There’s been a lot of discussion about the iPhone going portless, due to the sheer amount
of leaks that have recently been surfacing, like from the very reliable Mark Gurman who
says that Apple is already testing some 2021 iPhone models with no charging port.
So it’s kind of shocking to see more and more rumors showing that we could actually
get a portless iPhone as soon as this year.
Now while that’s pretty exciting, I personally feel that the world isn’t ready for a completely
portless iPhone. Completely ditching the port would mean that people would have to rely
solely on wireless charging to charge their phone.
That would also mean that Apple would have to throw in their expensive $39 MagSafe charger
into each and every iPhone box, and it’s a bit hard to believe that they’d do this.
And on top of that, there are many people who buy thick third-party iPhone cases that
might not work that well with wireless charging.
So I’d honestly have to say that it’s a bit too early to switch to fully-wireless
charging.
However, I have a totally crazy and wild theory about the portless iPhone.. And what “portless”
actually means.. And if this turns out to be true.. You guys are gonna be totally blown
away by how good of an idea this truly is..
My theory is that the portless iPhone isn’t gonna be completely portless. It’s actually
gonna come with a flush magnetic connector in place of the current lightning port, and
it’s gonna look extremely similar to Apple’s current smart connector on the iPad Pro.
This was actually discussed many months ago, but I’m gonna be taking this idea much further
and explaining why it makes sense.
The ideas started blowing up in my head a few days ago when we got some very important
leaks rumors from Mark Gurman and Ming Chi Kuo, who are both very well respected Apple
analysts.
They both claimed that Apple was bringing back MagSafe charging to the MacBook lineup.
If you’re not familiar with that, MagSafe was basically a charging cable that attached
magnetically to the side of a MacBook, with the main benefit of the cable easily disconnecting
in case somebody tripped over it.
There were a couple of issues with it though, like the pins being exposed, with a possibility
of them getting damaged, and on top of that, because the MagSafe port was recessed into
the MacBook itself, it could get clogged up with dust and potentially metal pieces like
staples and would have reliability issues.
So I think that if Apple is planning to bring MagSafe back to the Mac, it’s gonna be completely
different, with a new modern design, and that makes sense since the entire MacBook is supposed
to get a brand new design.
And to me, it makes sense for the new MagSafe connector to be either completely flush or
almost flush with the body so that no dust can clog or block the pins.
Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to charge with the USB-C ports, but the new MagSafe
cable will be the one you get in the box because it’s just so much more safe and convenient.
Now to me, it makes sense for Apple to also bring this same new MagSafe connector to the
iPhone as well, and if you think about it, this would actually explain why Apple went
back to the completely flat side iPhone design. The flat bottom means that you can now use
a completely flush magnetic connector for charging, similar to the smart connector from
the iPad lineup.
So if both the MacBook and iPhone use the same MagSafe connector, Apple can basically
create the same USB-C to MagSafe cables for both of them, so a long version would go into
the MacBook box, and a shorter version would go into the iPhone box.
This makes a whole lot of sense because if they went completely portless, they would
absolutely have to throw a much more expensive MagSafe charger into the box of every iPhone,
and that large charger takes up more space as well.
With the new MagSafe cable, it would be as easy as swapping out the lightning connector
for the new MagSafe version and that would be a more cost effective solution.
Now, people would have the choice of using the wired version of MagSafe or the slower
wireless version if they want to pay extra to buy one of those chargers.
And just in case you think this is all pure speculation on my part, we’ve actually had
some leaks regarding a smart connector coming to the iPhone.
Fudge on twitter has said multiple times that the iPhone 13 is getting a smart connector,
he even said it would be similar to the iPad, and that 2021 iPhones and onward would be
getting them.
We even saw a similar leak from Jon Prosser, saying that a smart connector will be used
for charging on a portless iPhone.
But even better than those leaks are actual patents granted to Apple years ago that basically
show Apple experimenting with a MagSafe style wired cable, so let’s check those out.
Way back in March of 2016, Apple was granted a patent for some kind of a stackable Smart
connector that can be used to charge multiple devices with one smart Magnetic connector.
Now while that is a bit weird, Apple did propose a variety of different connector options,
including a design that looks exactly like a Lightning port, but with magnets built into
it.
This particular connector wouldn’t really make sense since it wouldn’t change much
compared to the current Lightning port, but at least it shows that Apple was experimenting
with it.
Other than that, Apple won a patent for an invisible connector port for the iPhone, with
some variants even using a self-healing barrier layer, which is definitely weird, but it again
shows that Apple is interested in making a less visible port that could help with further
waterproofing the iPhone.
The patent even showed that Apple was planning a future version of the iPad’s smart connector
with an iPhone in mind.
And this next patent is the bombshell! In 2018, Apple was granted a totally mind blowing
patent for multiple styles of smart connectors, showing a very obvious iPhone with flat sides,
and remember, this is from 2018.
The goal was to make a more robust cable with better protected charging contacts, and the
patent allowed for a magnetic connection to exchange both power and data.
If you think about it, the iPad Pro’s smart connector is already capable of doing this.
If you didn’t already know, the new Magic Keyboard case for the iPad Air and Pro completely
powers the keyboard and trackpad, and even sends data from the iPad Pro’s sensors to
allow for auto-brightness on the backlit keyboard.
The best feature is the pass-through charging port that’s built into the Magic Keyboards
hinge.
And the most impressive part is that the charging speed of this method matches the speed of
the iPad’s main charging port, and all of this happens through those 3 little contacts
on the smart connector.
So if Apple implemented something like this for the iPhone, we know that it’ll be possible
to transfer both data and a lot of charging power.
The patent shows an image of the connector, which is pill shaped and has 4 electrical
metal contacts for data and power.
This patent was from 2018, so it’s possible that Apple could tweak this design to make
a more flush magnetic connector.
But if you’re wondering why Apple would do this, let me explain a number of benefits
and new features.
Apple’s waterproofing is already great, even with the lightning port, but if Apple
switched to a flush magnetic charger design, it would prevent people from messing up their
charging ports by plugging in the lightning cable when it’s not fully dried.
So there’s a chance that this new MagSafe connector can allow Apple to make the next
iPhone the first phone ever to get IP69 water resistance.
And this new connector would even make it less prone to salt-water damage, since it’s
so easy to wipe off and dry, compared to the lightning port which has hidden contacts.
Another issue with the Lightning port is that dust and lint can clogged inside of it and
prevent your iPhone from charging. I’ve seen quite a few people going to the Genius
bar at the Apple store for this very simple issue that can be fixed with a toothpick.
This new MagSafe connector would completely solve that problem for good, and it would
also make charging so much more convenient.
And if Apple is planning to pack this same MagSafe charging system into the next MacBooks
later this year, you’d be able to use one cable to charge both your Mac and your iPhone,
which is even better.
Now you might be asking, why not just switch to USB-C which the MacBook already has? Well,
there’s a very good reason why Apple has been sticking to Lightning for so many years.
If you take a look on Amazon, you’ll see a bunch of third-party Lightning cables, and
for every single cable, Apple charges the manufacturer a $4 fee, so Apple makes profit
not only on their own Apple branded cables, but every single Lightning cable out there.
There are even some MacBook docks that come with pass-through Lightning audio ports. For
those, Apple can charge two of those $4 fees, so it makes sense why Apple held onto Lightning
for so long instead of switching to USB-C.
Now my theory is that the new MagSafe wired connector will become the new Lightning, allowing
Apple to continue to charge a licensing fee for companies who want to implement that connector
into their own cables and accessories.
But in terms of how it’ll look, I personally hope it’ll look just like the smart connector,
being completely flush with the flat bottom, with the metal contacts matching the body
color, essentially creating an “invisible” charging port.
So basically, this is a win-win situation for Apple. They’ll get rid of Lightning,
which everyone is sick and tired of, and they’ll replace it with a new revolutionary magnetic
connection that will solve a whole bunch of problems, look even more sleek and modern,
and allow them to continue making profit from licensing fees.
And with this new port being magnetic, it will greatly help with the transition of completely
getting rid of wired cable charging and switching to exclusive wireless charging in the future.
If you disagree with my theory on how Apple will implement the “portless” iPhone,
go ahead and comment your thoughts below and click that circle above to subscribe if you
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