All iPhone 15 Models Support DisplayPort for Up to 4K HDR Video Output to External Display

The new iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max all support DisplayPort for up to 4K HDR video mirroring and video output to an external display or TV, according to Apple's tech specs for the devices.

iPhone 15 USB C Port Keynote
DisplayPort support is built into the USB-C port on all iPhone 15 models, meaning that the devices can output video at up to 4K/60Hz natively to a DisplayPort-equipped external display or TV with a supported USB-C to DisplayPort cable. Alternatively, you can use Apple's $69 USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter to mirror video from any iPhone 15 to an HDMI-equipped TV or display at up to 4K/60Hz, but HDR is not supported this way.

On previous iPhones with a Lightning port, video mirroring is limited to 1080p with Apple's Lightning-to-HDMI or Lightning-to-VGA adapters.

Unfortunately for fans of the Stage Manager feature on select iPad models, the iPhone does not yet offer an extended display mode.

Related Roundup: iPhone 15
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
iPhone 12 Made in India

Trump Tells Tim Cook to Stop Building iPhones in India

Thursday May 15, 2025 2:21 am PDT by
President Donald Trump has asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to halt the company's manufacturing expansion in India, in a potential disruption of Apple's plan to shift iPhone production away from China. "I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said during his state visit to Qatar, according to Bloomberg. "He is building all over India." "They [India] have offered us a deal where...
apple music

Apple Music Gets New Transfer Tool to Make Switching From Spotify Easier

Wednesday May 14, 2025 5:17 pm PDT by
Apple this week introduced a new feature designed to allow prospective Apple Music users to import their saved music and playlists from third-party music services to Apple Music. The feature is either in an expanded testing phase or it has started rolling out, and it is available in Australia and New Zealand according to an Apple Support document. Signs of the transfer option first surfaced...
maxresdefault

Here's the First Real-World Look at Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:52 am PDT by
The first videos of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience are now available, providing a never-before-seen look at the long-anticipated iPhone-linked infotainment software. British automaker Aston Martin today shared the first video of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience in-action, followed by a detailed walk-through of the CarPlay Ultra system on Top Gear's YouTube channel, which provides the...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.5 With New Wallpaper, Screen Time Changes, Carrier Satellite Support for iPhone 13 and More

Monday May 12, 2025 10:06 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
fortnite apple logo 2

Epic Resubmits Fortnite to U.S. App Store After Not Hearing From Apple for 120+ Hours

Wednesday May 14, 2025 1:01 pm PDT by
On Friday, Epic Games submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, and since then, we've been waiting to see if Apple would approve the game and allow it back on the iPhone and the iPad. There's been no word from Apple so far, but Epic Games opted to pull its first App Store review request, and has now resubmitted Fortnite. Fortnite leaker Shiina shared the news, with the information reposted by...

Top Rated Comments

Zaydax333 Avatar
22 months ago
That awkward moment when the A16 Bionic has a displayport controller connected to it that can do 8.64Gbps to do 4k 30Hz HDR but only a 480Mbps USB 2 controller.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Needleroozer Avatar
22 months ago

For the base 15 & 15 Plus, how can a 4K/60 display be supported on a USB-C port that is limited to USB 2 speeds?
The USB Type-C connector allows for up to four high-speed differential pairs, which can be allocated to different protocols. For example, you could implement 5Gbps or 10Gbps SuperSpeed USB using two of the pairs and use the other two for dual-lane DisplayPort. Alternatively, you could have all four pairs used for quad-lane DisplayPort to drive high-resolution or high refresh rate displays.

Notably, there are dedicated USB 2.0 data lines on the USB Type-C connector that are always available, no matter the configuration of the high-speed differential pairs.

So in this case Apple just had to connect their existing USB 2.0 interface to those dedicated pins and run the new DisplayPort interface to the high-speed differential pairs.
For the 15 Pro models, it may actually more complicated since they might need to add multiplexers to switch the differential pair lines between the SuperSpeed interface and the DisplayPort interface as appropriate.

This picture shows the USB Type-C pinout. The blue TX and RX pins are the high-speed differential pairs, and the green D+/D- pins are the USB 2.0 lines.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mectojic Avatar
22 months ago
Ok, serious question: is it becoming possible to use the iPhone Pro as a sort of desktop computer?

Think about it: A17 Pro chip, 8GB Ram, up to 1TB storage, USB 3 speeds... hook it up to a 4k display, with a USB-C hub you could also use a wired keyboard + mouse while charging the device.

I've been dreaming of the 1-device-for-everything solution for a while. I think specs-wise, we're almost there. The only thing we'd still need would be support for custom display resolutions, and better mouse support.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Channan Avatar
22 months ago
The capability is here now for Stage Manager on the iPhone. It would be awesome to plug an iPhone into a monitor and connect a mouse and keyboard to use it like an iOS desktop. Apple would probably lose a lot of iPad and Mac sales which is why I’m sure we don’t have this now, but hopefully we get it in the near future.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IG88 Avatar
22 months ago

For the base 15 & 15 Plus, how can a 4K/60 display be supported on a USB-C port that is limited to USB 2 speeds?
Because DisplayPort is not USB. DisplayPort is DisplayPort.

USB Type-C is the connector. USB 2 is the protocol.

DisplayPort leverages the Alternate Mode Functional Extension of the USB Type-C interface, and shares similar electrical characteristics with USB 3.1, allowing use of common system elements.

* 4K @60Hz 24-bit color (without compression) with simultaneous USB 3.1
* 5K (5120 x 2880) display support without compression with simultaneous USB 2.0

Granted, it is still a dick move by Apple. The spec clearly supports simultaneous USB 3.1 with DP 4K@60. Apple is just deliberately deprecating down to USB 2.0 bc they want you to buy the Pro.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lazyrighteye Avatar
22 months ago
Approved.
I love this calm before the storm time between keynote and Friday’s pre-order opening. Where features slowly trickle out, things begin to take greater shape, make a little more sense. lrefect example of the sum being greater than its parts unfolding.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)