A few days ago, a report ricocheted around the phone world that Apple had considered making a USB-C-less iPhone 17 Air to make the ultra-thin phone even skinnier. However, as Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported,

Macworld It took the iPhone an eternity to strike Lightning in favor of the universal USB-C port. Now that it’s here on all models, including the low-end 16e, many users still limit its use to charging,

Apple ultimately decided not to adopt a port-free design with the new iPhone, which will still have a USB-C connector. One major reason: There were concerns that removing USB-C would upset European Union regulators, who mandated the iPhone switch to USB-C.