Apple could offer Thunderbolt cable for iPhone 15 Pro as separate purchase
Wesley HilliardiPhone 15 Pro could have a Thunderbolt port
On the heels of news that Apple could ship a USB 2.0 cable with iPhone 15 Pro, a new rumor suggests Apple may offer a small Thunderbolt cable as a separate purchase option.
Apple is only weeks away from announcing the iPhone 15 lineup, and rumors are pouring in about what the USB-C port might mean for the products. It isn't clear exactly what standard Apple will use for the port, but it seems the company has at least considered Thunderbolt for pro iPhones.
According to a leaker known as @KosutamiSan on X, Apple could sell a short 0.8-meter cable rated at USB 4 Gen 2 as an optional accessory for iPhone 15 Pro. This cable differs from Apple's existing Thunderbolt cable options and can produce 150W of output.
Note we've said 150W while the original X post says 120W. Kosutami shared this correction and is the actual rating of the pictured cable.
These specs don't necessarily mean iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be capable of charging at 150W or transferring data at Thunderbolt speeds. However, it does mean Apple could call the port Thunderbolt or USB 4 and offer specs much higher than the existing Lightning port.
AppleInsider reached out to Kosutami to ask about this cable. They stressed that the Thunderbolt cable is something they've held on to since about February, so nothing is certain.
Something may have changed since this cable was created for testing, and Apple may have decided against Thunderbolt in iPhone 15 Pro. However, at the time, the cable was being tested as a separate accessory that would be sold as a "high-speed cable."
Data transferring cable for iPhone 15 Pro- which sold separately. Up to 120W Charge, features USB4 Gen2. Length 0.8m.(Different than existing thunderbolt one)
— Kosutami (@KosutamiSan) August 25, 2023
(Already got this since feb)(DVT Sample)#Apple #appleinternal pic.twitter.com/M5genGQ2NK
A rumor shared earlier on Thursday suggested iPhone 15 Pro would ship with a USB 2.0 cable meant just for charging. This disappointed some readers, but it has always been the case for iPhones.
Apple wants customers who care about charging or data transfer speeds to pay for a premium cable.
Kosutami isn't usually a future product leaker but has increasingly shared details about unreleased products. They've previously shared images of manufacturing test products called DVTs.
The iPhone 15 Pro is expected to be announced in mid-September during a streamed Apple Event. It is rumored to have titanium sides, USB-C, and a periscope camera.
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11 Comments
FWIW, I think this is likely. As mentioned in the article, all the Lightning cords included with iPhones thus far (going waaaay back) charge just fine, but can only do USB 2.0 data speeds.
Most of those end up in a drawer anyway, at least since MagSafe was introduced to the iPhone line. Qi-style charging has taken over in our household, for certain.
A short TB cable as an optional purchase (or substitution) wouldn't add much to the price -- Apple's existing one costs $49 (for the 0.8m/2.7 feet version), and comparable ones cost the same or more (except for plugable, which sells one for $36). If you have 4K HDR iPhone video footage you want to move over to the Mac Studio, you'd pay that in a heartbeat compared to growing a beard while you wait for the included USB 2-speed cable to do the job, or grow a moustache while you wait for AirDrop to do it.
The plebs will be fine with the included USB-Slow cable, while the rest of us pay a bit more to take advantage of the full capabilities of that new port (if these rumours are true, obviously). Anyone who's ever bought a hub has been similarly "ripped off" by Apple.
OR, I could just use one of the many Thunderbolt 4 cables I already have.
I’ve got a bunch of TB 3 and 4 cables gathered over the years. I’ve got three TB docks and what’s the point unless you can use them at full speed? But a regular cable likely costs Apple around $5-7, while a TB 4 cable might cost them around $15-20. That may not seem like much, but remember that a product sells for around 2.5 to 3.5 times the part cost. So that would be a big difference to the consumer who likely doesn’t need it and would throw it in their pile of other USB C cables and just pull a random cable out to use.
so, if we’ll need the speed, we’ll just buy it. I mean, if we’ve spent all that money for the higher end phone to do photos and video, another $50, or so, won’t be a bother.
You do not need TB for higher power... the usb4 supports up to 240W.
It makes no senses to offer TB for power. USB-C is literally built for that reason and all Apple devices use USB-C - Macbooks, ipad rpos al tuse USB-C, not TB to recharge at higher watts.