Apple’s iPhone 15 adds Dynamic Island and switches to USB-C

Enlarge / All the colors of the new iPhone 15. (credit: Apple)

Apple announced its next flagship smartphone during a livestreamed event today. The iPhone 15 mostly resembles its predecessor but swaps the top-of-screen notch for the "Dynamic Island" Apple introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro last year, and it ditches Apple's proprietary Lightning port in favor of the industry-standard USB-C.

Like the iPhone 14, the iPhone 15 comes in two screen sizes: 6.1 inches for the standard phone, and 6.7 for the iPhone 15 Plus. The two models are the same apart from the screen sizes. The iPhone 15-series' overall design is also similar to that of its predecessor, with a glass back and front and an aluminum enclosure.

The iPhone 15 Plus (left) and iPhone 15 (right). (credit: Apple)

The edge of the aluminum enclosure has a new contoured design that looks a bit different from the iPhone 14, though. Apple also claims the iPhone 15 devices are the first phones to have a "color-infused back glass." Apple's announcement said that it strengthened the phones' back glass with a "dual-ion exchange process" and then polished it with nanocrystalline particles and etched it for a "textured matte finish." The new iPhones still have a Ceramic Shield front cover and are water and dust-resistant.