In case you’re a bit confused as to why this article is titled The iPhone with no ports, well, that’s because Apple’s working on one and here’s everything that we know.

This article is pretty interesting because we’ll be covering the future of the iPhone and that future is indeed an iPhone that has no ports. But why, how and when is this going to happen? Let’s first start with taking a look at Apple’s history when it comes to connectors. Back in 2003 when the Third Generation iPod was introduced, it also featured something quite innovative, which was Apple’s 30-pin dock connector.

You might remember this from the old iPhones, but essentially this connector was way ahead of its time. It was a mechanical connector that locked into place and it was impossible to remove unless you were holding the two buttons on the side, so it was very secure. But what made this very unique was that it was a connector that combined multiple standards from data transfer, to audio, input controls for things such as changing the volume or the track and it also supported video output.

This was extremely innovative for a connector that was released in 2003, albeit video support was only added in 2005 with the introduction of the iPod Video. Apple kept on using this connector on the iPhone, the iPad and all the iPods, up until 2012. Also, third-party manufactures were using the 30-pin connector heavily in accessories, such as like speakers, chargers and cars were even using it!

Then in 2012, like we said, Apple moved away from the 30-pin connector and launched something far superior, this was the Lightning connector. The Lightning connector was not only significantly smaller, but it was also reversible. It was the world’s first high end connector with the exact same pins on both the front and the back. Not only that, but it also improved the transfer speeds, while bumping the video output resolution to 1080p.

However, many people were angry that Apple switched to Lightning, as their old accessories that they have acquired over the years, no longer worked. Apple did sell a 30 pin to lightning adapter, but for some reason people were still upset, even though Lightning was vastly superior to the old 30-pin dock. Soon after, accessory makers have started making accessories with the lightning port in mind. So we started seeing speakers, car mounts, docks and loads of others.

However, 2012 was also when Bluetooth started taking off, meaning that most speakers also supported a Bluetooth connection and that you no longer had to physically connect your iPhone to the speakers in order for them to work. The same thing applied to cars, which started adding Bluetooth as well. Because of this, Lightning ended up being less widely used by accessory makers, compared to the 30-pin connector, when it came to audio accessories and docks.

When Apple re-launched the 12” MacBook in 2015, something quite interesting happened. They removed all the ports and added a USB Type C port, the next generation USB port that, same as with Lightning, was fully reversible. Apple was actually one of the first technology manufactures to adopt USB type C. This was the successor to the world famous USB type A ports that we’re all familiar with, but it was also the successor to microUSB, which is what loads of Smartphones used.

USB-C, clearly a lot to handle for some.

USB C was also a much more beefed up version of Lightning, adding up to 100W of charging, USB 3.1 transfer speeds and 4K video output support all in a single small connector that was fully reversible. Shortly after, Apple started implementing USB C heavily. In 2016, when they launched the 4th generation MacBook Pro, they removed all the ports, with the exception of the Headphone Jack and replaced them with 4 USB type C ports. These ports were even more special that what the 12” MacBook from a year before had, this was because they also featured Thunderbolt 3. The transfer speeds were now 40Gb/s, up from the 10Gb/s that we had with USB C.

So, in 2017 when Apple was readying up to launch the innovative iPhone X, everyone was expecting Apple to now switch from lightning to USB C, especially that around that time, we also started seeing smartphones implementing USB C. The whole idea was perfect. Having one connector, one single charger that you would use with any device (laptop, camera, smartphone). But, when the iPhone X launched, to the surprise of many people*, it still had Apple’s lightning port.

Luckily, Apple did indeed add wireless charging, which Android phones have had for many years now but Apple finally did add it with the iPhone X and 8. These were both announced at the same event but USB C was nowhere to be found. In 2018, Apple launched the iPhone X equivalent to the iPad. The 3rd generation iPad Pro, which, just like the iPhone X, had no home button anymore. It had a full screen display with a full gesture based navigation system and FaceID. With this massive change, Apple also updated the lightning port to USB C. Now, all the modern Macs including the 2018 MacBook Air, the new MacBook Pro’s, the new Mac Mini and every modern Mac had a USB C port as well as the newest iPad.

However, the 2018 iPhones (the iPhone XS), still came with a lightning port. USB type C was no where to be seen on iPhones. Also, here’s the thing, we’ve seen many reports throughout the years that Apple will finally be switching to USB type C, but that never happened. After Apple updated the iPad Pro with USB C in 2018, everyone was pretty much sure that Apple would have to switch to USB C in 2019. But again, after countless reports and even leaks on this, Apple still hasn’t done so.

So, you might be wondering why? Why is Apple so stubborn when it comes to switching to USB C on the iPhone, whereas on their other devices, they were one of the first tech companies to switch to USB C? It doesn’t make any sense. The reason for that is simple. Revenue.

Unlike USB C, which is an open standard, lightning was fully developed by Apple. Which means that whenever a 3rd party manufacturer wants to make a lightning accessory for the iPhone, or even just a charger or a charging cable, they would need to pay Apple a licensing fee for every single sale that they make. Rather than this being, for example, a 10% fee for every accessory, it is a flat fee of $4, which is a lot! This is why you cannot find any cheap lightning cables. Because, all the legit ones, the ones approved by Apple which legally they all have to be, all of those manufacturers have to give Apple a $4 cut for every lightning cable or accessory that they sell. According to’ Lifewire’, more than 2.2 billion iPhones have been sold between 2007-2018, out of which 217 million were just in 2018.

Apple not exactly short of cash these days, but still cashing in on the old connectors.

Let’s say that 5% of those users buy a 3rd party lightning cable, or a lightning accessory, 3rd party charger or an external battery and so on. That’s already 10.8 million accessories, which would translate to $432 MILLION in revenue from just 3rd party accessories, for Apple, in 2018 alone. If you multiply that by the number of full years Apple has been selling lightning devices for, so 2013-2019 (7 years), that’s already over $3 BILLION in revenue from just licensing lightning.

But, it’s extremely likely that that number is way higher than that. I mean, how many of you have an external battery and how many of those already came with lightning cables in the box? So there you go. Apple does state “publicly” that the reason why they don’t want to switch is because of consumers having so many lightning accessories but come on Apple, really?

USB C is already even more widely implemented than lightning is. So the switch to USB C would be even more hassle free than not switching to USB C in the first place. This way, all of your Apple devices would charge with the same charger and the same cable. No need to carry a separate lightning cable just for your iPhone.

Now, the European Union does actually want to implement a law that would require all smartphones, tablets and other portable devices such as laptops, to have a USB C port for charging. This is in order to reduce confusion and also reduce the amount of waste. This could indeed force Apple to finally switch to USB C, although that might not really be the case. This is because, according to Ming-Chi-Kuo, who’s been an extremely reliable source in terms of upcoming Apple products so far, stated that Apple will be launching a fully wilreess iPhone in 2021. So instead of switching to USB-C, they would skip it entirely and just go fully wireless instead. It’s not just Ming-Chi-Kuo saying this, Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis, who’s had a pretty good track record in the past, stated the same thing. That according to his inside sources, Apple will be releasing at least one iPhone model in 2021, that would remove the lightning port, which could result in the wired earpods being removed from the box entirely.

We do have two comments here. The first one being that, yes, this does mean that the big 2020 iPhone redesign, the one with the redesigned frame and the new AR tracking capabilities and the smaller notch, will still have lightning. Our second comment is that this is definitely the future. The real question is would it be possible to do in 2021, or is this fully wireless future something that is 5-10 years down the line?

Well, if Apple does indeed remove the lightning port, they would indeed gain a tiny bit more space inside but more importantly, they would have a fully sealed up experience, especially if they decide to embed the speakers under the display like other manufacturers have experimented with. This means that the 2021 iPhones could indeed be extremely water resistant. But, at the same time, the iPhone 11 Pro’s can already withstand a submersion in 4m of water, up to 30min, which is way more than most people would submerge an iPhone into anyway. Besides, water damage isn’t even covered under warranty which is crazy!

If you expect Apple to cover water damage, don’t hold your breath.

If you submerge your smartphone in water, and this applies to any smartphone, even-though water resistance is indeed an advertised feature, if you do happen to have a faulty unit that has a manufacturing defect on the seal and it breaks, you can say goodbye to that phone for good because neither Apple nor Samsung would be helping you. This is because we cannot currently tell how deep in water the phone was when it broke. As soon as we can figure that out, which we should be able to do with the barometer which some phones do actually have, that’s when water resistance should start getting covered by the warranty.

But anyway, going back to a fully wireless iPhone. Is that even doable? Well, all the iPhones from the iPhone 8 onwards do support wireless charging. However, they also support up to 7.5W charging, as opposed to 9-12W like some android phones support. This means that it will take you around three hours or more to fully charge a phone via wireless charging, as opposed to just over an hour with fast wired charging. However, the bigger issue that I currently see with wireless charging, isn’t necessarily the speed but the convenience.

With a cable, you just plug it in and that’s it. With wireless charging, you need to place your phone on a wireless charging pad, which means that you would not be able to use it in your hand while it’s charging. You can pretty much say goodbye to charging it on the road or charging it via a battery bank unless you have your wireless charger or a wireless charging battery bank with you. But you see, you still won’t be able to charge it in your bag, because the wireless charging battery bank would always need to be physically attached to your phone so yeah it’s a bit of a tricky one.

Now, did you guys know that the Apple Watch also charges wirelessly? Yes, it does come with a magnetic wireless charging connector that automatically attaches to the back of the watch and this is how it charges. We do believe that when Apple does switch to a fully wireless charging solution on the iPhones, they will be doing something similar to what they’ve done on the Apple Watch. A magnetic pad that would automatically snap to the back of the iPhone, which could indeed solve the issue of not being able to use it when it’s charging, or the issue with charging in your bag with a battery bank that could also attach automatically to the iPhone. They may at least have some sort of Apple Watch style cable that would then magnetically attach to the iPhone, again, just like on the Apple Watch.

This way, Apple could still license that magnetic wireless charging pad to 3rd parties and trust me, they could charge way more than $4 per unit for that and make billions by doing so. So the only problem that’s left to solve is…the speed. Luckily, there is a possible solution to that. While Apple only supports 7.5W wireless charging, VIVO have announced a concept phone, which is actually a fully working device, that supports 60W Wireless Charging! Apparently you can fully charge it in just 20 minutes, which is even faster than the fastest wired charging out there, that’s nuts!

A glimpse into the future of Smartphones? Click the image for a full look at vivo’s APEX 2020.

This specific phone for example, the Vivo Apex 2020, also has no ports at all, it charges just via wireless charging and has a lens with true optical zoom, the lenses themselves actually move in order to magnify the image. This phone also has a front facing camera module that’s under the display itself. So this is truly truly revolutionary and could be similar to what Apple could do in 2021. An iPhone with no notch at all, full wireless charging and a full-screen display with zero interruptions on the front. However, we only have two sources reporting on this (Ming-Chi Kuo and Blayne Curtis from Barclays). Albeit both with a very good track record in the past, but still only two sources. Well not anymore, because 9to5mac has found some pretty massive feature in iOS 13.4 beta. Apparently there is a mention of a wireless iOS recovery mode, which should be implemented in the very near future. At the moment, if you want to restore an iPhone or reinstall iOS, you need to have it connected to a Mac. But now, you would be able to do this completely wirelessly, without the need to connect it to anything.

So there you go, another hint that Apple is indeed considering switching to a fully wireless iPhone in the near future!