Apple iPhone 15 Finally Joins The USB-C Chaos; Industry Going All-Wireless Next?
Keneci News
After years of sticking with its Lightning connector on iPhones as other phone makers switched to micro USB, then USB-C, Apple has finally embraced the European Union-mandated connector with the launch of iPhone 15 series this week, which features the USB-C connector. New EU rules require all phones sold in the region to adopt the port before the end of 2024.
One of the promises of USB-C is its reversible cable connectors. No more fumbling with a cable as you try to connect it the right way. The Type-C connector can be plugged in either way round.
Specifications of USB connectors are conventionally set by the Implementers Forum(USB-IF) with the latest standard being USB 4. USB-C connector is compatible with both USB 2 and USB 3 devices. It is also compatible with the USB Power Delivery (PD) specification and can be used to charge mobile devices including laptops and Chromebooks.
The USB-C ports in both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus supports USB 2. While the port itself is a universal standard, USB 2 came into light way back in 2000 -- topping out at a maximum transfer rate of 480 Mbps. It’s good, but nowhere remotely fast as the USB-C ports in Apple’s two most premium iPhones -- iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max which support USB 3, and is twenty times faster than USB 2.
Apple claims that all four models, the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max have the same charging speeds as their predecessors. The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro take 30 minutes to get to a 50% charge using a 20W power adapter, while the larger iPhone 15 Plus and 15 Pro Max take 35 minutes to get to 50%.
Faster transfer speed of USB 3 allows the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max to send 48-megapixel ProRAW images and 4K 60fps video from the devices to a Mac significantly faster than on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
Current Lightning cables are limited to USB 2.0 speeds, which is 480 Mbps, while USB-C has an 80 Gbps maximum speed. Apple’s phones currently max out at 20W charging speeds, while USB Power Delivery offers up to 240W. Very few phones offer more than 50W charging, but Apple is still lagging behind phones like the Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra, which can charge at 45W.
USB-C has become the norm for many of today’s gadgets. Laptops and Android phones have long adopted USB-C. One inherent benefit is that people would only need to bring one charging cable along with them. And users could leverage the USB-C ports in the iPhone 15 series to charge the AirPods and Apple Watch.
Phone manufacturers have embraced wireless charging, leading some Apple observers to predict that the Cupertino giant will develop a portless iPhone, which would be completely wireless and wouldn’t need a charging port -- be it Lightning or USB-C. Such move may lead to industry-wide adoption of all-wireless portless smartphones. Availability of seamless wireless data transfer and charging and cloud storage are already pushing users in that direction.
The entire smartphone industry shifted to Qi wireless charging several years ago, so wireless chargers are compatible across platforms. Apple’s MagSafe technology forms the basis of the new Qi2 wireless charging standard, which should bring the benefits of Apple’s wireless magnetic charger to other devices. And spare smartphone users the current chaos involved in choosing the right USB-C cable specifications.
Also, the EU mandate specifically says that USB-C is only required when wired charging is involved. So phone manufacturers could skip USB-C altogether, and offer a phone that relies on wireless charging and data transfer, without falling foul of EU regulations.