What can Apple’s ‘Wonderlust’ event invite tell us about the iPhone 15?

Apple’s “Wonderlust” event. Set for September 12, the company’s invite could be the first “official” evidence we have of that iPhone 15 rumored. We’ve been collecting rumors about the tool for months, but Apple occasionally gives an early hint about a September event in the invite. This does not always mean that there are real connections between what is said and seen in the invitation and what is actually shown in the presentation, but the invitation does create a starting point for a discussion of what we think Apple might highlight.

Check out Apple’s “Wonderlust” call.

Let’s start by thinking about the name: Wonderlust. With this adaptation of “Wanderlust,” Apple seems to be bringing in the theme of travel. And it’s no exaggeration to say that phones are an essential companion for travel: we use them for photography, GPS, finding where we want to eat – there are endless features that can be developed with only travel in mind.

Moving on to the invitation design, we get a disintegrating graphic that shows the blue and sand Apple logo being blown away by an unseen force — perhaps the wind? Or maybe the parts of the Apple logo are held together by magnetic attraction? Either way, it may be the element of the atmosphere that we can extrapolate from this design choice, and phones are by their very nature wireless devices that create continuous communications through the atmosphere.

(It’s also true that blue and gray have been iPhone colors in the past, and perhaps the colors of this logo provide an early look at what some iPhone 15 models might look like.)

I must repeat that these thoughts are just speculation, but they’re enough to warrant a closer look at how Apple has improved the iPhone 15. All of the following are related to travel and air topics, but are also areas where Apple’s improvement could show where rival phones have already policed ​​territory, or In areas with which they are closely related Features of iOS 17 We already learned about it at Apple’s WWDC event.

More satellite communications

By linking both travel and skies, Apple can make new announcements related to the topic Satellite communication features It first launched with the iPhone 14 line. Apple’s efforts are currently focused on the Emergency SOS feature, which allows people with a clear view of the sky to use their iPhone to send text messages to emergency services where cellular service is not available. The iPhone 14 line comes with two years of free emergency satellite service.

Even though Apple has started offering satellite service to phones, it won’t be alone for long. Qualcomm, Samsung and other companies have announced plans to personalize satellite connectivity, including expressing their intent to allow non-emergency communications over those airwaves.

On this year’s stage, Apple could announce new improvements to its satellite calling features, perhaps allowing iMessage while in the wild, or limited voice calls.

Faster wireless charging and more MagSafe

Apple MagSafe He created a sensation when he first appeared alongside iPhone 12 In 2020, the separates will literally be brought together to enhance wireless charging and stackable accessories. The particle effect in our Apple event invitation — whether that means grouping the logo together or separating it — could refer to MagSafe as well as the wireless charging feature that MagSafe supports.

If so, now is the time. Apple has room to improve the iPhone’s wireless charging speeds, especially when compared to competing flagship Android phones. Currently, Apple supports 7.5W wireless charging speeds with a regular Qi wireless charger, and 15W speeds with an officially certified MagSafe charger. Meanwhile, Google’s Pixel 7 can 12W wireless charging On a Qi charger with an extended power profile, which goes up to 20W when using Google’s Pixel Stand that has a built-in fan. Previous OnePlus phones can Get 15W charging from Qi wireless chargers With an extended power profile, and an impressive speed of 50W on the official platform, thanks to the use of a split battery. All of this leaves plenty of room for growth for Apple, and matching Google’s speeds would, at the very least, be a solid step in making wireless charging more useful on the iPhone.

However, a new Qi2 wireless charging standard is currently in the works, and Apple is a member of the Wireless Power Consortium that is developing it. When this standard is ready, it could lead to faster wireless charging speeds in future iPhone models.

Aside from charging, there’s likely more scope for MagSafe to develop into a standard accessory platform. Maybe Apple could create a MagSafe platform that instantly starts an AirPlay session with a TV. Or create an attachable display like the Motorola one I once tried using Moto g telephone line. What about portable HomePod speaker That snaps directly onto your phone, similar to a number of Magnetic speakers already on Amazon? There’s still a lot of untapped potential for MagSafe.

NameDrop and new ways to share in person

Another atmospheric idea starts with an iOS 17 feature we already know: NameDrop. This feature allows you to quickly share contact information with someone in person by combining two iPhones together. But Apple can do a lot more with local wireless sharing.

For example, Apple already allows iPhone audio to be shared between two different sets of AirPods. What if this wireless sharing expanded sharingallowing music and video to be played simultaneously across multiple phones at once – without making a FaceTime call.

This can be immediately useful if you want to share a YouTube video with a friend without having to hand over your phone. Or if you want to create a quick surround sound system by syncing five iPhones together to play music during a dinner party, since your phones are most likely on the table anyway.

All of these could be natural extensions of other features we already know are on the way. For example, Facetime on Apple TV It will use its own wireless magic to connect your iPhone’s camera and microphone for video calls. Why not think bigger and allow multiple iPhones to share more media, just by being right next to each other?

Use the camera to scan more places

back to travel, Apple Visual Look It’s already able to identify landmarks, plants, and pets, but you’ll need to go into the Photos app to take advantage of these features. Maybe the next iPhone and iOS 17 can speed that up, and let you start scanning these items right from the Camera app.

This will improve visual search parity with google lens, which quickly identifies items for you without having to save them to your Camera Roll. Perhaps you can scan a restaurant while standing in front of it, and then get its menu. Or scan a friend’s shirt, find it on sale, and get it yourself. These scenarios are already possible with Google Lens, which makes it a very noticeable way for Apple to bring more features to its camera app.

Expanded safety features

When you travel in the new Apple car Fault detection The features can provide an essential lifeline in the event of an accident. Currently, this feature can automatically call emergency services if a supported iPhone or Apple Watch detects such an event. But maybe Apple can augment that by leveraging other sensors inside the paired iPhone or Apple Watch to activate the heart rate sensor at the same time to provide a quick health check to the wearer.

Or maybe Apple could extend its crash detection feature so that it shares your physical location with your emergency contacts. This could be similar to Apple’s new check-in feature, which will proactively send alerts when friends or family get home safely. It might actually be useful to extend this feature to emergencies, such as an unexpected hospitalization.

Other iPhone 15 rumors we’re watching

Although we don’t have any hard evidence that the above ideas will make it to the iPhone 15, these are all areas where Apple could improve.

Nevertheless, rumors about the iPhone 15 are crowded, and even without an invitation to dig deeper, we are watching for the possibility of an occurrence The arrival of a USB-C port to replace Lightningto see if the new Dynamic Island will expand to all iPhone models after it debuted on the iPhone 14 Pro, and wondering if the iPhone 15 Pro will move towards solid-state volume and power buttons.

Whatever is ultimately on the way to Apple’s iPhone 15, we’ll likely find out for sure when the Apple event kicks off on September 12th.