Apple is allegedly preparing to remove USB-C ports from iPhones

Rumors and speculations about Apple’s upcoming product, dubbed the iPhone 17 Air, have taken an uptick in recent months. The device is set to be the thinnest iPhone ever, replacing the Plus variants in the iPhone lineup. However, the iPhone 17 Air might usher in a new era of port-free iPhones for Apple.

As Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman writes in his Power On newsletter, Apple has considered ditching the USB-C port with the upcoming iPhone 17 Air and launch its first-ever port-free iPhone. This move, while requiring users to rely solely on wireless charging, could lead to a sleeker, more streamlined device. Additionally, syncing data with iCloud remains the only pathway to access information.

iPhones have long been using Lightning ports to charge and download information. However, Apple opted for USB-C with the iPhone 15 lineup - primarily due to EU regulatory pressure - and it might finally ditch all ports from its iPhones in the coming years. As Gurman says, Apple finally decided to keep the USB-C on iPhone 17 Air to prevent further disputes with EU regulators.

While a bold move like ditching the charging port from a device will be controversial for Apple, it might soon become an industry standard, and other manufacturers will take the same path. Remember when Apple eliminated the 3.5mm headphone jack in 2016 with the iPhone 7? Many rival firms, industry experts, and even customers criticized Apple for making such a change, but soon after, other firms also followed Apple’s footprint and removed the headphone jack from their devices.

It seems that Apple’s customer base is also ready for the change. Apple has been experimenting with the idea of relying solely on wireless charging with the Apple Watch lineup, and it might replicate that for the iPhones as well.

Other models of the iPhone 17 lineup are expected to keep their USB-C port too. Meanwhile, Gurman says Apple executives have stated that if the new iPhone 17 Air proves successful, more port-free and slimmer iPhones might be down the road in the coming years.

What do you think about a port-free iPhone 17 Air? Should Apple keep the USB-C or switch to wireless charging?