Apple is rumoured to be testing iPhones with USB-C ports instead of Lightning ports. A report from Bloomberg, which cites people familiar with the situation, says that iPhones with USB-C ports could launch as soon as 2023. This year's iPhone 14 series will apparently retain Lightning ports. So it looks like we're talking iPhone 15.
With over one billion devices with Lightning connectors already in circulation, Apple is also said to be readying, you guessed it, a Lightning-to-USB-C adaptor. There's no word on whether it'll be included free with future USB-C iPhones, though.
That said, Apple could just duck out of the connection debate altogether: Cupertino is also rumoured to be developing a "port-less" iPhone Pro that will use only wireless charging. Sorted.
Bloomberg's report won't come as a huge surprise to Apple watchers. Back in 2020, European members of parliament voted to introduce a single charging connection for mobile phones, with the aim of cutting electronic waste.
Apple argued against the legislation, fearing that such conformity could "freeze innovation" and prove "unnecessarily disruptive for customers". While nothing's official as yet, it looks as though Apple has accepted the need to follow the herd on this one.
Interestingly, the report comes just days after Ming-Chi Kuo – arguably the world's most trusted Apple analyst – tipped Cupertino to universally embrace USB-C from 2023 onwards. "My latest survey indicates that 2H23 [second half 2023] new iPhone will abandon Lightning port and switch to USB-C port," said Kuo in a tweet dated 11th May 2022.
Just yesterday, Kuo added that accessories such as the AirPods wireless earbuds, MagSafe Battery Pack and Magic Keyboard/Mouse/Trackpad could also switch to USB-C in the "foreseeable future."
The latest Apple iPad Pro, iPad Air and iPad mini, plus the MacBook Pro, already ship with USB-C chargers.
USB-C delivers faster data transfers and charging than Lightning, which was first introduced back in 2012.
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