Your new iPhone 15 could be coming with a slow USB-C charging cable

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A new cable with old speeds?

iPhone 11 charging port
(Image credit: Future)

If you’re planning on upgrading to iPhone 15, the USB-C cable it’s going to be packaged with is rumored to be as slow at transferring data as Apple’s Lightning port has always been.

Leaker Majin Bu on X, formerly Twitter, was able to obtain an iPhone 15 USB-C cable and discovered that it has speeds that reflect a USB 2.0 cable, just like Lightning. This means that, while you’ll be getting a better cable for charging, syncing your data on a Mac could still be at the same speeds it’s always been on iPhone.

USB-C brings a bunch of benefits over Lightning, such as fast charging, the ability to use those cables you have for your other USB-C devices with iPhone 15, and much more.

But transferring data between an iPhone and another device through a wire has always been slow. And while it seems that this is limited to the regular iPhone 15 models, not the 15 Pro or Pro Max (Ultra), it makes sense in the grand scheme of things.

Disappointing but understandable — iMore’s Take

It’s a big deal that Apple’s entire line of new iPhones will allegedly be switching to a new port this year. When Lightning debuted back in 2012 with the iPhone 5 to replace the 30-pin adapter, being able to charge with a thinner cable was great for its time. But the iPhone is starting to look outdated with Lightning now, especially when Apple’s MacBook Pro and iPad models have had USB-C for years.

But while we’ve been able to fast-charge our devices since the iPhone 8 in 2017, many were hoping for faster transfer speeds to arrive as well for this USB-C port.

iPad Pro has offered a USB-C with fast ThunderBolt speeds since it switched from Lightning in 2018. And while some users have been complaining that they’ve been getting speeds of 5Gbps, it’s still a big jump from Lightning’s 480 Mbit/s USB 2.0 speeds, a fraction of what USB-C offers.

So if faster transfer speeds arrive for iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max (Ultra), it makes sense as another exclusive feature. You get the Pro iPhone with pro speeds, alongside the thinner bezel on the display, the improved camera, and more if these rumors also turn out to be true.

As I’m planning on upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max (Ultra), I’ll be curious to see if these transfer speeds are as fast as my iPad Pro when I decide to transfer big files to my Mac through USB-C. But if you were hoping for the same for the iPhone 15 you’re out of luck. At least you’ll have a better charging port.

Daryl Baxter
Daryl Baxter
Features Editor

Daryl is iMore's Features Editor, overseeing long-form and in-depth articles and op-eds. Daryl loves using his experience as both a journalist and Apple fan to tell stories about Apple's products and its community, from the apps we use every day to the products that have been long forgotten in the Cupertino archives.

Previously Software & Downloads Writer at TechRadar, and Deputy Editor at StealthOptional, he's also written a book, 'The Making of Tomb Raider', which tells the story of the beginnings of Lara Croft and the series' early development. His second book, '50 Years of Boss Fights', came out in June 2024, and has a monthly newsletter called 'Springboard'. He's also written for many other publications including WIRED, MacFormat, Bloody Disgusting, VGC, GamesRadar, Nintendo Life, VRV Blog, The Loop Magazine, SUPER JUMP, Gizmodo, Film Stories, TopTenReviews, Miketendo64, and Daily Star.