Surprise iPhone 15 Leak Reveals Next

iPhone 15 Pro renders based on its new leaked dark red finish

07/21 Update: RGcloudS has now walked this back, saying, “About stacked battery, I'm sorry for that, it's 100% confirmed on iP16 series. Not 15, along with faster charge.” That’s something to look forward to for iPhone 16 owners in 2024, but for now, it looks like the iPhone 15 range will have more incremental battery improvements.

Just two months from release, a major new iPhone 15 leak has revealed a breakthrough upgrade that may have significant consequences for all buyers.

Switching gears, respected Android leaker RGcloudS claims that Apple will use ‘stacked battery’ technology for the entire iPhone 15 lineup. This would be a world first for smartphones, with the tech famed for improved efficiency, cooler temperatures and greater longevity, as well as a circa 10% reduction in size compared to standard battery tech.

RGcloudS states that the transition to stacked batteries may also bring faster charging, with the leaker saying they have seen “40W wired & 20W MagSafe” which works via a “new protocol & power chip.” This is roughly double the current wired and wireless iPhone charging speeds. The caveat is RGcloudS says they are unsure if these speeds make the iPhone 15 or come with the iPhone 16 in 2024.

Regardless, stacked batteries in iPhones are a big deal, and it’s a shock to see such significant tech only leak so close to the September release. As the name suggests, they work by sandwiching together multiple cell sheets. Moreover, stacked batteries are not only objectively superior technology, they are well-tested. They are already used extensively in aerospace, aviation and electric cars, where they are subject to extremely high voltages and rapid recharging.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro concept render based on leaks

For smartphones, the challenge has always been size. Shrinking stacked battery tech down is hard, though Samsung’s plans to do this first leaked in April last year. As a consequence, the Galaxy S24 range was widely expected to be the poster child for their launch, and RGcloudS states they are expected to be in that range too. That said, it’s a major coup for Apple to (potentially) secure them for the iPhone 15 lineup first.

And the news makes sense. In recent weeks several seemingly contradictory leaks have claimed that iPhone 15 battery life would improve, but their battery capacities would not be significantly larger than their predecessors. Some of this was put down to the improved efficiency of the 3nm A17 chip in the iPhone 15 Pro models, but stacked batteries would explain the rest — especially for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, which will use the A16 chip from the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

On the flip side, the transition may also go a step further toward explaining multiple rumors about price rises. In conjunction with stacked batteries, iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to move from stainless steel to a more expensive titanium chassis with a solid-state programmable Action button. The iPhone 15 Pro Max will also exclusively feature Apple’s first periscopic optical zoom lens.

iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models look set for smaller upgrades, largely duplicating the tech (A16 chipset, 48-megapixel primary camera) and Dynamic Island design of the iPhone 14 Pros. Every iPhone 15 model will also adopt USB-C.

Yes, a lot of these upgrades are under the surface, which may make them a hard sell. But in a year where the iPhone 15 range has already been criticized as “too mediocre of an upgrade,” don’t underestimate the technological advances they will bring.

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