USB-C on iPhone 15 is a go! A portless iPhone is not happening and here is why that's actually a great thing
This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
Is Apple about to surprise the world and pull out a surprise announcement next year: a completely portless iPhone 15?
Despite all rumors about next year's iPhone 15 actually getting a new USB-C port to replace the current Lightning port, stories about a portless iPhone persist, and analysts provide different arguments in favor.
It's easy to understand why we keep on hearing about this: a portless iPhone sounds like a dream device akin to flying cars, with no cables to worry about, and conveniently for Apple, this means even slimmer boxes with no cable inside, a win-win. Plus, even reliable analysts considered it possible a few years ago, so... maybe it can happen after all?
In this article, I will try to break down all the obstacles in the way to that portless dream, and why there are more reasons to believe that it will not happen next year, and believe me, that’s actually a great thing. Let me explain.
Before we even think about all the inconveniences of a portless iPhone, we have to understand what is the appeal of a portless iPhone. And of course, while there is a tiny bit of space that you save with a portless design, the big idea is to have complete wireless functionality.
So... is there something that going portless will achieve for Apple? Will it speed up the advent of a certain technology that is still imperfect or non-existent? The answer is no, all major wireless functionalities are already here, and while some were indeed sped up with the removal of the headphone jack, we don't see any new technology that will benefit from such push on the charging side.
At the same time, a portless iPhone will make charging much more costly and some of the most exciting Pro-grade iPhone features like ProRes video practically impossible to use, and considering Apple’s focus on selling more and more iPhone Pro vs vanilla models, that’s a problem.
The first huge problem with a portless iPhone is charging. iPhones are already known for being the slowest charging flagship smartphones in the industry, but even those slow 20W-ish charging speeds that you get via a cable are actually much faster than wireless charging.
Usually, charging with a wire, you get a 0 to about 95%+ in about one hour and a half, while with MagSafe you only get a 60% top up in the same time frame. Quite the difference!
And don’t forget that MagSafe is expensive. You need to buy a MagSafe compatible charger and a charging brick. That’s $40 for the Apple-branded wireless charger and $20 for the brick, so at least $60 just to charge your phone. Not something every customer would be willing to spend.
Keep in mind that fancy MagSafe charging stands are commonly sold for around $100-$150.
And what about emergencies? Imagine needing to charge your phone quickly. Currently, you have that option with a cable, but are you ready to lose it just so your next iPhone can look a tiny bit cooler?
One brand new feature that would be impossible or at least impractical to use with a portless iPhone would be... ProRes video!
ProRes video is great for photo enthusiasts, it captures more depth, gives you more freedom for editing, and detail on it is much cleaner compared to regular video footage, with far less sharpening artifacts.
However, a 20-second 4K30 ProRes video I just shot was 2GB in size! Compare this to around 110MB for a regular 4K30 video, it's a massive difference. Transferring that incredibly short ProRes clip took me more than a minute with AirDrop. Now imagine having to transfer multiple ProRes videos of more than a few minutes long, that could take more than half an hour using AirDrop, while the same transfer with a fast USB-C connection could be done in a couple of minutes. And I find it hard to believe that pros will be okay waiting half an hour just to transfer a video.
Love to fly a drone? Well, many drones use your iPhone screen as the viewfinder and require a cable connection to ensure proper speeds and the required low latency.
And that is just one use case, there is a countless other cases where achieving a low latency is only possible with a cable. The reality is that an iPhone for many people is a sort of a hub towards a larger ecosystem, and the way you connect to those other devices is via a good old reliable physical port.
Resolving iPhone issues often requires a cable and a connection to a PC or Mac
If you ever had a software issue with your iPhone, you probably know that to resolve that, the phone often needs to be connected to a PC or a Mac to run it in recovery mode or reset it.
Well, say goodbye to that possibility with a portless iPhone.
Is it possible to create a wireless emergency communication channel with a different device to do the same thing? Probably, but we imagine that might take a long while to develop.
I will be the first to tell you how much I love AirPods and wireless headphones in general, but there are certain cases where they just don't provide a sufficient quality.
One such area is mic quality. Sound quality out of the mic of the $20 EarPods is immensely better than what you can get out of $300 AirPods Pro! There are multiple reasons to consider here. One has to admit that a large part of that better sound quality is probably because of how the microphone on the wired EarPods is much closer to your mouth when talking, but since Apple is settled on the AirPods design there is no way to physically bring the mic on the wireless headphones any closer.
Of course, Apple is actively looking to improve this and we are seeing slight improvements with every new generation of wireless headphones that it releases, but it seems that none have achieved quite the same mic clarity as good old EarPods.
Mic quality is not the only thing, though. High-fidelity audio requires a lot of bandwidth passing between your phone and your headphones, and common wireless standards like Bluetooth just don’t support that. If you are an audiophile with a pair of expensive headphones, chances are you need a wired connection to enjoy them fully.
And yes, clear audio is not everyone's top priority, but for many people it is, and it's a clear case of when going portless means making your experience worse.
Last, but definitely not least: the analysts supporting the idea of Apple working towards a portless iPhone 15 have practically disappeared. Supply chain insiders like the famous Ming-Chi Kuo have changed their minds and are now fully behind a USB-C future for the iPhone 15.
And if Apple were to make a big move like going portless, well... that requires all sorts of preparation and a big change in the supply chains, as well as a shift in production. If this was to happen soon, there would be some signs, but there are none currently.
That does not mean it is not going to happen ever in the future, but it's a pretty good indication that it's not happening this year.
At the end of the day, a portless iPhone might sound cool at first, but much like flying cars it comes with a number of shortcomings that make it impractical in the current state of technology. It will result in slower AND more expensive charging, it will mean slower transfer of large files, it could be a further lock into the Apple ecosystem (so much so that Apple could get sued), and it may even result in an inability to fix some iPhone software issues.
And what do you get in exchange? A tiny bit of free space and bragging rights?
The truth is that the wireless dream is something that Apple has been already working on for a while and with MagSafe and AirDrop, and the whole wireless and magnetic ecosystem around those two, it has done more than other manufacturers to achieve it.
Wireless functionality is already here for those who want it, but it doesn't have to mean portless as the charging port remains a necessity and a convenience that is worth keeping around for at least the next few years.
Despite all rumors about next year's iPhone 15 actually getting a new USB-C port to replace the current Lightning port, stories about a portless iPhone persist, and analysts provide different arguments in favor.
In this article, I will try to break down all the obstacles in the way to that portless dream, and why there are more reasons to believe that it will not happen next year, and believe me, that’s actually a great thing. Let me explain.
Literally portless vs functionally wireless
A big difference
Before we even think about all the inconveniences of a portless iPhone, we have to understand what is the appeal of a portless iPhone. And of course, while there is a tiny bit of space that you save with a portless design, the big idea is to have complete wireless functionality.
And the truth is that Apple has been working towards that dream for many years. The iPhone can already be used as a wireless device for most intents and purposes - you can charge it wirelessly with MagSafe, you can transfer files wirelessly via AirDrop, you can connect to headphones wirelessly and Apple is heavily invested in also making the very best wireless headphones, so it sure cares about that wireless dream.
So... is there something that going portless will achieve for Apple? Will it speed up the advent of a certain technology that is still imperfect or non-existent? The answer is no, all major wireless functionalities are already here, and while some were indeed sped up with the removal of the headphone jack, we don't see any new technology that will benefit from such push on the charging side.
The charging problem
Wireless charging is inefficient, slow and difficult to master
The first huge problem with a portless iPhone is charging. iPhones are already known for being the slowest charging flagship smartphones in the industry, but even those slow 20W-ish charging speeds that you get via a cable are actually much faster than wireless charging.
And don’t forget that MagSafe is expensive. You need to buy a MagSafe compatible charger and a charging brick. That’s $40 for the Apple-branded wireless charger and $20 for the brick, so at least $60 just to charge your phone. Not something every customer would be willing to spend.
Keep in mind that fancy MagSafe charging stands are commonly sold for around $100-$150.
And what about emergencies? Imagine needing to charge your phone quickly. Currently, you have that option with a cable, but are you ready to lose it just so your next iPhone can look a tiny bit cooler?
A portless iPhones renders current Pro iPhone features unusable
iPhone 15 Pro-less?
One brand new feature that would be impossible or at least impractical to use with a portless iPhone would be... ProRes video!
ProRes video is great for photo enthusiasts, it captures more depth, gives you more freedom for editing, and detail on it is much cleaner compared to regular video footage, with far less sharpening artifacts.
However, a 20-second 4K30 ProRes video I just shot was 2GB in size! Compare this to around 110MB for a regular 4K30 video, it's a massive difference. Transferring that incredibly short ProRes clip took me more than a minute with AirDrop. Now imagine having to transfer multiple ProRes videos of more than a few minutes long, that could take more than half an hour using AirDrop, while the same transfer with a fast USB-C connection could be done in a couple of minutes. And I find it hard to believe that pros will be okay waiting half an hour just to transfer a video.
A major obstacle to use an iPhone with other devices
Love to fly a drone? Well, many drones use your iPhone screen as the viewfinder and require a cable connection to ensure proper speeds and the required low latency.
And that is just one use case, there is a countless other cases where achieving a low latency is only possible with a cable. The reality is that an iPhone for many people is a sort of a hub towards a larger ecosystem, and the way you connect to those other devices is via a good old reliable physical port.
If you ever had a software issue with your iPhone, you probably know that to resolve that, the phone often needs to be connected to a PC or a Mac to run it in recovery mode or reset it.
Well, say goodbye to that possibility with a portless iPhone.
Is it possible to create a wireless emergency communication channel with a different device to do the same thing? Probably, but we imagine that might take a long while to develop.
Clean audio is still kind of impossible with a portless phone
I will be the first to tell you how much I love AirPods and wireless headphones in general, but there are certain cases where they just don't provide a sufficient quality.
One such area is mic quality. Sound quality out of the mic of the $20 EarPods is immensely better than what you can get out of $300 AirPods Pro! There are multiple reasons to consider here. One has to admit that a large part of that better sound quality is probably because of how the microphone on the wired EarPods is much closer to your mouth when talking, but since Apple is settled on the AirPods design there is no way to physically bring the mic on the wireless headphones any closer.
Of course, Apple is actively looking to improve this and we are seeing slight improvements with every new generation of wireless headphones that it releases, but it seems that none have achieved quite the same mic clarity as good old EarPods.
And yes, clear audio is not everyone's top priority, but for many people it is, and it's a clear case of when going portless means making your experience worse.
Is Apple working towards a portless iPhone 15? We don’t have much evidence
Last, but definitely not least: the analysts supporting the idea of Apple working towards a portless iPhone 15 have practically disappeared. Supply chain insiders like the famous Ming-Chi Kuo have changed their minds and are now fully behind a USB-C future for the iPhone 15.
And if Apple were to make a big move like going portless, well... that requires all sorts of preparation and a big change in the supply chains, as well as a shift in production. If this was to happen soon, there would be some signs, but there are none currently.
That does not mean it is not going to happen ever in the future, but it's a pretty good indication that it's not happening this year.
A portless iPhone: Achieving little, risking a lot
At the end of the day, a portless iPhone might sound cool at first, but much like flying cars it comes with a number of shortcomings that make it impractical in the current state of technology. It will result in slower AND more expensive charging, it will mean slower transfer of large files, it could be a further lock into the Apple ecosystem (so much so that Apple could get sued), and it may even result in an inability to fix some iPhone software issues.
The truth is that the wireless dream is something that Apple has been already working on for a while and with MagSafe and AirDrop, and the whole wireless and magnetic ecosystem around those two, it has done more than other manufacturers to achieve it.
Wireless functionality is already here for those who want it, but it doesn't have to mean portless as the charging port remains a necessity and a convenience that is worth keeping around for at least the next few years.
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