Leaked Image Claims to Show Upcoming iPhone 15 Pro’s USB-C Port

Apple is expected to use a USB-C charging and syncing port on its iPhone 15 lineup in place of the traditional Lightning port used in current iPhone models. The change is due to new regulations by the European Union, which require electronic device makers to use a USB-C port on their devices. India is also expected to join the EU in requiring USB-C ports on devices sold inside of its borders.

Now, we have received a first peek at what the USB-C port will look like on the iPhone 15, thanks to an image posted to their on Twitter by leaker Unknownz21. While we knew what to expect with the new ports, the image provides a confirmation of sorts for what the USB-C port will look like.

The image also gives us a peek at what the much-rumored curves of the new handset will look like. Apple is widely-expected to make minor design changes to the iPhone 15 Pro chassis, adding deeper curves to the handset, as seen in the leaked image. The chassis is expected to use a titanium material in place of the current stainless steel.

Apple is reportedly planning to replace the E75 Lightning Controller with an E85 Port Controller, says Unknownz21.

The USB-C port update is also coming to the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models, although the design changes to the chassis are expected to be limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models.

Well-connected Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max USB-C ports will support USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3, which would provide a large speed advantage over Apple’s existing Lighting port-based iPhone models. (Thunderbolt 3’s theoretical bandwidth is up to 4 Gbps, while the current iPhone 14 lineup’s Lightning connector is limited to USB 2.0 speeds of up to 480 Mbps.)

This all means the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max’s USB-C ports should greatly outperform Lightning-based iPhone handsets when using a Thunderbolt cable, making it much faster when transferring large amounts of data.

If the new Pro models are limited to transferring data at USB 3.2 speeds we should still see substantially faster transfer speeds than what we see with Lightning cables.

There have been other rumors about the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max that say both handsets will sport a Lightning cable-like authenticator chip, which could potentially limit the port’s functionality with non-Apple approved accessories, like transfer cables.

The rumor says Apple has developed its own custom USB-C variant, to be used in the new iPhones. An integrated circuit expert said to have 25 years of experience working on Pentium processors from Intel.

The USB-C authenticator chip would provide two benefits for Apple, as it could allow Apple to detect and alert users about counterfeit (and possibly dangerous) accessories, while also allowing the Cupertino form to collect a commission on MFi-certified accessories, just as they do now on Lightning accessories.

While Apple’s 10th-generation iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro use a USB-C connector, the devices do not contain an authentication IC chip.

An earlier version of this article was published by Mactrast.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]