If Apple Kills the iPhone Lighting Port, What Would Replace It?

It might be the beginning of the end for the Lightning port at the bottom of your iPhone.

A report published Thursday stated that it has been Apple’s plan all along to eliminate most external ports and buttons from its smartphones. This started with the ousting of the headphone jack in 2016, which ushered in an era of dongles and AirPods. But if Apple were to ditch Lightning Charging, what would that mean for users?

It Won’t Happen Until Apple Ships Its AirPower Charger

First off, the only way to juice up these iPhones of the future would be with wireless charging technology. Apple announced its AirPower wireless charger alongside the iPhone X, but actually making it has proven to be difficult. This charger is tentatively slated for release this September.

The AirPower was touted to have the capability to charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and a pair of AirPods simultaneously. Pulling this off requires packing a crazy amount of tech into a thin mat, which according to Bloomberg has resulted in a plethora of complications.

Both the iPhone 8 and iPhone X have wireless charging capabilities, but the only way to make use of this feature is to buy a third-party charger. It’s unlikely Apple will force users to charge their phones wirelessly until they have their own wireless charger to sell. Sort of how they strong-armed people into buying AirPods by eliminating the headphone jack.

Get Used to Wireless Apple Charging

While the extinction of the Lightning port might wholly rely on the AirPower, this wireless future might come swiftly after it hits shelves. Mark Gurman, Bloomberg’s Apple expert, interviewed executives and engineers who told him the company was thinking about losing the Lightning port while the iPhone X was in development.

This never came to fruition because wireless chargers were less effective and more costly than their antithesis. But as soon as Apple figures out how to crank out AirPower chargers at relatively low costs, it might just kick the Lightning port to the curb.

Goodbye Apple Dongles and Hello AirPods

This would mean your next iPhone wouldn’t come with a dongle. In fact, there would be no way to use wired earbuds or headsets anymore. New iPhones would be completely wireless, so you’d have to pick up a pair of AirPods or dust off some old Bluetooth headphones.

Upcoming iPhones would also include the AirPower upon purchase, seeing as it would be the only way to power your phone. A dongle-less future sound good, but slapping all of your Apple devices down on a mat might take some getting used to.