Apple did not originally plan to offer USB-C with the iPhone 15 series, according to a new report. Needless to say, that is not surprising. This information comes from Unknownz21, a tipster, and it got shared by MacRumors.
Apple didn’t originally plan to use USB-C on the iPhone 15 lineup
The tipster says that Apple tested an iPhone 15 with a Lightning port “very early on”, but it got “quickly scrapped” in favor of USB-C. That is, almost certainly, because of the EU’s law, which practically forced Apple to change its ways.
The tipster says that an early iPhone 15 prototype with a Lightning port was tested back in January 2022. Designs after March 2022 focused on a USB-C port, in case you’re wondering about the exact timeline.
As many of you know by now, all iPhone 15 models are expected to offer a USB-C port. The EU wants a unified charging port for devices like smartphones, amongst other things, and Apple had to comply.
Apple could still try to complicate things, but it may not succeed
It’s not a secret that the Lightning port is inferior to USB-C, and we’re mainly talking about transfer speeds here. Including USB-C will make things a lot easier for users, but Apple could still attempt to complicate things by not allowing every cable to be used with it. It remains to be seen if it will be able to do something like that due to the EU rules.
Apple is the only company that still uses a Lightning port, and it is a source of considerable income for the company, and also one of the ways to keep its users in check. It’s no wonder that the company wanted to ride it out for as long as possible.
That being said, Apple is using USB-C on many of its other products. Its Mac lineup had USB-C since 2015, and iPads since 2018. Users were waiting for iPhones to make the switch too, and that will happen this year. As a reminder, all iPhone 15 models are expected to launch in September.
2023-04-20 15:06:24