iPhone 15's USB-C Port: 4.5W Charging for Accessories, USB 3.2 Gen 2 for Pro Models, and More

[Apple_Robert]

Mine does. Exactly where the SoC resides. I’ve had mine shut off numerous times.

I was talking about as a whole that affects most units.

 

[sw1tcher]

Considering 99% of Pro model users will never plug it in to transfer data, it’s ridiculous to include a higher spec cable. If you need the speed and can afford a $1,000-1,200 phone you can swing $10 for a cable and length that meets your needs.

How much more will it cost Apple (or the buyer since that's ultimately who will end up paying for it) to include a higher spec USB cable instead of one that can only do USB 2 speeds? I'm going to say less than $5.

 

[Someirishguy]

Mine does. Exactly where the SoC resides. I’ve had mine shut off numerous times.

Sounds faulty - you should take it to an Apple Store before the warranty runs out. I wouldn’t be surprised if you get a shiny new replacement (if my experience with Apple support is anything to go by), so worth the effort (be super nice about it).

 

[mrochester]

How much more will it cost Apple (or the buyer since that's ultimately who will end up paying for it) to include a higher spec USB cable instead of one that can only do USB 2 speeds? I'm going to say less than $5.

It won’t cost them much, but if it’s something that few people will take advantage of, it’s a waste of money. It’s the same way it’s a waste of money to put charging bricks and headphones in the box. The best solution long term is to simply take the cable out of the box.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

They can't be serious. They sell you a phone that costs at least $999 and it comes with a cable that just supports 5% of the transfer speed. It seems they did not understand the purpose of the EU law. The idea was that you need less cables and chargers. So what Apple did is even worse than not supplying a cable at all.

 

[klasma]

As we previously reported, the document indicates that all iPhone 15 models support DisplayPort for up to 4K HDR video mirroring to an external display or TV with a supported USB-C to DisplayPort cable, or an adapter.

How is that possible if the regular iPhones only support USB 2 speeds? 4K@60Hz requires double-digit Gbps (DisplayPort 1.2 HBR2 mode).

 

[tomekwsrod]

Now they have something to boast about in the future: "The new ultra shiny pro iphone 16 that now supports USB 3 transfer speeds". And you will get that just for a couple hundreds of dollars.

 

[mrochester]

They can't be serious. They sell you a phone that costs at least $999 and it comes with a cable that just supports 5% of the transfer speed. It seems they did not understand the purpose of the EU law. The idea was that you need less cables and chargers. So what Apple did is even worse than not supplying a cable at all.

The supplied cable will charge the iPhone fine.

 

[sw1tcher]

It won’t cost them much, but if it’s something that few people will take advantage of, it’s a waste of money. It’s the same way it’s a waste of money to put charging bricks and headphones in the box. The best solution long term is to simply take the cable out of the box.

These are Pro and Pro Max models. They should come with what the user needs to use the Pro/Pro Max features.

This is as bad as Apple putting 8GB memory on their MacBook Pro. Or do you believe more than 8GB is a waste of money and few people would take advantage of anything beyond the 8GB?

This is probably Apple's reasoning for putting in slower SSD's for certain Macs... anything faster is a waste of money and also something that few people will take advantage of. Totally makes sense now.

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[O.N.Y.X]

It can't output to a display either - and grandmas like to show photos so....

That’s what Airplay is for. Works absolutely great from my phone to my
LG TV for instance. Wirelessly. Instantly. No mess with stupid cables.

I personally have no clue what all this sudden fuss of wired data transfers is about when Apple just improved Airdrop a lot in iOS/iPadOs 17

Airdrop is brutally fast among all my Apple devices. And it has become much more reliable on large files.

 

[iMacDragon]

The full usb 3 transfer cable will be thicker, that is probably part of the reason too.

 

[mrochester]

These are Pro and Pro Max models. They should come with what the user needs to use the Pro/Pro Max features.

This is as bad as Apple putting 8GB memory on their MacBook Pro. Or do you believe more than 8GB is a waste of money and few people would take advantage of anything beyond the 8GB?

This is probably Apple's reasoning for putting in slower SSD's for certain Macs... anything faster is a waste of money and also something that few people will take advantage of. Totally makes sense now.

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Actually the longer term direction is to remove the cables from the box, the same way some phone manufacturers already have.

 

[EllZ89]

There shouldn’t be a cable in the box at all. Most of the people already have chargers and cables.

There shouldn’t be a phone in the box, most people already have phones

 

[Macalicious2011]

Given how the iPhone 14 Pro overheats so often (you can touch the SoC part of the phone, it gets really hot under load) — and that’s why the poor battery health experienced by many — I don’t think it can run it with a good performance in a cool temperature…

Maybe it’s time to use iPhones without a case to improve cooling.

 

[ethanwa79]

"The USB-C cable included with iPhone 15 Pro models supports USB 2 speeds"

Such a PRO thing for Apple to do 🙄 What a joke.

God forbid you include a USB 3 cable is a device that costs $1200.

 

[jaytv111]

They can't be serious. They sell you a phone that costs at least $999 and it comes with a cable that just supports 5% of the transfer speed. It seems they did not understand the purpose of the EU law. The idea was that you need less cables and chargers. So what Apple did is even worse than not supplying a cable at all.

The EU doesn’t say anything about data speeds. It’s only concerned with charging.

Also, most, if not all, of Apple’s Android competitors do the exact same thing.

That’s what Airplay is for. Works absolutely great from my phone to my
LG TV for instance. Wirelessly. Instantly. No mess with stupid cables.

I personally have no clue what all this sudden fuss of wired data transfers is about when Apple just improved Airdrop a lot in iOS/iPadOs 17

Airdrop is brutally fast among all my Apple devices. And it has become much more reliable on large files.

It’s also really unlikely someone has a TV or display with USB-C input. It’s usually an HDMI in on TVs and monitors. So you would likely use an adapter to get HDMI for most of those anyway.

The full usb 3 transfer cable will be thicker, that is probably part of the reason too.

That is true, I can attest that Superspeed cables are thicker. Makes it harder to coil up the cable to put into a bag. And Apple’s Thunderbolt cables are really thick too. Apple doesn’t even make Superspeed non-Thunderbolt cables. They seem to be all-in on Thunderbolt.

 

[sw1tcher]

The full usb 3 transfer cable will be thicker, that is probably part of the reason too.

I'm guessing thicker = heavier?

Having to transport all that extra weight means more fuel will be burned, and that's bad for the environment.

Thanks Apple for watching out for the environment. Clearly, including a slower USB 2.0 cable instead of a USB 3.2 cable was the right call.

 

[mystery hill]

How is that possible if the regular iPhones only support USB 2 speeds? 4K@60Hz requires double-digit Gbps (DisplayPort 1.2 HBR2 mode).

See below.

The USB Type-C connector allows for up to four high-speed differential pairs, which can be allocated to different protocols. For example, you could implement 5Gbps or 10Gbps SuperSpeed USB using two of the pairs and use the other two for dual-lane DisplayPort. Alternatively, you could have all four pairs used for quad-lane DisplayPort to drive high-resolution or high refresh rate displays.

Notably, there are dedicated USB 2.0 data lines on the USB Type-C connector that are always available, no matter the configuration of the high-speed differential pairs.

So in this case Apple just had to connect their existing USB 2.0 interface to those dedicated pins and run the new DisplayPort interface to the high-speed differential pairs.
For the 15 Pro models, it may actually more complicated since they might need to add multiplexers to switch the differential pair lines between the SuperSpeed interface and the DisplayPort interface as appropriate.

This picture shows the USB Type-C pinout. The blue TX and RX pins are the high-speed differential pairs, and the green D+/D- pins are the USB 2.0 lines.

 

[Hank001]

How is that possible if the regular iPhones only support USB 2 speeds? 4K@60Hz requires double-digit Gbps (DisplayPort 1.2 HBR2 mode).

The Pro models have a USB3 controller on the chip. Regular 15 models do not have that.

 

[iMacDragon]

I agree it's a bit silly.

My bigger concern is honestly the 4.5W limit, which is probably low enough to stop you plugging a usb c ssd straight in for recording? i.e. does external recording require you to have a powered hub.

 

[mystery hill]

The Pro models have a USB3 controller on the chip. Regular 15 models do not have that.

Both Pro and non-Pro models support 4K@60Hz via DisplayPort. (See my comment above)

 

[iMacDragon]

Both Pro and non-Pro models support 4K@60Hz via DisplayPort. (See my comment above)

Which does not come from usb 3 controller though, that comes from display port controller, as you said.

 

[contacos]

I plan to use the very old plug with a USB-A to USB-C cable to not kill the battery as fast as I always did using wireless charging or fast charging on my 12 PM. Does that make sense? Like as long as it’s 100% when I wake up, I don’t care how long it takes.

For times like on vacation I’d still use fast charging of course

—-

Also, MR mentioned USB-C to USB-A cable for certain cars to use wired CarPlay. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? USB-A to USB-C? Normally you mention „out“ first?

 

[mystery hill]

That does not come from usb 3 controller though, that comes from display port controller.

Yes, my point was that it’s possible for the USB-C port to support 4K at 60 Hz via DisplayPort while only having USB 2 data speeds.

 

[mrochester]

Yes, my point was that it’s possible for the USB-C port to support 4K at 60 Hz via DisplayPort while only having USB 2 data speeds.

Absolutely. The USBC port itself is just a connector, it has no specific functionality itself.