iPhone 15 Might See Higher Data Transfer Speeds Thanks to USB-C

Back in October 2022, the EU ruled for a one-size-fits-all charging port regulation to come into effect by 2024, making the USB-C mandatory for a whole range of electronic devices – including Apple's iPhone models. Since this new regulation has a deadline of 2024, it begs the question, will iPhone 15 have USB-C or will Apple wait for next year's model to make the change?

New iPhone rumours suggest that Apple will indeed be switching out the Lightning port on this year's iPhone 15 for USB-C ports. Reports also claim that if the switch takes place, iPhone 15 users will find that their device could have higher data transfer speeds – well, at least for some users.

According to recent iPhone 15 leaks, the entire iPhone 15 line will have a USB-C port, however, only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models will offer speedier data transfers.

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models are reported to support either USB-C 3.2 data transfer speeds, which can reach 20Gbps, or Thunderbolt 3 speeds, which can get as high as 40Gbps. The standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models, however, could be stuck at USB 2.0 speeds of just 480Mbps, which is the same as Lightning.

What do higher data transfer speeds mean?

While higher data transfer speeds sound good, what does it actually mean for you as a user?

For the majority of people, increasing the data transfer speed from 480Mbps to 20Gbps or 40Gbps won't be of much use. However, these higher speeds could be extremely useful to the right person.

For those who shoot 4K footage using their iPhone or that have lots of large files that they need to transfer to another device, higher data transfer speeds with reduce the time you spend waiting for your files to transfer from your iPhone to your other device.

Understandably, not everyone would want or need the higher transfer speeds, in which case the slower speeds of USB 2.0 should be enough for most people.

Post by Nicole Newton.