OVER a decade later, Apple will be leaving behind the company’s proprietary Lightning connector oF its flagship iPhones.
The news came with the iPhone 15 announcement at Apple’s annual fall product launch event on Sept 12.
From the iPhone 15 and onwards, new models will feature USB-C charging ports.
Apple executives touted the benefits of using the industry-standard USB-C, including higher data transfer speeds. The same cable can also be used to charge iPhones, iPads and MacBooks.
The change comes due to new European Union legislation last year that mandated all smartphones sold in the EU to include a USB-C interface for charging before the end of 2024.
A one metre USB-C-to-USB-C cable will be included with the iPhone 15s, with the 20W USB-C power adapter being sold separately. Apple also has a USB-C-to-Lightning adapter at a higher price.
This tracks with the company’s standard of not including power adapters that began with the release of the iPhone 12 in 2020.
All said and done, the iPhone 15s will also support wireless charging.
The new standard models are the 6.1-inch iPhone 15 and the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Plus. Alongside the standard models, Apple introduced the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Pre-orders for all iPhone 15 models began Friday, Sept 15, with the products being available the next Friday, Sept 22.