One of the most requested iPhone 14 features is that Apple is abandoning its own Lightning port in favor of the industry-standard USB-C (although Lightning certainly has fans too). And maybe this requirement isn’t as outlandish as we’d heard before.
productive analyst Ming Chi Kuo’Apple, who often makes accurate predictions, has said the iPhone 15 could make the switch from Lightning to USB-C, marking a historic change in Apple’s habits. Rather, the brand has stuck to its own gates rather than conforming to what everyone else is doing.
This would make the iPhone 14 Apple’s last smartphone to use Lightning (unless the iPhone SE 4 but for reasons we will get to, that might be unlikely).
(1/2)My latest survey indicates that the 2H23 new iPhone will leave the Lightning port and switch to the USB-C port. USB-C could improve iPhone transfer and charging speed in hardware designs, but final specs still depend on iOS support.May 11, 2022
The advantage of USB-C is that it supports faster charging and data transfers – and being the industry standard means you can use the same charger for all your devices, saving you e-waste. Apple already supports USB-C for some devices, including most iPads, but not iPhones.
Apple has stuck with Lightning for a few reasons, though many detractors suggest it’s because, as a proprietary connector, Apple gets a lot of money from strongly encouraging people to buy its own cables.
Several regulatory bodies around the world, including the EU, have pushed Apple to include USB-C, to avoid e-waste and stop the company’s anti-competitive stance on accessories – but many leakers have suggested that Apple takes a different path .
Analysis: so not portless?
Many leakers have suggested that Apple will go portless instead of embracing USB-C — that is, it will make its phones dependent on wireless power and data transfer, a possibility its MagSafe magnetic accessories make a lot more feasible.
In fact, we’ve heard before that Apple was staunchly against a USB-C iPhone. this is something Kuo himself mentioned earlierand we’ve heard it from other big ‘Apple leak’ names like Jon Prosser†
So Kuo’s new analysis is quite controversial because it goes against conventional thinking for Apple’s iPhones. It’s a move that will please as many fans as it annoys.
The word was that Apple would make a portable iPhone right away, but we’ve actually been hearing that for years — at least since the iPhone 12 – and it’s not over yet.
Perhaps Apple realized that we are not yet in a wireless world and that it cannot postpone the end of the lightning storm forever. Or perhaps EU pressure made a USB-C-less phone of any kind, even one without a Lightning port, too risky.
