2023 USB-C iPhones and iPads

Rumours are circulating Apple is testing USB Type-C ports on various iPhone models.

This raises the question of commonality with the iPad Pro which now offers Apple Silicon M1 from the Mac lineup which affords the iPad Pro Thunderbolt 3/USB4 Gen 3x2 at up to 40 Gbps.

The next question is which version of USB will be used.

The current Lightning implementation is USB 3.0 at 5 Gbps with 8b/10b encoding (the first Lightning implementation uses USB 2.0).

USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 Type-C for iPhone and iPad.

USB4 Gen 3×2 Type-C for iPhone Pro and iPad Pro.

USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 uses 128b/132b encoding.

USB4 Gen 2x1 uses 64b/66b encoding.

USB4 Gen 3x2 uses 128b/132b encoding.

Keeping the USB encoding the same offers simplicity and commonality of USB chips across models.

I wish USB4 Gen 2 and Gen 3 uniformly used 128b/132b encoding; however, 64b/66b encoding differentiation is required for certain USB applications.

Thunderbolt on iPhone Pro would be amazing.

I hope Apple is able to fit a full Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 chip into iPhone Pro.