iPhone 15 Pro leaks are a common occurrence nowadays, but this is probably the biggest one yet. As confirmed in a leaked chassis photo shared by Unknownz21, this could be the year we finally see a USB-C iPhone.
This comes after the building pressure of an official ruling by the EU for Apple to adopt this universal standard, and quite frankly, I’m here for it!
Why is USB-C so important?
There are a few obvious reasons why moving the iPhone to this widely used connector would be the biggest new feature.
Primarily, this will greatly reduce cable waste. Chances are you already have a couple USB-C cables lying around from earbuds or even laptops – to be able to use these to charge your iPhone rather than require an entirely different wire is a game changer for reducing landfill.
Second, with an increased potential wattage USB-C can carry over Lightning, we may finally see true fast charging on an iPhone. The standard 20W we’re seeing at the moment is just about acceptable, but when you compare it to the likes of the OnePlus 11 juicing to full in a little over half an hour, it’s unforgivable on a phone this expensive.
Third would be all the accessories you’ll be able to plug in now. For a hypothetical example, I film all my YouTube videos on my iPhone 13 Pro. To be able to plug in the external storage I use to keep all my raw A and B-roll and save clips directly to it, rather than have to go through the rigmarole of Airdropping it to my M1 MacBook Pro would be a massive time saver.
And finally, we’ve got to talk about those quicker data transfer rates. Not that wired data transfer is necessarily as important, as Airdrop has taken over my life. But to be able to move files a lot quicker than the limited transfer speed of lightning will be a night and day difference.
Outlook
Like many of the “new” features you see in iPhone hardware and iOS, adding USB-C is a few years behind the curve of Android adoption. But we’ll take what we can get! Unlocking a new dimension of accessory support is going to be huge for this year’s iPhone lineage.
Since this is an iPhone 15 Pro photo, we can expect to see it on this heavily rumored iPhone 15 Ultra too. But will it make the jump to the standard iPhone 15 too? Time will tell, but it would be a pretty bonkers move of Apple to not fully transition its entire lineup – especially with the ticking clock situation of the EU ruling looming over the company.
