iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air feature a USB-C port at the bottom of the phone. If you are upgrading from an older phone, this means your old Lightning accessories won’t work anymore. But the USB-C port is much more capable overall.
With a USB-C cable and new charger, you can charge your iPhone from zero to 100% faster than ever before. You can also connect external displays, external storage, camera peripherals and more. Here’s what you can do with your new iPhone and its shiny new port …
In general, USB-C is standards-based and you don’t need to look for special badges, or compatibility charts. iOS will automatically detect many types of standard accessories when they are plugged in.
The one gotcha to be aware of is not all USB-C cables are made the same. Some support charging only, whereas others support data. You’ll need to make sure to use a USB-3 rated cable to take advantage of the faster transfer speeds possible on the iPhone 17 Pro models. iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max can transfer data up to 10Gbps per second over the cable.
Universal USB-C Charging
With the iPhone 17, you’ll get a nice quality woven USB-C cable in the box. This cable supports charging only. If you need more, Apple sells its own USB-C charge cables separately, but you can also freely purchase cheaper USB-C cables, of different styles and lengths, from other brands. You can charge using any USB-C brick, including this nice dual charger from Anker, for example.
To charge at maximum speed, you should look for a 40-watt power adapter. Apple sells its own dynamic charger, but you don’t really need that one specifically.
With the USB-C standard, you should now be able to simplify the amount of cables you carry with you. The entirety of Apple’s product lineup can now be charged by a USB-C cable, including AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro, MacBook Pro, iPads and more.
Charge other devices using your iPhone 17’s battery
The new iPhones have bigger batteries than ever, and over USB-C, you can actually use your iPhone as a portable battery pack to charge other accessories — in a pinch.
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