5 issues you possibly can 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 battle to hold on to the Lightning port. The corporate waited till 2023 to change iPhones over to USB-C, regardless of the very 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 likelihood 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 may solely get probably the most out of the know-how with a Professional or Professional Max, for causes that’ll develop into clear in a second.

SSDs and card readers

Thoughts the efficiency hole

Because of each USB-C and modifications to iOS over time, nearly any exterior SSD or card reader may be linked to an iPhone. You may’t set up apps to an exterior supply, or make one the default location for saved recordsdata (with one notable exception beneath) — however it may be a useful means of importing and exporting content material, say for those who’ve been taking pictures images on a professional digital camera however need to rapidly edit and add a few of them for social media. You may import images and movies straight into the Pictures app. For many different content material, you will be transferring issues out and in of Recordsdata.

There are a selection of different catches concerned. Some SSDs require their very own energy provides, which 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 may be formatted in APFS, HFS+, exFAT, FAT32, or FAT, playing cards and drives can solely have a single information partition.

The most important concern is pace. The bottom iPhone 17 and the iPhone Air are restricted to USB 2.0 bandwidth, which peaks at 480Mbps. That is nice for small transfers — however you will not max out the pace of an SSD, and huge 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 important at that high quality, since even a 1TB iPhone would possibly refill quickly.

Wired keyboards

A final-ditch productiveness possibility

Credit score: Clicks / Pocket-lint

Realistically, you will not get practically 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 haven’t got a lot room to work with. However for those who completely must get one thing accomplished and your iPhone’s onscreen keyboard is not chopping it, a USB mannequin will dramatically pace up your typing. I do know I would not even try to jot 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 individuals are nonetheless hellbent on recreating the BlackBerry expertise. If nothing else, the case ensures that you will at all times see an app’s fullscreen interface, as a substitute of getting it obscured by a pop-up software program keyboard.

Displays and TVs

Who wants an Apple TV?

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

Microphones and headphones

Most constancy

A exceptional phenomenon to me is that lots of reporters do not hassle utilizing separate microphones, cameras, or recording methods anymore. As a substitute, they will function primarily from their cellphone, connecting equipment as mandatory. I’ve seen some journalists shove a naked gadget in entrance of somebody to get commentary. Naturally, USB microphones can be utilized not only for journalism, however to take calls, or document music and podcasts. The standard of your mic goes to matter so much right here, nevertheless — if you wish to sound skilled, do not use the most affordable mannequin you could find on Amazon.USB-C headphones aren’t particularly widespread nowadays, however there’s at the least one cause 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 strategy to fly.

Different units that should be cost

Principally Apple equipment

I might virtually forgotten reverse USB charging was an possibility, if I am trustworthy. It is no surprise, although, since Apple does not point out the know-how fairly often, and it is not fairly clear what units will work. Formally, absolutely anything may be charged along 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, resembling a laptop computer.What you possibly can safely assume is the flexibility to cost an Apple Watch or an AirPods case. Watch out about this — when you would possibly like the concept of topping off your equipment each time and wherever you want, absolutely charging one thing like an Apple Watch goes to take an enormous chew out of an iPhone’s battery. It is best to make use of this as an emergency backup, say for those who’re in the course of a PEV group rideand your AirPods out of the blue give out.