iPhone 15 Pro Rumored to Feature Thunderbolt Port With Significant Advantage Over Lightning

Apple's next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a USB-C port with support for at least USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, which would give the devices a significant speed advantage over existing models.

iPhone 14 Pro Display and Camera
Thunderbolt 3 theoretically offers bandwidth of up to 40 Gbps, while the Lightning connector has USB 2.0 speeds of up to 480 Mbps on all existing iPhones. Even with real-world performance limitations, an iPhone 15 Pro with a Thunderbolt-enabled USB-C port would offer significantly faster data transfer speeds with a Thunderbolt cable, making it much quicker to get large files on and off of the iPhone, such as 48-megapixel ProRAW photos.

Even if the iPhone 15 Pro models only get USB 3.2 support, that would mean theoretical transfer speeds of between 5 Gbps and 20 Gbps depending on the exact specification, which would still be significantly faster than Lightning.

Most iPads with USB-C ports already offer faster transfer speeds. iPad Pro models with the M1 chip and newer support Thunderbolt 3 for bandwidth of up to 40 Gbps, the fifth-generation iPad Air is capable of 10 Gbps, and the fourth-generation iPad Air and latest iPad mini are capable of up to 5 Gbps. The sole exception is the new 10th-generation standard iPad with a USB-C port, which remains limited to USB 2.0 speeds.

Like the 10th-generation iPad, Kuo said the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will remain limited to USB 2.0 speeds, despite switching to a USB-C port. AirDrop would remain an option for faster wireless data transfers on these devices.

Related Roundup: iPhone 15
Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

thejadedmonkey Avatar
31 months ago
"Significant upgrade"

Only Apple can manage to spin "Updating 10 year old technology to existing standards" a significant upgrade. Anyone else would just call it, a natural update.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DMG35 Avatar
31 months ago
I really hope Apple doesn’t tout this as the must have feature for the 15 and leaves everything else the same as the 14. That’s probably what will happen though…
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jimmy_Banks Avatar
31 months ago

"Significant upgrade"

Only Apple can manage to spin "Updating 10 year old technology to existing standards" a significant upgrade. Anyone else would just call it, a natural update.
The headline was written by MacRumors, not Apple.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
31 months ago
USB-C is desperately needed on iPhone models. I wonder if iPhone SE 2023 will carry the USB-C port.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BorisDG Avatar
31 months ago
Who even use the USB-C for something than charging? Does it really matter...
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
31 months ago

Who are we kidding? iPhone 15 Ultra should have the fastest wireless experience...fastest wireless charging...fastest wireless file transfer...wireless lossless audio for next generation AirPods Max. That puts the ultra in Ultra. ?
What would the world do if Apple decides to introduce iPhone 15 Mini Ultra?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)