The iPhone 15 launch is now officially happening on September 12, with Apple's 'Wonderlust' media invites and a new event page revealing the details. And that means it's also time for us to over-analyze the invite for clues on what to expect.
Yes, the annual tradition of poring over Apple event invites is a well-trodden path, and one which often leads to wild (and sometimes wildly inaccurate) theories about astrophotography modes and Apple Cars.
But, as we saw with the Apple Vision Pro invite for WWDC 2023, these teasers do also contain subtle hints on what's coming – so let's get stuck in.
The 'Wonderlust' invite (above) shows an Apple logo made of swirling sand in gray and blue colors. The latter may well confirm recent rumors about the the iPhone 15 Pro's new colors, which are expected to be gray (possibly called 'Titan Gray') and a new shade of dark blue. Those will likely line up alongside Silver and Space Black.
But what about the sand, which is also depicted in an animated version of the invite (below)? While it's tempting to see links to the 'Wonderlust' title and make conclusions about new outdoorsy features, it's again most likely a hint at the iPhone 15 Pro line's expected switch from stainless steel to titanium.
Wonder awaits. September 12. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/48gRXu3Ux4August 29, 2023
Rather than sand, the invite could instead be depicting titanium powder, or perhaps the sandblasting treatment that titanium is sometimes finished with. Either way, those new titanium sides are expected to be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro, which could make the phones slightly lighter, too.
Strangely, this year there's no AR easter egg for the Apple invite, which you can usually find by visiting the Apple Events page in Safari on your phone and tapping on the logo. Given this is the first iPhone event since Apple revealed the Apple Vision Pro, that's a little odd – or perhaps it just proves that Apple was priming us for its spatial computing headset in previous invites all along.
But there are also other potential clues in the invite, like that 'Wonderlust' name.
What's in the name?
The most curious part of the Apple event invite is that 'Wonderlust' tagline. A play on the word 'wanderlust' suggests a focus on travel and outdoorsy adventures. We aren't only expecting to see new iPhones at the event – could it be a hint at the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2?
Some new processors aside, those two watches are expected to be relatively minor upgrades. But Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently stated that "new case colors are expected to be one of the company’s selling points" for both the Series 9 and new high-end Ultra, so perhaps the invite is also hinting at new colors for the outdoorsy, Garmin-bothering Ultra. Perhaps we'll also hear more about Apple's Emergency SOS satellite feature, which arrived last year.
A little bit harder to find in the event invite are signs of the expected move to USB-C for both Apple's iPhones and potentially some refreshed AirPods with a new charging case. While some on social media have jokingly highlighted curves in the invite's logo as hints about USB-C , alongside the 'RSVP' button (which looks like a cross-section of the cable), that's a bit of a stretch.
Given recent leaks, it's almost certain that the iPhone 15 series will finally get USB-C ports, and the iPhone 14 could also get the same port change. If it does happen, the iPhone 15 Pro could potentially even get Thunderbolt speeds, which would be a dream for speedy backups.
So, while there aren't really any clues about the new ports in the invites, we now know exactly how long we need to wait before they're official – 13 days and counting, to be precise.
In the meantime, you can download 'Wonderlust' wallpapers for your iPhone, Mac or iPad to keep you going, courtesy of the speedy Basic Apple Guy.
