tvOS 17 Beta Source Code Reveals Unreleased iPhone 15 series Identifiers

Apart from iPhone 15 series identifiers, two more identifiers were spotted hinting at iPhone SE3.

Published On: August 9, 2023

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Apple Fall Event is just a month away, and it’s no surprise that the company is currently working on the iPhone 15 series. The line-up is expected to feature the usual iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, along with a rumoured iPhone 15 Ultra.

A developer and Apple enthusiast @aaronp613 has revealed that the tvOS 17 beta source code had six unreleased iPhone identifiers. According to Aaron, these could be iPhone 15 models, the next-generation iPhone SE3, and a refreshed iPhone 13 Mini with USB-C. Let’s look at all the details revealed by the latest leak.

Apple iPhone 15 Series Identifiers Spotted in tvOS 17 Beta Source Code

4 unreleased iPhone models were added in tvOS 17 beta 1 but were not noticed until now. They were removed in tvOS 17 beta 5:
iPhone15,4
iPhone15,5
iPhone16,1
iPhone16,2 https://t.co/pL1OnAOQZX
— Aaron (@aaronp613) August 9, 2023

As you can see in the tweet embedded above, Aaron has found as many as six iPhone identifiers in the tvOS 17 beta source code. These identifiers were present in the source code since beta 1 but were removed entirely in tvOS 17 beta 5. These identifiers include iPhone 14,1, iPhone 14,9, iPhone15,4, iPhone15,5, iPhone16,1, iPhone16,2.

Of these, iPhone15,4, iPhone15,5, iPhone16,1, and iPhone16,2 identifiers could belong to iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Apple usually assigns identifiers based on the chipset powering iPhones. For example, the A15 Bionic-powered iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have iPhone 14,7 and iPhone 14,8, respectively, as identifiers. On the other hand, the A16 Bionic-powered iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max’s identifiers were iPhone 15,2 and iPhone 15,3, respectively.

Going by the logic, we can safely assume that iPhone 15,4 and iPhone 15,5 are A16 Bionic-powered iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. Whereas iPhone 16,1 and iPhone 16,2 are 3nm A17 Bionic-powered iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, There’s no identifier pertaining to iPhone 15 Ultra yet.

Gonna drop my farfetched theory just in case
These model numbers mean they’re A15 based. What if Apple is planning a refresh on the iPhone SE and/or iPhone mini, just with USB-C. Kill off all of the Lightning iPhones at once to put ease on consumers. Lowkey an Apple thing to do https://t.co/gIzMAtxECD
— Michael Burkhardt (@tme_michael) August 9, 2023

What’s confusing is the existence of unreleased iPhone 14,1 and iPhone 14,9 identifiers. While it’s normal for brands to have unreleased, unused identifiers in the source code, Aaron believes otherwise. Considering these identifiers start with iPhone 14 means they are A15 Bionic-based identifiers.

The tipster speculates that Apple might be preparing to launch an iPhone SE and iPhone 13 Mini refresh with a USB Type-C port. This way, the regular iPhone 15 series devices to iPhone SE and Mini series will all have Type-C ports. As the tipster himself says, it seems far-fetched, but you never know with Apple.