Apple’s next iPhone 15 is expected to adopt eSIM technology for Europe. This will enable the phones to be sold without a SIM card tray and will allow users to switch between carriers easily.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has tipped that the Pro models will get solid-state buttons, which could work like the Home button on the iPhone SE. They will use extra Taptic Engines for feedback, sourced from Cirrus Logic.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is a mobile payments service that lets you make purchases in apps using your iPhone’s camera or fingerprint sensor. It’s easy to use, secure and works with over 200 million credit and debit cards. You can also use it on the Mac and the web, or with Apple Watch.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the iPhone 15 will feature solid-state volume and power buttons that mimic mechanical presses with the help of haptic feedback. He’s also expecting the company to adopt a Mac trackpad-style single button design, which would eliminate the mute switch. Kuo also predicts that the iPhone 15 will have USB-C ports in place of Lightning, to comply with new European Union regulations requiring all phones to use them.

Another rumor suggests that Apple will upgrade the cameras on the iPhone 15. It’s said to include Sony’s latest “state of the art” image sensors, which offer higher sensitivity and a wider color range than traditional chips. The rumors also suggest the new cameras will iphone 15 benefit from computational photography advancements that can improve photos and videos. In addition, battery optimizations are expected to boost performance and allow for longer run times, as well as faster charging technologies that reduce the time you spend tethered to a power source.

iTunes Store Integration

Apple’s iTunes Store is currently experiencing technical problems that are preventing some users from accessing the site. If you are unable to connect to the iTunes Store, try restarting your computer or trying another web browser. If you continue to have trouble, contact Customer Care for more assistance.

Another big rumor concerns the iPhone 15’s main camera sensor, with one source suggesting that Apple will team up with Sony to produce a new 48MP model for this year’s Pro Max, in order to differentiate it from the standard iPhone. That may not actually make much difference, however, as another source reportedly expects the standard iPhone 15 to keep its same main camera sensor.

The next iPhone 15 is also expected to ditch Lightning for USB-C, a change that was hinted at in CAD renders shared by 9to5Mac, and that has been confirmed by a leak of case specifications. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the USB-C ports will be as powerful as those on MacBooks, with some reports suggesting that only the Pro models will support USB 3.2 and Thunderbolt 3 speeds.

The rumor mill is also predicting that this year’s Pro and Plus iPhone 15 models will get a RAM bump up to 8GB from 6GB, courtesy of the A17 Bionic processor. A report from Taiwanese research firm TrendForce corroborates that claim, and also suggests that the higher-end models will see a slight price hike.

iPhone 15 Notch

Various rumors and renders have surfaced for the iPhone 15 ahead of its release, with most claiming it will feature a smaller notched design. A reputable display analyst predicts that Apple will drop the notch on all iPhone 15 models scheduled to launch next year, and that a pill-and-hole cutout will replace it instead. The analyst also expects all front sensors and the sub-panel camera to be moved under the screen, but that will likely be a Pro-only feature since it will require some technical challenges to overcome.

Apple is reportedly working with Sony on a state-of-the-art image sensor for the iPhone 15, which could bring better low-light performance to the device. The sensor reportedly doubles the saturation signal in each pixel, allowing for sharper images even with strong backlighting.

Another rumor is that the iPhone 15 will use USB-C for charging, bringing it in line with recent developments with EU regulations. A leaked CAD file indicates that the phone will feature a port that looks like MagSafe, but one site claims that Apple will only officially support accessories with Made for iPhone (MFi) certification and will limit data transfer speeds to that level. Apple supplier Foxconn is supposedly already mass-producing MFi-certified USB-C cables for the iPhone 15. If that’s true, it would be a major change from previous generations of iPhone.