iPhone 15 Models Have 'Completely Standard' USB-C Port Without Restrictions on Accessories

Apple's new iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max are equipped with a "completely standard" USB-C port without any restrictions on cables or accessories, according to Ars Technica's Andrew Cunningham.

iPhone 15 USB C Port Event Still
For previous iPhones with the Lightning connector, Apple limits the functionality of some cables and accessories that are not certified through its "Made for iPhone" program. It was rumored that Apple might apply similar limitations to the USB-C port on iPhone 15 models, but this report confirms that is not the case.

As with iPads and Macs with USB-C ports, the report said all existing USB cables, chargers, and accessories will work normally with the iPhone 15 models.

As the report notes, it is still possible that Apple will launch a "Made for iPhone" certification program for iPhone accessories with a USB-C port, but it appears that uncertified accessories will work just fine with the devices.

All four iPhone 15 models are equipped with a USB-C port, but there are differences in data transfer speeds. The lower-end iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are limited to USB 2.0 data transfer speeds of up to 480 Mbps, which is equal to Lightning, while the iPhone 15 Pro models support USB 3 data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps.

Apple began accepting pre-orders for all four iPhone 15 models earlier today. The devices launch on Friday, September 22.

Tag: USB-C
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

contacos Avatar
28 months ago

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t get the big deal with the phones needing to use USB-C. I can’t remember the last time I plugged a phone in. Honestly I would have preferred a phone without any ports. Wasn‘t wireless charging the future?
I travel a lot and wireless charging is a pain in the ass. Takes too long when you quickly want to charge your phone before stepping out again and obviously nearly impossible to use to charge in the backpack. Also makes my phone turn hot. Can’t be good for its health
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sack_peak Avatar
28 months ago
A decade ago I bought $1.00 knock off Lighting cables that worked on my 2012 iPhone's 5W charger.

When I heard that fast charging was possible using the 10-12W iPad charger I switched to that.

To my surprise I started to smell burning palstic as thecable's insulation started to smoke through and melt.

Since then I used MFI-compliant Anker USB-A to Lightning cables.

Back when the 2015 Google Nexus 6P & 5X phones came out there was a mad dash for USB-C cables & chargers. The big topic back then was USB-C compliant cables. It was so bad that Google engineer Benson Leung made a database on what brands are compliant or not ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benson_Leung').

I know everyone's saying Apple's profiteering from Lightning port but to be honest I rather pay $10 than lose my house ('https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/usb-chargers-health-canada-recall-halifax-fire-firefighters-1.4622943') or my life. ('https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/faulty-usb-phone-charger-blamed-for-sheryl-aldeguers-death-20140627-zsoc8.html')
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fatTribble Avatar
28 months ago
So maybe Apple isn’t as mean as many feared? ?
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darngooddesign Avatar
28 months ago
I mean...of course it's unrestricted just like the iPads.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blazerunner Avatar
28 months ago

EU just did what US wouldn't.
Fixed that for you.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
28 months ago

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t get the big deal with the phones needing to use USB-C. I can’t remember the last time I plugged a phone in. Honestly I would have preferred a phone without any ports. Wasn‘t wireless charging the future?
You got it in the first 4 words. Not everyone is you. I plug my iDevice in every night to charge. Wired charging is far more efficient than wireless and data transfers over wire are far more efficient than wireless transfers... especially if the cloud is involved as middleman.

People who need to move a LOT of data- such as a lot of 4K video or now spatial video shot on these new phones- will likely much prefer to do that with a FAST wired connection than a slow wireless connection. Unlimited* plans that throttle speeds at a certain data transfer capacity will be at risk every month if someone shoots much video and transfers it all over cellular (to/through iCloud). Wired doesn't need cellular (or wifi) at all.

People setting up these brand new phones who have extensive "owned" (not rented) collections of ripped music, video, etc will likely want to use a wired connection in that first restore to get it all on the new phone FAST... vs. waiting for the much slower migration wirelessly and/or via cloud.

However, you are not alone. There are many people who do both wirelessly. It very well may be the future... but in the present, it is less efficient in both primary uses.

BONUS: the jack existing opens up the opportunity for MANY accessories that can't function wirelessly at all. For example, you shoot a bunch of footage to near capacity and need to shoot more, hook in a USB-C drive/stick and free up the internal space without having to delete footage. Shoot to capacity and repeat as often as needed. Cloud only works if you have a connection and it may be too slow to free up the space for the new video you are wanting to also shoot ASAP.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)