While the entire smartphone industry has now adopted the USB Type-C standard, Apple is still resisting with the Lightning port on its mobiles. But according to some rumors, it will soon be over.
Apple’s closed ecosystem vision is both software and hardware. The Lightning port, launched in 2012 with the iPhone 5, is a good example. The USB-C port may have become widely democratized, the Cupertino company continues to offer its proprietary technology on a good part of its products. If it had advantages when it was launched, in particular its use in both directions, it now seems a little outdated.
The American giant has always targeted a creative audience, such as photographers or videographers, whose activity often requires the transfer of very large files. USB-C now offers much higher transfer speeds, and the Apple brand is already using it on its Macs and iPad Pro, Air and Mini.
European pressure
At the end of 2021, the European Commission formalized the publication of a draft revision of the directive on radio equipment. In the latter, she expressed the wish for a harmonization of fast charging ports for smartphones, tablets, headphones, speakers or game consoles.
The underlying objective was obviously to make Apple bend over the rest of its products, and to make it offer a USB-C port in addition to, or as a replacement for, its proprietary Lightning port. A proposal which was also validated on April 20, 2022, and which should come into force in the course of 2024.
The end of an era
Analyst Ming Chi Kuo, often very well informed about the Californian company, believes that she has understood the message. According to him, the iPhone 14, planned for this year, will be the last to be equipped with a Ligthning port. The iPhone 15 would therefore mark the beginning of a new era for the brand’s mobiles.
On his Twitter account, he explains that Apple will switch completely to USB-C from the second half of 2023. It will therefore be possible to recharge all of the brand’s products with a Mac charger, for example. The other accessories still under Lightning, such as the AirPods, are naturally called upon to make the same transition.
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My latest survey indicates that 2H23 new iPhone will abandon Lightning port and switch to USB-C port. USB-C could improve iPhone’s transfer and charging speed in hardware designs, but the final spec details still depend on iOS support.— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 11, 2022
If the information is confirmed, the company will have almost waited until the last moment to comply with the rest of the industry. It must be said that the manufacture of ancillary products compatible with the Lightning port (and certified by Apple) remains a source of income for the American firm. Unless you market a smartphone without any port, which has already been mentioned above, Apple will finally offer a universal standard, and more ecological over time.