Apple's Lightning Port is Nearing Its Expiration Date, So What's Next for the iPhone?

When Phil Schiller introduced the Lightning connector at the unveiling of the iPhone 5 in September 2012, he called it "a modern connector for the next decade," and with that 10-year mark coming up later this year, questions remain over what the future of the ‌iPhone‌ looks like and whether or not that future will include a Lightning port, or perhaps no port at all.

iP14 Lightning Portless Feature blue
Every ‌iPhone‌ since the ‌iPhone‌ 5 has featured a Lightning port, which Apple touted in 2012 as a "smaller, smarter and more durable" port compared to the previous 30-pin connector. Even as the majority of the company's iPad line and the entire Mac line now feature USB-C, the ‌iPhone‌ has become the odd one out with its inclusion of Lightning.

The smartphone industry has rapidly transitioned to USB-C, with the vast majority of handsets on the market featuring the more versatile port. Apple's reluctance to follow the industry in adopting USB-C has annoyed many customers, but it appears Apple is sticking with Lightning on ‌iPhone‌ for the considerable future.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who frequently shares accurate insights into Apple's product plans, has said the company believes the adoption of USB-C would negatively impact its Made for ‌‌iPhone‌‌ (MFi) program and notes that Apple is concerned about lower standards of water resistance for USB-C compared to Lightning. Given those two points, Kuo says the ‌iPhone‌ will continue to feature Lightning for the "foreseeable future."

Apple Prefer Lightning Over USB C Feature
Apple's ultimate goal for the ‌iPhone‌ is to go completely portless, relying on MagSafe and wireless connections for charging and data transfer needs. ‌MagSafe‌ on the ‌iPhone‌, which first debuted on the ‌iPhone‌ 12, is still not fully matured and is so far limited to charging. Apple is highly unlikely to abandon Lightning and adopt USB-C for only a few years before going portless. Instead, it's more likely to use Lightning while continuing to ‌MagSafe‌ matures for a future portless ‌iPhone‌.

The European Commission could, however, impact how soon we get a portless ‌iPhone‌. The EC has proposed a directive that would require all consumer electronic devices, including smartphones, tablets, cameras, headphones, portable speakers, and handheld videogame consoles, to feature a "common port," aka, USB-C. If the directive does pass in 2022, companies such as Apple will have two years to transition their devices to USB-C.

There are some caveats, though. On paper, the directive would constitute a significant change for the ‌iPhone‌ as it would be forced to include USB-C, but the directive only applies to devices that charge via cable.

A spokesperson for the EC confirmed to The Verge that if a device exclusively charges via wireless charging, it isn't required to include a USB-C port. That, alongside the two-year transition period that the directive would allocate to companies to transition to USB-C, gives Apple ample time to mature ‌MagSafe‌ and abandon Lightning in favor of an all-wireless future.

Apple's confusing port lineup has not gone unnoticed. Across the latest ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, and AirPods models, Apple offers customers four completely different types of chargers to juice up their devices. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman highlighted the inconsistency in his Power On newsletter this past August. As Gurman noted at the time, "Lightning served Apple well since 2012, but USB-C has clearly won out across the industry and has become the default connector for new devices."

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Air Colors Thumb 2

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air Rumored to Come in These 9 Colors

Friday July 11, 2025 12:30 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will be available in a total of nine color options, according to new information coming out of Asia. The iPhone 17 Air's expected color options. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean blog Naver, accessory manufacturers are now producing camera protector rings for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air in colors to match their...

Top Rated Comments

blazerunner Avatar
44 months ago
Apple should take it's head out of it's ass and start using USB-C everywhere.
Score: 94 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
44 months ago
Not a big fan of the MagSafe. It's a cool feature but overheats the phone way too much. Also, not convenient at all.

Just bring the USB-C to the iPhone's lineup. Keep it simple. Makes no sense why iPhone doesn't carry the USB-C. The hardware features we want from the current iPad Air, the iPhone itself doesn't carry. It's kinda sad. For example Fingerprint Touch ID button, USB-C.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KanosWRX Avatar
44 months ago
I just hope they switch to USB-C.. they can't get rid of the port completely, too many devices rely upon some kind of physical port, namely millions of cars that have Apple CarPlay. They would piss off a lot of people if they killed it off completely unless they can magically turn all those cars into wireless CarPlay.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Koni17 Avatar
44 months ago
I can see USB-C being implemented in the very near future. There's nothing "Pro" about the iPhone Pro when it takes forever to transfer huge video files over lightning. Seeing how they've been heavily promoting video capabilities in the iPhone to amateur cinematographers, it's only a matter of time until a new standard is implemented.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Neepman Avatar
44 months ago
I am never short of amazement of all the advocacy of abandoning what is a clearly better connector and port for a mobile device. USB-C is far more prone to wear, breaking and contamination.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Antknee Avatar
44 months ago

I didn't know they came with expiration dates
Clickbait title
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)