It ’s time for everyone ’s favorite growing in the earth of Apple technical school : a larboard change . Yep , that ’s right . After what will have been about 11 old age , the iPhone is once again changing its charging port , this time from Lightning to the increasingly ubiquitous USB - C. ( For comparison sake , the late 30 - rowlock dock connective , live on just nine years , from the third - generation iPod to the iPhone 5 . )
We all know the benefit that the USB - C changeover will fetch : interoperability , less line waste , and improvements in speed . But it ’ll also cause some pain for those who have wads of Lightning cable television lying around that will be , if not useless , then at least senseless .
However , even with the braggart change that is the iPhone ’s charge port , Lightning wo n’t be excisedfrom across Apple ’s line - up . Along with the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 , which will still be sell , as well as the iPhone SE , there are several other products that will still need to make the passage before there can truly be one port wine to rule them all . Here ’s a summation of the crowing devices still using Lightning and when they might encompass the USB - C future .
The switch to USB-C for AirPods may not happen until next year.
AirPods hit the high C
Apple ’s AirPods line - up has multiplied in the last several years , with no less than three separate new models presently available : AirPods 3 , AirPods Pro 2 , and AirPods Max ( the company also still sell the 2d - generation AirPods ) . presently , allof these headphones habituate Lightning embrasure for charging .
The electrical switch to USB - C for AirPods may not happen until next class .
metalworks
The switch to USB-C for AirPods may not happen until next year.
In the case of the earbud models , a replacement to USB - C is comparatively round-eyed : all it requires is trade out the charge case . That sound out , anybody who ’s spend time take with syncing eccentric and AirPods has doubtless flow into some frustration there , and there ’s an undetermined interrogation of whether or not Apple will even lease users just buy a new USB - C charge font for their live AirPods when such a product is usable . ( My guess is yes because that ’s basically costless money for the fellowship . ) There has n’t been a pot of haphazardness about revisions to the AirPods or AirPods Pro this fall , which suggests that we might not see a interpretation with USB - blow until next year .
The AirPods Max is a more interesting question . Unrevised since its launch in December 2020 , the over - the - ear headphones have a Lightning port build into it — though the included cable does have a USB - C male plug on the other remnant . There have n’t been any at hand rumors of Apple revamping the AirPods Max , which propose that a fresh interpretation might arrive later — perhaps even alongside other update AirPods .
Mac peripherals Cs the day
The Mac was the first of Apple ’s product line to commit to USB - atomic number 6 , and the port has now become the de facto measure across the computer family . Every Mac has at least a couple of USB - C embrasure — in some case , that ’s theonlyport they have .
But the Mac ’s peripheral line - up has yet to take the leap . The Magic Keyboard , Magic Mouse , and Magic Trackpad all still use Lightning , even though the most recent rescript to both the iMac and the Mac Pro — the only Macs that come with peripherals in the box — have good deal of USB - C ports ( and , in the case , of the iMac , exclusivelyUSB - snow / Thunderbolt interface ) .
Apple could take this chance to place a USB - C embrasure in a better fleck for the Magic Mouse .
Apple could take this opportunity to place a USB-C port in a better spot for the Magic Mouse.
IDG
These accessories change to USB - C seems like only a matter of time — and what better opportunity to update them than with a new iMac release ? With rumors of an M3 iMac peradventure arriving as early as this fall , it seems like an excellent opportunity for the company to move these peripherals to USB - vitamin C — and maybe it can even put the Magic Mouse burden port somewhere more useful while it ’s at it .
Charging that costs a C note
The trouble with have a connection that ’s lasted more than a decade old is that it ’s basically permeated all of your products over time . There are a handful of miscellaneous devices into which Apple has built Lightning porthole , and which will either necessitate to switch to USB - degree Celsius or ultimately ride off into the sunset .
Way back when Apple made thecourageous decisionto dump the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 , it comfort customers by produce wired headphones with a Lightning connective . While I ’m sure the company would like to get all of its iPhone users to buy AirPods , there are some place where wired headphones are still a necessity . So while I would n’t await Apple to include wired headphones in the box with the iPhone 15 , I still expect there will be a version with a USB - C fireplug available at the same time . ( Rumors even hint that they ’ve been in productionsince April of this year . )
The party also sells two excite accessories that use Lightning : the MagSafe Battery Pack and the MagSafe Duo Charger . The battery ingroup has n’t been revised since 2021 , which makes me surmise a new USB - century version might already be waiting in the wing . As for the Duo Charger , part of me wonders whether this gadget — which launched in 2020 as a substitute for the thrashing that was the never - release AirPower — is popular enough for Apple to keep making it , much less retool it .
That leaves just one small curiosity : the Apple Pencil . Yes , the newer version uses magnetized elicitation charge and handily clip onto the side of newer iPads , but when Apple premise the 10th - generation iPad last year — which , I should observe , has USB - atomic number 6 instead of Lightning — it chosenotto add magnetic charging capabilities , resigning users who wanted a Pencil to the awkward dongle life . Will the 11th - genesis iPad redress this ? I ca n’t say I ’m optimistic . So I ’ll put my money down here : when all the rest of Apple ’s Lightning - free-base products have prompt on to USB - light speed , it may be the original Apple Pencil that is the last product standing with the quondam standard . And we salute you for your service .
