Kuo: AirPods, MagSafe Battery Pack, and Other Apple Accessories Also to Switch to USB-C in Future

Earlier this week, well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that Apple plans to release at least one iPhone 15 model with a USB-C port in 2023. Now, in a follow-up tweet, he has claimed that accessories like AirPods, the MagSafe Battery Pack, and the Magic Keyboard/Mouse/Trackpad trio would also switch to USB-C in the "foreseeable future."

airpodsprodesign
Both the iPhone and all of the aforementioned accessories currently rely on Apple's proprietary Lightning connector for wired charging and/or data transfer. A switch to USB-C would result in a more universal connectivity standard and satisfy regulators, as a wide range of tech products are equipped with USB-C ports, including many Android smartphones and even the latest MacBooks and iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini models.


Kuo also suggested that it is still too early for Apple to release a portless iPhone due to current limitations of wireless technologies and the immaturity of Apple's own MagSafe ecosystem of wireless accessories that attach magnetically to the iPhone.

Related Roundups: AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 3
Related Forum: AirPods

Popular Stories

ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Report: Apple to Launch These New Products in 2026

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:34 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch at least 15 new products in 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman outlined what to expect from Apple in 2026 in the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter. He said the company is heading "into one of its most pivotal years in recent memory," with the rollout of major new Apple Intelligence features, intense regulatory pressure on the App Store,...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday October 31, 2025 8:52 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about Apple's foldable iPhone so far. Ove...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

New Version of Siri to 'Lean' on Google Gemini

Sunday November 2, 2025 6:06 am PST by
In his "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today provided an update on the status of Apple Intelligence and the plans for it in 2026. Apple is still planning to roll out its revamped version of Siri around March of next year. The release should be accompanied by the release of a new smart home display product with speaker-base and wall-mount options. A new Apple TV and HomePod...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Likely Launching Soon

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:49 am PST by
A new Apple TV and HomePod mini could launch as soon as this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today suggested. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple retail stores are planning an overnight refresh on the evening of November 11, where changes will be made after closing, such as refreshing displays and placing new products for the following day. The timing of the overnight...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Tomorrow With These 8 New Features

Sunday November 2, 2025 11:50 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple is expected to release iOS 26.1 this Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app,...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...

Top Rated Comments

Lounge vibes 05 Avatar
45 months ago
I still don’t understand to this day why the mouse, keyboard and trackpad have lightning.
All of these other products having lightning makes sense because they’re mainly meant for iOS devices, so them using the exact same port is expected.
But the mouse, keyboard and trackpad all come with the Mac, are all accessories for the Mac. They should have the same port as the Mac.
Even the iPad Magic Keyboard has USB-C, it makes no sense
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rychiar Avatar
45 months ago
this would be a nice time for them to redesign the mouse charging port to a position that isn't complete ridiculous...
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lounge vibes 05 Avatar
45 months ago

People have lighting cables from iPhones, don’t need to buy usb-c cables if they don’t want to.
All these accessories come with lightning cables. If you purchase a desktop Mac that has the accessories in the box, they come with lightning cables.
That doesn’t make it make any more sense
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MasterControlProgram Avatar
45 months ago
So much of my stuff is USB-C now that still having Lightning on the iPhone and AirPods and having to keep adapters around for them is a pain. If they really are ditching Lightning next year I might wait to upgrade my iPhone until then.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrat93 Avatar
45 months ago

well for others it's the opposite - we have lightning cables pretty much everywhere, multiples in each location actually (bedrooms, living room, kitchen, cars, travel bags, etc.) since most of our devices all still use them (iphones, ipads, airpods, power banks, etc.) and comparatively have very few devices that use USB-C.

i acknowledge that eventually we'll all be forced to switch over as devices evolve and we eventually upgrade, but for now to most people who don't actually need to do a lot of data transfer, USB-C doesn't really offer any real world advantage over lightning (the cable's just used for charging anyway).

it just means that our existing lightning cables will become useless & we'll have to spend extra money buying a whole bunch of extra USB-C cables to place everywhere instead...
1. Your Lightning cables won’t be useless. They will still work on all of your existing devices and the tens of billions of existing devices in the world.
2. USB-C opens the door to much faster charging as well.
3. I’m sorry to say that you’re likely in the minority of people who are all-in on Lightning.

Honestly, you can/should be annoyed with Apple for taking this long — Apple duped its users (myself included) for years by creating a whole ecosystem of accessories when they knew Lightning would eventually die. They should have done this 5 years sooner.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Premium1 Avatar
45 months ago
As they should. If Apple truly cares about the environment, needing to have multiple different cords for different devices is stupid. I know they want to make $$ with their licensing of lightning, but come on.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)