A USB-C iPhone is imminent, according to Anker's new phone charger range
Anker has revealed a bunch of Qi2 MagGo wireless charging stations and power banks over at the IFA 2023 show, alongside new Nano chargers – and without explicitly saying so, the brand seems very sure that USB-C iPhones are imminent.
The absence of Lightning-based products in Anker's new range is notable, but first let’s examine the new Qi2 MagGo offerings that take a step forward from past MagGo products, which were MagSafe-compatible and limited to 7.5W charging. The new MagSafe-branded devices are now capable of 15W wireless charging. (Not familiar with the Qi2 wireless charging standard? Check out our Qi2 explainer).
As The Verge spotted, the new Qi2 MagGo hardware includes a 10,000mAh portable power bank that has a kickstand, battery level and charge time indicator (LCD), and USB-C port to charge devices at up to 27W. That’ll be partnered with a 6,600mAh power bank that folds out to make a stand for your phone.
Moving onto the charging stations, Anker has revealed three new MagGo models that all support three devices – enabling Apple fans to charge their iPhone (at 15W), Apple Watch, and AirPods at the same time.
These are essentially different designs on that trio charger – one is a bedside table spin (a tree with a charging base and two branches), another is portable and folds up, and there’s also a plainer configuration which has all three devices simply lined up in a row.
Anker also showed off a spherical 67W MagGo charging station which is an 8-in-1 offering. It sports a magnetic front pad delivering 15W wireless charging, and around the back, there’s a pair of USB-C ports and another pair of USB-A, along with a trio of AC power connectors.
All of these Qi2 MagGo chargers are set to go on sale later this year, but aren’t quite ready yet, and Anker hasn’t pinned any asking prices on them at this point, sadly.
Anker also revealed Nano USB-C chargers at IFA 2023 – not Lightning, but USB-C. There’s a 22.5W dongle-style power bank with a foldaway USB-C connector (pictured above), and an Anker 6-in-1 Nano Charging Station (67W) with two USB-C and two USB-A ports, plus two AC ports (pictured below).
Both of those are already listed on Amazon in the US priced at $30 and $66 respectively (although the former is marked as ‘currently unavailable’ at the time of writing).
Analysis: Lightning switch
At this point, it’s strongly rumored that the iPhone 15 (and next-gen sibling models quite possibly destined for our best iPhones list) will ditch the proprietary Lightning port in favor of USB-C. That switch has been partly pushed by EU regulations, though Apple hasn’t got to make the move until 2024, so it doesn’t necessarily have to happen with the iPhone 15 this year.
Seeing these Nano USB-C chargers presumably being readied for iPhone 15 models is yet another clue that the rumored change to USB-C is going ahead. But an Anker product manager also told us at IFA that it won't be introducing any new Lightning-based products this year.
And if the world’s biggest phone charger manufacturer is abandoning Lightning for USB-C, there’s seemingly no clearer signal that this is the path Apple is heading (charging?) down with the iPhone 15.
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