The Surprising Reason Your iPhone 15's USB-C Isn't As Fast As It Could Be

Apple's switch away from the Lightning port and embrace of the USB Type-C wasn't always on the brand's card, but now that it's here, there are some caveats. The iPhone 15 Pro has a USB 3 port that allows up to 10Gbps transfer rate, while the iPhone 15 and its Plus variant are limited to a slow USB 2.0 standard port. One might think that Apple kept the distinction to widen the gulf between the Pro line-up and the mainline models, but a teardown suggests that Apple was held back by technical issues.

The folks over at iFixit gave the teardown and microscopic analysis treatment for the iPhone 15 and discovered that the USB-C limitations are tied to the circuit board architecture. To put it precisely, it was the chip powering the phone and the integrated controller that proved to bothersome. "Integrating the USB-C controller was a particular challenge for Apple in the 15 and 15 Plus models because they lack the advanced A17 and its integrated USB-C controller," writes the iFixit team.

Thanks in no part to the controller architecture, Apple had to go with a different USB Type-C design for the Pro and standard iPhone 15 trims. That alteration, however, predominantly affects the rate of data transfer. You're looking at a gulf of 10Gbps versus 480Mbps here. It's worth mentioning that to take advantage of the faster data transfer channel, a compatible USB-C Gen 3 cable is needed, which Apple doesn't supply in the retail package. That USB standard disparity doesn't seem to dramatically impact the charging speeds, though.

The iPhone 15 and its Pro counterpart take around 30 minutes to go from empty to 50% juice, while the iPhone 15 Plus and its Pro Max sibling take 35 minutes. Moreover, the peak charging pace remains identical across the quartet. But the silicon disparity doesn't only affect the USB Type-C capability. ProRes video capture facility on an external device is also exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro pair. "That's an impressive upgrade for creators even if such a use case is lost on normals," SlashGear's Adam Doud wrote in his iPhone 15 Pro review. But if it comes as any consolation, the USB Type-C port across all iPhone 15 models lets you hook it up to a larger display, if that's a perk you've always dreamed of.