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Here's Why Apple Hasn't Made a Portless iPhone
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They should do this with at least one model (not the Pros). Lockdown mode + no ports = substantially better security when traveling overseas or encountering bad actors that want to steal information or insert malware e.g. on journalists covering important topics.
I expect either the Air or the Ultra will have no ports eventually as long as the EU doesn’t outright ban it which would be very unfortunate.
I expect either the Air or the Ultra will have no ports eventually as long as the EU doesn’t outright ban it which would be very unfortunate.
Yeah I think something like a magnetic Smart Connector would have been much more advantageous than the present inductive MagSafe on the iPhone. More efficient and can also sync data.
I guess if they successfully delivered the AirPower, they might continue to develop this portless iPhone.
Judging by a lot of commenters on MacRumors articles stating they don't care about the lack of Magsafe in the iPhone 16e, even to the point of not wanting wireless charging at all, in favor of wired, taking away the wired option would raise a lot of ire. Best to retain both options.
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The only thing that bothers me about a portless iPhone is how unstable Wireless CarPlay is.
I have two cars, from different brands (Mazda and Subaru), both with Wireless CarPlay (the Subaru actually doesn't have wired option). Both vehicles have stability problems with the phone connection.
I have two cars, from different brands (Mazda and Subaru), both with Wireless CarPlay (the Subaru actually doesn't have wired option). Both vehicles have stability problems with the phone connection.
How did I know the answer was "the tyrannical EU" before I opened the article? I'm going to start selling "Nullo Port Plugs" for the enjoyment of anyone who wants their iPhone 17 Air or other iPhone function as Steve Jobs intended.
100% agree. I’ve reverted to all wired connections. I even hook up my iPad and iphone to the physical lan through a usb-c dock most of the time because it’s just faster and more stable, especially when updating 50+ apps in the App Store at once, or other bandwidth intensive activities. I’ve kinda fallen out of love with WiFi and gone around the house removing most WiFi devices or converting them to wired connections. I used to use HomePods with my AppleTV, but kept getting random drop outs and general weirdness, so threw them out and went with a good Sony wired receiver and wired speakers, couldn’t be happier. Don’t need all that interference.
Live music wireless high fidelity??? Might need to update your internal database brother. Live music still requires fiber or copper. Wireless vocals and instruments still connect the good old fashioned way at the receiver side XLR/TRS. Good luck getting musicians and audio engineers to drop their ports🤣. Apple acknowledged this when adding high impedence headphone jacks to their MBPs😉Of course Apple will go to portless / totally wireless eventually. As soon as they think it's feasible. That has been Apple's trajectory over the decades. Always first to abandon something that's on its way out but has an adequate modern substitute. And almost always, after a lot of whining and mocking, the entire industry quickly follows.
My guess is that Apple has engineers working furiously on getting data transfer to be wicked fast and reliable, even if it means building a new chip or architecture to assist. Because as several here pointed out, that's a remaining weakness and barrier to going fully wireless / portless.
Wireless is the future. Look how far it has come, to where we are wirelessly handling individual 4K movie streams without even thinking about it. Wirelessly charging batteries, even gigantic car batteries. Wireless extreme fidelity for live music and Hollywood film production. When they figure out wireless energy transmission at rates powerful enough to run lightbulbs at a distance, the world will be a whole different place.
But of course one thing will never change: there will always be a cadre of grumpy geezers complaining about whatever it is.
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Anyone else want to talk about musicians and studios using wireless and not those “old” ports? 🤣
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Make iPhone Ultra portless. If you don't like portless get a Pro or Air or regular iPhone.
I’m surprised so many are opposed to this. You could get more water resistance out of it, or a larger battery. Or even a larger, more robust speaker. The only downside is you can’t connect external storage devices, but the target market for this phone isn’t professional photographers.
If they offer a choice and don't ram it down folks throats and trash common use cases, then I am in agreement.
I can count the number of times my iPhone 16 has been plugged in on one hand. People here complaining about file transfer speed? I bet saying 5% of iPhones transfer data via a cable is widely over-estimating it. I suspect most people would be fine if Apple threw a MagSafe charger in the box (which they probably will, whenever this gets released, at least for the first go-around).
I’m not suggesting a portless phone is a good idea, but because of the EU’s idiotic decision to dictate what port phones are allowed to use, portless phones are coming. We’ve already seen phones that are as thick as the USB-C port and the regulation hasn’t even been in effect for a year. So if there’s not going to be micro USB-C because the EU thinks it knows better than the Apples and Samsungs of the world, then portless phones will be the solution.
I’m not suggesting a portless phone is a good idea, but because of the EU’s idiotic decision to dictate what port phones are allowed to use, portless phones are coming. We’ve already seen phones that are as thick as the USB-C port and the regulation hasn’t even been in effect for a year. So if there’s not going to be micro USB-C because the EU thinks it knows better than the Apples and Samsungs of the world, then portless phones will be the solution.
A key supposed benefit of portless devices is it helps the devices be waterproof, as there are no intentionally provided physical holes for water to enter.
Thinner devices are absolutely useful innovation. And that’s what the EU’s idiotic regulation is preventing.
They need a better and more reliable way for getting media off the iPhone before dropping the port. Airdrop works okay for photos and other small files but when you start trying to transfer larger video files it often has issues with timing out or failing.
“This is, of course, where Apple is actually right that regulations like this stop useful innovation.”
I think you mixed up your words. Yes thankfully the EU has prevented this “useless” innovation. They already innovated wireless charging, which oddly enough still requires wires attached to magnetic puck. Removing a port provides no useful benefit, we already have sufficient IP68 sealing.
I think you mixed up your words. Yes thankfully the EU has prevented this “useless” innovation. They already innovated wireless charging, which oddly enough still requires wires attached to magnetic puck. Removing a port provides no useful benefit, we already have sufficient IP68 sealing.
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That's probably why the EU doesn't require USB C charging on devices that are wireless-only charging.
You act like there can't be a small bump for the charging port if phones actually get that thin, that phones without wired charging are required to have a USB-C port (when they're not), that alternatives like lightning (which isn't much smaller) don't have performance limitations when they do (the pin count on a lightning connector means it maxes out at USB 3.0 speeds), and that the EU doesn't have provisions for updating the standard if the need to becomes evident (they do).
In terms of capabilities, no phones are anywhere close to touching the ceiling of USB-C (currently 240W and 40/80 Gbps depending on the implementation). There's no innovation being blocked here, and even without EU regulation, USB-C would be the wired standard for a long time to come (just like USB A before it). If a company does develop a revolutionary port so much smaller and more capable that this standard should be revisited; they could put it beside the USB-C port to prove its worthiness since (as described) it would take up hardly any space...
Apple blocks a lot more real innovation through their hardware choices, OS and app restrictions than any imaginary innovation "blocked" by the EU.