Apple unveils new iPhone lineup

It’s not just the iPhone: Apple has started selling AirPods Pro second generation models that are supported by a USB-C-powered charging case. 

They became available to order online on Tuesday and will be available in stores beginning September 22.

Olivia Rodrigo released the music video for her new song “get him back!” minutes after Apple’s “Wonderlust” iPhone 15 event. The Grammy-winning recording artist’s video was shot on the iPhone 15 Pro, using the newly unveiled 5x telephoto camera.

Apple touted the top-end iPhone’s new camera as the longest optical zoom the company ever built for a smartphone.

In the wake of Apple unveiling its latest iPhone lineup, a new accessory appeared for sale on its website Tuesday: a $29 USB-C to Lightning adapter.

The dongle lets people connect their Lightning accessories to a USB-C-enabled iPhone or iPad to charge or share data. 

The new accessory comes as Apple ends its 11-year run of the Lightning port and charger and switches its devices over to the USB-C charger. 

The new iPhone 15 models is that they will now use a USB-C charging cord, ending an 11-year run with Apple's proprietary lightning charging cable.

After Apple’s annual keynote event ended, the in-person audience — mostly members of press and Apple staffers — flooded the product viewing area for a first look at the new devices introduced Tuesday.

Apple executives are mingling with members of the press, who try on the new watches and test out new iPhone features. Crowds are particularly drawn to the Apple Watch demo table.

The titanium Pro models are incredibly light, as promised.

The Lightning ports are no more.

And the Ultra 2 watch display is bright.

Apple said Tuesday that the iPhone SE will start at $429. 

The iPhone 13 will start at $599.

The iPhone 14 will start at $699.

The iPhone 15 will start at $799, and iPhone 15 Pro will start at $999. 

An attendee looks at the brand new Apple iPhone 15 during an Apple event today in Cupertino, California.

There was a loud applause in the audience in Cupertino, California, as Apple introduced two new iCloud plans.

Starting next week, iCloud+ will offer 6TB and 12 TB storage plans.

iCloud allows you to share photos and automatically backup your iPhone, and with family sharing, everyone in a household can get the benefits of iCloud+.

The iPhone 15 Pro brings a slew of new updates to its camera system, including a more-advanced 48 megapixel main camera featuring a larger sensor than on iPhone 15.

The camera also includes a “nanoscale coating” meant to reduce lens flares, Apple said, and bring higher resolution to everyday photos. It also boasts better low-light performance for portraits and night mode.

The latest iPhone can also shoot high-resolution photos in 24, 28 and 35-millimeter focal lengths.

The company announced its next-generation entry-level iPhone 15s, which now feature an expanded “Dynamic Island” tool that is home to alerts, notifications and other controls, in place of the notch. The feature was previously only available on the iPhone 14 Pro.

The iPhone 15 phones include updated image stabilization for taking photos and videos, 2x optimization and updated portraits with richer color and better low-light performance. It also includes 4K cinematic mode.

The iPhone 15s ship with the A16 bionic processor — the same chip used in the iPhone 14 Pro — with a neural engine that handles more complicated tasks, such as live voicemail transcriptions on device, according to the company.

The iPhone 15 has an Ultra-Wideband chip so it can connect with other devices nearby, such as better finding friends who share their location in crowded locations, or power some of iOS 17 features.

The iPhone 15 comes in 5 colors (white, black, pink, green and yellow) and in two sizes: A 6.1-inch screen for the iPhone 15 and 6.7 inches for iPhone 15 Plus.

Apple unveiled an action button in the iPhone 15 Pro, the first change made to the ring silencer since the toggle switch debuted in the original iPhone in 2007.

Now a pressable button, the action button still silences alerts by default – but it can also be programmed to carry out a whole host of commands, from recording a voice memo to taking a picture to activating an accessibility feature like live speech.

All action button commands are accompanied with visual feedback from the Dynamic Island bar at the top of the screen.

iPhone 15 features Apple’s second-generation ultra wideband chip, which allows the device to connect to other devices from up to three times farther away.

The chip has opened up a new way for Apple customers to use precision finding on iPhone 15 to find their friends.

At long last, Apple is killing its proprietary Lightning port in the iPhone 15 and embracing a charging cable that’s compatible with non-Apple products. That’s one fewer cord cluttering your nightstand. One fewer thing to forget when packing for a weekend getaway.

But the move, hastened by a European regulatory mandate passed last year, is a largely symbolic measure that comes years after most other gadgets switched to USB-C. And it won’t do much to shrink the mountains of e-waste piling up around the globe.

When the European Commission passed the directive last year, it cited two motivations: First, everyone agrees that it’s super annoying to have so many cables lying around. Second, having a common charger across devices — whether they’re made by Apple or Samsung or Garmin or whoever — would “significantly reduce electronic waste.”

Big-picture, though, the impact on the mountains of global e-waste will likely be minimal.

There are about 66 million tons of electronic waste generated each year, says Ruediger Kuehr, head of the United Nations’ University’s Sustainable Cycles Program. Charging cables, he said account for “a few hundred thousand tons.”

“When we look to the pure numbers, it’s close to nothing,” Kuehr said. “But we nevertheless think it’s a very important step in order to make people … aware of the issue we are facing.” Read more.

Apple’s high-end Pro line just got lighter and stronger.

The company showed off the 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro and the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Pro Max, now with a titanium casing, the same alloy used in the Mars Rover. Colors include white, silver, blue and black titanium.

The Pro line also features a change to the ring/silent switch located on the side of the iPhone. By pressing and holding the button, users will be able to do customizable actions, such as launching a camera or starting an audio recording.

The 48 MP camera includes a larger sensor, enables better low-light performance for portrait and night mode, and has four times resolution than before. Apple also highlighted a 3x telephoto camera for classic portraits on the iPhone 15 Pro, and for the Pro Max, the rear-facing camera system features a telephoto lens that enables 5x optical zoom.

The Pro line also allow users to capture spatial videos, which aims to make photos clips feel more immersive. This feature will be available later this year.

The iPhones start shipping and hit stores on September 22.

As expected, the company is bringing USB-C charging to the iPhone.

Now Apple customers can use the same USB-C chargers to power their iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. (No more scrambling to find the right charger for each device).

This news officially ends the run of the Lightning port and charger – exactly 11 years after it was first announced.

In the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple said a dedicated USB-C controller will allow for transfer speeds of up to 20 times faster than with USB-2 technology.

Apple announced camera upgrades for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, including automatic portrait mode that can detect when there is a solo person in a shot and smart HDR to better capture animals.

The phone camera will also feature super-high resolution photos, an “action mode” for images and 4K cinematic mode for video.

Lisa Jackson, Apple’s VP of environment, policy and social initiatives, said that the company’s Watch Series 9 will be Apple’s “first-ever carbon-neutral product.” She said this has been certified by an independent third-party. 

Doubling down on sustainability initiatives, Jackson also said the tech giant will no longer use leather in any new Apple product, including watch bands. 

Instead of leather, Apple said it will begin using a new textile that it is calling “fine woven.” 

Fine woven will be made of 68% post-consumer recycled content, giving it a significantly lower carbon footprint than leather, Apple said.

The company said it will achieve its carbon neutral goal by shipping products by ocean and using carbon credits to offset the rest of the emissions. Carbon pledges, however, are difficult to track, and offsets have been widely criticized as insufficient.

Apple said that its latest iPhone 15 model will start at $799, and the iPhone 15 Plus will start at $899.

Apple introduced the prices for its latest Apple Watch products:

Apple Watch SE starts at $249.

Apple Watch S9 starts at $399.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 is priced at $799.

Customers can place orders today and they will be available on September 22.

Apple showed off the second iteration of its rugged Ultra smartwatch line, now with a brighter display that promises readability in the brightest sunlight. It features the updated S9 custom chip and a new UWB chip.  It includes the same Double Tap feature as the Series 9, features more information on the display for more intensive tracking.

Tim Cook called it Apple’s most technically advanced smartwatch yet.

Actress Octavia Spencer took the stage as a very skeptical Mother Nature in a new ad boasting Apple’s environmental track record.

In a fast-paced, witty clip, the company announced plans to phase out leather in iPhone cases plus all plastic packaging by next year. Spencer’s Mother Nature grilled nervous Apple’s executives, including a muttering CEO Tim Cook, about the company’s plans to reduce its carbon footprint.

Apple said it has reduced electricity and transportation emissions, and it used 100% recycled aluminum in the enclosures of MacBooks, Apple TVs and Apple Watches.

In 2020, the company pledged to be completely carbon neutral by 2030, and Apple said it is on pace to meet that goal.

“We’ve innovated and retooled almost every part of our process to reduce our impact on the planet,” CEO Tim Cook said. “By 2030, all Apple devices will have a net zero climate impact.” 

The company said it will achieve that goal by shipping by ocean and using carbon credits to offset the rest of the emissions. Carbon pledges, however, are difficult to track, and offsets have been widely criticized as insufficient.

At the end of the ad, Spencer was satisfied – but said she’d be back next year to hold Apple to account, urging the company not to “disappoint your mother.”

The company showed off its next-generation Apple Watch, the Series 9, featuring a custom S9 chip for faster processing and the promise of using a hand gesture to control the watch.

A new gesture control called Double Tap will allow users to tap their index finger and thumb together twice, to answer or end phone calls, play and pause music, or snooze alarms. The hand gesture can also scroll through widgets, much like turning the digital crown.

The company said this is enabled by an enhanced neural engine that processes data from sensors and machine learning. It is available starting next month.

“It will become one of those magical experiences you rely on everyday,” the company said.

A similar hand tap will be used to control the Vision Pro mixed reality headset when it launches next year.

Other Apple Watch Series 9 updates include the ability for Siri to take requests, such as asking it to start a workout, and a new edge-to-edge display that double the brightness than the Series 8 watch. It also comes in a new pink color.