All of the attention might be on theiPhone 15andiPhone 15 Prohandsets that will most likely go on sale within the next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t still life in the olderiPhone 14models. Apple often keeps older models around when new iPhones go on sale, but it’s possible that it might be going one step further this time around.
Rather than simply keep selling the existing iPhone 14, it’s now been suggested that Apple intends to refresh the iPhone 14 andiPhone 14 Plusto add one specific feature of the upcoming iPhone 15 series of devices.
Out with Lightning
One feature that is very much expected to arrive as part of the iPhone 15 release is the addition of a USB-C port, replacing the aging Lightning port that has been around for more than a decade. The switch is thought to be at the behest of the European Union, with new laws requiring devices like iPhones to have a common charging port from next year. With Apple being the only company that doesn’t currently use USB-C, a switch is in the cards - and it’s expected to happen soon.
However, while a USB-C iPhone 15 is likely, it now appears that there is a chance Apple could also refresh the iPhone 14 to ditch its current Lightning port and replace it with USB-C.
That’s the suggestion after two unreleased iPhones were spotted in a recent tvOS 17 beta, both of which are possibly updated iPhone 14 models. The two phones carry the names iPhone14,1. and iPhone 14,9.
AsTechRadarnotes, the naming convention suggests that these iPhones will use the A15 Bionic chip - the chip that currently powers the iPhone 14. The iPhone 14 Pro models use an A16 Bionic, and the iPhone 15 is likely to use the same chip. As for the iPhone 15 Pro models, they’re getting a new A17 chip if rumors turn out to be true.
However, there’s also been a suggestion that theiPhone 13andiPhone 13 miniwill be the phones to get new USB-C ports. They both also use the A15 Bionic of course, and it’s possible Apple could keep them around to offer cheaper and smaller handsets for those who want them.
Apple is expected to announce its new iPhones on September 12 or 13, so we won’t have to wait all that much longer before we get to learn exactly what it has planned.
