How the iPhone 15 will outperform its competitors. And how it won’t!
Apple has a lot of work to do, but with a powerful new 3nm A17 chipset, it is looking promising.
Apple needs to get out of its ‘leader in sales’ comfort zone
Setting customer loyalty and Apple ecosystem integration aside, if we objectively evaluate the iPhone, Apple needs to make improvements in a few areas to compete with others in the market.
Despite the impressive sales numbers, the iPhone has felt like a minor iteration of its previous models for quite a few years.
Taking the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or the Google Pixel 7 Pro as examples, each of them has had features that seem superior to recent iPhone releases. Samsung’s S-series has been pushing boundaries in image processing and battery performance, while Google’s Pixel continues to provide great smart assistant features that outshine Siri (and Bixby).
One could argue that the S23 Ultra is currently the best ‘pound for pound’ smartphone on the market.
However, there are a few areas on the iPhone 15, especially in the Pro range, that could outperform the S23 Ultra.
Design and Ergonomics
More than just pretty colours, please
The iPhone’s squared-off edges and flat display are certainly beautiful to look at, but after 30 to 40 minutes of use, it starts to feel a little uncomfortable to hold. I often found myself leaving my iPhone 14 Pro Max untouched in the evenings in favor of the Pixel 7 Pro or the S23 Ultra, which, despite being large phones, provided a more ergonomic design.
AApple will undoubtedly wow us with new colors, but it’s far more important to me that they address the ergonomic aspect of the iPhone.
This is where I believe the Titanium chassis and slightly curved edges will help.
There were rumors of a solid-state action button replacing the mute switch, but it’s not clear whether that will actually happen.
Pro vs Non-Pro design features
While it makes sense to have certain advanced features available only on the iPhone Pro range, I believe design changes should be made across the board.
Thinner bezels will certainly be welcomed by iPhone 15 Pro users, but I believe this should be the case across the iPhone 15 variant as well.
Apple did that last year with the infamous notch, which was left on the standard iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, while the Pro range received the upgraded dynamic Island.
While I understand the business motivation behind this strategy, pushing people towards the more expensive models, as a consumer, it feels a little petty.
Many consumers have been waiting for years to enjoy an upgrade to the latest iPhone, only to be faced with an iPhone that looks exactly the same as the previous model unless they spend a few hundred more to get the Pro.
Performance
Apple’s new A17 chipset could be a game changer
The new 3nm A17 chipset could be a significant differentiator for the iPhone 15. When the iPhone 14 was launched, many users complained about its performance.
There were issues with earlier versions of iOS 16, but users were generally dissatisfied with the performance.
Poor performance translated into battery life issues too, and I recall many workarounds being implemented to counter the poor battery performance.
Some of which suggested turning off certain new features like Always on Display, as that was causing the iPhone battery to drain.
A promising package: A17 chipset + Ultra Wide Band + iOS17
Apple has undoubtedly worked hard to make the iPhone 15 a much better package, and this new chipset, combined with a new UWB chip, should make the iPhone 15 feel a lot snappier.
Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro headset will heavily rely on the integration between Apple devices, and the iPhone is likely to be one of the main devices it integrates with, making the upgraded U1 chip, responsible for wireless connectivity, a crucial one.
If implemented well, this A17 + new UWB + iOS 17 package is where I believe Apple will outperform Android offerings, providing customers with a better-integrated ecosystem that doesn’t feel sluggish or inconsistent.
The experience on iOS 16 was below-par in my opinion, and based on my comments section on Youtube, it caused more than a few customers to explore Android alternatives.
Multitasking
This is one feature where Apple still can’t compete in (and probably doesn’t want to).
Personally, I value the ability to run multiple apps at the same time, taking advantage of the large display on the S23 Ultra. I understand that this may not be a feature that Apple users care about too much, but I wonder if that’s because they haven’t experienced it.
Multitasking is one of those quality-of-life features that I sometimes wish Apple would explore as well. Being able to pay someone using my online banking app while looking at a WhatsApp message with their bank details is just one of the many use cases where multitasking is extremely useful.
Not to mention the ability to run a mini-desktop solution on the smartphone, such as Samsung Dex. Apple will probably never enable such a feature, but I do wish more was done on multitasking beyond just being able to smoothly switch between apps.
When I switched from the iPhone to the S23 Ultra, I found it challenging to break away from the Apple ecosystem, but I did miss some of the ecosystem features such as copying and pasting between devices and AirDrop. However, the tradeoff of getting better multitasking capabilities was well worth the pain.
Cameras
Apple always delivers on camera quality. But will it be enough to outperform competitors?
Apple always delivers on camera quality. But will it be enough to outperform competitors? This is probably one area where Apple will take pride in and potentially outshine its competitors.
Recent Android phones have made significant advancements in both photo and video quality, to the extent that features like 8K video at 30 frames per second are no longer just gimmicks.
The same goes for zoom capabilities. Images that once seemed only useful for a fun party trick are now becoming more and more useful, with Apple users at concerts and sports events wishing their iPhones could capture better zoom pictures.
Apple has always delivered photo and video quality, and they promise to deliver a periscope lens. I am confident that they will deliver superb video quality.
Personally, I think the current 4K video on the iPhone 14 Pro is already fantastic, so any improvements in that area, including more camera modes, would be welcomed upgrades.
Call Quality
After all, it’s still a phone, right?
Not many reviewers mention this, but I believe call quality is still something that many people care about, and poor reception is something that many iPhone users still struggle with.
Losing a couple of business calls or having to call someone back during an important call was the final straw for me with the iPhone 14 Pro Max. When I discussed this issue in my reviews, it turned out that I wasn’t alone.
I really hope Apple addresses this problem because, after all, it’s still a phone!
Speakers / Audio Quality
Another area of the iPhone 15 that I believe will be superior is the speakers quality. I know audio quality is subjective, but in my case I thought the iPhone 14 Pro Max had better speakers than the S23 Ultra, for instance.
I certainly hope that the new iPhone 15 will deliver great audio quality and can’t help but be excited about the titanium version to hear if that, presumably lighter casing, would make a difference to how sound performs.
Battery
Could the iPhone 15 outperform the battery king?
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has amazed its customers with a superb battery performance, easily allowing users to use their phones for almost two entire days on a single charge.
I am genuinely intrigued by how the iPhone 15’s battery will perform because this is another quality of life upgrade that I personally really value. Forgetting to charge the phone overnight and still have enough battery to take me well into the second day has proven invaluable to me, more than a few times.
Exciting times, for sure! I enjoy talking about tech here on medium, and you can also find me on Twitter and YouTube.
If you would like to know how I managed to ‘leave the iPhone after 15 years’ and still have a working Apple ecosystem, this video would be a good place to start.
