There are indeed rumors that this year's iPhone 11 will use the USB type-C interface instead of the traditional Lightning interface, but this is also the trend. As consumers, we certainly welcome Apple to make such a change.

USB type C is a global standard data interface that has three major advantages: fast charging speed, fast data transmission, and no distinction between positive and negative. Among mainstream smartphone brands now, besides Apple, Huawei, OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi have already popularized the USB type C interface.

Compared to Apple's male Lightning interface, the thickness of the USB type C interface has slightly increased, which is also the main reason why Apple has been unwilling to adopt this interface on the iPhone. In the past, Apple has always pursued the lightness of the body, even cutting off 3.5mm earphone holes for this purpose. However, with the increasing size of the iPhone, the thickness is no longer being reduced. Based on the thickness of about 8mm in the iPhone XS series, it can fully accommodate the USB type C interface. So the problem of hindering Apple's use of USB type C no longer exists.

The benefits of USB type C are obvious. In the past, the Apple Lightning interface was actually based on the USB 2.0 standard, and its current carrying capacity was very limited, with a maximum of 2.5A. The standard USB type C interface can withstand a high current of 3A, and fast charging technologies from brands such as Huawei and OPPO can use ultra high currents of 5A or above. The higher the current passing through the charging interface, the higher the charging power and the faster the charging speed. This means that the charging power of iPhone 11 can reach more than 20W, thus greatly improving the charging efficiency.

In addition, the use of low voltage and high current fast charging technology can effectively reduce the heat generated by voltage drop inside the battery during charging, avoiding the battery's lifespan being reduced due to overheating.

Another benefit of using the USB type C interface is that the original charging of iPhone 11 may no longer be the ancestral "Five Blessings and One Safety" (5V/1A), but at least will be upgraded to an 18W USB type C charging head. On Apple's official website, the total price for the original USB type C and data cable is 388 yuan. This means that the original accessory value of the iPhone 11 is higher and the entire device is more cost-effective. This is also a significant innovation for the iPhone 11.

Of course, there is another situation where the iPhone 11 continues to use the Lightning charging interface, only changing the random charger to a USB type C and including a type C to Lightning charging cable. Although this can also improve the charging efficiency of the iPhone 11, due to the inherent defect of the Ligning interface, the charging power will not exceed 18W.

Moreover, from the performance of models such as the iPhone 8 and iPhone XR, using a USB type C to Lightning data cable can only achieve a fast charging of 18W at the first 50% of the charge, and then the charging power will gradually decrease. The entire charging time will not be much faster than the past 5V/1A. So it's not meaningful for iPhone 11 to continue using the Lightning interface and simply switch the charger to USB type C. I hope Apple won't adopt this solution.

However, the advantage of continuing to use the Lightning interface on the mobile phone is that Apple can continue to charge for MFI certification, which means that accessory manufacturers must pay Apple a certain fee for each Lightning data cable they produce. Data cables without MFI certification will not be able to charge properly after a period of use. MFI authorization is also a significant profit for Apple, with annual revenue of hundreds of millions of dollars. From this perspective, it is more likely that Apple will adopt a smartphone based Lightning interface and replace the charging end with a type-c interface.

Source: Gan Technology