Comment: A fully wireless iPhone is more likely than a Smart Connector - 9to5Mac

There has long been debate about the future of the Lightning port in the iPhone.

Will Apple stick to this, replace it with USB-C, or move straight to a fully wireless iPhone — one without any ports at all.

There’s fresh discussion today prompted by a claim that Apple will do none of these things, and instead use a Smart Connector on the iPhone 13….

Apple has already standardized on USB-C for portable Macs and the iPad Pro, so doing the same for the iPhone would complete the set.

The ability to use the same chargers across all three devices would be extremely handy, and being able to connect any Apple device to any other Apple device with the same USB-C to USB-C charger has obvious convenience benefits — especially when traveling.

Switching connector type would create exactly the same hassles and screams of anguish as the switch from the 30-pin connector to Lightning?

In 2017, I did feel it was time for Apple to switch to USB-C for both iPhone and iPad.

Adopting a single port across both Mac and iOS devices would massively simplify the cable and connector ecosystem.

Because whether or not Kuo is right that we’re going to get a fully wireless iPhone in 2021, I do think that’s where Apple is headed within the next few years.

So if Apple is headed there soon, would it really want to go through the PR nightmare of the Lightning to USB-C switch, only to repeat it just one or two years down the road with a switch from USB-C to port-less.

As is often the case with changes introduced by Apple, professionals are likely to be particularly badly hit by a switch to a fully wireless iPhone.

Audiovisual equipment would face twin challenges: Keeping the iPhone powered, and coping with the reliability and latency issues that can be introduced by a switch to wireless connectivity.

If you want to ensure a device is fully charged for a long flight, then a top-up charge at the airport beforehand is much more practical with a wire than a wireless charger.

That, then, is my bet: a single switch from Lightning to a fully wireless iPhone within the next one to three years, with no interim stages of either USB-C or Smart Connector.