Apple is no stranger to bold design moves, and at one point, it seriously considered taking one of its biggest leaps yet: creating an iPhone without a charging port. The idea was to go fully wireless, with no Lightning port or USB-C. Although wireless technologies would have marked a dramatic shift in how we use and interact with our devices, Apple ultimately decided to hold off. So what happened? Here’s what we know about the portless iPhone that never came to be, and the reactions of Apple fans.
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What We Know
Apple seriously explored launching the iPhone 17 Air without any charging port, relying purely on wireless charging (MagSafe or Qi), cloud syncing, AirDrop, and 5G for data — just like the Apple Watch. The goal was a sleeker, more durable device with no open ports to collect dust or allow water damage, and it could have made the phone even thinner and lighter that was around 2 mm slimmer than current models.
But Apple pulled the plug on the portless design for the iPhone 17 Air due to regulatory concerns in the European Union. The EU had mandated USB‑C on all smartphones by January 2025, and removing the port so soon after switching could have triggered legal scrutiny, fines, or even a sales ban. But it’s unclear whether Apple will give up on this idea completely. It’s still possible that a port-less design may emerge sooner or later.
So, what do fans have to say about it?
What Fans Say
Not all Apple fans are on board with the idea of a port-less iPhone. One writes on an Instagram post: “iPhone 20 is gonna come with an instruction manual on how to build the damn thing… I’m starting to get sick of Apple bro.” Another writes, “Great, we brought back USB-C charging to prevent having an exclusive charger being their lightning cable. Now this to do it again?” And a third writes “I’m Apple always but I’ll either not update my phone ever or get a Nokia block before I’ll give into anymore stupid updates like this from them.”
Creating a port-less iPhone would undoubtedly divide customers and may lead to fewer sales (at least until everyone gets comfortable with the new idea).
