Following the news that Apple is increasingly likely to switch from Lightning to USB-C for the iPhone 15 launch next year, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also now shared expectations that the same fate will befall Apple’s accessories, too.
With iPhone 15 heavily rumored by both Kuo and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman to go USB-C next year, the former has now shared more information on what we should expect Apple to do in terms of the plethora of accessories that also use Lightning. As was to be expected, Kuo believes that Apple will move all of its Lightning products to USB-C in the “foreseeable future.” That includes AirPods, the MagSafe Battery Pack, and even the much-maligned Magic Mouse.
There is no word yet on whether Apple will move the charging port from the mouse’s belly, though.
Other Lightning port products (eg, AirPods, Magic Keyboard/Trackpad/Mouse, MagSafe Battery) would also switch to USB-C in the foreseeable future.
Whether this will all happen in 2023 as Apple edges closer to the launch of iPhone 15 isn’t clear, however. There are a lot of accessories that would need a refresh to change ports including keyboards, trackpads, and more. Apple is also said to be working on some kind of adapter that would allow USB-C devices to be charged using existing Lightning cables, too.
Apple has been under pressure to switch to USB-C for some time now. European lawmakers have been aiming to force Apple to use USB-C for years and the pressure continues to grow. As Apple continues to add more video recording features to its higher-end iPhones, faster data transfers would also be of benefit — something USB-C would theoretically allow, giving owners of Apple’s best iPhones a way to get videos off of them more easily.
Critics who claim Apple would make such a move just to sell more charging cables would do well to remember that Lightning arrived ten years ago — the 30-pin Dock connector has been dead longer than many would realize. And if rumors are true, Apple could be going port-free with a future iPhone anyway.
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