Fresh details have emerged about Apple’s highly expected iPhone 15, less than a month before the tech giant officially pulls back the curtain on the new device.
A leaker claims the iPhone 15 will support charging speeds of up to 35W – significantly faster than its predecessor, the iPhone 14, which has a charging speed of just 20W.
This means the upcoming smartphone could charge from 0 to 100 percent in just one hour, saving precious time for users if they’re in a hurry.
Experts agree that the iPhone 15 – reportedly set to be revealed on September 12 or 13 – will also have a new USB-C charging port.
Apple already sells a £69 35W USB-C power adapter, which could be bundled with the flagship phone when it’s finally released.
9to5Mac revealed the news, citing ‘industry sources’, although it’s unclear if 35W charging will be supported by all of the iPhone 15 models.
Apple is expected to unveil four variations of the iPhone 15 – the standard model, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
‘According to people familiar with the matter, iPhone 15 is rumored to support charging with up to 35W,’ the report says.
‘At least some of the new iPhone 15 models can be recharged with up to 35W, which should enable even faster charging speeds on the new phones.’
35W (watts) refers to the amount of power being delivered to a phone’s battery – but if the phone doesn’t support the charging rate, it won’t be able to charge any faster and will just waste energy.
As the iPhone 14 Pro is limited to charging at 27W, it takes around two hours to fully charge up – and plugging it into a 35W charger won’t speed up charging.
But an iPhone 15 supporting 35W will take less time – potentially just an hour to go from 0 to 100 percent charge.
This is still modest compared with some smartphones made by Apple’s smartphone rivals in Asia, however.
For example, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra supports charging of up to 45W, which lets users recharge the battery from 0 to 100 percent in under an hour.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Explorer is said to go from 0 to 100 percent in just nine minutes.
Apple has been contacted for comment about the rumour, although the tech giant is notoriously tight-lipped in the run-up to product releases.
Analysts and leakers are generally in agreement that the iPhone 15 will be the first ever iPhone with a USB-C charging port.
Apple has made the switch from its own charging design called Lightning, discernible by its eight pins, to USB-C due to an EU law.
The new European legislation is aiming to make a single charging design the common standard – and ultimately reduce electronic waste.
Apple has effectively been forced to make this design change due to the law (although it technically could have manufactured iPhones with Lightning ports if they were sold in non-EU countries).
Other details about Apple’s new flagship have been gradually leaked based on insider knowledge and clues from ‘dummy units’ (accurate models given to third parties to design their phone accessories).
The iPhone 15 will allegedly have curvier edges, titanium frames instead of stainless steel, a smaller border that goes around the edge (the ‘bezel’), and Dynamic Island on all four models.
It’s unknown how much iPhone 15 will cost, although analysts have said the two most expensive models – iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max – will be more expensive than their predecessors.
A US leaker and Apple expert called Mark Gurman think Apple’s unveiling event for the iPhone 15 will be in just over three weeks’ time – on September 12 or 13.
He said he’s been told (by an unnamed source) that it will then go on sale on September 22, which means Apple will ‘get about a week of iPhone 15 sales in its fiscal fourth quarter’.
Apple has been quiet so far about any unveiling event, although teaser promos and invites could be sent out within days.
Fans will be hoping Apple won’t have to delay the unveiling until October due to manufacturing issues, as claimed by one US analyst.
