- Apple finally moved to USB-C for its smartphones in 2023, with the iPhone 15 series.
- While earlier models use Apple’s own Lightning port for charging and data transfers, USB adapters exist.
- Engineer Ken Pillonel has now built a low-profile USB-C adapter right into an iPhone case.
Apple has been successful enough to get away with doing things its own way for years, and for the longest time, that meant that using its mobile hardware meant interfacing through some proprietary connectors. From the days of the awkward 30-pin dock, we progressed to the reversible Lighting era, but government pressure would eventually convince Apple to start making the shift over to USB-C, leading with iPads before shipping the iPhone 15 as its first USB-C smartphone.
That change had been a long time coming, but we could not be happier to finally live in a world where the same cable charges all of our gear — at least, our newer gear. What do you do if you’ve still got an older Apple handset that’s still kicking, but you’d like to fully move on from Lightning?