The beta of iOS 13 shows that Apple could equip the next iPhone XI 2019 with a USB type-C port, retiring the Lightning cable
The news has been circulating on the net for quite some time, but now it seems to arrive the first confirmations albeit indirect and unofficial: the iPhone XI of 2019 (or iPhone 11, if you prefer) will no longer have the Lightning port but a much more common USB Type C port.
This is not deduced from the usual leak from China or Japan but from a very trivial observation, related to the beta for developers of the new mobile operating system iOS 13. As more developers put their hands on the beta, in fact, come to light a number of possible new features on future devices of the bitten apple. Of course, it is not certain that these innovations will necessarily be confirmed in the official and final version of the next iOS, but at least this time the source is Apple itself.
Why iPhone XI will have the USB-C port
The hypothesis regarding the replacement of the Lightning connection with the USB Type C comes from an image: on iPhones with iOS13 beta installed the graphics of the restore screen has changed compared to the past. If before you could see a Lightning cable connecting to a laptop, now you can see a USB-C. Hence the intuition that, finally, Apple has decided to embrace this standard on its future products. And the next expected devices are precisely the iPhone XI, which will arrive in fall 2019.
Everyone wants USB-C
An iPhone with a USB-C port has been talked about for months now. An initial confirmation of the possibility of integrating this standard into Cupertino’s phones came in late 2018, when Apple unveiled its new line of USB-C-equipped iPad Pros. The presence of a USB port on the new iPhones 11 would allow, among other things, to use an 18-watt fast charger on these smartphones that, most likely, will have a very large battery to cope with high consumption.
Apple changes strategy?
Until now, Apple has refused to adopt standard connections for its products, preferring proprietary solutions patented in house. Early iPhones had a proprietary 30-pin connector, then in 2012 came the 8-pin Lightning standard that was adopted starting with the iPhone 5. The patented interface has significantly limited the presence of compatible devices on the market and, consequently, the competition made by other manufacturers to Apple in the field of accessories for its products.
The Lightning brand
Apple’s imposition of the Lightning standard on the market initially had a small obstacle to overcome: the brand was already registered in Europe by Harley-Davidson, which used it for its Buell motorcycles and for various merchandising products, such as t-shirts.