Here's Why Apple Hasn't Made a Portless iPhone

Over the years, there have been rumors suggesting that Apple eventually wants to make an iPhone without any ports, allowing for a completely wireless charging experience. An ‌iPhone‌ without ports has been speculated about, and Apple has even published patents for an all-glass ‌iPhone‌ with no ports or buttons.

iPhone Air Without USB C Feature
Apple apparently considered making its dream a reality with the upcoming iPhone 17 Air, but ultimately decided not to do so. In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that one of Apple's ideas for the ‌iPhone 17 Air‌ was to design it without a USB-C port, which means it would only charge via MagSafe.

Apple did not end up going in that direction, because there were internal concerns that eliminating the USB-C port in the ‌iPhone 17 Air‌ would get the company in trouble with regulators in the European Union.

With the iPhone 15 lineup, Apple transitioned away from Lightning and adopted USB-C for iPhones because of an EU law that passed in 2022. The law requires technology companies to use a "common port," aka USB-C, for charging purposes. Technically, the law only applies in the European Union, but it was easier for Apple to make the change worldwide than to develop a special USB-C iPhone in Europe and continue using Lightning elsewhere.

Along with potentially angering the European regulators, getting rid of the charging port on an ‌iPhone‌ entirely would undoubtedly upset customers. When Apple eliminated the headphone jack from the ‌iPhone‌ 7, there was a lot of pushback from ‌iPhone‌ users, and other smartphone brands like Samsung spent plenty of time making fun of Apple's choice before ultimately following Apple's lead and removing headphone jacks from Android smartphones.

The iPhone 16 models now support ‌MagSafe‌ charging at up to 25W, and can fast charge with ‌MagSafe‌ and a 30W power adapter. Fast charging allows an ‌iPhone‌ to charge to 50 percent in 30 minutes, and the faster ‌MagSafe‌ charging puts wireless charging on par with fast charging over USB-C. With fast charging available with ‌MagSafe‌, there wouldn't be a downside to eliminating the USB-C port in terms of speed, but there would be far less flexibility because USB-C chargers and cables have become so universal.

Though Apple isn't adopting a port-free design for the ‌iPhone 17 Air‌, it's not an idea the company is abandoning. If the new super thin ‌iPhone‌ sells well, Apple will revisit portless iPhones and slim down the rest of the ‌iPhone‌ lineup, too.

Related Roundup: iPhone 17 Air
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over 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:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...

Top Rated Comments

tuckerjj Avatar
16 weeks ago
The EU has nothing to do with it. The law explicitly says that if a device only charges wirelessly then (of course) there’s no requirement to charge with USB-C.


15. Can radio equipment that can only be recharged via wireless charging be made available on the market without incorporating the harmonised charging solution?

Yes. Since, such radio equipment cannot be recharged via wired charging, it does not need to incorporate the harmonised (wired) charging solution.
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleTO Avatar
16 weeks ago
It would also eliminate any potential buyers that need wired CarPlay.
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThomasJL Avatar
16 weeks ago
Please stop with this portless nonsense!

All other things being equal:
• Wireless headphones have worse sound quality than wired headphones.
• Bluetooth stereo connections have worse sound quality than wired stereo connections.
• Wireless charging is slower and less energy efficient than wired charging.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AusMness Avatar
16 weeks ago
Literally what is the benefit to this, we just got standard USB-C
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goobot Avatar
16 weeks ago
Please no
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghostface147 Avatar
16 weeks ago
Wireless syncing is markedly slower than wired syncs.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)