Starting from iPhone 15, Apple has complied with the EU's regulation of unifying the interface of electronic products as USB Type-C, abandoning the long-used Lightning port, giving users a more convenient way to connect.
iPhone charging quick questions and answers
Do the charging cable interfaces of iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 have the same interface?
A: Both iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 use USB-C interface, replacing the original Lightning interface.
Supplement: This change is mainly due to the EU's unified requirements for smart device charging interfaces, which aims to promote environmental protection and consumer convenience. The USB-C interface supports faster data transmission and charging, and also enables users to use various USB-C devices and cables more conveniently, improving the compatibility and convenience of devices.
Can iPhone 16 be charged using the iPhone 15 charging cable and charging head?
A: Yes. As mentioned earlier, both iPhone 15 and 16 use USB-C interfaces, which are universal interfaces. The answer is yes.
The charging head is what we call the "USB-C power adapter". It has been a USB-C interface since iPhone 8 and can be used with iPhone 8 or subsequent models.
iPhone 16 can use the iPhone 15 charging cable.
But! But! But!
The iPhone 16 series supports a maximum fast charging power of 45W, and the iPhone 15 series supports a fast charging power of 27W. If the iPhone 16 uses the iPhone 15 charger, the charging power and speed advantages of the iPhone 16 will not be reflected.
It is recommended to replace a fast charging head that is compatible with the iPhone 16.
If you think the official website is expensive, please see the reliable USB-C charging cable and charging head we recommend later.
Can iPhone 16 use Android phone chargers and charging cables?
In theory, iPhone 16 can use Android charging cables, but it is not recommended. It is recommended to buy charging heads and charging cables specially adapted for iPhone. If you think the official website is expensive, you can buy cost-effective, safe, and motherboard-free ones.
Why is it theoretically possible?
Android charging cables use USB-C interfaces, and Apple phones also support Type-C interfaces, which are theoretically universal. The USB-C interface supports various functions of the USB interface, including data transmission and power supply. Android Type-C charging cables can charge Apple phones.
Why is it not recommended?
Different devices have different requirements for the power limit of the charger. The iPhone may not be able to fully utilize the full power provided by the Android charging cable, or the Android charging cable may not reach the power level required by the Apple device.
Apple and Android devices may use different charging protocols, which will affect charging speed and compatibility. For example, Apple phones support the PD fast charging protocol, while Android devices may use other fast charging technologies such as QC or AFC. If the Android charging cable does not support the PD protocol, fast charging may not be achieved when charging an Apple phone.
Not every USB-C data cable can charge the "iPhone 15/16"
After the release of iPhone 15, Apple phones also officially support USB-C. On Apple's official website, we saw the following description:
The phrase "USB-C is universal" also officially dispelled the rumor that Apple's USB-C interface would be restricted. That's right, your other mobile phone USB-C chargers may also be able to charge the iPhone 15, and the possibility of truly achieving universal use of all devices has been realized. It has to be said that after the USB-C interface is universal, it can indeed solve a lot of troubles. However, it is not that you can achieve universal use of all devices by just buying a USB-C data cable. The most typical example is the hot search topic "iPhone 15 cannot use Huawei charger" that was previously a hot topic on Weibo.
When the iPhone 15 officially announced that the entire series had changed to a C interface, many users were most concerned about whether Android charging devices could be used with Apple. However, within a few days, "iPhone 15 cannot use Huawei charger" became a hot search. It turned out that a digital blogger found that Huawei's 66W charging head and 88W charging head with USB-A port were completely wiped out, and there was no response when plugged into Apple. Xiaomi and OPPO had no problems at all and could charge Apple phones normally. Unsurprisingly, this topic quickly aroused heated discussion among netizens.
But in fact, the problem is not the brand of the charger. On the details page of Huawei's official website, there is a clear description of the charging options: When charging a laptop, it is recommended to use a USB-C to USB-C cable. It can provide up to 65W fast charging for laptops that support the PD protocol. iOS only supports charging using the USB-C port, and some iOS devices require their own fast charging specification cables.
In other words, it is very likely that the iPhone 15 cannot be charged with a fast charging plug that supports the PD protocol and a data cable that converts from A to C. So at the time, Huawei and Apple officials responded that it is recommended that you use the original charger to charge the corresponding device to avoid affecting the battery life of the device. If you really don't want to choose the original charger from Apple's official website, you can also choose a USB-C to USB-C charger that supports the PD protocol to charge the iPhone 15, which is completely fine.
Maybe everyone can see that the misunderstanding between Huawei charger and iPhone 15 lies in the data cable port. Whether to choose A to C or C to C port depends on the actual usage.
It is not possible to charge and transfer data at the same time with a USB-C data cable
When you find that your USB-C data cable cannot recognize the mobile phone storage space after connecting the mobile phone and the computer, but can charge the mobile phone, this is not a new thing, and there are more than one reason.
If you use USB-A to USB-C to connect the mobile phone, it may be that the computer interface position is insufficiently powered, resulting in the inability to transfer data and only charging. You can consider switching other USB interfaces on the computer. If it is a chassis, it is recommended to plug it into the USB-A interface position at the rear of the chassis. The front interface may not be connected when routing.
If you use USB-C to USB-C to connect the computer and the mobile phone, it may still only charge. It may be that the transmission protocol of the C port on the computer side conflicts with that of the data cable. For example, if the computer side is a thunderbolt interface, and your cable is USB3.2, it is very likely that only power can be supplied but data cannot be transferred. Another possibility is that your data cable can only charge but not support data transmission. At present, most of the charging cables produced and sold by regular brands on the market can meet the charging needs, but may not support data transmission. If you just want to find a fast charging data cable, then it is enough to pay attention to whether the product introduction supports the charging protocol you want.
If you want to use a USB-C data cable to balance high-power charging and high-speed data transmission between different devices, or even occasionally want to use this cable to connect a monitor (only cables with a rate of 10Gbps or above can support it), prepare a full-featured data cable with a rate of at least 5Gbps, PD charging of more than 60W, and support for DP or HDMI standby mode, and many problems will be solved.
Nowadays, there are also promotional words such as "full function" on e-commerce platforms, and you can find a lot of them by searching. However, there are quite a lot of tricks that brands can think of. First of all, you will find that the price difference of the same advertising word is quite large. If the brand is loud and dares to list the functions on the first screen of the promotion, you may think the price is expensive, but you may be really assured to use it.
On e-commerce platforms, we can easily find USB Type-C cables at extremely low prices. However, the quality of these cables is unreliable, which may cause trouble to users. When we buy cables, we are often attracted by low prices, but we often ignore the importance of cable quality. These inferior cables are not only easy to cause equipment damage, but also may cause safety hazards to users' equipment.
Have you figured out the "dazzling" USB-C transmission speed?
After saying so much, I'm sure everyone knows that not all USB-C interface data cables with the same appearance can achieve the same functions, and the actual transmission rates are also very different. This has a lot to do with the USB-C interface transmission protocol. Let's "tangle" it again! There are many types of USB-C interface transmission protocols, such as USB3.1, USB3.1 Gen2×1, USB3.2 Gen2×2, Thunderbolt 3/4 interfaces, etc. When the transmission rates of the host interface and the key device are inconsistent, the actual experience will also be limited by the "barrel principle", and can only be low but not high.
In addition, Intel's Thunderbolt 3/4 interface has rich performance and is indeed very fast, but it is not recognized by any USB-C data cable you plug in, and the speed may not reach full speed. The compatibility issue can only be solved by the manufacturer slowly optimizing it.
Summary
Choosing a USB-C data cable, pay attention to the dedicated use, and you can't go wrong
Nowadays, many devices support USB-C data cables, which really saves a lot of cables for users who travel frequently, but it is still recommended that you choose a dedicated use and pay attention to the product brand and quality. Specific suggestions are as follows: Choose a brand fast charging plug, preferably a product that supports the fast charging protocol for laptops and mobile phones, so that you only need to bring one charger when you go out. For terminal devices with different operating systems, it is best to choose an original USB-C data cable for charging or data transmission.