Apple is abandoning Lightning: iPhone 16e goes with USB-C
Apple has officially discontinued the production of the last iPhones with Lightning connector. With the release of the iPhone 16e, the company discontinued the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone SE, which were the last models with this port.
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The entire iPhone line now uses only USB-C.
Apple started the transition to USB-C in 2023 with the iPhone 15 and completed it in less than two years. Currently, all current iPhone models - the 16e, 16, 16 Pro, and 15 - have only USB-C.
The company has long since switched all iPads and Macs to USB-C, so Lightning has almost completely disappeared from the Apple ecosystem. However, there are still some accessories available, such as the first generation Apple Pencil and certain cables with this connector.
Although Apple will continue to offer Lightning accessories for some time to come, its era is coming to an end. USB-C has become the only charging and data transfer standard for the company's new devices.
USB-C for the iPhone 16e. Illustration: Apple
Apple also decided to use OLED displays instead of the old LCD displays in its new iPhone 16e models.
Apple started introducing OLED displays in 2017, when the iPhone X was introduced. For several years, the company released models with a combination of OLED and LCD technologies, but in 2020, Apple abandoned LCD in its flagship models, and since then, all iPhone 12 and later models have OLED displays.
The iPhone SE model has always been positioned as a budget option based on the design of the iPhone 8, which had an LCD display. However, with the release of the iPhone 16e, the company finally switched to OLED technology, even in the affordable segment.
Source: MacRumors
