Days after a report claimed that Apple may abandon Lightning for USB-C on this year’s iPhones, a new report says that Lightning’s going nowhere.
The new 2017 iPhone models will include Lightning connectors, says KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Rather than ditch Lightning for USB-C, Kuo suggests that Apple will offer a cable with USB-C on one end and Lightning on the other, which will enable fast charging support on the new iPhone models.
“We believe all three new iPhones launching in 2H17 will support fast charging by the adoption of Type-C Power Delivery technology (while still retaining the Lightning port),” Kuo said in a new research note.
Kuo goes on to name a few reasons as to why Apple will stick with Lightning, including its slightly slimmer design compared to USB-C, the licensing income that Apple gets from its Made For iPhone accessory program, and the belief that USB-C high-speed data transmission is “still a niche application.”
It’s worth noting that, if Kuo’s prediction comes true, the 2017 iPhone models won’t be the first Apple mobile devices to support fast charging over USB-C. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro includes a fast charging feature that works when you plug a USB-C to Lightning cable into an Apple 29W, 61W, or 87W USB-C power adapter.
We’ll have to wait until Apple actually launches its new iPhones before we know for sure what kind of port they’ll have. The argument that Apple will keep the Lightning port but switch the other end of the cable to USB-C could make sense, though. Not only would a Lightning port keep MFi profit coming in and be a slightly slimmer port on the device, but Apple could also include fast charging with a Lightning to USB-C cable and tout that as a new feature of its 2017 iPhone models.
What do you think of this rumor? Will Apple ditch Lightning or will it simply offer a Lightning to USB-C cable?