A series of rumors before the release of iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max claimed that these two models will be equipped with USB-C ports that support Thunderbolt 3 ports. Unfortunately, Apple limits bandwidth to 10Gbps, while Thunderbolt 3 has a throughput of 40Gbps.
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However, a tipster said that the A17Pro used in these two devices has the same USB3 controller as the M1, which means that it should support Thunderbolt3, but for various reasons, this feature seems to have been canceled. Supporting Thunderbolt3 may increase the overall cost, so the A17Pro can only use the USB3.2Gen2 standard.
ShrimpApplePro said that the A17Pro uses the same key hardware as the M1 and can connect to Thunderbolt3 instead of the old USB controller on chipsets such as A12X, A12Z or even A16Bionic. However, for various reasons, the iPhone15Pro or iPhone15ProMax are not equipped with this feature.
Adding support for Thunderbolt 3 will undoubtedly increase costs, and Apple has already made a lot of upgrades on the iPhone 15 Pro, but the starting price remains at $999, so adding another feature will likely force Apple to charge users more. This year, only the iPhone 15 Pro Max is $100 more expensive, but even so, users can still get double the storage space, a unique four-prism camera, etc., which is quite satisfying, at least in the eyes of some people.
Why will the cost increase? That’s because Thunderbolt 3 is a patented technology developed by Intel, so if every Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max uses this technology, Apple may be forced to pay patent fees to the processor giant. Since both phones support Thunderbolt 3 at the hardware level, next year's iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max may also support this feature. In addition, assuming the A17Pro is renamed A17Pro next year, it will also provide more features for ordinary iPhone16 buyers.