Apple chose between USB-C and Lightning for iPhone 15

iPhone 15 is expected to hit the shelves with a USB-C port, but a recent leak revealed that the earlier prototypes included a Lightning port, which Apple quickly scrapped.

As most leaks and reports suggest, Apple's upcoming iPhone family will most likely come with a USB-C port. However, a new leak was shared on Twitter by the leaker @URedditor, also known as Unknownz21. According to the tweet, Apple's iPhone 15 development included an early idea with a Lightning port; but it was quickly scrapped.

Uknownz21 says that Apple has been testing a USB-C port for the upcoming iPhone 15 family since January 22. Besides, all the designs after March 22 have had the USB-C port instead of Lightning. This means that the company made its decision a year ago and never thought of going back to Lightning, as the engineers came to a conclusion to include USB-C. The leaker also added that "higher speeds will be available only on the Pro models.

Some details about USB-C on the iPhone 15:

It was in testing as far back as January 2022, and pretty much all designs since March 2022 have had the USB-C port instead of lightning.

There was a version with a lightning port very early on, but it was quickly scrapped.

— Unknownz21 ? (@URedditor) April 18, 2023

European Regulations want a common charger

The European regulations want devices to use a common charger for electronic devices, and Apple began its shift from Lightning as early as 2015 with Macbooks. The first USB-C ports were seen on Macs in 2015, and then iPads joined the list in 2018. Currently, iPhones are the only Apple devices with Lightning ports, and it looks like we will bid farewell to Lightning in the last quarter of this year.

See also: FBI warns: avoid public charging stations

These regulations are only for Europe, so Apple had a chance to keep the Lightning port and add a USB-C model only for European customers. Switching entirely to USB-C makes more sense as now all devices, iPhones, iPads, and Macs, will share the same cable. Besides, Apple will keep on producing the same device with the same quality and specs worldwide.

iPhone 15 is expected to have several upgrades, especially the Pro model. The pro model will come with a new red color, with the exact color being 410D0D. Besides, the mute and volume buttons are also expected to change, as Apple is looking to bring Apple Watch Ultra's Action button to its new phone series.

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