The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro’s USB-C port, as well as its accompanying charging cables, will feature a Lightning-like authenticator chip, says a rumor shared on Weibo. This would potentially limit their functionality with Apple-unapproved accessories.
As noted by MacRumors, the rumor says Apple has developed its own custom variant of USB-C for this year’s iPhone 15 lineup. The rumor comes from a party that claims to be an integrated circuit expert with 25 years of experience working on Intel’s Pentium processors.
The authenticator chip would allow Apple to encourage customers to buy genuine iPhone peripherals. The benefits for Apple are twofold. First, it allows Apple to tackle counterfeit and potentially dangerous accessories. Second, it also allows the company to collect a commission on MFi-certified accessories.
Currently, MFi-certified Lightning ports and connectors include a small IC that confirms the authenticity of the parts involved in the circuit. Since non-MFi-certified third-party charging cables don’t feature this chip, users see “This accessory is not supported” warnings on Apple devices when using non-certified cables.
The USB-C interface currently used by Apple in the 10th-generation iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro, do not contain an IC chip for authentication.