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Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max: USB 2 Connection/Speed, no USB 3.1, why?
Related: Apple, Apple iOS, Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple iPhone and iPad, Apple Watch, iOS, Other World Computing, SSD, Thunderbolt, USB, USB-A, USB-C, weather events
A major selling point was/is USB 3 speeds of 10 Gbps on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, vs the molasses-slow 480 Mbps of USB 2.
As far as I can tell, Apple shipped a cheap and fragile (!!!) USB 2.0 cable with a $2000 phone, and no cable can deliver USB 3 speeds. A total dick move, but in character for Apple.
I’ve plugged the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max into three different USB-C ports on my 2023 Mac Pro, using the Apple-supplied cable, and each time it connects at USB 2.0 speeds. The speed of downloads is very noticeably sucky.
iPhone:
Product ID: 0x12a8
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)
Version: 16.02
Serial Number: zzzzzzz
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/s <=== USB 2.0!
Manufacturer: Apple Inc.
Location ID: 0x0b130000 / 9
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 500
Extra Operating Current (mA): 1000
Sleep current (mA): 1500
Even when I plug directly into the Thunderbolt/USB-C port on the Mac Pro, same slow USB 2.0 speed even with a Thunderbolt 3 cable.
Why doesn’t a USB-C cable work, one that delivers 10 Gbps on every USB-C SSD I use?
None of these cables connects at USB 3 speeds:
- Apple-supplied USB cable.
- Thunderbolt 3 cable (and requires removing the silicone case)
- Thunderbolt 4 cable (and requires removing the silicone case)
- 10 Gbps USB-C cable from an SSD (two different cables) that work with all of my SSDs at full speed (requires removing the silicone case).
No cable in my very large collection of cables will let the phone connect at USB speeds. Apple specifications state:
USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s)16
16. USB 3 cable with 10Gb/s speed required.
Looks like I was sold a bill of goods on USB 3 on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. It just does not work. See the list of cables above that I tried.
Terrible experience with Apple products. I spent around 10 hours spent today trying to get Apple Watch to work, with incompetent technical support.
* BTW, are iPhones built with de facto or actual forced labor over in China? I don’t see how Apple can avoid that.
Below, these cables all ought to allow an iPhone 15 Pro Max to connect with USB 3 speeds.
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Paul R writes:
I tried 4 different USB-C to USB-C cables I had in my desk today. None of them allowed the iPhone 15 Pro Max to connect fast.
Then I tried a new cable: CONMDEX [Upgrade] USB C Cable 10Gbps. @AMAZONThat one says 5 Gb/s on System Information.
Another day, another cable. This one actually shows as 10 Gb/s when I connect it to my 27 inch Intel iMac. NIMASO USB C to USB C 3.1 Gen 2 Cable @AMAZON
MPG: I wonder if the phone is just buggy, and there is some random chance of a cable working occassionally?
Professor Gabriel D writes:
First of all, congratulations for your great site "Mac Performance Guide". You publish information that no other does. Well done!
For example, this post and also Apple Watch Setup: a Miserable Hours-Long Experience.
Yet, nothing is perfect, and here is feedback for your consideration. I do not know if it is due to Safari, macOS or your site, but when I select text and drag & drop to generate a “.textClipping” in the Mac Finder, selecting such clip and using Quick Look (pressing spacebar to preview file contents) shows it as a vertical column of text, instead of horizontal text/paragraphs. The same happens when opening such clips double-clicking them. I visit thousands of sites each year and have never encountered this issue before.
BTW, it would be great if the Apple Watch was detachable with dual-cameras (5 MP FaceTime and 12 MP rear one to take pictures, open QR-codes, etc), with Safari as visible application (not hidden as now is) and truly standalone without any dependency, not requiring other device like iPhone for anything, including setup. Do you know of any smartwatch with such features (WatchOS, Android ot whatever). Believe or not, I do not have a smartwatch. But I would buy a smartwatch with such features. You know, the freedom of having a “smartwatch” (sort of) in your wrist instead of your hand all the time. I want my hands free…
MPG: not sure, but I think what the text clipping problem stems from html formatting stuff that does not work out of context of a much more complex formatting and its CSS. This happens not just on this site on others—yes I’ve seen the same issue.
As for the Apple Watch, I agree but with a variation: I’d like a detachable camera that I can put on helmet or shirt or similar, one that can detect license plate numbers and faces to send to the Sherrif when someone threatens me with their vehicle or out and about, etc. Feeds to the iPhone and real-time streams somewhere.
