Iphone: Apple iPhone 15 USB-C port may support limited accessories, here’s why – Times of India

Apple unveiled its latest smartphone series, the iPhone 14 lineup in September 2022. The company is expected to launch its next generation of smartphone lineup, the iPhone 15 series, in the second half of 2023. However, the rumour mill related to the iPhone 15 series has already started churning speculations about the upcoming iPhone lineup. Apple will reportedly add a USB-C port to this year’s iPhone 15 lineup to comply with the EU law. The USB port will replace the company’s proprietary Lightning port. According to a report by MacRumors, a rumour shared on Weibo suggests that the USB-C port in iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro may not support every accessory or charger. This will reportedly limit their functionality with accessories not approved by Apple.
Why iPhone 15’s USB-C port may not support all accessories
As per the report, Apple has developed a different variant of USB-C for 2023’s ‌iPhone 15‌ lineup. This change is predicted by a user who claims to be an integrated circuit expert. This tipster has reportedly worked on Intel’s Pentium processors and has 25 years of experience. The report mentions that the USB-C port and the accompanying charging cables for the iPhone 15 series smartphones are expected to feature a Lightning-like authenticator chip which may limit its usage.
What are Integrated circuit (IC) interfaces
Integrated circuit (IC) interfaces are the semiconductor chips that are used to regulate the sharing of information between devices. Apple introduced the first-party and MFi-certified Lightning ports and connectors in 2012. These ports and cables feature an IC that checks the authenticity of the parts that are involved in the connection. These chips don’t allow non-MFi-certified third-party charging cables. Whenever a user plugs in a non-approved charging cable, “This accessory is not supported” warnings are shown on connected Apple devices.

How will it work on Apple’s USB-C ports
With this authenticator chip, Apple will encourage customers to buy genuine iPhone peripherals. This will also help the Cupertino-based tech giant to receive a commission on MFi-certified accessories. Moreover, with this chip, Apple will also be able to tackle ‘counterfeit and potentially dangerous accessories.’
The report claims that Apple has developed a similar custom IC for the USB-C ports and charging cables on the ‌iPhone 15‌ and ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌. Apart from the ‌iPhone 15‌ lineup, the company may include the IC for new MFi-certified peripherals.
It is important to note that Apple also uses the USB-C interface in the 10th-generation iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. However, the company doesn’t use the IC chip on these products.

The report doesn’t mention if this change may have any major impact on the functionality of the new devices. This may also help Apple to limit features like fast charging and high-speed data transfer to the Apple and MFi-certified cables.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also claimed that the USB-C port on the ‌iPhone 15‌ and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus will remain limited to USB 2.0 speeds. However, the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max (Ultra) models might get faster charging speeds. So, the only major difference between Lightning and USB-C on the standard ‌iPhone 15‌ models might just be the physical shape of the connector.