Titanium–clad flagship is now better than ever

You’ll find the USB-C port makes life a lot easier in terms of connectivity.

From $999 www.apple.comFrom

Features 6.1–inch Super Retina XDR Display (2556x1179 pixels), A17 Pro chip, 128/256/512/1TB of storage, Wi–Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 5G, USB–C port

THE FIRST TIME Apple launched a new product clad in titanium, iTunes was fresh out of the gate and Apple still sold Macs powered by PowerPC chips — in this case, the PowerBook G4. Arriving in January 2001, it quickly went on to be nicknamed the “TiBook”. Now we have the first “TiPhone”.

That’s because, like its famous forebear (and the Apple Watch Ultra), the new iPhone 15 Pro comes in titanium, the same metal used in everything from aeroplanes to surgical implants, thanks to its light weight, strength, and rust resistance. However, rather than clad the back and sides of the iPhone 15 Pro in titanium, Apple has limited it to the iPhone’s frame — the same one that in previous years has been clad in aluminium or stainless steel. The result is that the iPhone 15 Pro is some 0.7oz lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro (6.6oz vs 7.3oz), while also being slightly smaller, if a little thicker (2.78x5.77x0.32in vs 2.81x5.81x0.31in). The titanium is now bonded to an internal aluminium frame, which is covered by a matt glass back and a 6.1–inch Super Retina XDR Display on the front. As with other recent iPhone models, the iPhone 15 Pro also benefits from Apple’s Ceramic Shield on the front glass to make it more robust, while the device is water– and dust–proof to IP68.