Apple came close to launching its upcoming “iPhone 17 Air” handset without a USB-C charging port, claims Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.
Gurman’s comments came in his Power On newsletter on Sunday.
An even bigger idea was to make the Air device Apple’s first completely port-free iPhone. That would mean losing the USB-C connector and going all-in on wireless charging and syncing data with the cloud. The world is probably ready for this change. Already, iPhone users can get around fine without plugging in their phone, whether it’s to charge, connect to their car or download information. The Apple Watch exclusively charged wirelessly since the beginning, so many users are already accustomed to the idea.
Gurman said the iPhone 17 Air will “foreshadow a move to slimmer models without charging ports.”
“The iPhone 17 Air represents the beginning of a sea change for Apple,” he wrote. “Apple executives say that if this new iPhone is successful, the company intends to again attempt to make port-free iPhones and move more of its models to this slimmer approach.”
