Skip to main content

Apple is probably killing the Lightning port everywhere

Apple is set to finally kill off its proprietary Lightning port across its entire line of products, according to a new report. Twin reports last week noted the company would be removing it from its bestselling iPhone in 2025, while a further report this week now notes that the company plans to strip Lightning from other devices, including the AirPods’ charging case, mice, and so on.

Apple’s use of Lightning over USB-C has been contentious. While Android phone makers moved en masse to support the new standard, Apple had stayed resolutely with Lightning for its iPhones. The company made some concessions on other products, though. All new Macbooks are now fitted with USB-C charging ports, as are iPad Pro and Air devices. It’s not clear why Apple opted to keep USB-C away from the iPhone for so long. Some have speculated that the company wanted to keep its own Lightning ecosystem thriving and growing, while others say that the company wanted to switch to a portless iPhone future and was keeping Lightning around to smooth the transition.

Recommended Videos

1. Portless iPhone may cause more problems due to current limitations of wireless technologies & the immature MagSafe ecosystem.
2. Other Lightning port products (e.g., AirPods, Magic Keyboard/Trackpad/Mouse, MagSafe Battery) would also switch to USB-C in the foreseeable future. https://t.co/KD14TgBmtr

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 15, 2022

Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo says that the portless future is not happening anytime soon. Apple hasn’t found Magsafe to be reliable enough. At the same time, there is pressure from the European Union to adopt USB-C. Apple currently does so on one end of the charger, but not the one that goes in the phone. Even if this wasn’t coming, it was always certain that Apple could only hold out for so long. The EU had drafted regulations coming into force to prevent it from using Lightning past 2024, so the company’s options were limited.

“We believe regulation that forces conformity across the type of connector built into all smartphones stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, and would harm consumers in Europe and the economy as a whole,” Apple had said when news of the regulations broke.

Michael Allison
Former Mobile News Writer
A UK-based tech journalist for Digital Trends, helping keep track and make sense of the fast-paced world of tech with a…
This might be the coolest way to charge an Apple Watch
Spigen's Apple Watch charger, based on the design of the iMac G3.

If you love a touch of nostalgia and have an Apple Watch, then this new charger from Spigen may well appeal. 

Joining Spigen’s C1 collection featuring accessories inspired by the design of classic Apple products, the Apple Watch Classic C1 charger sports the familiar look of Apple’s iconic iMac G3, which shook up the PC market when it launched in 1998. 

Read more
This one iPadOS 26 feature has me excited for the iPhone Fold
Semi-open state of a foldable iPhone concept

Samsung is set to launch the seventh generation of its Galaxy Z Fold book-style folding phone this Summer, but its biggest rival is yet to show its folding phone hand. Apple has long been expected to unveil an iPhone Fold, and the latest rumors suggest that it will launch next year.

I’ve used almost every folding phone released globally, with some exceptions for extremely obscure ones. While I've always been curious what an iPhone Fold would look like, I was fairly certain that Apple shouldn't build it, as I wasn’t sure they could deliver on one necessary feature.

Read more
These three iOS 26 beta features are my favorite so far
The Liquid Design lock screen on the iOS 26 developer beta 1 running on the iPhone 16 Pro

For fans of the Apple ecosystem, it’s been an incredible week. Apple’s annual WWDC 2025 keynote revealed a whole new Liquid Glass design that’s unified across all its platforms. Also unified across all platforms is the numbering scheme, with iOS 26 designed to represent the year of release… plus one. 

The new platform doesn’t deliver one of the key things I asked for — multitasking, which is available on iPadOS 26 — but it does bring several new features that make the iPhone far more usable. 

Read more