The iPhone 15 has reportedly entered the trial production stage ahead of its launch this fall. It is expected to be manufactured in China and India.
The iPhone 15 has reportedly entered the trial production stage ahead of its launch this fall. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 15 lineup later this year to succeed the 2022 iPhone 14 series. Like its predecessor, the next-gen lineup is expected to include the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Ultra. Recent rumors suggest that the iPhone 15 devices will come with USB-C ports to comply with an EU directive, and all of them will have the Dynamic Island, instead of just the Pro models.
According to a report from the Chinese publication UDN, Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn has started trial production of the iPhone 15 and begun ‘New Product Introduction’ (NPI) for the device, which is the first step towards full-fledged mass manufacture ahead of a commercial launch later this year. The report also says that the top-end iPhone could be called the iPhone 15 Ultra, but the new nomenclature has yet to be confirmed.
iPhone 15 Is Expected To Launch In Fall 2023
The report says that mass production of the iPhone 15 series will start almost simultaneously in China and India as Apple looks to diversify its iPhone manufacturing due to the worsening relations between Beijing and Washington D.C. Previously, iPhone production in India typically started several months after mass production began in China. The gap was reduced to around two months in 2022 and is likely to be a few weeks this year. However, the report claims that “Apple is still highly dependent” on Foxconn, as it remains the largest iPhone manufacturer.
The iPhone 15 series is expected to include an iPhone 15 Ultra, in line with Apple’s plans to bring naming parity between the iPhone and the Apple Watch lineups. Details about the iPhone 15 Ultra are scarce, but it is expected to sport a USB-C port instead of Lightning. In fact, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra are rumored to ship with ultra-fast Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the base iPhone 15 models will have standard USB-C ports.
Rumors also suggest that the iPhone 15 Ultra could come with dual selfie cameras and cost $1,199 to $1,299 for the base model, making it the most expensive iPhone ever. The iPhone 15 Pro and Ultra models are also expected to be powered by the A17 Bionic chip manufactured using TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process, which will not only bring significant performance improvements for the iPhone 15 Pro and Ultra, but also big gains in terms of power efficiency.