Next-gen iPhones are expected to move from Lightning to USB-C which will offer some benefits, but don’t expect a big leap in battery charging speeds.
When Apple first offered iPad Pro with a USB-C instead of Lightning port four years ago in October 2018, the company said, “A new USB-C connector replaces the Lightning connector in support of the powerful ways iPad Pro is used. Incredibly versatile, USB-C offers power for charging, supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 for high-bandwidth data transfers up to twice the speed to and from cameras and musical instruments, and drives external displays up to 5K. With USB-C, iPad Pro can even be used to charge an iPhone.”
The iPhones could get faster battery charging speeds. A move to 30W wouldn’t be surprising from Apple, considering that the current models can almost reach it via Lightning. But don’t expect Apple to match the breakneck speeds that some Android handsets support.
Unless Apple has figured out to preserve the battery health while pushing current at 100W over a USB-C cable to the iPhone, you won’t see it happen soon. Battery life is one of the most important features of an iPhone, especially devices that last three to four years.
On the other hand, faster data transfer speed is a perk USB-C iPhones will get. Just like the iPads did beforehand… If you’re a person who shoots many high-resolution photos and 4K videos on the iPhone, you will want USB-C speeds to offload those files quickly. And Lightning can’t match what USB-C can do.
Even if you rarely use the wired connection of the iPhone, there’s another instance where USB-C speeds will pay off. Backing up an iPhone with a USB-C port to a computer should be faster than Lighting.
MacDailyNews Take: Of course, another benefit for anyone who’s already also using Macs and iPads, the same USB-C-to-USB-C cable will work for all of them. So, there’ll be one less cable to worry about (while we’re still worrying about cables).
Apple has done a lot of work on optimizing charging to preserve the life of batteries. With iOS 13 and later, Optimized Battery Charging is designed to reduce the wear on your battery and improve its lifespan by reducing the time your iPhone spends fully charged. When the feature is enabled, your iPhone will delay charging past 80% in certain situations. Your iPhone uses on-device machine learning to learn your daily charging routine so that Optimized Battery Charging activates only when your iPhone predicts it will be connected to a charger for an extended period of time. The algorithm aims to ensure that your iPhone is still fully charged when unplugged.
Optimized Battery Charging is on by default when you set up your iPhone or after updating to iOS 13 or later. To turn off the feature, which we do not recommend, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health > Optimized Battery Charging.
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