Apple to reportedly limit iPhone USB-C functionality

Apple is reportedly planning to limit the functionality of the upcoming USB-C ports that will be introduced in future iPhone models.

According to rumors from China, as reported by GSM Arena and Mac Rumors, Apple plans to use a custom integrated circuit (IC) interface for the new USB-C port. This allows the port to authenticate the parts involved in the connection, which means that, like the current Lightning port, Apple can potentially limit the USB-C port’s functionality with unapproved, third-party accessories.

This is essentially what makes the “This accessory is not supported” possible when you plug in unsupported devices or accessories to your iPhone or other Apple devices via Lightning (and now, apparently USB-C).

It can be recalled that in 2022, Apple confirmed that it would be implementing the USB-C port on the iPhone, in compliance with the EU law requiring USB-C as a common charging port for all mobile devices by 2024.

While we reiterate that this is still a rumor, it does align with Apple’s track record of maintaining its “walled garden” of Apple devices within the Apple ecosystem.

We do however think that if Apple pushes through with limiting the functionality of its USB-C ports, it sort of takes away the benefit of having a universal charging port for all devices since not all Type-C chargers will play nicely with Apple’s all-new USB-C ports.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on how Apple plans to implement the EU ruling so stay tuned.