The iPhone 15 Pro will be the only phone in Apple's smartphone lineup next year to feature faster USB-C data transfer speeds, according to a new report.
Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that while all of Apple's phones will switch from Lightning to USB-C in 2023, it's only the Pro models that will really benefit.
Kuo tweeted that all 2023 models of the iPhone 15 will adopt the USB-C connection standard. However, while the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max (and perhaps even the iPhone 15 Ultra ) will also adopt at least USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3, the iPhone 15 will only adopt USB 2.0.
iPhone 15
The latter is exactly the same standard supported by the current proprietary Lightning port. If you don't think that sounds like something Apple would do (bless its heart), remember that the iPad (10th gen) that just came out did exactly that, marrying USB-C with the old, slow USB 2.0.
If the iPhone 15 Pro models do indeed adopt Thunderbolt 3, you can bet Apple will position it as a pro feature for transferring bulky ProRes video files and RAW images at speeds of up to 40Gbps.
By way of contrast, the iPhone 14 Pro Max (and all recent iPhones) and their USB 2.0 connections only support transfer speeds of up to 480Mbps. We're talking about an exponential increase in speeds here if you're leaning toward the Pro.
This year's iPhone 14 model had the biggest gap between the regular and Pro models, with advancements in display, performance, and camera components going exclusively to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. It seems like this could be part of a new approach from Apple rather than a temporary casualty of a strained supply chain.
