After years of proprietary connectors, practically always, Apple would be close to adopting a “standard” connector on the next range of iPhones. the USB-C. The more or less official confirmation has already arrived last year through the words of Greg Joswiak, VP of the Worldwide Marketing section of Apple, who affirmed the intention of the Cupertino company to adapt to the new rules imposed by Europe.
In the following months, however, rumors circulated regarding the “limitations” that the Type-C connectors of the iPhones and their accessories would have had. In practice, both the port and the charging cable could integrate an authentication chip which will have the task of limiting the functioning of non-original accessories, or at least not approved by Apple itself.
One of these limitations it could be related to the reload speed. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, in fact, the USB-C port would allow higher charging speeds on the iPhone 15, but only using certified cables and more powerful chargers.
Currently, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus support a maximum recharge at 20 W That climbs to 27W on Pro models. To be able to obtain the maximum speed, however, a battery charger capable of delivering these powers must be used. For some years now, the charger has no longer been offered in the package, which must therefore be purchased separately, unless the user already has one. Apple has both a 20W and a 30W model on the list that costs 45 euros.
On iPhone 15, to reach maximum power you will probably also need a certified cable. Surely what will be offered in the package will be fine. But with other generic Type-C charging cables the charging speed should be slower. Obviously the iPhone will still charge but the maximum performance will not be reached.
Kuo also stressed that only on Pro models there will be a USB 3.2 port which offers faster data transfer speeds. On the basic models, however, there should be a USB 2.0.
Kuo finally also spoke of 20W USB-C charger shipments likely to rise by around 120% with the launch of iPhone 15, in the fall. According to the analyst, shipments of this charger will see significant growth of 30-40% year-on-year to 230-240 million units in 2023 thanks to strong replacement demand.
To this day, it’s still unclear what the certification process might be for Apple’s new USB-C MFi program. Depending on how it is implemented, existing third-party chargers may also be limited in terms of maximum charging speed. As a result, many users may purchase a new one for maximum performance.