5 issues you may plug into your iPhone 17’s USB-C port (that are not chargers)

On reflection, it is wonderful how tooth-and-nail Apple was in its combat to hold on to the Lightning port. The corporate waited till 2023 to change iPhones over to USB-C, regardless of the actual fact the know-how first debuted in 2014, and Android telephones started adopting it in 2015. The one factor that compelled Apple’s hand was a European Union regulation standardizing USB-C on units like smartphones. In any other case, there’s an actual probability we’d’ve been caught with proprietary cables once more for the iPhone 17.

Since Apple has lastly embraced the trade customary, that is additionally opened up the variety of equipment iPhones will work with. The iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max — in addition to the iPhone Air — can do a shocking quantity of issues by way of USB-C. You will solely get probably the most out of the know-how with a Professional or Professional Max, for causes that’ll turn out to be clear in a second.

SSDs and card readers

Thoughts the efficiency hole

Due to each USB-C and adjustments to iOS over time, nearly any exterior SSD or card reader might be related to an iPhone. You’ll be able to’t set up apps to an exterior supply, or make one the default location for saved information (with one notable exception beneath) — however it may be a helpful means of importing and exporting content material, say when you’ve been taking pictures pictures on a professional digital camera however wish to rapidly edit and add a few of them for social media. You’ll be able to import pictures and movies straight into the Photographs app. For many different content material, you will be transferring issues out and in of Information.

There are a variety of different catches concerned. Some SSDs require their very own energy provides, that means you will want to attach them by way of a powered USB hub if they do not have a twine of their very own. And whereas storage might be formatted in APFS, HFS+, exFAT, FAT32, or FAT, playing cards and drives can solely have a single information partition.

The largest difficulty is velocity. The bottom iPhone 17 and the iPhone Air are restricted to USB 2.0 bandwidth, which peaks at 480Mbps. That is superb for small transfers — however you will not max out the velocity of an SSD, and enormous video transfers might take some time. At 480Mbps, it could take about 14 minutes to repeat 50GB of 4K video, whereas the 10Gbps ports on the 17 Professional and Professional Max might deal with the identical course of in 40 seconds.

That is why you want a Professional to shoot 4K ProRes video on to exterior storage. And exterior storage is crucial at that high quality, since even a 1TB iPhone may replenish quickly.

Wired keyboards

A final-ditch productiveness possibility

Credit score: Clicks / Pocket-lint

Realistically, you will not get almost as a lot out of connecting a keyboard to an iPhone as you’ll to an iPad. Most iPhone apps aren’t very advanced, and even those which might be do not have a lot room to work with. However when you completely have to get one thing executed and your iPhone’s onscreen keyboard is not chopping it, a USB mannequin will dramatically velocity up your typing. I do know I would not even try to write down an article in Google Docs if I could not plug in a desktop keyboard.An organization known as Clicks sells devoted keyboard instances. I am not selling the product, however I do know some persons are nonetheless hellbent on recreating the BlackBerry expertise. If nothing else, the case ensures that you’re going to all the time see an app’s fullscreen interface, as a substitute of getting it obscured by a pop-up software program keyboard.

Screens and TVs

Who wants an Apple TV?

When you want to put one thing on a much bigger display, iPhones can mirror their content material to a monitor or TV. You’ll be able to join on to some screens by means of a USB 3.1 or Thunderbolt 4/5 cable, and an extra subset will even cost your iPhone when you’re plugged in. For TVs, in addition to screens that do not assist DisplayPortover USB-C, you will want some kind of USB-C to HDMI adapter.The key phrase right here is mirroring. Not like a Mac or iPad, you may’t lengthen an iPhone’s homescreen, so it isn’t like you’ll arrange a conveyable workstation. At finest you’ll exploit the “second-screen” choices in some apps, akin to video gamers. Apps that do not assist second-screen tech will proceed to reflect all of iOS, so you could wish to activate Do Not Disturb when you’re sitting down to observe Jurassic Park.Talking of films, you may output 4K HDR video as much as a 60Hz refresh rate. That features assist for Dolby Imaginative and prescient. Word that any HDMI adapter you employ might want to assist HDMI 2.0 or later.

Microphones and headphones

Most constancy

A outstanding phenomenon to me is that a variety of reporters do not hassle utilizing separate microphones, cameras, or recording methods anymore. As a substitute, they’re going to function primarily from their cellphone, connecting equipment as crucial. I’ve seen some journalists shove a naked machine in entrance of somebody to get commentary. Naturally, USB microphones can be utilized not only for journalism, however to take calls, or report music and podcasts. The standard of your mic goes to matter loads right here, nevertheless — if you wish to sound skilled, do not use the most cost effective mannequin yow will discover on Amazon.USB-C headphones aren’t particularly frequent as of late, however there’s a minimum of one purpose to make use of them: lossless. Bluetooth merely does not have the bandwidth to deal with the very best high quality of companies like Apple Music and Spotify. I discover that lossless is overrated, personally — you in all probability will not discover a distinction versus high-quality compressed audio — however for purists, USB-C is the one option to fly.

Different units that must be cost

Largely Apple equipment

I might nearly forgotten reverse USB charging was an possibility, if I am trustworthy. It is no marvel, although, since Apple does not point out the know-how fairly often, and it isn’t fairly clear what units will work. Formally, absolutely anything might be charged together with your iPhone as lengthy it helps USB Energy Supply (USB-PD) as much as 4.5W — however some units will robotically ship energy the opposite means as a substitute, akin to a laptop computer.What you may safely assume is the power to cost an Apple Watch or an AirPods case. Watch out about this — when you may like the thought of topping off your equipment each time and wherever you want, absolutely charging one thing like an Apple Watch goes to take a giant chunk out of an iPhone’s battery. It is best to make use of this as an emergency backup, say when you’re in the course of a PEV group rideand your AirPods out of the blue give out.