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Apple’s iPhone 13 series won’t get a USB-C port

Lightning connector is still the king

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Apple’s iPhones have shipped with a Lightning port for the longest time, and the trend won’t be changing anytime soon. While USB-C continues to rule the industry today, Apple shall stick with the conventional port for an indefinite period of time.

The latest research note by TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will not ditch the Lightning connector in favor of a USB Type-C standard on iPhones anytime soon. And the decision to do so apparently has a lot to do with two key reasons — profits and longevity.

“We believe that USB-C is detrimental to the MFi business’s profitability, and its waterproof specification is lower than Lightning and MagSafe,” he said in the note, as quoted by AppleInsider. MFi stands for Apple’s Made for iPhone (MFi) program, allowing Apple to license the proprietary technology to other brands for making compatible accessories.

Kuo also predicts that the Pro iPhone model might lose the notch, favoring a hole-punch camera that’s popular on Android phones. However, he also adds that a shift to Touch ID is unlikely.

The note also says that we can expect an iPhone SE option with 5G compatibility. This is actually a no-brainer since every phone maker is gearing up for the boom, and the developing markets are yet to deploy full-scale 5G, giving some time to Apple.

Lastly, he speculates that the iPhone 13 Pro successor will be Apple’s main iPhone release to abandon the notch and “adopt” the hole-punch display design. Android phone makers have taken a similar approach, and it has worked well so far for everyone.

Users have long asked for a USB-C port on the iPhone because it eliminates the need to carry a Lightning cable wherever you go. Thanks to standardization, a USB-C wire is capable of charging a MacBook, Android phone, third-party accessories, as well as power banks. Having one universal port helps massively in enabling easy portability. In fact, even the iPad Pro has a USB-C port available now.

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Next year’s iPhone might have a curved Liquid Glass screen

A lot of plans are in store for the iPhone’s 20th anniversary.

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Apple’s Liquid Glass design marked a return to the three-dimensional aesthetic of Windows Vista. Not content with letting the new design thrive solely on the software side, Apple is reportedly bringing “Liquid Glass” to the iPhone’s hardware.

Next year is important to the history of the iPhone as the ubiquitous phone will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Apple will definitely have major plans to herald the milestone.

According to rumors (via Ice Universe on X), the 20th anniversary iPhone will have a “curved display,” much like the aesthetics of Liquid Glass. However, the device will not be “anything like the curved screen solutions we have seen on Android phones over the years.”

Instead, the iPhone’s curve will be subtle and will rely on “optical refraction” to produce the illusion of a truly curved screen. The ultimate goal is to reduce the bezel as much as possible, creating an all-screen iPhone.

Naturally, such a form factor comes with questions. For example, where will Apple store the Dynamic Island and its hardware underneath? How will cases work if there are no bezels?

It’s still very early in the news cycle of next year’s iPhone. In fact, reports about the iPhone 18 series are just getting started. As with all rumors this early on, take it with a grain of salt. However, if anything, incorporating “Liquid Glass” into the iPhone’s hardware feels poetic.

SEE ALSO: Foldable iPhone might be called the iPhone Ultra

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Foldable iPhone might be called the iPhone Ultra

Goodbye, iPhone Fold.

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With so many rumors coming out as of late, it’s fair to assume that the first foldable iPhone is really coming this year. Right now, there’s still so much time before its projected launch date in the fall, meaning a lot of chances for more rumors to pop out. Case in point, today sees the rumored name for this upcoming device show up: the iPhone Ultra.

We’ve been calling the foldable iPhone as the iPhone Fold for a while now. After all, what else would you call a foldable in a world dominated by the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip series?

According to a new rumor from Macworld, Apple will resurrect the Ultra moniker, which last made an appearance in the Apple Watch Ultra series, for its upcoming premium iPhone model. The foldable iPhone will be called, very simply, the iPhone Ultra.

Much like the iPhone Air, the iPhone Ultra will not have a number in its name, making it distinct from the upcoming iPhone 18 series. As a foldable, it makes sense for Apple to establish its own series for the form factor.

Additionally, Apple will reportedly use the same Ultra naming convention for a new series of MacBooks with a touchscreen OLED display. The MacBook Ultra might come out next year.

Both the iPhone Ultra and the MacBook Ultra will likely occupy top spots in Apple’s gallery of devices. Apple has even reportedly pushed the regular iPhone 18 duo’s launch to next year, clearing the room for the Pro duo and the Ultra for this fall’s event.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s iPhone Fold reportedly hits engineering delays

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Gaming

The Steam Controller is coming out on May 4

It will cost $99.

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The best part of the Steam Deck is its portability. However, an underrated aspect of the handheld console is its button layout. Unlike its contemporaries, the Steam Deck has two trackpads on either side of the device. Now, that same layout is coming to the Steam Controller.

The Steam Controller was part of the trio of innovative devices that Valve announced late last year. While the spotlight is on the Steam Machine, the Controller is also enough to whet any gamer’s appetite.

Besides the convenient layout, the Steam Controller offers easy integration with Steam. The peripheral can communicate with any device — PC or mobile — that has Steam or the Steam Link app installed. As such, it’s easy to take control of your gaming library straight from the controller.

The only catch, though, is that it works solely on Steam. Any other game that has its own separate launcher, such as Genshin Impact, cannot be used with the Steam Controller unless they’re added directly to Steam.

The Steam Controller is launching on May 4 globally. It will retail for US$ 99.

On the flip side, Valve has not announced when the rest of its hardware will launch. Both the Steam Machine and the Steam Frame have not made appearances yet, reportedly because of the ongoing issues with RAM production all over the world. However, the company is still optimistic about releasing these devices within the year.

SEE ALSO: Valve announces its own console called the Steam Machine

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