Other iPhone 15 US models may still get Lightning port, instead of USB-C

[Paddle1]

My forecast is that the top model (ultra) will come port and buttonless and full waterproof.
it will be possible to take photos and videos under water.
we will see.

Maybe. The only time water resistance is of any value to me is in rain or a misty or steamy environment. Not really a fan of compromising the design further for a feature that's not only already there but I'd hazard a guess that most people would never need/use. There are dedicated underwater cameras or phone cases plus the phone itself is already water resistant.

 

[Torty]

Maybe. The only time water resistance is of any value to me is in rain or a misty or steamy environment. Not really a fan of compromising the design further for a feature that's not only already there but I'd hazard a guess that most people would never need/use. There are dedicated underwater cameras or phone cases plus the phone itself is already water resistant.

Agree. But this would fit to the ultra watch. And only the ultra will come port less, the other iPhones come with usb-c. That would be my bet.

 

[Paddle1]

Delaying the inevitable. Adopt USB-C as it’s more cost effective to include the same cable as all the iPad at this point with the eventual discontinuation of the 9th Gen iPad and some random accessories that still have it.

People who are seeking a port-less iPhone, I have one question for you or should I say solution; you don’t have to use it and can plug it if you believe you are going to partake in some underwater/diving photography. Qi/MagSafe/wireless charging heats the phone battery, degrades the lifespan and adds cost to replace, resell and daily usage. This is not even a step forward it’s multiple steps back. I used to believe in Qi, until I started to observe my battery capacity degrade compared to iPhones just being plugged and not wireless charged.

People also forget about CarPlay and other docking accessories that use a port. Compared to wired, wireless connections data rate are still not reliable and fast enough. Hence we don’t see multiple display wifi support for a 4K or more resolution display or even higher refresh rates.

These people sound like I don’t use a port just eliminate it. Well here is the thing I don’t use wireless charging, let’s get rid of Qi/MagSafe and make the iPhone thinner and lighter or increase the battery capacity. I also realise the same argument can be made about anything in a product, fortunately for all of us Apple designs and makes products for the masses for financial reasons. USB-C is the better choice as it requires less accessories compared to wireless and that says a lot of Apple is pushing the Environment angle.

USB-C = Cable (hopefully included) + Power Adapter (not included)

Qi/MagSafe = MagSafe puck or Qi charger pad/stand etc + Cable (incorporated into MagSafe and some Qi accessories) + Power Adapter

I fail to see how Qi/MagSafe is better considering it does not incorporate data channels and troubleshooting process with ease of fast backups or data transfer.

These same people complain about carrying too many cables, go figure the (il)-logic 😝

I agree. There seems to be a lot of posts that are something like "I only use MagSafe, I hope they get rid of the port" that don't seem to realize the reality of the situation at this point in time.

 

[G46&Fbnth5]

Delaying the inevitable. Adopt USB-C as it’s more cost effective to include the same cable as all the iPad

They will remove the cable from the box as soon as iPhone switches to USB-C

 

[Mr. Dee]

The only reason I would want Lightening to stick around longer is because I have an unused lightening cable and charger I don’t want to go to waste. 😄

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Like the eSIM thing and physical SIM. The US model may still get the Lightning port and only the EU models get the USB-C port.

What is this assumption of yours based on? Sources would be great.

 

[Anaxarxes]

A few analysts suggest Apple might simply make a future iPhone portless rather than switch to USB-C. That would be very much an Apple thing to do.

USB-C port is only necessary if the device can be charged by wire.

If a device can only charged wirelessly, USBC port is not a necessity.

 

[Fat_Guy]

i think it's more likely they'll add usb-c for everyone one and claim it's "the best iphone port ever"

since they have to do it anyway, why not pretend it's an upgrade rather than accepting you're forced ?

No, they will introduce Thunderbolt 4 for the new iPhones! “The best iPhone port ever!” I believe this would still be in compliance with the EU.

 

[Shirasaki]

am i in the minority who doesn't even really care? i barely even plug my phone in via cable i primarily only use magsafe. only time my phone ever uses a cable is when i first get it and restore my backup from my pc lol or if something goes wrong and i need to restore.

You are not the minority, though I’d argue not mainstream enough either. I have yet to see any sort of “wireless” charging solution supporting being powered by portable power banks, something wired charging don’t need to worry about.

Well, I expect Apple willingly refuse to address that issue and claim “courage”, especially when their iPhone can’t deliver 7-day battery under heavy use.

if that meant Apple introducing faster charging (MagSafe Pro) and data transfer (Airdrop Pro).

How faster it would be without thermal issue and charging safety concerns? 30W? 50W? Wire now can go 120W for some insane android phone.

Airdrop… don’t call it “airdrop pro” unless one can transfer large number of files or large files without constant retry, something I’ve been experiencing enough times a while ago.

 

[mpavilion]

Good points about power banks and car use (I don’t have CarPlay myself, but if I couldn’t plug my phone in, I’d have to settle for inferior-sounding BT audio). Even aside from connecting to a car for audio, the idea of charging in a car with some MagSafe contraption seems loopy.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

No, they will introduce Thunderbolt 4 for the new iPhones! “The best iPhone port ever!” I believe this would still be in compliance with the EU.

You wish

 

[GuruZac]

Would be bone-headed if Apple to do that, but not surprising given the recent design decisions regarding USB-C.

USB-C port with a lightning based Apple Pencil
USB-C on Apple TV Remote but not in the AirPods Pro 2

Who in the hell decided the Apple TV Remote needed USB-C but the iPhone Pro capable of capturing very high res and RAW format videos and photos should stay on a USB 2.0 speed Lightning port. Mind blowing.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Who in the hell decided the Apple TV Remote needed USB-C but the iPhone Pro capable of capturing very high res and RAW format videos and photos should stay on a USB 2.0 speed Lightning port. Mind blowing.

This is easy. Apple makes millions of dollars every year from lightning licensing. The iPhone was always gonna be the last to switch as iPhone accessories are where they make that money. It costs them nothing to switch the Apple TV remote. It didn't cost them that much to switch the iPad. Killing lightning for the iPhone will hurt their wallets. They'll do it, but they're gonna hold out.

 

[russell_314]

Like the eSIM thing and physical SIM. The US model may still get the Lightning port and only the EU models get the USB-C port.

Where is this information coming from? It wouldn’t make any sense for Apple to do this just from a production standpoint. The only reason I can see them doing this is if there were some sort of supply shortage of when it comes to USB-C ports.

 

[ian87w]

Like the eSIM thing and physical SIM. The US model may still get the Lightning port and only the EU models get the USB-C port.

Don't think so. Apple like streamlined production. Putting USB-C requires internal hardware changes like the controllers etc. Apple would rather have all iphones be USB-C than having a separate line just to put lightning.

eSIM is different as the hardware is the same. All iphones have eSIM support, Apple just need to tweak the external design for the US market.

 

[code-m]

They will remove the cable from the box as soon as iPhone switches to USB-C

Unless you have concrete confirmation, I highly doubt it. Even though the USB-C Apple Remote does not include the cable, I highly suspect Apple to include it with the iPhone as it’s one of their main product segments compared to an accessory (Remote) to an accessory (AppleTV).

Imagine how many lawsuits Apple will be slapped with along with consumer protection laws such as Brazil for not including a cable. Plus transition to a new cable standard does warrant a cable be included as Apple cannot claim well we shipped iPhones prior with said cable or purchase one from any other vendor or you have one from another hardware purchase.

 

[code-m]

I agree. There seems to be a lot of posts that are something like "I only use MagSafe, I hope they get rid of the port" that don't seem to realize the reality of the situation at this point in time.

It’s a selfish mentality that is disguised as some virtue signalling for the greater good.

Look at me everyone I walk instead of drive in a car or take public transportation, maybe cars should not be manufactured and sold and no public transportation as everyone can walk 🙄. 😝

 

[jaytv111]

Delaying the inevitable. Adopt USB-C as it’s more cost effective to include the same cable as all the iPad at this point with the eventual discontinuation of the 9th Gen iPad and some random accessories that still have it.

People who are seeking a port-less iPhone, I have one question for you or should I say solution; you don’t have to use it and can plug it if you believe you are going to partake in some underwater/diving photography. Qi/MagSafe/wireless charging heats the phone battery, degrades the lifespan and adds cost to replace, resell and daily usage. This is not even a step forward it’s multiple steps back. I used to believe in Qi, until I started to observe my battery capacity degrade compared to iPhones just being plugged and not wireless charged.

People also forget about CarPlay and other docking accessories that use a port. Compared to wired, wireless connections data rate are still not reliable and fast enough. Hence we don’t see multiple display wifi support for a 4K or more resolution display or even higher refresh rates.

These people sound like I don’t use a port just eliminate it. Well here is the thing I don’t use wireless charging, let’s get rid of Qi/MagSafe and make the iPhone thinner and lighter or increase the battery capacity. I also realise the same argument can be made about anything in a product, fortunately for all of us Apple designs and makes products for the masses for financial reasons. USB-C is the better choice as it requires less accessories compared to wireless and that says a lot of Apple is pushing the Environment angle.

USB-C = Cable (hopefully included) + Power Adapter (not included)

Qi/MagSafe = MagSafe puck or Qi charger pad/stand etc + Cable (incorporated into MagSafe and some Qi accessories) + Power Adapter

I fail to see how Qi/MagSafe is better considering it does not incorporate data channels and troubleshooting process with ease of fast backups or data transfer.

These same people complain about carrying too many cables, go figure the (il)-logic 😝

In my experience, Magsafe fixes the heat problem by aligning perfectly every time. In wireless charging, if you’re off by even a little bit, the electrical energy gets converted to heat instead of transferred to the phone. So Magsafe naturally fixes that problem.

I personally don’t want to see a portless iPhone. However I do see it useful to at least minimize the amount of port usage. Ports can wear down from excess usage (because the metal rubs and it wears down the surface, making it looser over time). Wireless charging does not wear down. Actually would be better to have a pin connector like the iPad, which wears down the least of contact connections. So iPhone Smart Connector it is!

 

[0423MAC]

iPhone 15 and 16 (assuming it is released before late October ‘24) could feature a Lightning port even in Europe.

You better damn believe they will roll out Tim Apple on September 30th, 2024 @ 11:59PM local time before they release two iphones with different charging ports.

 

[GuruZac]

You better damn believe they will roll out Tim Apple on September 30th, 2024 @ 11:59PM local time before they release two iphones with different charging ports.

Yeah but would they be able to sell new iPhones in 2025 that launched in late 2024 with lightning? It would be totally Apple to wait to last minute. Ridiculous it’s not been changed to USB-C at this point. I can’t wait to hear the virtues of USB-C on iPhone at the keynote when it launches. 🤡

 

[0423MAC]

Yeah but would they be able to sell new iPhones in 2025 that launched in late 2024 with lightning? It would be totally Apple to wait to last minute. Ridiculous it’s not been changed to USB-C at this point. I can’t wait to hear the virtues of USB-C on iPhone at the keynote when it launches. 🤡

As long as specs are registered, finalized before then I believe they can continue selling them.

Oh and I am sure you will be downloading the environmental report PDF about how 'green' their initiatives are before upselling you on some sort of dongle 👻

 

[code-m]

In my experience, Magsafe fixes the heat problem by aligning perfectly every time. In wireless charging, if you’re off by even a little bit, the electrical energy gets converted to heat instead of transferred to the phone. So Magsafe naturally fixes that problem.

I personally don’t want to see a portless iPhone. However I do see it useful to at least minimize the amount of port usage. Ports can wear down from excess usage (because the metal rubs and it wears down the surface, making it looser over time). Wireless charging does not wear down. Actually would be better to have a pin connector like the iPad, which wears down the least of contact connections. So iPhone Smart Connector it is!

Hence it’s better to have both options to charge a device in the event one fails. Imagine having ones Qi/MagSafe charger/puck not functioning properly and requires replacing one would have to purchase an expensive replacement or option B to plug the device with a wire.

USB-C cable can charge an iPad, some accessories and Mac laptop vice a MagSafe puck well you get the point. Plus MagSafe is larger compared to cable and with a common cable one can use their other device cable or purchase one at an affordable price.

 

[Fred Zed]

Like the eSIM thing and physical SIM. The US model may still get the Lightning port and only the EU models get the USB-C port.

Yeah. Whatever.

 

[code-m]

Yeah but would they be able to sell new iPhones in 2025 that launched in late 2024 with lightning? It would be totally Apple to wait to last minute. Ridiculous it’s not been changed to USB-C at this point. I can’t wait to hear the virtues of USB-C on iPhone at the keynote when it launches. 🤡

Plus Apple sells prior year products for many years, I believe at present Apple is selling iPhone 13, 12 and SE alongside the 14. Imagine iPhone 15 and even 16 still using the Lightening connector, it would be a short lived product as moving forward it will be USB-C. Granted some might not care, it will be reflected on accessory sales nonetheless.

By the time iPhone 14 enters the year 2024 when this mandate goes into effect the phone will either reach iPhone 12 status at present or discontinued.

I give the 9th Gen iPad with Lightening Connector another year to 18 months before it being discontinued. 11th Gen iPad will probably have an A15 chip.

 

[preetb]

Like the eSIM thing and physical SIM. The US model may still get the Lightning port and only the EU models get the USB-C port.

This is the sort of thing you fret about from your mom's basement.