Despite having a more than capable A18 chip, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus feature the slow 480Mbps USB-C port.
Apple is Still Shipping the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus with a Slow 480Mbps USB-C Port
When it comes to speed, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are dialed up to eleven. Whether that’s the processor or the USB-C port, everything is fast. That USB-C port in particular supports speeds of up to 10Gbps, allowing you to take full advantage of high-speed accessories such as external SSDs, SD card readers and more.
However, on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, the port still belongs in the past. Not only is the port slow, with speeds of up to 480Mbps supported – that port is also just USB 2, compared to USB 3 on the iPhone 16 Pro lineup.
When it comes to charging speeds, you get all the benefits of USB-C on the iPhone 16. This means you can use up to a 30W or faster USB-C charger to top your device up to 50% in just 30 minutes, but on the data end, you’re not going beyond 480Mbps. This also means this phone is not great for transferring photos and videos from a SD card, unless you’re willing to wait a long time.
I know a lot of people are going to lecture me on how we live in a ‘wireless’ world and that these speeds don’t matter, but take one look at the calendar and tell me what year is it? Exactly.
If Apple is doing USB-C on a phone, maybe do it in the best possible way, too. Sure, the port does look like USB-C but that’s as far as it goes. You do not get the high speed data advantage of USB-C in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. For all your high speed port needs, there’s the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
