The iPhone 15 could see Apple making a long called for shift to the USB-C charging standard.
That’s the claim being made by well known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a tweet, Kuo indicated that Apple would finally make the switch in the second half of 2023.
(1/2)My latest survey indicates that 2H23 new iPhone will abandon Lightning port and switch to USB-C port. USB-C could improve iPhone’s transfer and charging speed in hardware designs, but the final spec details still depend on iOS support.— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 11, 2022
Apple has been using its proprietary Lightning connector standard since the launch of the iPhone 5 way back in 2012. It was notable at the time for offering a much tidier and compact reversible form factor.
Since then, of course, we’ve seen USB-C come to market, offering similar physical attributes but much greater capacity for charge and data transfer. As referenced by Kuo in the above tweet, Adopting the USB-C standard would permit Apple to increase both of those hardware elements for its flagship iPhone line.
It’s worth pointing out that Android phones have been using USB-C for years now.
Apple isn’t oblivious to the advantages brought by USB-C, of course. It dropped Lightning for USB-C with the 2018 iPad Pro, while its Mac products also pack in the USB-C ports.
Even the official Lightning charger cables that Apple packs in with its iPhone devices have a USB-C connector at the opposite end.
While a switch to USB-C for the iPhone has been mooted for years at this point, a second argument has been put forward in recent years. Some have claimed that Apple hasn’t bothered switching to USB-C because it plans remove all ports from future iPhones, relying wholly on wireless charging and cloud connectivity.
Indeed, the magnetic MagSafe standard introduced with the iPhone 12 was seen as another step along that road.
Those suggestions could be way off – at least for the near future – if this latest tip proves to be accurate.
