iPhone 12: Lightning or USB-C?

2020-07-03

History

Lightning was introduced in 2020

Lightning is an 8pin bus and power connector that has been developed by Apple and announced as the new connector of the iPhone 5, replacing the older 30-in connector.
Lightning cables and dongles have certain specifications and can be connected with their faces either up or down.
Lightning accessories are licensed by Apple (apple receives a fee for this license).
Official and licensed lightning accessories are equipped with an authentication chip that makes it difficult for non-licensed OEMs to produce accessories with bad specifications.

USB-C was introduced in 2014

USB-c was originally known as USB type-c and specification 1.0 was finalized in August 2014.
USB-c was developed at the same time as the USB 3.1 specification but it’s not the same thing(a USB-c cable is not necessarily following the USB 3.1 or 3.2 specifications etc.)
USB-c cables and accessories do NOT have the same specs and capabilities with each other (including USB power delivery)
USB-c cables can be connected with their faces either up or down.
USB-c transfer protocol is the first USB protocol that is exclusively available via type-c.

iPhones, iPods, iPads, Apple Pencil, etc

Lighting was introduced in 2012 as the new charging port of the iPhone 5 (and 5C), iPod Nano, and iPod Touch. ever since all iPhones and iPods come with a Lightning port.
iPads came up next since the 4th-gen iPad and 1st-gen Ipad Mini (Oct 2012) came with a lightning port.
The original iPad Pro released in 2015 was the first dec=vice that came with a USB 3.0 compatible lightning port not used for faster charging though.
In 2016, Apple removed the 5.5mm port from the iPhone and the new EarPds were released with a lightning connector. Other lightning devices: Airpods cases, Apple Pencil (1st-gen), Magic Keyboard, Maic Mouse and Trackpad, SiriRemote, Powerbeats Pro case, Beats X, Solo Pro and Pill, and Several iPhone, Apple Watch or other docks.

So, what’s next?

Apple was expected to launch a USB-c iPhone in 2019, practically replicated what they did with the 2018 iPad Pro.
The iPhone 11 series, however, came with a lightning port again. So what about 2020?
The 2020 iPhone is expected to come with a lightning port again. Same for 2021, with small exceptions.
The top tier 2021 iPhone is expected to be completely port-less, which means that Apple plans to move from the current state to a fully wireless charging state (reported by Jon Prosser).
Apple is planning to ditch the lightning port from all iPhones in the future. So all iPhones will be charged via an improved wireless charging solution and better wireless charger).