The iPhone 15 Pro Accessory We're Most Excited About May Not Be In The Box - SlashGear

The iPhone 15 Pro Accessory We're Most Excited About May Not Be In The Box - SlashGear,With the iPhone 15 expected to say goodbye to Lightning, could a must-have accessory force you to spend more at your local Apple Store?

The iPhone 15 Pro Accessory We’re Most Excited About May Not Be In The Box – SlashGear

Over the past several years, Apple has faced extensive pressure from the European Union to conform to a universal charging cable standard to help cut down on e-waste. Apple has acquiesced with these demands, and is in the process of switching the charging ports on its devices to the USB-C standard. With the iPad transition underway, the iPhone is believed to be next, starting with 2023’s iPhone 15.

Although the port connector itself is expected to move from Lightning to USB-C, the connection itself — and whether that will be regular USB or faster Thunderbolt — is still in question. Thunderbolt would potentially allow for faster charging and data transfer, though according to new rumors, while select iPhone 15 series handset might support it, that won’t necessarily be the case out of the box.

X user and Apple leaker @KosutamiSan shared photos this week of a new data transfer cable said to be specifically for the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro. According to Kosutami, this 0.8m cable is capable of up to 150W charging via a USB4 Gen 2 connection. Their original post mistakenly benchmarked the theoretical charge rate at 120W, but the proper rate was clarified in a statement to Apple Insider. The more important factor here is that, according to Kosutami, the cable won’t be included in the iPhone 15 Pro box. If you want Thunderbolt speeds, you’ll have to pay separately for them.

Optional cords

Primakov/Shutterstock

Instead, separate rumors have indicated that Apple’s bundled cable with the iPhone 15 series will be a standard, USB 2.0 cord with the USB-C plug. Kosutami has noted that the cable they posted about was obtained as a prototype back in February of this year. Even if genuine, then, it’s possible that Apple’s plans have changed in the meantime.

Data transferring cable for iPhone 15 Pro- which sold separately. Up to 120W Charge, features USB4 Gen2. Length 0.8m.(Different than existing thunderbolt one)(Already got this since feb)(DVT Sample)#Apple #appleinternal pic.twitter.com/M5genGQ2NK

— Kosutami (@KosutamiSan) August 25, 2023

Worth noting is that, while Thunderbolt does theoretically support faster data transfer rates and higher wattage charging, both the charger and the device plugged in need to also support those rates. In short, even with a non-standard Thunderbolt cable, that doesn’t necessarily mean that an iPhone 15 Pro would be capable of 150W charging, or indeed of the data speeds we’ve seen Thunderbolt devices like external drives offer.

Leaks earlier this month, indeed, suggested that while Apple was likely to bump up the maximum charging speed with select iPhone 15 series handsets, that would still top out at around 35W. Faster, certainly, than the iPhone 14 Pro, but still well short of what many Android devices are capable of. The iPhone 15 Pro, along with the rest of the iPhone 15 series, is expected to debut at an Apple event likely to take place sometime in September.