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iPhone 8 to drop Lightning connector in favour of USB-C port, making everyone buy new accessories, claims report
The new iPhone is going to change its charging point again, making most accessories defunct in one swift move.
Apple will drop the Lightning Port that’s currently used to put charge into the phone and get data out of it, and instead use USB-C, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
USB-C is quickly becoming the standard for the bottom of phones, and is used in rivals including Google’s Pixel and even in Apple’s own laptops. But the change would come just a few years after the Lightning Port was introduced with the iPhone 5.
When Apple moved from its much larger old connector to the new one, with that phone, it provoked a huge range of complaints. It meant that everyone’s charging cables could no longer be used, as well as stopping accessories like charging docks and speakers from connecting to the new phones.
Lightning was presented at the time as being far smaller, and so allowing for the phones to shrink. It also allows considerably more data to be transferred and is reversable – both of which are also characteristics of USB-C.
The change to USB-C has been speculated on, but no reliable rumour has previously suggested it. But the new report from the usually reliable WSJ has provoked worry about the change among iPhone fans.
The introduction would be the first time that Apple hasn’t used its own connector to charge phones. It would also be the second controversial change in a port in as many years – following only a year after Apple dropped the headphone jack from the iPhone 7, and encouraged people to use wireless headphones or ones that plug into the Lightning port instead.
The iPhone 8 might also be the first to introduce wireless charging and so go around using the port entirely, according to separate leaks.
The new phone will also feature a curved display and a special camera in the front that can sense depth, according to the same WSJ report. Both of those rumours square with previous reporting.
Apple is expected to introduce three new phones – an iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, alongside the more innovative iPhone 8 – in the autumn.
