iPhone 15 Pro Max leak reveals last minute-name change we'd all forgotten

A brand new report into Apple’s iPhone 15 lineup claims that Apple will in fact use the previously touted iPhone 15 Ultra moniker for its biggest and best iPhone, rather than iPhone 15 Pro Max.

As early as September last year, it was rumored that one of Apple’s 2023 iPhones could indeed come with the “Ultra” branding following the launch of the Apple Watch Ultra. Between the rugged wearable and Apple’s top-of-the-line Apple silicon chips, “Ultra” has become Apple’s new go-to name for the best of the best across multiple product lines.

In September, top insider Mark Gurman revealed Apple was planning “a revamped iPhone design next year, coinciding with a shift to USB-C and the potential of a new Ultra model replacing the Pro Max.”

Later, in January, prolific analyst Ming-Chi Kuo referred to new devices as “the highest-end model of the 2H23 new iPhone 15 model (15 Pro Max or 15 Ultra) », and in February Gurman reiterated that Apple could debut both an iPhone 15 Pro Max and an iPhone 15 Ultra.

The point I’m trying to make is that it could be both. More differentiation between the pro and pro max but also something even higher end. Who knows what Apple will name which.February 5, 2023

iPhone 15 Ultra? It’s back!

Now, a source without a previous track record, but who could well be in the know, claims multiple sources have told them “Apple will indeed use the “iPhone 15 Ultra” moniker for the plus-sized pro phone.”

Apple Insider’s Andrew O’Hara reiterates this “was an early rumor that got backpedaled”, noting that most people (ourselves included) have since been looking ahead to the iPhone 15 Pro Max nomenclature.

According to O’Hara, the Ultra “will have the larger display and the 10X periscope tele lens,” while the iPhone 15 Pro will also get the Action Button and A17 Bionic chip, as expected.

While Gurman has previously hinted at a Pro Max and Ultra possibility, O’Hara explicitly states there will be an iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and an iPhone 15 Ultra, with “no more” Pro Max name.

What’s in a name? iMore’s take

We’d laid the iPhone 15 Ultra rumors to bed months ago. Last we’d heard, the iPhone “Ultra” might have been a newer high-end fifth iPhone coming in 2024. There are enough rumors now swirling to confidently say that no-one has a clue.

However, in my book, an Ultra iPhone makes some sense. As noted, Apple uses Ultra to denote really high-end premium products, so sticking that name to the iPhone would make sense in some regards. However, I really like how clean the iPhone X/X Pro division is, and having four iPhones, each with a slightly different name seems messy to me. Perhaps, for regular consumers, having only one “Pro” iPhone could make buying them easier, but the list of iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and UItra definitely doesn’t roll off the tongue.

With just three weeks until the expected iPhone event, we don’t have long to wait to find out.