Technologies

iPhone 15 Design Rumors: How Apple’s New Phones May Change

The iPhone 15 lineup could differ from the iPhone 14 in a few big ways.

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro may get a small but important makeover, if the rumors turn out to be true. Apple’s next iPhones, which will likely debut at the company’s Sept. 12 event, are expected to include a handful of design changes that could impact everything from the charging port to the display.

But overall, we’re largely expecting a more fine-tuned version of the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro’s design. Reports suggest there could be changes to materials, colors, buttons and the display, but the iPhone 15 likely won’t be as dramatic of a shift as Apple has made in years past. In 2020, for example, Apple updated the iPhone 12’s overall shape with flat edges, making it feel significantly different from the iPhone 11. And then, of course, there was the debut of the iPhone X in 2017, which was the first model to include a nearly borderless screen and Face ID.

Based on rumors, reports, leaks and Apple’s previous iPhone launches, here’s what we’re expecting the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus to look like.

iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus: The Dynamic Island and USB-C

Assuming Apple keeps the same lineup as last year, we can expect two versions of the standard iPhone: the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. The smaller version would have a 6.1-inch screen like the iPhone 14, while the Plus model would have a 6.7-inch display like the iPhone 14 Plus.

While the screen sizes are expected to remain the same, Apple might make a major upgrade to the display. Both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus may inherit the Dynamic Island from the Pro models, according to a tweet from analyst Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, and a Bloomberg report. The Dynamic Island, which Apple introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, replaces the notch on those phones. It’s like a miniature secondary screen that can show tidbits of information such as timers, sports scores and your Uber’s ETA.

Another aesthetic change rumored to be coming to the iPhone 15 is a USB-C port to replace the Lightning connector. Apple executives said when speaking at the Wall Street Journal Tech Live conference last year that the company plans to comply with European rules mandating USB-C charging on new phones. However, it’s unclear whether Apple would make the switch to USB-C this year or next, and whether it would do so globally or just where the EU’s rules would take effect.

As for color options, the regular iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are expected to come in black, pink, yellow, blue and green. That’s according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is known for his credible Apple product predictions. That sounds similar to the current iPhone 14 lineup, which is available in yellow, purple, blue, red, starlight (white) and midnight (black).

iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max: An Action button and thinner bezels

An iPhone 14 Pro against a blue background.

In typical Apple fashion, more dramatic changes are likely to be reserved for its high-end line of Pro models. One of the most significant design updates possibly coming to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max is an Action button to replace the mute switch, according to Bloomberg and MacRumors. This would be similar to the Apple Watch Ultra’s button of the same name, and it may allow you to trigger certain features like activating the flashlight, translate app or camera.

The iPhone 15 Pro is also expected to get a new titanium casing, according to the same Bloomberg piece, which could make it feel more premium but also potentially raise its price. The report has a few other nuggets about what to expect from the iPhone 15 Pro’s design, including a display with thinner bezels and an internal layout that’s easier to repair like the iPhone 14’s.

To reduce the iPhone 15 Pro’s borders, Apple may use a technology called low-injection pressure over-molding, the report says.

A shift to slimmer borders framing the screen would mark the latest sign that Apple intends to build on the vision it introduced with the iPhone X in 2017. «This phone really sets us up well for the next 10 years,» Dan Riccio, an Apple veteran who previously served as the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, told me in a piece for Time referring to the iPhone X back then.

Otherwise, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are expected to come in the same 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen sizes just like the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. Like the standard iPhone 15, it’s expected to have USB-C charging instead of Lightning. Color options could include gray, white, black and blue, according to the analyst Kuo, compared to the iPhone 14 Pro’s black, silver, gold and purple choices.

We’ll have to wait until Apple announces its next iPhones to know for sure. But if the reports turn out to be true, it sounds like the iPhone 15 series could be a bigger leap forward than last year’s iPhone 14.

Technologies

I Didn’t Expect a Refund From Amazon After All These Years, but It Happened

Amazon’s internal review led to a surprise deposit in my bank account.

Did you get a random refund from Amazon recently? You aren’t alone. Several customers have reported they received a variety of amounts of money from products they ordered months or even years ago, with one customer on LinkedIn saying he received a refund of $1,800 for a smart TV bought seven years ago. Others made similar comments about products bought long ago.

According to Bloomberg, it all ties back to an internal review Amazon did, possibly in response to a 2023 lawsuit. That suit claimed Amazon had quietly reversed legit return-related refunds for some shoppers. Now, it looks like Amazon’s making good — and if you’ve ever had a return go sideways, you might see a little money show up too.

A representative for Amazon told CNET that only a small number of customers would be affected.

«Following a recent internal review, we identified a very small subset of returns where we issued a refund without the payment completing, or where we could not verify that the correct item had been sent back to us so no refund was issued,» an Amazon representative said. «There is no action required from customers to receive the refunds, and we have fixed the payment issue.»

In its latest earnings call, Amazon reported a one-time expense of $1 billion connected to refunds that the company had not yet sent out. These earmarked funds could be responsible for the sudden updates that shoppers are now seeing regarding purchases as far back as 2018.

Read more: I’ve Been Tracking Tariff Price Impacts Every Day and Here’s What I’ve Found So Far

If you receive an email about a surprise refund from Amazon orders, it may be related to these changes Amazon has made behind the scenes. You may still want to confirm it’s not fraud by logging into your Amazon account or making a quick service call, especially if it’s a larger amount like a payment for a TV. Scammers may be taking advantage of this news, too, so be wary of any notification that asks you for financial information, which Amazon should already have.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, May 25

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for May 25.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword isn’t too tough. I was stumped right away though, with 1-Across, but when I read it to my teen daughter, she knew it immediately. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Good for a bike route, bad for a bike tire
Answer: FLAT

5A clue: Rolling in it
Answer: RICH

6A clue: Internet company with a purple logo
Answer: YAHOO

8A clue: McIlroy who won the 2025 Masters
Answer: RORY

9A clue: Mumford & ___ (rock band)
Answer: SONS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Food item dipped in ketchup
Answer: FRY

2D clue: Apt rhyme of «falsifiers»
Answer: LIARS

3D clue: Sneezing sound
Answer: ACHOO

4D clue: Plant’s defense against herbivores, perhaps
Answer: THORN

7D clue: Yiddish exclamations of woe
Answer: OYS

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for May 25, #244

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 244, for May 25.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

The purple category in Connections: Sports Edition today is about the biggest sports event of the day. You probably know what it is. Hint: Get behind the wheel in the Hoosier State. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Get your racket.

Green group hint: Pac Northwest player.

Blue group hint: Blow that fastball past the hitter.

Purple group hint: Gentlemen, start your engines.