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Unlike its competitors, Apple has been a bit late to the train when it comes to upgrading its chargers from the lightning connector to USB Type-C or also known as USB-C.
Currently, Apple still adopts their trusty 8-pin lightning connector to be the input port for the majority of their devices. The iPhone 14 which was released in the Autumn of 2022 still continues to use this style of charging.
For those based in Europe, interesting news was released back in October related to this. The European Parliament voted that all mobile phones, tablets and cameras must have a USB Type-C charging port by the end of 2024 and laptops by the Spring of 2026. In a bid to reduce e-waste.
How will this affect other Apple users across the globe? Well, Apple’s vice president announced that the company will be implementing the effects of this law around the world too.
So it looks like iPhone chargers are set to change in the next coming years. Now the question emerges, how do current iPhone chargers differ from USB Type-C?
Is Type C And iPhone Charger The Same?
Technically, USB type-C and iPhone chargers are different. However, there are iPhone chargers that currently exist which are Lightning to USB Type-C. The Type-C port can either be plugged into a wall adapter or your computer, if it supports this, to charge your phone.
Which Is Better USB-C Or iPhone Charger?
At the moment, you can only charge your iPhone using a lightning cable. But this is set to change in 2024.
However, there are two types of iPhone chargers that exist. The original Lightning to USB cable and the newer Lightning to USB-C cable.
There are a number of benefits to using a Lightning to USB-C charger over the older model. The USB-C cable can transmit data at faster speeds, of up to 640Mbps. Whereas USB ports have a rate of 480Mbps. USB-C also supports a higher power delivery rate. This means they are faster at charging.
Another added benefit is that USB-C ports are becoming more widely adopted across a number of different brands such as PS5 and Windows PCs. Especially, with newly released Apple MacBooks and iPads for those Apple users out there. Therefore, they offer greater compatibility with your newer devices.
At the moment, Apple’s current devices that use USB Type-C chargers are:
- iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation or later)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation or later)
- iPad Air (4th generation or later)
- iPad mini (6th generation)
- 16-inch MacBook Pro models introduced in 2019 or later
- 13-inch MacBook Pro models introduced in 2016 or later
- 15-inch MacBook Pro models introduced in 2016 or later
- MacBook models introduced in 2015 or later
- MacBook Air models introduced in 2018 or later
Conclusion
USB-Type C chargers have gained popularity across a number of different tech brands in the past few years. In the future, Apple will be converting their iPhone charger ports from lightning connectors to USB-C too.
When this change does happen, you will be able to enjoy the benefits of using USB-Cs such as faster data transfer, faster charging and greater compatibility.
Do you have more questions around this topic? Why not read our other articles from our dedicated iOS section?
- NOW READ iPhone Charger VS Samsung Charger
