Check out: The Latest iPhone 15 May Embrace USB-C as Charging Port
What Apple’s Move Means for You: The iPhone 15 May Embrace USB-C
Apple seems poised to make another connector change. This time it should be much less painful.
The Lightning port on the iPhone might finally be getting swapped out for USB-C.
When Apple last changed the iPhone’s charging port, with 2012’s iPhone 5, the move from the 30-pin connector that was first introduced on the iPod to the modern Lightning system was a radical shift. Like its predecessor, the Lightning port was an Apple-created connector, but it offered a host of improvements, like the use of reversible cables in a package that was also 80 percent smaller than the older option.
With the iPhone 15 line expected to arrive in a few weeks, Apple seems poised to change up the iPhone’s ports once again. This time the swap will be Lightning in favor of USB-C, the reversible USB standard that’s popular on everything from Android phones and Windows PCs to Apple’s own Macs and iPads.
For this move from Apple, you can thank the European Union, which adopted a law requiring universal USB-C phone chargers by 2024, thereby forcing the iPhone maker’s hand.
In fact, though this shift may mean you’ll need new cables for your iPhone, there are plenty of benefits USB-C brings that should make the transition much easier.
One cable to rule them all
Apple created and owned the Lightning and iPod connectors, making authentic cables expensive and at times hard to find. With USB-C, Apple is joining an existing standard it’s long supported. Not only are good USB-C cables readily available but also, because they’re so commonplace, the odds are that a number of iPhone 15 owners will already have some compatible accessories at their disposal.
Look at Apple’s lineup. It’s offered USB-C on its laptops dating back to 2015’s 12-inch MacBook. Today, all the company’s MacBooks and most iPads come with USB-C ports. The only iPad that Apple still sells with Lightning is the 9th-generation iPad, released in 2021. This is also the cheapest iPad and the last to have a physical home button.
Even accessories like Apple TV’s Siri remote have made the switch from Lightning to USB-C in the past year. Rumors are that Apple’s next updates to its AirPods line of earbuds and headphones will similarly follow suit, potentially starting with a new AirPods Pro case this fall.
Faster (wired) charging and data transfer could come to iPhone
USB-C also offers perks like much faster charging and data speeds. Wired iPhone charging over a Lightning to USB-C cable (with a 20W or higher power adapter) can generally get the battery to 50% in 30 minutes, per Apple’s support page on the topic. USB-C is capable of charging at a much faster clip, as seen by its use in larger, more powerful devices like laptops.
For years, Android phones have blown past Lightning charging speeds, with companies like OnePlus and Samsung offering nearly full-battery top-ups in that same 30 minutes. USB-C cables are capable of delivering 100W of power with the right power brick, and because of their intercompatibility you’d likely have no issue taking the charger from your iPad or MacBook and plugging it in to quickly juice up your iPhone.
A new rumor last week from 9to5Mac said Apple may bump up wired fast charging to 35W on some iPhone 15 models.
For data transfer — useful for people who still back up their data to a computer or transfer photos or videos through a cable — the latest Thunderbolt standard (which uses USB-C as the connector) allows for 40Gbps file transfer. Rumors have popped up that Apple, which helped create Thunderbolt alongside Intel, may bring the technology to the iPhone 15 line.
It should be noted that while Thunderbolt works through USB-C, Thunderbolt cables and accessories are often more expensive than their regular USB-C counterparts. If you care only about charging, then regular USB-C cables may be the better pick. We have more details on the differences here.
Even if Apple doesn’t go for full Thunderbolt support, a USB-C connector should have significantly higher limits than Lightning.
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