No USB-C coming to this year’s iPhone, report claims

Feb 11, 2019 10:46 GMT  ·  By

Recent speculation indicated that Apple could give up on the Lightning port and use USB-C on the 2019 iPhone generation, and while such an approach makes sense given similar changes already happened on the iPad lineup, this won’t be the case.

This is according to a report from Japanese site Macotakara, who writes that Apple not only that will stick with Lightning for the 2019 iPhones, but also that it will continue offering its painfully-slow 5W charger in the box.

iPhones will continue to boast fast charging, but not with the adapter included in the box. This means users will have to spend extra on a faster charger, and this is supposed to be a cost-saving measure for Apple.

While Apple could obviously be able to cut the final cost of new iPhones, it’s not yet known if the company wants to use this approach in order to lower the price customers have to pay as well.

More affordable iPhones?

More affordable iPhones would certainly be the right way to go for Apple, especially because the poor demand currently impacting the 2018 generation is said to be caused mostly by the high prices.

But recently, it was rumored that the 2019 iPhones wouldn’t be a single cent cheaper than their predecessors. This means the iPhone XR successor would still cost $749 in the United States, while the iPhone XS upgrade will be priced from $999. The top-of-the-range Max model will cost $1,449 in the United States.

As for the Lightning port, it’s now believed that Apple could make the switch to USB-C sometime next year, though this is once again just a guess.

The next iPhones are projected to launch in September, so expect more information in this regard to make the rounds in the coming months. For now, however, just don’t get your hopes too high on USB-C or faster charging.