I’m with you - it’s heading in an interesting and potentially useful direction. However, if I needed to carry a small keyboard with me to make my iPhone useable for tapping in meeting notes etc, then I might as well just take an iPad, space-wise. Then I get the pencil support too. Still, that’s another thing the phone already ought to support…..
I know you mentioned it but I disagree with the premise. There’s no need for a “totally different interface”. Stage manager already works with external displays on iPad. Do this, but on iPhone when docked to an external display, webcam, keyboard, and mouse/trackpad. I’m sure Apple with their teams of talented engineers, UI designers and pile of cash could figure out the details of how to make this work. It’s hardly Vision Pro.I already mentioned that point: the Stage Manager interface is native to the iPad. Implementing a totally different interface when you connect an external display is a big problem. And few people find use cases where it’s useful to connect a tablet to an external display, so imagine what would happen with a phone.
According to the USB-C Spec, it should be straight-up DisplayPort output without any sort of transcoding, so there won't be any delayYep the delay is horrible currently
They didn't half-ass it. The A16 has a USB 2.0 controller. They're working with what they've got. Otherwise they would have had to develop two new SoCs this generation, both with USB 3.0. Next year the A17 architecture will trickle down to the iPhone 16, as the A16 did from the 14 Pro to the 15. At that point, all iPhone 16s will have at least USB 3.0. Maybe the A18 has Thunderbolt integrated, who knows?But I hate it that they dragged their feet so long and then released the half assed USB 2 support for the poor man's iPhone.
I don't know which adapter you have, but the "USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter" from Apple (https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MUF82AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter) specifically says 4k 60hz is possible across all iPhone 15s.I already have a USB-C to HDMI Adapter for my 2018 iPad Pro and my MacBook. Would be really neat if it also works with the new iPhone.
COD and Genshin impact are examples are very good mobile games. I played them using my Xbox controller and the experience is fantastic and console-like. Connecting to a screen would be fun for casual gamers.
The A16 has a USB 2.0 controller. They're working with what they've got.
I'm pretty confident it will work. It's a cheap adaptor for ca. 10 bucks. But it works flawlessly on my iPad and my Macbook, so why should it not work with the iPhone 15 if it really supports standard compliant Display Port over USB-C. It's fairly simple and proven tech.It makes sense, since the USB-C spec incorporates DisplayPort output directly via the pinout, so all this thing would be doing is taking the DisplayPort signal from the USB-C Port and converting it to HDMI
I was using this feature with Samsung Galaxy 9 in 2018. It was a technical feat but it wore off rather soon due to the fact I have a PC always available
The new iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max all support DisplayPort for up to 4K HDR video mirroring and video output to an external display or TV, according to Apple's tech specs for the devices.
![]()
DisplayPort support is built into the USB-C port on all iPhone 15 models, meaning that the devices can output video at up to 4K/60Hz natively to a DisplayPort-equipped external display or TV with a supported USB-C to DisplayPort cable. Alternatively, you can use Apple's $69 USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter to mirror video from any iPhone 15 to an HDMI-equipped TV or display at up to 4K/60Hz, but HDR is not supported this way.
On previous iPhones with a Lightning port, video mirroring is limited to 1080p with Apple's Lightning-to-HDMI or Lightning-to-VGA adapters.
Unfortunately for fans of the Stage Manager feature on select iPad models, the iPhone does not yet offer an extended display mode.
Article Link: All iPhone 15 Models Support DisplayPort for Up to 4K HDR Video Output to External Display
...but the iPhone 15 Pro does have USB 3 - and that's the one Apple is pitching at more serious photographers and video makers, who might actually want to regularly transfer huge files, or store them to a portable SSD.I understand that the A16 has that limitation and that they did not want to change the SOC for the iPhone 15. But that is exactly what I call half-assed. The USB-C spec was finalized in August 2014. They had plenty of time to incorporate this into their roadmap for the SOC and to make the transition more smooth.
It was a hacked up solution.Well, I guess I should have asked why anyone would believe the A16 was only capable of USB 2.0 speed.
Realistically the majority of poeple ...Realistically, the majority of people choosing the "second-tier" iPhone are only ever going to use the socket to charge since, otherwise, using wireless to transfer casual photos, sync music (if people do that any more) etc. is more convenient.
Check out the tech spec page under Charging and Expansion as well as Video Playback. It does not mention 4K at 60 Hz specifically though.I don’t see anything about 4K DisplayPort on the standard iPhone 15 tech spec page. Only the Pro page specifically mentions that.
Where are we confirming from Apple that the non-Pro models can handle 4K60 display out?
That's interesting. Need someone to test that.I think that you do need all four lanes for 4K60 with an older DisplayPort 1.2 display, but newer 4K60 displays with DisplayPort 1.4 or DisplayPort 2.0 will work with just two lanes, as you said.
Check out the tech spec page under Charging and Expansion. It does not mention 4K at 60 Hz specifically though. It might just mirror the iPhone screen's native resolution.
True, it does not say 60Hz.Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 4K HDR through native DisplayPort output over USB-C