Nobody likes a port transition. When Apple moved the iPhone and iPad to Lightning, and the Mac from USB-A to USB-C, it was painful. Most recently, the iPhone 15 line dropped Lightning for USB-C. Each transition makes your old peripherals more or less useless, unless you want to resort to endless adapters.
But port transitions are made much easier once every device supports the new connector.
Apple has gotten us most of the way toward the dream of an all-USB-C life. But there are still a handful of products lagging behind. Here are the products still in need of a USB-C update.
AirPods Max
Apple’s $550 over-ear AirPods Max are very due for an upgrade. Not only are they lacking a whole lot of features sported by the cheaper AirPods Pro 2, but they also still include a Lightning connection.
Expectations are for a new version of AirPods Max to drop before the end of the year as a successor to the 2020 model, so here’s hoping one of the features is a USB-C connection.
AirPods
While AirPods Pro have made the switch to a USB-C charging case, the base AirPods have not. Apple offers three generations of standard AirPods, and all three are still Lightning-only. The latest model was released in October 2021, and rumors indicate AirPods 4 are scheduled for a late 2024 launch. Expect to see that new model introduce USB-C.
Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse
This might be the most problematic inclusion on the list, because Apple had the opportunity to update each of these peripherals when the M3 iMacs debuted in October 2023.
That’s right: a month after the iPhone moved to USB-C, and years after the Mac and iPad’s initial transitions, Apple shipped a new iMac model that included the same Lightning-based accessories.
Top comment by Augusto Galindo
I am holding up my purchase of a Magic Keyboard and Trackpad until Apple gets rid of Lightning, I have been waiting for 2 years and I don’t mind waiting more even if the only difference is USB-C. I just don’t want to have those cables at home anymore LOL.
Perhaps the company is trying to sort out the Magic Mouse’s awkward charging situation before shifting to USB-C. A report from December claimed new USB-C accessories were set for spring 2024, but that window has just about ended.
MagSafe Battery Pack
Rounding out the products lacking USB-C is the iPhone’s MagSafe Battery Pack.
Technically, Apple doesn’t sell this product anymore so it may not deserve to be on this list. But out of every product mentioned here, the MagSafe Battery Pack is my personal thorn in the side. I’m an AirPods Pro user, and stick with wireless charging for my AirPods case anyways. I don’t currently use the Mac accessories above. But the wonderful little MagSafe Battery Pack has been the one device I consistently still need to use Lightning for.
Wrap-up
Apple’s major product lines—the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro—are all on the USB-C train. The Apple Watch gets a pass for needing inductive charging. But here’s hoping all of the products listed above will receive USB-C updates soon, and this article can be sent into oblivion.
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