Kuo Confirms iPhone 15 USB C Port, But Apple Has Found A Way To Make You Buy The Pro

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that the 2023 iPhone 15 will ditch the Lightning port for USB C. However, not all iPhones are made equal, so Apple may come up with a way to improve the Pro. Despite this, it will be a big thing for Apple to churn out a USB-C iPhone.

The EU recently rolled out a new law to make USB-C the standard for wired charging across devices. These include smartphones, tablets, laptops, and even digital cameras. A single charging port is being implemented to reduce e-waste, which is a major issue. Apple has been hard-hit by this move, as it makes money off of the Lightning port in the iPhone.

Apple has an MFi program, which certifies the Lightning accessories made by third-party manufacturers and charges a royalty for it. Now, because of EU law, Apple is forced to ditch the Lightning port. However, some speculations reveal that Apple could go completely portless and adopt MagSafe instead of the Type-C port. But Ming-Chi Kuo now says that the 2023 iPhone 15 will come with a USB-C port, but there’s a catch

The USB-C iPhone 15 will have different charging speeds

Apple may be forced to ditch the Lightning port, but that doesn’t mean the company has to have the latest Type-C ports on the iPhone. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the standard iPhone 15 will come with a USB-C 2.0 port. The more expensive iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will sport a USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port. This means the iPhone 15 Pros will have faster data transfer speeds.

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My latest survey indicates all 2H23 new iPhones will abandon Lightning and change to USB-C, but only two high-end models (15 Pro & 15 Pro Max) will support the wired high-speed transfer, and the two standard ones (15 & 15 15 Plus) still support USB 2.0 same as Lightning.

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) November 17, 2022

For now, iPhone users can use AirDrop or the Lightning to USB-C cable for data transfer. While AirDrop is fast, it is limited to only the Apple ecosystem. So if someone shoots a video on an iPhone and uses a Windows machine to edit it, they’ll have to use the wired method. Apple’s Lightning port has a max transfer speed of 450Mbps, whereas USB-C 3.0 cables can transfer data at 5Gbps.

According to Kuo, Apple is going to fix the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models with a USB-C 2.0 port, which has the same transfer speed as the Lightning port. However, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will pack 3.0 ports, which means a transfer speed of up to 5Gbps.

iPhone Pro models have always focused on the Pros with a high refresh rate display, an extra camera, and a LiDAR scanner. With the iPhone 15, Apple could make the whole package more inclusive with a USB-C 3.0 port. What do you think about this prediction? Will you buy an iPhone 15 if it comes with a Type-C port? Do let us know in the comments.