The Cupertino company Apple might kill the Lightning connector on its flagship iPhone models in 2021, according to a new report from CNET. It appears that Apple is planning to release a totally portless iPhone a year from now. Apple already did the same thing with the headphone jacks in the past, and it could do the same to the Lightning connector.
Reliable Apple Tipster and TFI Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared in a report last year that the Cupertino company is preparing to remove the lightning connector from its upcoming flagship smartphone that will be released in 2021. Several sites reported about this in 2018 when rumors about a portless iPhone X surfaced online.
But the rumors did not come to fruition with the iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, and the iPhone 11 series all with Lightning connectors. It appears that the same design will push through with the next-generation flagship smartphone series, the iPhone 12.
A totally wireless iPhone will help differentiate Apple's flagship iPhone from all other models available in the market, predict Ming-Chi Kuo. iPhone models having no physical ports could mean less moving parts that can enhance the iPhone's resistance to water and provide a bigger room for the battery and other hardware. Apple is also planning to change the release pattern of its iPhone launch, according to another report.
Instead of the traditional September release, the Cupertino company might launch some iPhone models in the first half of 2021 and others in the second half. Based on the context of this report, the premium and wireless iPhone models might release in the second half of 2021. Apple might also bundle AirPods with the new iPhone models, which makes sense if it is planning to release a wireless or portless handset.
The Cupertino company is not the first smartphone maker to toy with the idea of a portless iPhone. Other companies have shown similar interests like the Vivo Apex we saw last year. It appears that Apple is already preparing the consumers to a life without Lightning cables for a while now. We had seen it when the company released the wireless charging followed by the wireless earbuds, AirPods.
But, Apple is still lagging when it comes to wireless charging compared to its rivals in the industry. At present, its wireless charging is at 7.5 watts while the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus comes with a much faster Qi wireless charging. Apple is also reportedly planning to launch iPhone models with the faster mmWave 5G support in the later part of the year or in 2021 and a 5G sub-6 GHz in September 2020.
