The most exciting new feature of the iPhone 15 isn’t the curved design or the ultra-zoom camera, it’s the switch from Lightning to USB-C. But a new report from a well-known leaker claims that the charging port may not be so universal.
According , “usb-c with MFI is happening” and “accessories like EarPods and cables” are already produced by Foxconn. In a follow-up tweet, he that cables that are not MFi certified will be “software limited in terms of data and charging speed”.
Apple launched the Made for iPod program in January 2005 and extended it to the iPhone and iPad when those devices arrived. It was officially replaced by MFi in 2012 when Lightning arrived on the iPhone 5. As Apple explains, the program gives developers “access to the technical specifications and resources needed to create accessories that communicate with devices. Apple using MFi technologies and components”. It currently includes a wide range of accessories including game controllers, headphones, speakers and, of course, cables.
Apple charges $99 per year for participation in the MFi program and gets an unspecified “royalty” associated with MFi accessories. On the MFi program website it says that this information is only available under NDA.
ShrimpApplePro’s claim is that an unsupported cable would result in slower charging speed than an MFi-certified cable. It’s unclear if that means charging would be slower than current 20W speeds, or if it would be limited to 20W and USB-C iPhones would support faster charging. The iPhone 15 Pro models are rumored to support 40Gbps Thunderbolt transfers, so MFi certification will likely be required to hit those speeds.
With current iPhones, accessories that are not MFi certified are not guaranteed to work with the iPhone and often display a “This accessory is not supported” warning when connected. This same warning does not apply to USB-C accessories on the iPad, and there are no reports of slower charging speeds when using third-party cables.
However, the iPhone is by far Apple’s best-selling device, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Apple expand the program to USB-C. The vast majority of MFi devices are Lightning, and while accessory makers still need to support Lightning devices while older phones are still on sale, the switch to USB-C will surely be quick.
For all the latest news and rumors about this year’s new handsets, check out our iPhone 15 superguide.
