We are less than 48 hours away from the release of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. No doubt, they will dominate headlines, product review sites and the news cycle for as long as our collective attention spans allow. But don’t be surprised if Apple makes a bunch of less exciting announcements as USB-C becomes its new normal.
If you’re deep in the Apple ecosystem you’ll notice that Apple uses the Lightning connector that the European Union is trying to kill off on a bunch of hardware. On my desk, that’s a keyboard, mouse, trackpad, AirPods and, of course, my iPhone. I expect that we’ll see the rest of Apple’s ecosystem follow the iPhone and be refreshed with USB-C. Or we may see new versions adopt MagSafe charging.
If Apple does replace the charging connector on its peripherals, I sincerely hope it redesigns the Magic Mouse. The placement of the charging port on the bottom of the device is a design debacle. It means the mouse cannot be used while being charged. Moving the charger to an edge means it should be usable while recharging.
With AirPods, the case can already be charged with MagSafe and other wireless charging systems so that’s less of an issue. But a USB-C version will ensure compliance with the EU’s rules and allow Apple to avoid having different versions of products for different territories.
So, while then new iPhone will get plenty of attention, perhaps we’ll see a wider range of announcements that signal the complete obliteration of the Lightning connector.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.