Following the launch of the iPhone 15 series today, a few readers of our website have reached out to highlight that the devices support USB-C to Ethernet adapters, allowing for a wired internet connection with faster download speeds than Wi-Fi.
Apple confirmed this information in a support document last week, with USB to Ethernet adapters listed as compatible with iPhone 15 models. When an iPhone is connected to an Ethernet cable, an otherwise hidden Ethernet menu appears in the Settings app with IP-related information and various configuration options.
One reader informed us that their iPhone 15 Pro connected to Ethernet achieved a peak download speed of over 800 Mbps in a speed test.
While this is one of the various clever ways that the USB-C port on the iPhone 15 models can be used, it should be known that previous iPhones with the Lightning connector also supported Ethernet with an adapter. Nevertheless, we have decided to highlight this information as a helpful tip since it is getting attention.
All four iPhone 15 models launched today in the U.S. and more than 40 other countries.
MacRumors, I'd love to see some speed tests of iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro. According to your article, the non-Pro is exceeding the 480 Mbps speed limit of the USB 2 spec.
> it should be known that previous iPhones with the Lightning connector also supported Ethernet with an adapter.
The interesting thing is that technically previous iPhones supported a lot of different devices with an adapter. Ethernet interfaces, USB thumbdrives, audio interfaces, keyboards, etc. all could theoretically work, using the iPhone to USB camera adapter.
The problem was that nearly every device, even stuff that draws very little power like thumbdrives, would produce a "this device requires too much power" dialog and wouldn't work. So the feature wasn't all that useful. It was an artificial limitation too; the phone would ask the device how much power it needs, then fail to work if it asked for even 100mA. I was able to bypass it by using a small unpowered USB hub I have that "pretended" to be a powered hub, and all my thumbdrives worked just fine with it.
It looks like Apple has corrected this finally with USB-C, allowing a full amp to be drawn from the port without a problem. The old power restriction made no sense, either; lightning could support plenty of current for charging; why couldn't it power a lousy thumbdrive?
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Top Rated Comments
The interesting thing is that technically previous iPhones supported a lot of different devices with an adapter. Ethernet interfaces, USB thumbdrives, audio interfaces, keyboards, etc. all could theoretically work, using the iPhone to USB camera adapter.
The problem was that nearly every device, even stuff that draws very little power like thumbdrives, would produce a "this device requires too much power" dialog and wouldn't work. So the feature wasn't all that useful. It was an artificial limitation too; the phone would ask the device how much power it needs, then fail to work if it asked for even 100mA. I was able to bypass it by using a small unpowered USB hub I have that "pretended" to be a powered hub, and all my thumbdrives worked just fine with it.
It looks like Apple has corrected this finally with USB-C, allowing a full amp to be drawn from the port without a problem. The old power restriction made no sense, either; lightning could support plenty of current for charging; why couldn't it power a lousy thumbdrive?