Rumor Recap: What to Expect From the iPhone 15's USB-C Port

[cthompson94]

I think they just don't care about OnePlus (market share <1% in the EU I guess).
Imagine punishment up to 10% of global turnover of Apple !!! LOL

Samsung does it too here is a excerpt
"Apply to WPC certification program including Samsung PPDE(Proprietary Power Delivery Extension) safety compliance test and check if the wireless charger is fully compliant to Samsung Fast Charge specification"

right from their webpage

Edit: Adding...therefore if you do not meet/apply for for both the cert, but more importantly their PPDE you will not have Fast Charge.

 

[Choco Taco]

And you using doesn't mean the vast majority of the iPhone market does either. They don't. Most of them wouldn't even know how. And if the phone screws up, they take it to the store. This effects a very small amount of users.

You're right. We shouldn't have nice things.

 

[JGIGS]

Ooof, for a company that supposedly cares about the environment, they don't seem to mind creating e waste for those who already have non Apple certified USB C cords that would in theory work fine at those speeds and charging requirements.

Leave to Apple to finally do something good and still stick it to it's customers.

 

[wilderkun]

I not see any point focus in data speed, 98% of iPhone users dont sync it with PC anyway. Major advantage woud be have only 1 cable standerd, that is used both iPhone and Android devices, and more important, Charging Speed, its strange. I not see focus on that, its pretty ridiculous iPhone charge 20w rate. There is cheap xiaomi phones that charge 120w. Its gamechanger feature. My friend have one of those chinese phones that charge at 120w, in 10 minutes, it charge 50%, 20 min and done. Phone charged. I really not understand why everybody is not talking how slow is iphone charge. It should be at least 60w, anything lower than that not make sense at all!

Pretty sure the reason Apple won’t do that, is because it wears out the battery really fast. Most people who have a Chinese brand phone, don’t keep them as long as iPhone users, and if one of them burst into fire, it would be a huge pr disaster

 

[darngooddesign]

Ooof, for a company that supposedly cares about the environment, they don't seem to mind creating e waste for those who already have non Apple certified USB C cords that would in theory work fine at those speeds and charging requirements.

Leave to Apple to finally do something good and still stick it to it's customers.

Apple has never limited a non-MFI cable, you’re reacting to a click-bait rumor.

 

[Naraxus]

The EU has no idea what they're talking about (which is nothing new). They have absolutely no legal authority to dictate to Apple what wattage the phone must charge at. LMAO.

Uhm they absolutely have the legal authority to dictate things to Apple within the borders of the EU or are you intentionally not remembering the sideloading & usb laws they just enacted?

 

[Naraxus]

And you using doesn't mean the vast majority of the iPhone market does either. They don't.

Source for that comment?

 

[Gengar]

Can we get USB-C color-matching cables specific to the iPhone color, please?

For example: How we have USB-C MagSafe 3 Cable in different colors.

View attachment 2203241

Me, getting a silver iPhone and still getting a white cable 🙃

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Let’s not forget the catalyst for this change is the EU directive to decrease e-waste - Apple is intentionally INCREASING e-waste if they choose to force consumers into buying more USB-C cables or be punished for using their existing ones.

Although technically still USB-C ports, often more modern TB4, etc. data transfer (but still through USB-C) requires stronger cables. So yes, savvy vendors must force consumers into buying more USB-C cables or be punished for using their existing ones to avoid frying devices and/or cables.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Yes. I understand that. And they need to stop doing that. I'm not sure what the point of your responses are. It's not okay what Apple is doing.

We do not yet even know what Apple is doing. So how can it be not ok??

Odds are Apple is lining up cables with speeds and protocols (USB2 vs. USB3, etc.) with product pricing, as they should. Y'all would be the first to whine when some data backup fails because of a cheap inappropriate cable.

 

[dwaite]

It wasn’t the SoC that give USB3.0 speeds, it was the 16-pin port. The 9.7” didn’t get USB3.0 despite having the same SoC as the first 12.9” Pro because it only had the 8 Pin port. If Apple actually cared about data speed they would have given later iPhones, even just the Pros, the 16-pin ports and USB3.0.

Using both sides of the lightning connector did require more complexity.

My suspicion - they decided not to bother until USB-C to lightning, and then at that point decided that high speed wasn't worth the design cost and confusion of "does this cable and these two devices support the fastest speed and how can I tell and how can I troubleshoot?", considering just how much of the market only cared about charging.

Instead, things which needed higher data got USB-C (which is cheaper, and it was the USB committee's fault when stuff didn't work)

 

[dwaite]

Just a bit of knowledge to share to enrich the conversation - there has already been a MFi program around USB-connected devices. The "ExternalAccessory" framework and iAP to let hardware makers enable app use on iOS, and has been around since the 30-pin days.

The Yubikey 5ci (as an easy example) has an SDK and program for partner apps to get direct access, which works whether you connect the key via the 'lightning' end to an iPhone or the 'USB-C' end to a iPad. The other USB data protocols it supports beside iAP (smart card and FIDO CTAP) are also accessible regardless of which end is being used, although those protocols are only accessible to the OS and not directly by apps.

 

[dwaite]

I not see any point focus in data speed, 98% of iPhone users dont sync it with PC anyway. Major advantage woud be have only 1 cable standerd, that is used both iPhone and Android devices, and more important, Charging Speed, its strange. I not see focus on that, its pretty ridiculous iPhone charge 20w rate. There is cheap xiaomi phones that charge 120w. Its gamechanger feature. My friend have one of those chinese phones that charge at 120w, in 10 minutes, it charge 50%, 20 min and done. Phone charged. I really not understand why everybody is not talking how slow is iphone charge. It should be at least 60w, anything lower than that not make sense at all!

I'll say that it is way harder than that because of battery conditioning, and because of damage by heat.

There are plenty of videos where someone has a pass-through meter for USB charging, and while the device might negotiate a max power draw rate, it will typically ramp up slowly and also adjust its draw depending on cell capacity and device temperature.

This is also why Apple devices often will try to keep the battery at ~80% rather than 100% (and why 100% still may not be "full")

This was also one of the reasons Apple took a long time to support Qi charging until they were sure the extra heat wouldn't deteriorate the battery faster, and why they do negotiate higher power charging for things like MagSafe (aka future Qi 2.0) where they know the coils are more optimally aligned. Alignment problems and coil crosstalk (and the resulting heat) were also supposedly why AirPower got cancelled.

This is just general physics problems, and why you see companies who have to care about the longevity of their devices - from cellphone manufacturers to laptop vendors to EV car companies, will carefully optimize just how much power they will draw at any given moment.

All that said, I can't comment on whether cheap Chinese phone manufacturers fall into the category of those who care about the longevity of their devices.

 

[MacDownunder]

It is getting harder to love apple when they do things like intentionally cripple a universal standard.

From the sounds of it, we will be locked into special USB cables even if we pay more for the Pro series phone to get the best fast charge and data speeds.

It is a little excessive, at least to me.

With HW speeds, capabilities etc quite similar there has to be a reason to justify a pro device, this also applies to those bemoaning the M2 air not able to drive multiples screens, if it doesn't suit the purpose for you then stump up the extra ponies and buy the higher spec model. This same model applies to just about everything

 

[frownface]

Would this be egregious if they actually did it? Yes

Would I be surprised? No

 

[Octavius8]

Biiiiiiig fines for Apple in EU of Apple limits the speed of "non certified for Apple USBC cables". EU already said it 2 weeks ago explicitably.

 

[Zaft]

This USB-C change seems unproven and unsafe. We just don't know what the long-term effects of USB-C on iPhones might be! They should have stuck with Lightning.

Apple don’t have much choice, it’s being forced by EU.

 

[jdoyle]

I hope the EU go after them for crippling an International standard.

 

[svish]

Glad to hear USB C coming to iPhones this year. Will take sometime for Magic Keyboard and Mouse to switch to USB C

 

[ThomasJL]

It is getting harder to love apple when they do things like intentionally cripple a universal standard.

From the sounds of it, we will be locked into special USB cables even if we pay more for the Pro series phone to get the best fast charge and data speeds.

It is a little excessive, at least to me.

Welcome to Tim Cook’s Apple, where profits are more important than products.

 

[ThomasJL]

The point of moving to USB-C (aside from the universal standard) is the speed. Making it the same speed as lightning would be incredibly stupid.

You are thinking logically. Tim Cook doesn’t care about logic; he only cares about profits.

 

[JapanApple]

Don’t care about USB-C I want portless enough of these cables. This is not an upgrade this is just another version of just having to pay more money to Apple for cords oh yeah you can buy third-party. What Apple is forcing us do you somehow polarize their products into the phone. In someways I don’t care Im stock Holder I make money. But as a consumer I’m still extremely content on my Apple Pay pro max Lightning cable I don’t use it to connect a phone to use the Mac safe charger and battery pack. I don’t stick a cord in my phone

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

USB-C



IPHONE USB-C

 

[jaworq]

does anyone really care about speed differences? You transfer Gigabytes of data via cable on a daily basis? I don't think so. Even if something is being transferred, 99% people do it via Wi-Fi. + The slower you charge the phone the better for the battery so... I charge my phone with 5W Apple charger.

 

[cyanite]

The problem is, USB C has a wide spectrum of charging levels they can support. Some can charge a massive laptop. Others would be fried by fast charging a small phone.

That‘s not a problem. USB PD already mandates chips in the cables for higher charging power.

No, they will limit non certified cables. Lots of cables are certified for the extra requirements and safety.

USB PD certified, not Apple.

This USB-C change seems unproven and unsafe. We just don't know what the long-term effects of USB-C on iPhones might be! They should have stuck with Lightning.

You can’t be serious…

Very proud to be European. Luckily, we're getting the full speeds of USB-C by law

Well, the law (common charger standard) doesn’t address data speeds, so no.

It does not need to be an Apple certified cable, but you don't want to run full current through a cable that has not been certified to handle it.

Already solved, see above.

The EU made Apple switch to USB-C and it's the EU who warned Apple to not limit the data and charging rates with the USB-C and any cable, so kindly go spread your misinformation somewhere else.

The EU doesn’t have anything to say wrt. data rates, as this is not covered by the legislation.

In regards to charging speeds though, I believe the EU law requires that any device supporting fast charging must support USB-C Power Delivery. So Apple can't apply MFi restrictions to fast charging.

Correct. Or rather, Apple can apply whatever, but must still support regular USB PD, so that seem pointless.

I'm pretty sure the USB-C standard only requires USB 2.0 for data transfer. Any higher data speeds are optional. I don't believe the EU law requires anything above the base USB-C standard in regards to data transfer

Yes.

Lightning could always go faster and does in some scenarios. The limiation was never Lightning it was being cheap on the controller in the device itself.

It could, but only with a custom port with 16 pins. The regular cables only have 8 pins connected through, which isn’t enough.

Also, it's an interpretation issue if they can limit based on the cable

Yes, but in the legal systems used in the EU, the intent of the law tends to matter a lot.

That doesn't mean anything. USB-C PD is simply a standard. There is no requirement for any specific charging speed. And any such law that attempted to specify that would be laughed out of the building, as it would be obsolete before it ever went into effect.

That’s incorrect. For instance, this legislation only applies up to 100W charging, since that was the USB PD limit at the time. It also specifies other power levels.

The EU has no idea what they're talking about (which is nothing new). They have absolutely no legal authority to dictate to Apple what wattage the phone must charge at. LMAO.

Did you actually even read the legislation? It isn‘t very long, actually. You don’t seem to fully know what you’re talking about.