Apple will launch three new iPhone X successors this fall, and all of them are supposed to work with new MacBooks, and other modern laptops, right out of the box. That’s because instead of just going with USB-C, Apple has supposedly designed a USB-C to Lightning cable that, paired with a new USB-C iPhone charger, will significantly increase the iPhone’s wired charging speeds.
That charger has supposedly leaked well ahead of its time, and although the source of the leak is relatively obscure, using a proprietary USB-C to Lightning cable instead of just going all-in on USB-C is such an Apple move that it could totally be real.
According to details obtained by ChargerLab, the 2018 iPhones will indeed ship with 18-watt USB-C to Lightning fast chargers. The blog produced the following render based on information from a source familiar with the production line.
We’re looking at a European plug with a USB-C port. It resembles the current iPhone charger, although this one’s oval rather than square-ish. It’s also supposed to be thinner than the current charger, according to the blog.
Earlier this month, a report from Weibo first detailed the 2018 iPhone accessory and mentioned the charger will have a different form factor, consistent with today’s leak. That Weibo report produced a concept sketch for the charger, as follows:
Regardless of what the new charger looks like, what’s really important is that USB-C to Lightning charging will bring fast-charging support to iPhones out of the gate. The iPhone X and iPhone 8 both support fast-charging, but you need to buy yourself either an iPad charger or a USB-C charger to get faster-charging speeds. Otherwise, you’re stuck to regular charging speeds offered by the default charger that ships with either handset.
