Apple will limit iPhone USB-C to USB 2.0 speeds

Unless you fork out for a Pro model

A new rumour claims Apple will build USB-C into the iPhone 15 - but will purposefully limit its speed.

According to a researcher going by Majin Bu - a known Apple leaker - the cables included alongside the new iPhone are USB-C compliant, but limited to a data transfer speed of 480 Mbps. That is the same as the current Lightning connector and the USB 2.0 standard.

This isn't the first time Apple has limited USB-C. Modern tables like the iPad Air and iPad 10 also include the port, rather than a Lightning connection, and feature the same slower speeds.

However, the more expensive iPhone 15 Pro will allegedly reach transfer speeds of up to 20 Gbps, equivalent to USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3.

That is backed up by earlier leaks, which spotted a Thunderbolt chip in the iPhone 15's USB-C connection.

The Pro model is also said to be further differentiated from the regular and Plus models with a titanium chassis, thinner bezels and 3nm chipset.

Of course, these are still rumours. Apple is set to officially announce the iPhone 15 on the 12th or 13th September, after which we should see some clarity.

While it's disappointing - if the rumours are true - to see Apple artificially limiting data transfer speeds, there are two redeeming features.

First, with the prevalence of high-speed wireless internet and the cloud, few people still connect their iPhones to a computer any more - so the data transfer cut is unlikely to affect them.

Second, Apple appears to be moving to USB-C more than a year earlier than needed. To comply with an EU directive requiring every smartphone to share a common charging standard, all new phones sold in the region will need to have a USB-C port by the end of next year.

The law is part of a move to reduce e-waste, and Apple is getting ahead of the game by introducing USB-C on the iPhone 15.