Last year, under pressure from the EU, Apple finally abandoned the Lightning port it had used for 10 years on the iPhone 15 series and switched to the universal USB-C (Type-C) port, making it largely compatible with Android phones.
Extensive testing has shown that Apple’s USB-C port has no restrictions, and any universal USB-C cable can be used with the iPhone 15.
However, many have criticized Apple because the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus use USB 2.0 ports with a speed of only 480 Mbps, which is extremely slow.
Just how slow is it? If your 128GB iPhone 15 is loaded with 100GB of content, backing up or syncing it would take over an hour, making you question life.
On the other hand, the iPhone 15 Pro and Max use USB 3.1 ports, not the latest USB 3.2 or USB 4 ports. The speed of USB 3.1 is 10 Gbps, which is over 20 times faster than USB 2.0, and noticeably quicker.
Many thought that last year’s iPhone 15 might have kept older chipsets due to inventory reasons, so by the time of the iPhone 16, Apple would at least upgrade to USB 3.1, replacing the USB 2.0 chipset.
It was speculated that the iPhone 16 Pro might be upgraded to USB 3.2 or even USB 4, considering the high price of these phones and the fact that a chipset costs only a few dollars. Replacing it with a newer chipset would greatly improve speed and user experience.
But to your disappointment, this year’s iPhone 16 and 16 Plus still use USB 2.0 ports with the same speed of 480 Mbps, sticking to specifications from 24 years ago with no upgrades.
The iPhone 16 Pro and Max continue to use USB 3.1 ports, maintaining the same 10 Gbps speed as last year, with no changes.
Clearly, this is no longer an issue that can be resolved by inventory concerns; Apple is evidently cutting costs and unwilling to provide users with faster ports.
On Apple’s iPads, the iPad Mini features USB 3.0 (5 Gbps), the iPad Air uses USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), and the iPad Pro leads with USB 4 (40 Gbps!).
It’s unclear why the $800 iPhone 16 Pro still doesn’t use USB 4 technology, but it’s likely that Apple won’t delay much longer; perhaps in another year or two, it will finally update.
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