Hopefully they offer an option for both. Personally for me I would like usbc, more streamlined with other products.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Other iPhone 15 US models may still get Lightning port, instead of USB-C
- Thread starter zDominik
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
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 honestly hope the iPhone don’t go portless anytime soon. My suv came Apple CarPlay but not wireless. I wouldn’t be able to use CarPlay unless I buy an adapter, which isn’t reliable and would require Wi-Fi to be running in the background, thus draining my battery.
Drop all connectors but bring back the headphone jack, this time with high resolution lossless support. We can transfer via wi-fi and charge with Mag Safe.
By that reasoning, telephoto and wide angle lenses are unnecessary if a phone can only shoot 1x photos.
As a Dutchman I say, may God Bless The USA with what ever you and your fellow Americans would love.
Actually, since Lightning is light and light is God, I’m pretty sure the USA will be Blessed By God, even when light as Lightning is gone.
Why waste, do something creative with it for once (i.e. not transferring camera media at high speeds.).
To give you some idea
‘You are far from an exception as I and many others went back to plugging in for charging. I went back to my 5 watt Apple charging block.
While I highly doubt creating twice the number of iPhone 15 models with E.U. and U.S. models is going to meet Apple’s efficiency and profit goals, I’m pretty sure Apple will not make any changes to iPhone I/O before the “late 2024” deadline has actually passed.
Why? Because it technically doesn’t have to.
-A lot in here mistakenly think that non-USB-C devices cannot be sold post 2024.
This is not true.
The regulation simply states that new devices cannot “enter the E.U. market” after the due date.
But products that enter the E.U. market before the “late 2024” deadline are not subject to any laws that would instantly prohibit sales or similar.
Lightning iPhones will still, at the very least, be sold in retail stores and possibly also directly from Apple in 2024 and beyond.
This effectively means that we most likely will see Lightning in 2023’s iPhones 15, and potentially also in 2024’s iPhones 16 depending on which date the regulation takes effect (maybe it’s as simple as January 1st 2024? Can’t seem to find this info).
It appears that there might be a loophole where creating a completely wireless I/O would free Apple from switching to USB-C.
But from what I gather this wireless charging I/O cannot rely on proprietary products/tech, like MagSafe. So Apple couldn’t win back its MFi royalties by simply removing all ports from iPhones.
the average consumer never wireless charges. i hate it i returned my this charger i tried straight away
Yes, Fred! That's exactly how your mom and I reacted when we looked your picture in bed.
Portless could happen if they put in ultrawideband data transfer, there are standards for this, notably 802.11ay which is multigigabit. My theory is, just put wireless into the Magsafe puck, let you pair and connect wirelessly but it will work best directly connected (least interference). And let the future Magsafe puck work over USB-A and USB-C (if it's like the current Magsafe puck it would be type-C but there are adapters to go from type-C to type-A).
So basically with Carplay it will be an adapter but an official Apple one, and it will work like a regular USB connection with computers and cars.
The thing is I like to see usb c wired charging. I have a MagSafe charger puck and you still have that damn cable anyway. It is a waste in most cases for me. I have probably only charged maybe three times in the year or so I have had the MagSafe charger . I just prefer to charge either when I am driving with the CarPlay in both of my vehicles or just charge at home off my 5 year old iMac computer anyway. I have a MacBook Air M1 and it is usb c charging so I think just make it all one on charging and I can get rid of all the different cables eventually.
I stated the law that has passed in the EU - your comment makes no sense...
The USBC mandate is ONLY for devies that have wired charging capabilities.
Apple can (and will) circumvent this by just removing the charging port and enhancing Magsafe charging ratings before 2024.
But why do you think Apple is against this? Rumors indicate they will switch to USB-C next year which is well before they even have to. All other Apple devices have already switched. Apple is just hiding behind the EU so they can't be blamed for causing e-waste and forcing the purchase of new accessories.
MagSafe cannot keep up with Wi-Fi, USB-C or even Lightning for data transfer or charging. I don't see any improvements catching up in such a short time. Apple generally doesn't remove something without replacing it with something equally as capable (in theory at least).
The direction Apple is taking with its products and its Environment marketing is befuddling tbh. Wireless bring convenience but it also wastes energy and is more environmental damaging due to mining of rare earth metals for batteries, magnets, etc.
Some questionable and contradictory decisions:
1. MagSafe (iPhone)
2. Apple Pencil 1 (additional product to produce and support vice just one model)
3. AirPods, APP, AP Max
4. Apple Watch SE, 8, Ultra
5. Wireless CarPlay
Etc, etc.
Then we have some confused people here who don’t want wires such as USB-C or even lightening connector because they like MagSafe/Qi but still require a MagSafe puck with a wire or Qi with a base and wire etc. Use AirDrop, however if someone is using a Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc then what. The reason why the iPod was wildly accepted was when it supported WindowsOS and that allowed the “hallow effect”.
These people don’t even understand the lunacy of their actions and request.
USB-C also means the product will be sold and possible not updated anytime prior to 2024. AppleTV is a niche product compared to all of Apple’s product catalogue.
People forget that Apple continues sales of iPhones for many years after a new release and given the decision, who in their right mind would purchase an iPhone 14 with Lightening connector in 2024 when a USB-C version is future proof. Most people tend to hold their iPhones for 3-6 years and the stress and anxiety of a prior connector not being in use is illogical from an accessory investment standpoint.
They also did this changing from the 30pin connector to Lighting. They change the connectors in the iPads also, selling both versions. How will this be different?
You're assuming Apple wants to increase or even keep wired data transfer for future iPhones.
I'm very far from convinced that's the case.
"Comply" doesn't mean "We're switching to USB-C and improving data-transfer speeds".
Considering how 100% stagnant Apple has been on improving wired data transfer speeds for iPhones for over 10 years, I can't help but get the impression that Apple wants to move further towards portless.
Increasing data-transfer speeds on iPhones would move iPhones more in the iPad Pro direction where you do things like mirror the display on your TV or computer monitor, transfer huge files for editing on your Mac, etc.
I have yet to see Apple showing any signs of wanting iPhones to get these iPad-esque features/specs.
Portless is much more likely.
Removing wired data transfer would render many accessories unusable such has wired headphones, microphones, speakers, storage devices, CarPlay and more. It's also still the only way to restore the phone. I think it's reasonable to assume they're not looking to do that at this time. Especially when they're implementing things like 48MP cameras and ProRes.
The "comply" wording indeed was carefully chosen as you said to leave the door open. I think the realistic worst case scenario is that Apple implements USB-C but chooses to keep the 2.0 speed in the interim to going portless. The low speed so far is actually a limitation of Lightning's design, so we'll have to wait and see.
- USBC is a generic port and it could be harder to implement authentication electronics (Which Lightning has) so Apple can keep charging for the MFi program.
- A portless phone has much better water and dust resistance
- Data transfer is the only drawback for the portless phone, but modern wireless tech like WiFi 7 are almost at thunderbolt speeds, so it could be that AirDrop gets upgraded with it
It's one thing removing the sim card tray exclusive to the US market, but offering two different ports for charging isn't something I can see Apple doing. Internals would need to be different, global replacement/repair service would also be an issue as well. I think they'll just switch over to USB-C, albeit with a twist...