With the launch of the iPhone 16e last week, Apple has killed off the aging Lightning port across all of its iPhone lineup as every iPhone now adopts the USB-C standard thanks to the EU’s mandate. However, that doesn’t technically mark the end for Lightning just yet as Apple still has other products that feature the Lightning connector.
Besides the first-party cables and adapters, there are just a few products from Apple that have the Lightning connector:
- Apple Pencil (1st generation) – that accessory was introduced with the original iPad Pro (12.9-inch) in 2015, and it was also made for other iPads (with Lightning) that support that Pencil. Oddly enough, the 10th-generation iPad would require a separate adapter to pair and charge the Pencil. Apple continues to sell it on its online store for those who still have any of the older iPads; however, Apple will likely discontinue that Pencil when more older iPads become obsolete.
- Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (Mac) – not to be confused with the one with Touch ID, but you may have forgotten about this specific accessory because Apple never touched this accessory when the company introduced the 24-inch iMac back in April 2021. Apple released three Magic Keyboard (Mac) variants that were slightly “tweaked” to match the aesthetics of the modern iMac: one with the Lock key, one with Touch ID, and one with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad. All three models were refreshed recently with USB-C for charging. Since both the second and third models are compatible with only Macs with Apple Silicon for Touch ID functionality, Apple continues to sell the older Magic Keyboard for Numeric Keypad for those who prefer an extended keyboard but have an older Intel-based Mac. We could see that accessory fade out as Apple drops support for more Intel-based Macs in the future.
- EarPods – those headphones were originally introduced with the iPhone 5, which was the first iPhone to feature Lightning, so this gave Apple an opportunity to redesign the included earbuds. EarPods originally featured the headphone jack at the end, but with the removal of that port on the iPhone 7, Apple created another EarPods model with the Lightning connector at the end. Since the iPhone 15 series made the switch to USB-C, Apple also came out with another EarPods model with the USB-C port at the end, so in the end, Apple is selling three variants of the wired EarPods that work with pretty much every iPhone in history. Who knows? Apple may continue to sell the Lightning EarPods for those who still prefer wired earbuds for some reason.
So these are the products that Apple continues to sell that have a Lightning port. So Lightning is here to say for those who have an older Apple product.
