Nearly a decade after switching to Lighting port, iPhones are poised to come with
USB-C
port, which has been the default choice for other manufacturers, cough cough, Android, lately. Well, if the EU did not come up with the mandate, and
Apple
had its way, the upcoming
iPhone 15
series would still have a Lighting port.
Google playfully took a jab at Apple in its new ad-cum-annoucnement video for the Pixel.
"Let's just say you'll be USB-C-ing soon!"
iPhone
says, chalking up at the rumors that the coming iPhones would come with the
USB
Type-C port. "You're finally getting USB-C charging?" teases Pixel, taking a jab at the iPhone that it still does not have a USB-C port while Pixel and other Android phones have long had a USB-C port. And the iPhone asks, surprised, "How did you know?"
The question is why has Apple been so reluctant to bring USB-C to iPhones (also AirPods) while all its other hardware – the
Macs
, iPads – have moved towards USB-C?
Apple had long resisted switching iPhones to USB-C from Lightning connectors, citing environmental concerns and the potential precedent of governments influencing product design, said Mark Gurman in the latest edition of his newsletter, Power On. However, the company is now expected to make the move, which could lead to some drawbacks, such as a loss of licensing revenue from accessory makers that used Lightning and the need to devote engineering resources and money to the switch.
Moreover, increased compatibility with the Android ecosystem may make it easier for customers to switch from Apple to Android. It is also expected to lose millions of earnings per quarter that it has been making from licensing fees under its Made for iPhone (MFI) program. However, Apple has some plans in mind to tackle this, as it plans to limit charging speeds and features on unlicensed USB-C accessories.
It is also worried that this could create a situation similar to 2012 when it transitioned to the lightning port on the iPhone 5 from the 30-pin connector, leaving people upset about their old accessories becoming obsolete. While Apple will give the buyers a USB-C cable with their new iPhone 15, they still will not get compatible adapters since Apple stopped including the charging adapter inside the box in 2020. So, customers may find their hoards of cables, dongles, in-car chargers, and other accessories no longer work with their new iPhones unless they purchase an adapter.
One charging cable for all your Apple products
If rumours are to be believed, Apple had been planning to ditch the charging port altogether in the iPhones. However, the EU rules forced it to switch to USB-C before releasing such an iPhone. But, Apple will not make it look like the EU got its way or how it has been against the shift, except it will make the shift appear as a win for buyers, suggests Gurman.
Apple will talk about how buyers will now be able to use a single charging cable for their iPhones, Macs, and iPads. Further, the shift will also bring a significant increase in data transfer speeds on the new high-end iPhones, which could be boasted as a benefit for Pros. And there could also be faster charging speeds on the board. And we might even get to hear about how the billions of chargers would now be compatible with iPhones.
While Apple is going to embrace the change it did not want publicly and is going to advertise it as a boon, it could break Apple's walled garden. A few years down the line, iPhone 15 users could find it much easier to transition to USB-C as their existing accessories will be compatible with it. This is one of the reasons why Apple is impervious to adopting Google's RCS, ending the blue-green bubble war, as it could make it easier for people to switch to the other side.
