iPhone 15 to Watch Series 9: All new announcements from Apple’s Wonderlust event

From a new batch of iPhones that could attract more Android users than ever to an Apple Watch that can detect one-hand gestures, Apple unveiled a range of new hardware at its just concluded Wonderlust event. If you couldn’t catch the event live, here’s a quick recap of everything Apple launched this time around.

iPhone 15 series

The new Apple iPhone 15 series will again, feature four new models. These are the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. All models come with a USB Type-C cable now replacing the Lightning port.

The iPhone 15, with its 6.1-inch screen, and iPhone 15 Plus, with its 6.7-inch screen, now feature Super Retina XDR OLED panels, and up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness. Both phones now get a new 48MP main camera sensor, which is also capable of pixel binning and 2x zoom. Other improvements include sensor-shift OIS (optical image stabilisation) and numerous camera features for better portrait and general photography.

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are powered by last year’s Apple A16 Bionic chip, and come with improved Ultra Wideband (UWB) support. Along with MagSafe wireless charging, both the models also get USB-C support, which now replaces the Lightning port.

Prices for the iPhone 15 start from Rs 79,900, while the iPhone 15 Plus prices start from Rs 89,900. Both smartphones are set to go on sale from September 22. Pre-orders are set to kick off on September 15.

iPhone 15 Pro Series

The iPhone 15 Pro series come with a more powerful 3nm Apple A17 Pro chip along with a six-core GPU for 20 per cent better graphical performance and hardware accelerated ray tracing support. The iPhone 15 Pro (6.1-inch screen) and iPhone 15 Pro Max (6.7-inch screen) are now made of a Titanium shell, making the phones more durable while being significantly lighter.

The Pro models also get a new Action button on the side replacing the mute switch, similar to the Apple Watch Ultra. This button can be configured as per a user’s needs. The USB Type-C port also brings USB-3 support for speeds up to 10gbps. This allows for use cases like recording high-res ProRAW video directly to an external drive, among other professional-grade features.

The new camera setup includes 12MP 5x optical zoom lens and another 12MP 3x telephoto lens, in addition to the 48MP main camera. Improved Sensor-Shift Optical Image Stabilisation can now make up to 10,000 micro-adjustments per second for faster snaps and smoother videos.

The iPhone 15 Pro models also pack camera improvements including 24MP photos, 24mm, 28mm and 35mm focal length support, and an improved Night Mode. The ultrawide and main camera can act together to capture Spatial Video, which can then be experienced on the Apple Vision Pro.

The iPhone 15 series and iPhone 15 Pro series will be available from September 22. Prices for the iPhone 15 Pro start from Rs 1,34,900, while prices for the iPhone 15 Pro Max start from Rs 1,59,900.

Apple Watch Series 9

The new Apple Watch Series 9 comes with a familiar design, but includes new specifications under the hood, headlined by Ultra Wideband (UWB) support. This addition allows the Apple Watch Series 9 to work better with Find My services.

Adding to this is a new heart-rate sensor that should give fitness freaks more accurate results during workouts, sports or simply general monitoring. Lastly, the Apple Watch Series 9 is powered by the new S9 chip at its core, which makes the watch snappier, and navigating through menus, opening apps and measuring vitals faster.

Apple promises all-day battery life, better Siri integration with on-device voice processing, NameDrop contact sharing, more precise phone tracking and better HomePod integration. The watch display can now also go from 1 nit to 2,000 nits peak brightness.

Gestures like wrist-raise and cover-display are now met with a new one-handed double-tap gesture that can trigger the primary button in any app. Apple has also announced new band styles including new FineWoven material options. The Apple Watch Series 9 is priced at Rs 41,900, and will be available from September 22.

Apple Watch Ultra 2

Apple also announced the new Apple Watch Ultra 2, which improves on the capabilities of the original Ultra. The new wearable also packs the new S9 chip, and as a result gets abilities like on-device Siri, double-tap and UWB support to find your phone.

The max brightness can now go up to 3,000 nits, and a new Modular Ultra watchface shows most important metrics right on the homescreen. Apple also adds new capabilities to the Dive app, and the new Apple Watch Ultra 2 is tested at more extreme altitudes.

For better battery life, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 can last for up to 72 hours in low-power mode. The design of the Watch Ultra 2 also remains unchanged compared to the older model. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has been launched at Rs 89,900 and will be available from September 22.