iPhone 15 USB-C Cables Again Said to Be Limited to USB 2.0 Transfer Speeds

All iPhone 15 models this year are expected to adopt USB-C ports for the first time, and while USB-C has several advantages over Lightning, another rumor today suggests that Apple's standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models are unlikely to enjoy any increase in data transfer speeds following the transition.

1
According to leaker Majin Bu, who has previously shared details about Apple's new cables, the USB-C cables supplied in iPhone 15 boxes are indeed limited to USB 2.0 data transfer speeds at a rate of 480 MBps, which is the same as Lightning.

In contrast, rumors converge on both iPhone 15 Pro models supporting higher USB-C transfer speeds. According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 15 Pro models will support "at least" USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3. For comparison, the iPad Pro features a Thunderbolt port for transfer speeds up to 40 Gbps, while the entry-level iPad’s USB-C port is limited to just 480 Mbps.

With the higher-specification data transfer speed, iPhone 15 Pro models will therefore be able to transfer video and other file types much more quickly than the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.


Each iPhone 15 will include a braided USB-C charging cable in the box that is thicker (i.e. more durable) and 50% longer than the Lightning cable that comes with current iPhone models, according to reports. The cables are also rumored to be color-matched to possible new iPhone colors, coming in at least black, white, yellow, blue, and orange.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
ios 26 1 liquid glass opaque

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
iPhone Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
maxresdefault

Here's How the iOS 26.1 Transparency Toggle Changes Liquid Glass

Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
m4 macbook air blue

M5 MacBook Air Coming Spring 2026 With M5 Mac Studio and Mac Mini in Development

Thursday October 16, 2025 3:57 pm PDT by
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year. Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...

Top Rated Comments

t0rqx Avatar
28 months ago
Anyone still believe Apple caring about user experience more than money? These are Android cheap a.. strategies.
Score: 83 Votes (Like | Disagree)
leonremi Avatar
28 months ago

Who could have seen this EU-made disaster coming from a mile away? ?‍♂️ ?‍♂️ ?‍♂️ ?‍♂️

> EU mandates USB-C without specifying USB 3.0 minimum spec
> Apple ships billions of USB 2.0 cables with the box to keep costs down
> Users throw their USB-C 2.0 cables away when they realize these cables are slow, so instead of relying in AirDrop, they upgrade to an Anker USB3.0 cable
> Apple switches to portless phone several years later
> Users throw their USB3.0 cables away because portless iPhone is out and most of their other accessories are USB 4.1/5.0 with even better XYZ features

Meanwhile lightning hasn't changed one bit since ten years ago, did one thing really well: charge your iPhone, and there are billions of good functioning cables out there that didn't need to be thrown away before the portless iPhone.

Tell me again how this is a great idea for the environment.

As I predicted, big brain 5-head EU has absolutely no clue what they're doing. Thank them for the awfully annoying cookie popup on every single website too.
How is Apple being cheap as f*** the fault of the EU?
Score: 58 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
28 months ago

Who could have seen this EU-made disaster coming from a mile away? ?‍♂️ ?‍♂️ ?‍♂️ ?‍♂️

> EU mandates USB-C without specifying USB 3.0 minimum spec
> Apple ships USB 2.0 cables with the box to keep costs down
> Users throw their USB-C 2.0 cables away when they realize these cables are slow and upgrade to an Anker USB3.0 cable

Tell me again how this is a great idea for the environment.

As I predicted, EU has absolutely no ******* idea what they're doing. Thank them for the cookie popups too.
What does the EU rule have to do with speed limitations imposed by penny pinching Apple, who clearly does no longer care about offering the best user experience? The ruling is simply about electronic waste (every device using the same cable) for charging.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
syklee26 Avatar
28 months ago
I am not getting non-pro iPhone so it won’t affect me, but this is just so freakin stupid. There is no justifiable reason to do this, and it’s not like people will get non-pro iPhone just because of fast usb speed.

If Apple cannot design phones without crippling performance when used under full speed usb-c, especially at that price, Apple should not be selling that phone. This is just ridiculous behavior from Tim and his posse who are doing this just to just egg EU.
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
d5aqoëp Avatar
28 months ago
Disgusting if true. USB 3 (5Gbps) standard was released in 2008. We should stop calling iPhones as cutting edge devices and youtube fairies need to call out Apple on this.
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JohnRckr Avatar
28 months ago
2.0 in 2023, truly innovative and worth premium price.
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)