If you’re waiting for Apple to finally launch an iPhone with a USB-C port, we have bad news: it won’t happen this year. But there’s still some serious intrigue about the iPhone’s only port in the coming months.
Let’s start with the iPhone 14.According to iDropNews, Apple is “working on [USB] 3.0 speed for the iPhone 14 Pro connector. The current Lightning port works with USB 2.0, which has an extremely slow transfer rate of 480 Mbps. USB 3.0 offers a transfer rate of about 5Gbps, or about 10 times faster than the current Lightning port. LeaksApplePro reports that the feature could be the iPhone 14 Exclusive to Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Before switching to USB-C in 2018, Apple actually used a faster Lightning port on the original 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It requires a special adapter to unlock the faster speeds, which is limited to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st and 2nd generation) and 10.5-inch iPad Pro. When the iPad switched to USB-C, it boosted transfer rates to 10Gbps, and on the M1 iPad Pro, it supports Thunderbolt speeds of 40Gbps.
While the faster Lightning port in the iPhone 14 will be another point of difference between the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Pro, the iPhone 15 could get even more interesting. MEPs this week announced support for “universal chargers for portable electronic devices” with an overwhelming 43-2 vote. The new rules, expected to go into effect in May, will require all phones, tablets, headphones and The headphones all have USB Type-C ports.
The rules will affect many devices, including AirPods charging cases, but none bigger than the iPhone. If enacted, Apple could be forced to switch to USB-C for the iPhone 15 or remove the port entirely and rely entirely on MagSafe and wireless charging. While the rules only apply to phones sold in the EU, Apple is unlikely to sell iPhones with USB-C ports overseas and Lightning in the US.
Any kind of change would be a breaking one, for obvious reasons. iPhones have had a Lightning port for 10 years since the iPhone 5 in September 2012, so switching to USB-C would be a huge change that affects countless accessories and cables. If Apple removed the port entirely, it would raise questions about charging speeds and CarPlay and other features.
So keep an eye out for the iPhone’s boring charging port. Things are about to get very exciting.
