What can you connect to the iPhone 15 with USB-C? – 9 to 5 Mac

In the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, Apple finally got rid of the Lightning port and replaced it with USB-C. This opens up a whole new world of convenience in connecting accessories and peripherals. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max go a step further, as the USB-C port on the pro models supports USB-3 speeds, enabling data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps.

USB-C makes it easy to connect displays, external storage, cameras and charging using the same cable as all your other devices. Here’s what you can do with your new iPhone and its shiny new port…

Why did Apple switch from Lightning?

Apple was fully invested in the Lightning port ecosystem on the iPhone. However, it began adopting USB-C in Mac and iPad models starting in 2015 as a way to modernize PC connectivity. USB-C is versatile, carrying power and data with the same connector. And USB-4 / Thunderbolt offers even higher data transfer speeds.

At the same time, USB-C was becoming increasingly popular on the Android side of the smartphone market. But Apple stuck with Lightning on the iPhone, in part because they were still reeling from the backlash of the 30-pin -> Lightning transition that happened more than a decade ago.

The binding factor for Apple was the EU commission, which has passed legislation to reduce e-waste by implementing USB-C as the universal connector for phones. This means that Apple will at least have to produce a separate iPhone model for the European market. This brings its own complications. Instead, Apple chose to simply adopt USB-C across the board… and aside from the frustration of customers having to swap out all of their existing now-defunct Lightning cables, this brings a lot of benefits…

Universal USB-C charging

Now that you have an iPhone 15, you’re probably close to being able to use the same single cable to charge all your devices. Almost all iPads have a USB-C port, and all Macs have had USB-C for a decade. Newer Macs come with Apple’s MagSafe charger, but they can also be charged by plugging into one of their USB-C ports as well. The latest-generation Apple TV comes with a USB-C remote, and Apple just released a new AirPods Pro with a USB-C charging case. You can also now buy just the USB-C case separately from the Apple Store.

Apple sells its own USB-C charging cables, and the iPhone comes with a good quality braided cable in the box itself. Unlike Lightning, USB-C is not proprietary. To charge your Apple device, you can use any USB-C charging cable or accessory on the market. This includes the cheapest USB-C cables and USB-C cables of various styles and lengths. For example, Anker has a 47-watt dual USB-C power adapter.

To charge your iPhone at full speed, you want to use a 20-watt or 30-watt power adapter. You can safely use a higher wattage power adapter like the one that came with your MacBook; the phone will automatically manage power. Learn more about iPhone 15 with fast charging here.

Charge other devices with your iPhone 15 battery

Another cool side to the USB-C charging story is that you can now use your iPhone to charge other devices. The iPhone 15 can accept up to 27 watts through the USB-C port, but it can also deliver around 4.5 watts on its own. (Lightning could only manage 0.3 watts.)

This means you can actually use your iPhone’s spare battery to power and charge connected accessories. If your AirPods are running low, you can connect them to your phone and your phone will refill the juice in your AirPods case. You can even charge another person’s iPhone – but just be aware that it will take a while.

Easily connect to external displays

With Lightning, you can only connect to external displays via a clunky dongle. With USB-C on the iPhone 15, you can go directly to a screen. Use a USB-C to HDMI cable and display your iPhone screen on a 4K screen mirroring TV or monitor. If you’re watching a movie in a video streaming service app, the movie will automatically fill the dimensions of the TV with playback controls on the touch screen. Easily display your photo library or make a Keynote presentation by simply plugging your phone directly into a projector.

One of the use cases Apple is pushing is positioning the iPhone as a portable gaming console. Using the power of the A17 Pro chip inside, the iPhone 15 Pro can run several high-end games with high graphic fidelity. Pair an Xbox or PlayStation game controller, connect your phone to a TV and start playing games. Apple’s USB-C Digital AV Adapter is a good choice for this use case, as it allows for HDMI, power output for continuous charging, and USB-C passthrough to a suitable dongle.

Expand your local storage with portable USB-C drives and SD cards

Connect a USB-C hard drive or SD card reader and browse files directly using the Files app on iPhone. If you go on vacation and take a dedicated camera with you, you can import photos directly from the SD card to your iPhone’s photo library. Then, empty the SD card and keep shooting while you edit and upload the pictures you’ve taken on your phone’s large touchscreen.

The iPhone 15 Pro Camera app lets you record ProRes 4K video at 60 FPS directly to USB-3 storage. ProRes is uncompressed and file sizes are large, consuming gigabytes per minute of recording. But by pairing your iPhone with a portable 1TB SSD, you can record for a while before running out of space. This requires a USB-3 cable (not just a charging cable) to take advantage of the fast 10Gbps transfer speeds possible through the iPhone 15 Pro’s port.

With iOS 18, using external storage with iPhone and iPad is even easier. The Files app can now natively erase and reformat connected drives, so you don’t need to make sure the drive is already in the correct drive format if it was previously used elsewhere.

Connect hardware keyboards and wired internet

Sometimes, wireless doesn’t cut it — and you just have to plug it in. USB-C on the iPhone supports almost any basic accessory you can think of, without the need for special drivers or additional configuration. It’s all plug and play. This means you can connect a hardware keyboard it will just work.

Or if you’re podcasting on the road, you can record using a USB-C mini microphone. Another option is wired internet, using a USB-C to Ethernet adapter. And if you have a MIDI keyboard, you can make a track on the go with an app like GarageBand.

Wired headphones that work with your phone and computer

Ever since Apple ditched the headphone jack, most of the world has switched to using wireless Bluetooth headphones like AirPods. But if you still prefer to connect by wire, using wired headphones with iPhone has been an inconvenient issue. Lightning headphones worked with your phone, but nothing else.

Now, everything is much simpler. iPhone 15 works with any USB-C headset, including Apple’s new USB-C headset. These headphones will work with any computer with a USB-C port, so you can finally use the same wired headphones on your phone, iPad, and Mac. A growing number of high-end headphones and speakers also support the USB-C connection these days.

Connect multi-port hubs

USB-C is very flexible and allows data and power to pass through the same port. This means that you can carry a single dongle, which is a multi-port hub that includes all kinds of IO. These are great iPad and Mac accessories, and now work with the iPhone too.

For example, this $25 Anker 5-in-1 hub will work with the USB-3 USB-C port on the iPhone 15 Pro and lets you connect to external displays, connect to power, plug in USB accessories, and a external display all at the same time.

The only thing you should keep in mind is that the iPhone can deliver power in the center at 4.5 watts. iPads and Macs can provide much higher bus power output, so if you’re using them with an iPhone, you may need to connect an external power source as well.

Some of these capabilities were previously possible with Lightning, but required large, clunky, and separate adapters for each use case. USB-C is standards-based which means anything you buy will work with other devices. You no longer need to carry a separate Lightning SD card reader; the same USB-C peripheral will work equally well with iPhones, iPads, Macs, and any Windows PC or Android device in the household. Universal connector life is finally here.