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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- Your iPhone's USB-C larboard does acold much than complaint devices.
- USB-C turns your iPhone into a hub for work, media, and storage.
- Wired USB-C accessories present faster, much reliable performance.
For years, the iPhone was stuck with the Lightning port, adjacent arsenic Apple moved its different devices to USB-C. That meant keeping 1 cablegram for my iPhone and different for my iPad and Mac. However, starting with the iPhone 15 lineup, Apple yet made the switch.
Every current iPhone model, including the iPhone 15, iPhone 16, and iPhone 17 families, present uses USB-C. And yes, it is astir time.
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I truly similar that USB-C does acold much than simplify instrumentality charging for me. It turns my iPhone into a workstation, a media hub, a retention device, and adjacent a networking tool. If you person lone been utilizing the larboard to charge, you're leaving a batch connected the table.
What tin you bash with your iPhone's USB-C port?
Before getting into everything the USB-C larboard connected your caller iPhone tin do, it's worthy starting with the astir evident and, for me, the astir satisfying benefit: less cables. I present transportation a azygous USB-C cable that works with my iPhone, iPad, MacBook, headphones, camera gear, and adjacent powerfulness banks. It dramatically cuts down connected cablegram clutter astatine location and erstwhile I travel.
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Now, let's get into the amusive stuff...
1. Turn your iPhone into a powerfulness slope
Did you cognize your iPhone tin treble arsenic a tiny powerfulness bank? If different instrumentality has USB-C, you tin link it to your iPhone with a USB-C-to-USB-C cable and stock power. Thanks to reverse wired charging, your iPhone tin complaint accessories similar earbuds, tablets, oregon different phone. Power output is constricted to 4.5 watts, truthful it volition not regenerate a partition charger, but it's inactive useful for emergencies.
2. Create a mobile workstation
USB-C opens the doorway to a satellite of peripherals and accessories. You tin plug successful a keyboard, mouse, oregon trackpad and instantly crook your iPhone into a mini workstation. No drivers and nary analyzable installs are needed; it conscionable works. This is particularly utile if you are traveling and request to constitute agelong emails, edit documents, oregon negociate files portion distant from a laptop.
Also: How to wide your iPhone cache (and wherefore it makes specified a large difference)
3. Pair to an outer show
If you truly privation to instrumentality your workstation setup up a notch, brace your iPhone with an external display, and it starts to consciousness amazingly capable. USB-C makes it casual to link your iPhone to TVs, monitors, and projectors utilizing HDMI oregon USB-C show adapters.
I person utilized this for watching videos successful hotels, and it is acold much flexible and reliable than wireless casting.
4. Record cleanable audio from anyplace
If you are a musician, podcaster, journalist, oregon anyone who needs to grounds audio, you tin link a USB-C microphone and grounds straight to your iPhone. I've utilized this setup for tract recordings and was capable to seizure cleanable dependable with nary noticeable interference.
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5. Connect MIDI instruments
Speaking of musicians, they tin bash much than conscionable grounds audio connected their iPhone.
Using USB-C, they tin plug MIDI keyboards, drum pads, and much straight into an iPhone. Music apps admit these instruments instantly, turning the iPhone into a portable euphony workplace for composing, recording, and adjacent unrecorded performance.
6. Plug successful high-end headphones and audio cogwheel
Sorry, I'm not done with benefits for musicians oregon audiophiles yet.
USB-C supports integer audio directly, truthful you tin usage USB-C headphones, DACs, and professional audio interfaces. All of this opens the doorway to higher-quality playback and signaling than Bluetooth unsocial tin provide.
7. Transfer ample files - accelerated
Transferring ample files implicit USB-C is importantly faster than it ever was with Lightning, particularly connected Pro models. Standard iPhones run astatine USB 2 speeds, portion Pro models enactment USB 3, up to 10Gbps, which dramatically cuts transportation times. If you regularly determination photos, videos, oregon backups betwixt your iPhone and a computer, a high-speed information transportation cable is good worthy it.
8. Add much retention to your iPhone
Worried astir moving retired of retention connected your iPhone? Stop. You tin simply link USB-C flash drives, external SSDs, oregon powered hard drives straight to your iPhone. This is utile for backups, media libraries, and offloading ample files. On iPhone Pro models, you tin adjacent grounds ProRes video consecutive to an outer SSD, wholly bypassing interior retention limits.
Also: 8 ways to get much iPhone retention contiguous - and astir are free
9. Use SD and microSD cards
If you are a lensman oregon videographer, you instantly payment from USB-C paper support.
With a simple plug-in paper reader, you tin import photos and video from SD oregon microSD cards consecutive into your iPhone. There is nary request for wireless transfers oregon companion apps. It's fast, direct, and the easiest mode to reappraisal and edit contented connected the go.
10. Game with wired controllers
Wired USB-C controllers enactment natively with iPhone. Compared with Bluetooth, wired controllers trim input lag and bash not drain the controller's battery. If you are into mobile gaming, unreality gaming, oregon emulation, a wired controller is simply a must.
11. Get faster, much reliable net
With a USB-C-to-Ethernet adapter oregon hub, your iPhone tin link straight to wired internet. This provides little latency and much accordant speeds than Wi-Fi. It is simply a lifesaver if you unrecorded watercourse oregon enactment from locations with unreliable networks.
12. There's plentifulness much specialty accessories
You've astir apt realized by present that USB-C enables a wide scope of niche accessories, including diagnostic tools, borescopes, microscopes, measurement devices, and different specialty peripherals. ZDNET's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes reviews galore of these weird and wacky gadgets. If it follows modular USB protocols, your iPhone tin powerfulness it and pass with it.
13. Multiply your ports with a USB-C hub
At this point, you mightiness beryllium reasoning you volition not beryllium capable to usage fractional the accessories mentioned present due to the fact that the iPhone lone has a azygous USB-C port. No worries. A USB-C hub solves that problem. With 1 device, you tin grow what your iPhone tin bash by adding other USB-C ports, USB-A ports, HDMI, Ethernet, SD paper readers, passthrough charging, and more.
14. Keep utilizing your Lightning accessories
Last but not least, if you inactive person Lightning-based accessories lying around, a USB-C to Lightning adapter lets you support utilizing the cogwheel you already paid for and love.
Which iPhones usage USB-C?
All newer iPhone models usage USB-C, from the iPhone 15 onward, including the iPhone 16 and 17 lineups.
Do each iPhones enactment the aforesaid USB-C speeds?
No. Standard models usage USB 2 speeds, portion Pro models enactment faster USB 3 information transfer.
Can I usage Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, oregon MagSafe accessories instead?
Short answer: yes, sometimes. But USB-C inactive has advantages.
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and MagSafe accessories are great. Wireless headphones, keyboards, AirPlay displays, and MagSafe chargers each enactment well, and I urge utilizing them. That said, USB-C shines erstwhile reliability and velocity substance more. Wired connections connection little latency than Bluetooth, faster and accordant information transfers implicit Wi-Fi, and much hardware enactment than MagSafe.
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