iPhone 11: Mysterious iOS 13 photo sparks panic over another charging cable switch
Image could signal a much more boring change than most people have suggested
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Your support makes all the difference.A mysterious picture has sparked fears that Apple is about to change the charging cable for iPhones.
The image shows a handset running iOS 13, the upcoming update due to arrive on iPhones and iPads later this year. The screen shows the phone has been entered into recovery mode – when it crashed, and must be restarted by being plugged into a computer – and has an image of a cable connecting the handset to a laptop.
But it is the details of that cable that has worried iPhone users. In a change that isn't present in previous versions of iOS, it appears to depict a USB-C cable connecting the two.
Apple has long been rumoured to be dropping the existing Lightning cable in favour of the USB-C port for years. The image was taken as a suggestion that could be about to happen, indicating that the phone will now be connected with a USB-C cable.
Various reports claimed the "leaked" image "confirmed" that Apple would be making the change.
That in turn prompted panic among iPhone users, many of whom are likely to object to any change of cable. While updating to USB-C would bring a range of improvements – primarily by adopting a widely used standard that will be shared between Android phones and iPhones – it would also mean changing all of the accessories and charging ports all over again.
But the image doesn't actually appear to show what is claimed. Or, more precisely, it does show a USB-C cable connecting to a phone – but the USB-C cable appears to be getting plugged into the computer, not the iPhone.
Apple's computers have been moving towards USB-C for years. Now, all of its laptops come with the ports rather than the traditional and long-used USB-A part.
As such, it would make sense if Apple opted to depict the phone being plugged in through that port, rather than the now old-fashioned USB standard.
It would also be expected if the company opted to ship the new iPhones with a Lightning cable that plugged into USB-C on the other end, allowing it to more easily connect to Apple's newest laptops. If the image suggests any change coming to the iPhone, it is likely that – shipping a new wire that changes the end that plugs into computers, not the handset.
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