Additional images of the iPhone 15’s USB-C port components indicate that some iPhone 15 models will be equipped with a Thunderbolt/USB 4 retimer chip for high-speed data transfer, according to ChargerLab.
We saw images last week that were said to be of the iPhone 15’s USB-C port components, and ChargerLab has seen further images of the parts and says that the photos show an integrated circuit (IC) for Thunderbolt data transfer speeds.
The Retimer chip primarily serves to reconstruct signals and reduce signal jitter. This chip, commonly found in ChargerLAB’s disassembled Thunderbolt/USB4 high-speed devices, improves signal transmission stability for high-bandwidth data ports, enabling longer transmission distances.
Chips like this are seen in other Thunderbolt/USB 4 devices, and ChargerLab says it is clearly identifiable on the iPhone 15’s USB-C components.
All four upcoming iPhone 15 models are expected to use USB-C ports in place of the traditional Lightning connector. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are both expected to support higher-speed data transfers, approaching Thunderbolt transfer speeds. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models are likely to offer data transfers at USB 2.0 speeds, the same speeds as supported by the current Lightning connector.