Apple apparently plans to limit iPhone USB-C functionality

Thanks to new European regulations that will come into force next year, Apple has no choice but to finally adopt the USB-C port for its iPhones. And yet, as often happens with Apple, there is apparently a twist.

According to a new rumor from China, the company plans to use a custom integrated circuit (IC) interface for the port, which would allow it to authenticate the parts involved in the connection.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s exactly what Apple does with its Lightning port. This authentication process built into the Lightning interface is what causes those “This accessory is not supported” warnings to appear if you’re using something that isn’t made by Apple, nor is it part of of its “Made for iPhone” licensing program, which is a lucrative side business.

Now, obviously, since this is a rumor, it should be taken with a grain of salt. It’s also worth noting that none of Apple’s mobile devices that already use USB-C have anything like this built-in. Then again, this definitely sounds like something Apple would do, so there you have it.

It’s unclear if adding the custom IC chip would really have any major implications for the functionality of non-Apple and non-MFi accessories, but it’s possible that certain features such as fast charging and data transfer high-speed data is limited on no. “authentic” accessories. They’re unlikely to simply not work, as the EU would most likely step in in such a scenario – as it would break the whole reason USB-C was mandated as a universal interface.

In previous rumors about iPhone USB-C limitations, it was said that only Pro iPhones will get fast charging and data speeds, while vanilla models will use USB 2.0 speeds, the same as Lightning. .

Source (in Chinese) | Via