The iPhone 15 Plus was unveiled alongside the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max at the latest Apple September event, and this is the iPhone to buy if you want a big screen without a Pro price tag.
It’s also a handset that has a lot of upgrades compared to the iPhone 14 Plus, including a Dynamic Island rather than a notch, a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port, and significantly more megapixels in its main camera – not to mention a more powerful chipset.
For our initial impressions of the Plus-size base-model iPhone 15, check out our hands-on iPhone 15 Plus review. If you’re not set on the larger phone, you’ll also want to read our hands-on iPhone 15 review, while if you’re interested in Apple’s more premium handsets, you can read our hands-on iPhone 15 Pro review, and hands-on iPhone 15 Pro Max review.
For the full rundown on the iPhone 15 Plus – including its release date and how much it costs – read on. And for everything else Apple announced, head to our Apple September event live blog.
iPhone 15 Plus release date and price
- Pre-orders open on September 15
- Ships from September 22
- Starts at $899 / £899 / AU$1,649
The iPhone 15 Plus was unveiled on September 12 at Apple’s September event, and preorders for the phone began on Friday, September 15. The actual shipping date is Friday, September 22.
The iPhone 15 Plus starts at $899 / £899 / AU$1,649, for which you’ll get a 128GB model, and that price rises to $999 / £999 / AU$1,849 for the 256GB model, and $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,199 for the 512GB model. That’s the same price as last year for US buyers, and actually less in the UK, but the Plus has had a price rise in Australia.
As mentioned, iPhone 15 preorders went live on September 15, 2023. For a look at some of the best deals and/or promotions for the iPhone 15 Plus and other models in the US and US, take a look at the quick links below.
US
UK
iPhone 15 Plus colors
Apple is offering the iPhone 15 Plus in a selection of five matte colors. The options are:
These options are far brighter than what you’ll find the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max in, but they’re still quite understated.
iPhone 15 Plus design
- Comes in pink, yellow, green, blue, and black shades
- Includes a Dynamic Island
- Uses color-infused glass
The iPhone 15 Plus doesn’t look too dissimilar to the iPhone 14 Plus from the back, with a glass rear, an aluminum frame, and a dual-lens camera block. Though the colors differ, with the iPhone 15 Plus available in pink, yellow, green, blue, and black shades.
The creation of the glass on the back is a bit different too, as it uses color-infused glass with a textured matte finish, while the sides have a contoured edge, to make it more comfortable in the hand. But the main change is up front, as there’s no notch this year – instead, the iPhone 15 Plus has a Dynamic Island.
Beyond that, it’s IP68 rated like its predecessor, meaning it’s dust and water-resistant, and it comes in at 160.9 x 77.8 x 7.8mm and 201g. That, as you might expect, is almost identical to the iPhone 14 Plus.
Apple has also talked up the environmental credentials of the iPhone 15 Plus, saying the enclosure is made of 75% recycled aluminum. Many of the other components are also made of recycled materials.
iPhone 15 Plus display
- A 6.7-inch 1290 x 2796 screen
- High 2,000-nit peak outdoor brightness
- 460 pixels per inch
The iPhone 15 Plus has a 6.7-inch 1290 x 2796 Super Retina XDR display with 460 pixels per inch, and a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, which is up from 1,200 nits on the iPhone 14 Plus. So it’s big, hence the Plus in the name, and it’s bright.
Apple doesn’t appear to have specified the refresh rate though, which almost certainly means it’s stuck at 60Hz again.
It also of course has a Dynamic Island rather than a notch, which is the big change here, and the screen is protected by Ceramic Shield, as usual.
iPhone 15 Plus cameras
- A new 48MP main camera
- Capable of taking 2x telephoto shots using the main sensor
- 12MP ultra-wide and 12MP selfie cameras
There are just two cameras on the back of the iPhone 15 Plus, but they’ve had some attention, with the main sensor being a new 48MP one, in place of the 12MP camera of its predecessor.
It has an f/1.6 aperture and sensor-shift optical image stabilization (OIS), and it can also work as a telephoto camera taking 2x optical-quality zoom shots at 12MP.
There’s also a 12MP f/2.4 ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree field of view, and a 12MP f/1.9 TrueDepth front camera with autofocus.
Some of the camera software and features have been improved too, as for example it will now automatically capture depth information if the subject is a person, a cat, or a dog, meaning you can choose to see your photo as a portrait after snapping it, rather than having to manually enable portrait mode before you take a shot.
Portrait shots are also said to now be more vivid, and better in low light, while Night mode has seen quality improvements too.
For video, you can record in up to 4K quality at up to 60fps.
iPhone 15 Plus performance
- An A16 Bionic chipset
- More powerful than the iPhone 14 Plus
The iPhone 15 Plus should have a performance boost compared to last year’s model, because it’s powered by an A16 Bionic chipset. This isn’t new, as the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max already use it, but it is an improvement on the A15 Bionic used by the iPhone 14 Plus.
Apple hasn’t said how much RAM the iPhone 15 Plus has, so we’ll have to wait until someone has done a teardown of the phone to learn that, but for what it’s worth, leaks consistently suggested it would have 6GB, just like its predecessor.
iPhone 15 Plus battery
- The same battery life as the iPhone 14 Plus
- 20W charging
- Charges via USB-C or wirelessly
We don’t know the size of the iPhone 15 Plus’s battery because Apple never reveals that figure, but the company has said that it delivers all-day life.
More specifically, the company has said that it will last for up to 26 hours of video playback, 20 hours of streamed video, or 100 hours of audio playback, all of which are identical specs to the iPhone 14 Plus.
It also charges via USB-C (or wirelessly), rather than with a Lightning cable. That’s a big albeit expected change, and means you’ll finally be able to use the same cable for this as for most of your non-Apple devices.
But like last year it tops out at 20W charging speeds, with Apple saying you can get a 50% charge in 35 minutes.
Incidentally, the iPhone 15 Plus is also compatible with the new Qi2 standard for wireless charging. However, we don’t yet know how effective this feature will be, given the lack of Qi2-certified wireless chargers available to buy right now.
In a nutshell, Qi2 takes the built-in magnets feature of Apple’s MagSafe technology and opens it up third-party manufacturers. This could mean that – when they eventually come to market – Qi2-certified wireless chargers will be capable of charging Apple’s latest iPhones at 15W; something that only MagSafe chargers have been able to do in the past.
That said, despite Apple confirming that its iPhone 15 models support “future Qi2 chargers for wireless charging,” the official tech specs page for the iPhone 15 Pro says that the device (and presumably all other iPhone 15 devices, including the iPhone 15 Plus) supports “MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W” and “Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W.”
This could mean that Apple might continue to restrict non-Apple, 15W-capable wireless chargers to 7.5W, in an effort to maintain healthy MagSafe sales. Still, we’d like to think that Apple will make 15W wireless charging available across the board.
iPhone 15 Plus software and features
- Runs iOS 17
- Includes a new Roadside Assistance via satellite feature
- Has a new Ultra Wideband chip for improved Precision Finding
The iPhone 15 Plus comes running iOS 17 from day one, which is so new that no current iPhones run it (other than as a beta). But all recent iPhones will soon be updated to iOS 17, so you needn’t feel like you’re missing out on the software front by not buying a new model.
However, beyond that there are some handy new features on the iPhone 15 Plus, like Roadside Assistance via satellite, which can connect users to AAA if they have car problems when there’s no phone signal. Initially though this feature will only be available in the US.
The iPhone 15 Plus also has a new Ultra Wideband chip, which enables iPhone 15 line users to share their location and find each other using Precision Finding, even in crowds, at three times the range as before.
