The new iPhone 15, which was released in the fall of 2023, became the first Apple smartphone with a USB – C connector . A debate immediately broke out among experts and simply fans of the brand: what will happen if you use not the native USB – C cable to charge the device , but from Android devices?
What is the essence of the dispute?
A little background. Until recently, a Lightning to USB cable was included with the iPhone . It is they who Apple recommends to charge smartphones from the iPhone 14 and older line. Unlike cheap Chinese analogues, the original one has microcircuits that protect the device from electrical surges.
MFi certified accessories are also safe to use. MFi – Made For iPod , iPhone and iPad is a certification program launched by Apple in 2005. Its members are licensed by the company and produce products that meet its high standards. Such cables are guaranteed to work correctly with Apple devices .
Now to the point. In the newest iPhone 15 line, Apple engineers replaced the Lightning – USB port with the more common USB – C . And the new cables do not contain the microcircuits that were used in Lightning – USB . And here users are faced with a dilemma: is it possible to use the USB – C cables already available at home from Android devices to charge the iPhone 15 and transfer data? Anything can happen: the original cable can get lost or fail due to careless use.
What does Apple itself say ?
Users’ doubts are understandable. On the one hand, the sellers claim that Type – C in the iPhone 15 has a smaller gap between the contacts than in Android smartphones – and this can lead to overheating of the device. On the other hand, here is the personal experience of users who safely charge their iPhone and iPad even through a cable from the DualSense gamepad – and everything is fine. Who to believe?
Let’s not build conspiracy theories. Let’s refer to the document on the apple website . com . Of course, official Apple support recommends using branded cables, but there is not a word in the document about banning third-party chargers for the iPhone 15.
The authoritative online publication Arstechnica , which specializes in expert analysis of technological trends, confirms this information. Apple hasn’t really limited the capabilities of the USB-C interface for non-original cables. The new iPhone 15 is fully compatible with any Type-C cables.
By the way, to quickly charge all iPhone 15 models, the adapter must have a power of at least 18 W and support the Power Delivery (PD) protocol. And for fast data transfer at speeds of up to 10 Gbps, which is currently supported only by the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, the cable must comply with the USB 3 standard or higher.
A selection of the best USB to C cables for iPhone 15
It turns out that the main thing is to follow one simple rule: do not buy poor quality cords . Their only advantage – low price – can turn into big problems for you: the smartphone may not work correctly, damage the battery, burn out and even cause irreparable harm to your health.
The problem is that visually it is almost never possible to determine the reliability of a cable. Therefore, we recommend buying original Apple cables or third-party, but trusted manufacturers.
The iSpace catalog contains only reliable brands and high-quality accessories that you can use to charge your iPhone 15 . Apple itself recommends using them : Anker, Satechi, Ugreen, Native Union, Ubear , VLP.