Apple has been compelled to make a USB-C-compatible iPhone by the EU. According to reports, the first such iPhone will be the iPhone 15 coming this year. The company won’t be giving up control of its iPhone ecosystem without a fight, though, as a new report says cables not certified by Apple’s MFI (Made For iPhone) program won’t be able to take full advantage of the device’s power.
Reports of Apple tying its USB-C move to MFI came in from fairly weak sources earlier this month, but the fairly reliable ShrimpApplePro shared that the company was in collaboration with Foxconn as it hoped it produce USB-C EarPods and charging cables.
Apple would not be the first company to do this. Companies like Xiaomi and BBK sub-brands (Oppo, Vivo, Realme) support USB-C on their phones for standard fast charging but limit their implementations of super-fast charging to their own proprietary cables. It’s not exactly the same thing, but it’s a form of quality control where the risk to the user is minimized while the benefits are maximized.
If Apple wanted to — hypothetically speaking — adopt super-fast charging on its iPhones, restricting this to MFI-certified cables and chargers would make a lot of sense. Though the EU’s rules state, “all devices that support fast charging will now have the same charging speed, allowing users to charge their devices at the same speed with any compatible charger,” this probably applies only to a base level of fast charging speed rather than capping the upper limits.
For reference, Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro with USB-C and fast-charging support later this year. It’s not clear if Apple will stick to the relatively slow 27W charging it offers now, or take the chance to upgrade to something a little faster, like 45W or even 60W, as is now table stakes in Android phones.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.