Apple Retail Staff Drilled to Recommend iPhone 15 USB-C Charging Accessories at Point of Sale

With Apple's iPhone 15 series launch potentially now just two weeks away, Apple retail employees are reportedly being drilled to emphasize to customers at the point of sale that the switch to USB-C means the new devices cannot be charged with existing Lightning charging cables that they may already own.

iPhone 15 to Switch From Lightning to USB C in 2023 feature
When customers purchase a new ‌iPhone 15‌ model, Apple staff will be trained to caution that while a USB-C to USB-C cable is included in the box, a USB-C charger is not. Employees will therefore direct customers to the in-store availability of Apple USB-C power adapters and additional Apple-certified USB-C cables to meet the need for multiple charging locations.

Apple has used its proprietary Lightning port on iPhone models for over 10 years, but in recent years Apple's Macs and iPads have all transitioned to the more common USB-C charging standard. Pressure to comply with new regulations implemented in Europe reportedly hastened the company's decision to switch to USB-C for iPhones, however despite its initial reluctance to make the change in 2023, Apple stands to profit enormously from the switch.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple in March significantly increased the total shipment forecast of its 20W USB-C charger by approximately 120% for the third quarter of this year, and set 20W USB-C charger shipments at about 70 million units for the fourth quarter. Overall, Apple's 20W USB-C charger shipments in 2023 are anticipated to see a significant 30–40% year-on-year growth, amounting to 230–240 million units, thanks to the strong replacement demand.

Kuo believes Apple's upcoming ‌iPhone 15‌ series will include support for faster charging speeds when used with MFi-certified USB-C chargers, including its own 20W Power Adapter, while Leaker ShrimpApplePro has said that ‌iPhone 15‌ models will only officially support USB-C accessories certified by the Apple Made for ‌iPhone‌ (MFi) program.

usb c power adapter
Meanwhile Apple supplier Foxconn is said to be producing accessories like EarPods and cables with USB-C connectors that are MFi certified, and Apple is also expected to release a new AirPods Pro USB-C charging case.

At least some of the ‌iPhone 15‌ models could support charging speeds up to 35W, which would allow for quicker charging with an appropriate power adapter. It is not clear if this is a feature that will be available for all of the ‌iPhone 15‌ models or just the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro models.

At the current time, the ‌iPhone‌ 14 models can charge at a maximum of around 27W, with the Pro models able to charge a bit faster. An increase to 35W would speed up charging times. If the ‌‌iPhone 15‌‌ models support up to 35W charging, Apple could start recommending its 30W MacBook Air charger or its 35W Dual USB-C charger for maximum charging speed.

Overall, Apple stands to gain significant revenue from USB-C accessory sales as it effectively renders obsolete Lightning cables and connecting USB-A chargers already used by millions of Apple customers worldwide. With ‌iPhone 15‌ prices expected to increase, many customers in the market for a new model this year will also therefore have to brace themselves for the additional financial burden of replacement chargers and cables.

Apple will unveil the ‌iPhone 15‌ series at an event scheduled for Tuesday, September 12 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. A live stream of the event will be available on YouTube, on Apple's website, and in the Apple Events app for the Apple TV.

Related Roundup: iPhone 15
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...

Top Rated Comments

ScottishDuck Avatar
20 months ago
Breaking news: staff at store told to sell products
Score: 58 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anappleaday29 Avatar
20 months ago
Kinda strange to me that they don't have some kind of charging recycling program where you can bring in your old usb A plugs to get a couple bucks off a new apple certified usb-c one.
That way unnecessary e-waste is reduced and everyone has what they need to use their phones
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
20 months ago
They’re drilling staff now? Jeez some people will do anything to make a point!
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
20 months ago

Kinda strange to me that they don't have some kind of charging recycling program where you can bring in your old usb A plugs to get a couple bucks off a new apple certified usb-c one.
That way unnecessary e-waste is reduced and everyone has what they need to use their phones
Or they could have included a USB-A to USB-C dongle in the box.



Attachment Image
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coredev Avatar
20 months ago
I don't understand the point of this at all. There has been no charger in the box for years now. The cables that came with the last 3 (?) iPhone generations connected to USB-C, so for anyone upgrading from a recent phone, they would need no new charger at all.

Also, there are no "existing Lightning chargers", there were never any Lightning chargers, only chargers with USB-A port and Lightning to USB-A cables. But those were not used for iPhones since several years.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xxray Avatar
20 months ago

When customers purchase a new iPhone 15 model, Apple staff will be trained to caution that while a USB-C to USB-C cable is included in the box, a USB-C charger is not. Employees will therefore direct customers to the in-store availability of Apple USB-C power adapters and additional Apple-certified USB-C cables to meet the need for multiple charging locations.
This applied for the 12, 13, and 14 series though, too. The cable in the box has been lightning to USB-C, so people still would’ve needed to get a new USB-C charging brick the past 3 years without Apple employees telling them that.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)