Mahendranagar, 13 September
Since 2010, Apple has brought together media from all over the world for a marketing event that highlights the innovative feats behind its most recent iPhone. It has exaggerated the phone's outside shine, the design of the area around the cameras, and the strength of its CPUs.
To meet the design requirements of European authorities, who approved a law requiring USB-C charging across electronic products, Apple's finest designers and engineers have modified their creative process and marketing extravaganza this year.
On Wednesday, Apple revealed that its newest product line, the iPhone 15, will drop the company’s proprietary Lightning port in favor of European-mandated USB-C ports. The company’s newest iPhones feature a charging plug that is slightly bigger and rounder than its predecessor but capable of delivering a faster charge.
The rule was aimed at reducing electronic waste and saving customers money by making one port compatible across an array of devices. Though Apple resisted the change, warning that government mandates could stifle innovation, it will make it possible to use the same USB-C cord that powers a Mac to charge an iPhone.
In addition to the iPhone, the company unveiled its wireless earbuds, the AirPods Pro, with a USB-C charging case.
The change speaks to how regulators are altering Apple’s business. Apple has positioned itself as the primary gatekeeper for more than one billion iPhone users worldwide by building proprietary hardware and services. To reach those customers, app developers have given the company as much as a 30 percent cut of their sales, and accessory companies have paid fees to make cords with Lightning ports.
But amid rising concerns about tech companies’ power over the global economy, governments have passed rules and issued warnings that are forcing Apple to open up. In Europe, a new antitrust law will require Apple to allow the sale of iPhone apps outside its App Store. In the United States, regulators are investigating the company’s practice of blocking others from using the iPhone’s tap-to-pay ability. And in China, there is a government crackdown on employees’ use of iPhones at work.
The government challenges are buffeting Apple at the same time it is trying to reignite its business. Tumbling sales of iPads and Macs have sparked its most prolonged slump since 2016. IPhone purchases, which account for more than half of total revenue, are slowing. And the sale of apps and services could be clipped by government regulations.
In addition to the USB-C port, Apple touted other improvements with the iPhone 15, including better cameras and smaller borders around the screen. Its two high-end Pro models, which start at $999, feature a lighter titanium body and processors made with a cutting-edge manufacturing process that the company said significantly increases performance. It replaces the mute switch on previous models with a new button that can be pressed to use the phone’s camera or start an audio recording.
The high-end phones also have the ability to record three-dimensional video, which can be viewed in the augmented reality headset that Apple will release next year.
Apple raised the price of the iPhone Pro Max, the company’s top model, by 9 percent to $1,199. The larger phone features the lineup’s most sophisticated camera with a fivefold optical zoom, which contributed to the first price increase for the iPhone lineup in five years.
The iPhone 15 base models, which cost $799 and $899, adopt many of the features available on last year’s iPhone Pro models, including last year’s processor and the Dynamic Island, a toolbar at the top of the screen. The entire iPhone lineup offers wireless charging.
