Apple’s immediate successor to the iPhone 14 could be the first to get USB-C. According to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, the iPhone 15 might be the first iPhone to ship with the connector instead of Lightning, marking the first time Apple will change the charging port on its phones since the iPhone 5 in 2012.
The new comes as the European Union pushes to enact new legislation that would force new electronics which use wired chargers to switch to USB-C by late 2024. By now, a lot of manufacturers have switched their devices over to the modern connector, including smartphones, laptops, headphones, and more. The big exception to that rule has obviously been Apple who, up to this point, has refused to drop Lightning on a variety of their products.
If/when the legislation is signed into law (and it looks like it will), Apple will be forced to add USB-C to its iPhones, AirPods, iPads, and Mac accessories that all still use Lightning. Gurman says he believes the iPhone will be quick to make that transition with the iPhone 15 in 2023. Technically, the company could wait until 2025 to transition since the EU will give manufacturers a two-year grace period to make the change, but at least to Gurman, it seems that Apple will get it over with sooner than later.
USB-C iPhones will be short-lived, however. Gurman believes that Apple will only include the port on its phones for a couple of generations, until they’re able to ship a completely port-less iPhone that relies on wireless charging instead of wired. It’s unclear how soon an iPhone like this could come, but it’s seemed inevitable since MagSafe debuted on the iPhone in 2020.
In his newsletter, Gurman says he also believes other products in Apple’s portfolio will be updated with USB-C over the course of 2023. Things like the Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad will be refreshed alongside updates to the iMac and Mac Pro which are expected to receive substantial upgrades like new processors. Meanwhile, the baseline iPad is expected to receive USB-C by the end of this year, while AirPods will like get it in 2023 or 2024.
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