The Morning After: Apple may be testing USB-C iPhones

Oh my, it might actually be happening. I’ve wanted this for a while, and get weaker each year. Now a report from Bloomberg says the company is testing new iPhones and adapters with USB-C — what MacBooks and iPads already use.

An adapter currently in testing could “let future iPhones work with accessories designed for the current Lightning connector” — you may recall the in-box adapters that appeared when Apple nixed the headphone port from its smartphones.

It’s probably not entirely altruistic. The EU has been pushing for a for years and recently proposed legislation that would make USB-C the de-facto charging port for all phones.

It’s unlikely to be part of the iPhone 14, though. The report suggests the port change wouldn’t arrive “until 2023 at the earliest.” Subsequent comments from reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggest this could be part of a from Lightning ports, also used on Apple’s AirPods, mice and keyboards.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Still no exact launch date, though.

Peloton’s long-rumored (slightly leaked) rowing machine was the major announcement of this year’s Homecoming fan event. Having said that, we didn’t hear all that much about it. Expect a stylish rower with a huge screen, with a red cord attaching the handle to the machine.

It can’t land soon enough: The company has struggled to adapt to the pandemic recovery as people return to the gym and the office. Peloton revealed a massive $751.1 million loss in its latest quarter.

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Apple’s music player led to smartphones and streaming.

The iPod’s death has been a long time coming. It’s already been eight years since Apple discontinued the iconic iPod classic, but the final iPod is bowing out of the company’s stores now. We all know it changed Apple’s fortunes and the music industry at large, but the iPod was, eventually, a victim of its own success.

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The legendary F1 outfit will acquire the Mercedes-EQ team.

Ahead of Formula E’s Gen3 debut next season, McLaren Racing announced its move to Formula E for season nine, committing to prepping a team when the series’ new spec makes its first competitive laps. McLaren will acquire the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team — the world championship team. Driver Nyck de Vries also won the individual series title in 2021 to complete the double trophy season.

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Battle interdimensional monsters in ‘Zenless Zone Zero.’

On Friday, games studio HoYoverse shared the first trailer for Zenless Zone Zero, an action RPG in a modern urban setting. The game pits players against Ethereal, monstrous creatures borne from another dimension. HoYoverse hasn’t explicitly said how it plans to monetize Zenless Zone Zero, but it sounds like the game will employ a similar system to the one in Genshin Impact — one of the biggest free-to-play hits in recent years, which has also made money at the same time.

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