Only the most expensive iPhones received modern USB-C. Cheaper models with technology from 20 years ago

Apple this week presented the new iPhone 15, its first smartphones equipped with USB Type C. Thanks to pressure from the European Union, the American giant has finally abandoned its own Lightning connector, and iPhones will be able to be charged with the same cable as all other devices portable devices from various companies – laptops, tablets, headphones, etc.

Apple gave us USB on the iPhone. But not everyone will get the same

Apple representatives emphasized during the conference that USB-C offers new possibilities. The connector allows not only to power smartphones, but also to transmit data, image and sound simultaneously. Speaking about the iPhone 15 Pro, they also emphasized that the USB in their smartphones is compatible with the “USB 3” standard (this name is incorrect – it is the USB 3.1 standard), which means a significant jump in terms of data transmission speed (relative to Lightning). During the conference, however, the company cleverly concealed the fact that this jump only applies to iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, because only they received USB 3.1 ports.

This is quite an old standard, the specification of which was announced in 2013, but it still provides a very decent data transmission speed (up to 10 Gbit/s or 1280 MB/s) and allows image transmission in 4K resolution and 60 fps. Despite the fact that USB 3.1 is 10 years old, we are still talking about transfers that are completely sufficient to quickly copy several dozen or even several hundred gigabytes of photos and videos from iPhone to a computer.

The problem is that the cheaper iPhones 15 and 15 Plus strangely received USB-C compatible with the 2.0 standard only. Apple did not mention it during the conference, but confirmation can be found in the detailed specifications on the manufacturer’s website. It should be explained here that the connectors on the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro look identical, but are completely different from each other. The USB 2.0 standard is over two decades old (it dates back to 2001) and in 2023 it is simply very outdated.

The maximum data transfer that USB 2.0 can achieve is only 480 Mbit/s, or 60 MB/s. In practice, copying is limited to 30 MB/s, which means that copying, for example, 150 GB of photos and videos (this is more or less the amount that will fit in the cheapest capacity version) will take about 1.5 hours. Well, it’s very possible that it will take less time to upload this data to the cloud and download it from your computer.

Technology from two decades ago in the new iPhone 15

Of course, it can be argued that few iPhone 15 users will regularly copy large amounts of data via wire, and most will only do it occasionally. On the other hand, for professionals (photographers, filmmakers), the model with the Pro mark in the name is aimed at, and the data transmission speed there is completely different. On the other hand, even the cheapest iPhone 15 costs PLN 4,700, and the most expensive version of the iPhone 15 Plus (512 GB) costs as much as PLN 7,100.

Apple tried so hard to save a few cents that it decided to put an archaic standard connector in a modern device? Of course, USB 2.0 can also be found in some Android smartphones, but these are usually smartphones costing several hundred zlotys or relatively cheap mid-range devices. Even the weakest version of the Samsung Galaxy S23 (the main competitor to the iPhone 15) is equipped with USB-C in the 3.2 standard – much newer and four times faster than what can be found in the iPhone 15 Pro.

So only one explanation comes to mind. Apple tried so hard this year to separate the iPhone 15 from the Fifteen Pro that it decided to take desperate measures. One of them is USB 2.0, but the list is long. We still have last year’s processor, no telephoto lens, and the main example is a screen with a refresh rate of 60 Hz (120 Hz has been the standard for other manufacturers for years). Selling a device for several thousand zlotys with such a display in 2023 is laughing in the customer’s face.

Savings first and foremost. Even in a smartphone costing 10,000. zloty

But regardless of the price and “prestige” of the smartphone, Apple has to save on something. Even when we are talking about the most expensive version of iPhone 15 Pro Max. And it’s not about the lack of a charger (a plug plugged into the socket) in the box, because everyone has probably gotten used to that. It turns out that Apple adds a USB-C cable to the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max set, but it is compatible with the 2.0 standard. While the smartphone itself supports the 3.1 standard.

Apple doesn’t really boast about this fact either. Only under one of the “asterisks” in the specification we find information that to use the USB port’s capabilities, a “USB 3 cable with a bandwidth of 10 Gb/s” is required (again, this is a USB 3.1 cable). If you are left with only Lightning cables in the drawer, you will have to buy such a cable separately. Even in the case of the iPhone 15 Pro Max for PLN 9,599 (this is the price of the top version).

On Apple’s website, the cheapest cable supporting this data transmission speed can be found for PLN 149 (for 0.5 m in length, the 2-meter version costs PLN 199). Apple sells another braided cable called the Thunderbolt 4 Pro professional cable with transmission support up to 40 Gbit/s, but its prices start from PLN 369. Fortunately, similar cables from other manufacturers can be found at even several times lower prices.