Apple has given each device a USB-C connection since the iPhone 15. But the company even considered completely removing the charging gate.
Apple was planning to give the iPhone 17 Air no USB-C
Since the iPhone 15, every Apple smartphone has a USB-C connection. Before Apple had switched to this connection, each iPhone still had a Lightningpoort with which you could charge the smartphone. That Apple put an end to Lightning was secretly fine, because you can now charge any new device with the same cable.
Nevertheless, there were rumors for a long time that Apple would also remove the USB-C port from one of the new iPhone 17 models. The iPhone 17 comes in four variants: the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone 17 Air. The iPhone 17 Air is a whole new device of this. This iPhone gets a number of functions of the iPhone 16 Pro, such as Promotion and the camera control. But according to rumors, this also becomes one of the thinnest iPhones ever. The expectation is that this iPhone will only be 5.5 mm thick.
That is probably also the reason why Apple once considered removing the USB-C port from this iPhone. That would immediately result in you can only charge the iPhone 17 Air wirelessly.
Yet the rumors say that Apple did not ultimately choose this. The exact reason why Apple did not do that is not entirely clear. Perhaps it has to do with one of the recent EU schemes.
Since December 28, 2024, all new small electronic devices that are sold in the European Union have to be provided with USB-C port. The EU hopes to reduce the mountain with electronic waste.
Incidentally, the iPhone 17 Air replaces the Plus version. The price will be about the same (around 1100 euros), but you will also miss some parts that the iPhone 16 Plus does. For example, the iPhone 17 Air gets only one camera lens on the back.
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