Does the iPhone 15 use USB-C?

USB-C is here to stay and the iPhone 15 is proof of that

Apple brought about a major change with the iPhone 15 family of devices, ditching the Lightning port in favor of the USB-C connector. Make no mistake, Apple still loves its ecosystem very much, but the switch opens iPhones up to a world of USB-C accessories. This is great for iOS users because they no longer have to buy expensive Lightning port accessories such as power banks and cables.

This wasn't exactly a generous move on Apple's part. If anything, the tech giant was forced into a corner thanks to an EU mandate, making it compulsory to switch to USB-C. Whatever the case, the world is overjoyed with the new change. Both manufacturers and consumers benefit from the move, although it will take time for the implications of the change to come into effect fully.

Now, it's important to know that USB-C is a connector, not a standard. The regular iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus come with the USB 2.0 standard released in 2000, which is pretty outdated and supports data transfers at up to 480Mbps.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models come with USB 3.2 Gen 2, which means they support data transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps. As stated by Apple on its product listings, this is around 20 times faster than the ancient USB 2.0 standard. For your reference, almost all Android phones these days come with at least USB 3.0 or higher. The Samsung Galaxy S23 is a great example, as it comes with USB 3.2. Even the Samsung Galaxy S20, a three-year-old device, used USB 3.2.

To learn more about USB-C and its various standards, we've got an excellent explainer that answers all your questions. Read our USB-C FAQ to fill in your knowledge gaps.