Ultimate will save you money compared with buying single games. And with all the new titles Microsoft announced would be joining the service as Day 1 releases, like the upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages, you might be wondering what the difference is between different Game Pass plans.

Here’s what you need to know about the Game Pass plans so you can decide which one is right for your needs.

Xbox Game Pass tiers

Game Pass Core Game Pass PC Game Pass Standard Game Pass Ultimate
Day 1 releases No Yes No Yes
PC games No Yes No Yes
Online multiplayer Yes Yes Yes Yes
EA Play No Yes No Yes
Cloud Gaming No Yes (select games via GeForce Now Ultimate) No Yes (via Xbox Cloud Gaming and select games via GeForce Now Ultimate)
Monthly price $10 $12 $15 $20

For more on Xbox, here’s what was announced at Gamescom, some titles available on Game Pass Ultimate right now and everything to know about that gaming service.

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Technologies

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Review: The Best Content Deal in Gaming

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