The "most advanced smartphones of all time," refurbished.

Apple Keynote 2023 event recap

Apple's highly anticipated Wonderlust event in Cupertino unfolded on Tuesday September 12th, bringing with it some buzzworthy updates and some otherwise underwhelming announcements. The event introduced Apple's newest additions to their line up with the iPhone 15, Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Key takeaways from Apple Keynote 2023:

• The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus got a chipset upgrade, new Dynamic Island and colour-infused glass

• The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max come equipped with a powerful A17 Pro Chip, and new titanium parts to make them lighter and sturdier

• Apple introduces a new ‘double tap’ gesture on the Watch Series 9

• USB-C charging finally gets a debut on an iPhone

• The Apple Watch Ultra 2 goes carbon-neutral

• Apple showcases their efforts to improve sustainability and reach carbon zero by 2030

What's new with the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus?

1. Colour-infused glass for the back

2. Pink (!) as a new colour option

3. A16 Bionic chipset, USB-C connectivity, Dynamic Island to replace the old notch front display, a 48MP camera, and a brighter camera

4. Enhanced Portrait mode, Night mode, and Smart HDR

The Apple iPhone 15 has pretty much adopted the same features as the iPhone 14 Pro: the A16 Bionic chipset, Dynamic Island cut out and 48MP camera. The addition of the USB-C port seems to be the only new feature that you wouldn't find on earlier models.

What's new with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max?

1. Aerospace-grade titanium

2. A17 Pro chipset, USB-C connectivity, a 48MP camera, a larger main sensor, and a brighter camera.

3. Enhanced Portrait mode, Night mode, and Smart HDR

4. The iPhone 15 Pro Max introduces a fresh telephoto lens equipped with a tetra-prism design, enabling an impressive 5x optical zoom and 3x optical zoom

5. The mute switch is replaced with a customizable action button

The iPhone 15 Pro’s line up introduces titanium into the design, which supposedly makes it lighter and more sturdy than ever before. The stronger frame enabled Apple to use thinner bezels for a more streamlined look. The camera setup also got an upgrade with telephoto lens and extra optical zooms.

What's new on the Apple Watch Series 9?

1. New pink colour option, as well as PRODUCT(RED), starlight, midnight and silver

2. S9 SiP chip and on-device Siri

3. Brighter display

4. U2 ultrawide-band chip for precision-finding

5. Double tap gesture (tap index finger and thumb twice) to pick up calls, control playback, and more

6. First carbon-neutral product released by Apple (goodbye leather bands, hello “FineWoven”)

What's new with the Apple Watch Ultra 2?

1. S9 SiP chip and on-device Siri

2. Display as bright as 3,000 nits

3. Supports wider elevation range

4. U2 ultrawide-band chip for precision-finding

5. Double tap gesture (tap index finger and thumb twice) to pick up calls, control playback, and more

6. Certified carbon-neutral product

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 doesn't show much evolution (if you ask us), only expands slightly upon the current Apple Ultra 1 capabilities, but is now a certified carbon-neutral product.

Apple's sustainability efforts

Apple mentioned its efforts towards sustainability with its recent move towards using recycled materials and eliminating the use of leather, with the team’s aim to make Apple entirely carbon-neutral by 2030. Not only that, but you can also expect 100 percent recycled aluminium substructures and Ceramic Shield on the front and tough back glass to enhance durability for the 15 Pro models. We love to hear about Apple's commitment towards sustainability, but at the end of the day they were picking the stats that made them look the best. Let's not overlook the fact that manufacturing new phones in the first place has the largest environmental impact than anything else that Apple is doing.

Same old Apple pricing

The price points of the products have managed to remain mostly similar to its previous line up, with the iPhone 15 base model starting at £799 and moving the iPhone 14 down to £699. However, while we can admit that these are some cool updates, we do feel like it’s generally not worth it to upgrade just yet if your iPhone is still relatively new (eg. an iPhone 12 series and above). Think about it: If you’re getting an iPhone 15, you’re probably getting the equivalent of an iPhone 14 Pro’s chip. The 15 Pro is more or less a thinner bezel iPhone 14 with a better camera and the Dynamic Island, but there’s really not much else.

If your phone is an iPhone 11 or older, then spending on a newer iPhone model would make a lot more sense because of upgraded features and software update longevity. But you can find much better pricing on iPhone 13 and 14 models rather than buy the newest 15 starting at £799 with minimal upgrades.

One of the best ways to save money is to buy older refurbished models, which will be great for your wallet and the planet. You may not get the latest bells and whistles, but with such minimal changes to the latest line up, it’s very much worth every pound to get a slightly older model for so much less. Check out a few of the more recent iPhone models from Back Market.