The death of the Lightning port really seems to be coming.
Backing up a report earlier this week from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a nearly always reliable source of Apple leaks, says that the Cupertino, California-based tech giant is testing an iPhone that features a USB-C port instead of Lightning.
Don’t get too excited, though — at least not yet. According to Gurman, this switch won’t happen until 2023 “at the earliest,” once again backing up Kuo’s report indicating the port changeover will first appear in the iPhone 15.
While not a complete surprise, given Apple has already adopted USB-C with the iPad Pro, iPad Air and iPad Mini, this would still be a monumental shift for the company that would transform its MFI-certified accessories business and the overall smartphone landscape.
Gurman says that the EU’s proposal to require all devices, including smartphones, to feature a USB-C port is a “key reason” for Apple’s decision to ditch Lightning. The Bloomberg reporter and Apple leaker says that the tech giant is still working on an iPhone that doesn’t feature a charging port, but that it won’t be ready to release anytime soon.
Apple first launched the current version of its lightning port alongside the iPhone 5 back in 2012.
Source: Bloomberg