iPhone 8 will get new charging port – but not at the end that people are worked up about

The move could allow for the introduction of fast charging – filing up a battery in minutes, not hours

An Apple employee hands over Apple iPhone 7 phones on the first day of sales of the new phone at the Berlin Apple store on September 16, 2016 in Berlin, Germany

(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Apple is going to change the connector to plug in the new iPhone – but probably not at the end everyone's worried about.

Consternation hit Apple fans this week when the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple would be altering the connector used to plug in the iPhone. Owners feared that they would have to change all of their accessories over again, just like when Apple introduced the Lightning connector with the iPhone 5.

But it now appears that Apple is moving to USB-C, as reported – but at the end of the cable that plugs into the computer. That will mean that people might need to get new chargers and could need to use new converters to plug their phone into their PC – but that their accessories will be safe.

The change makes sense, given that Apple made the Lightning charger port itself and that it may wish to avoid making another change just years after it introduced the Lightning port.

The new reports denying the change to USB-C were made public by Ming-Chi Kuo, a usually reliable Apple analyst who is thought to have sources in the supply chain and so can see iPhones as they are being made.

He also claimed that the new phones might introduce "fast-charging" that would make use of that USB-C plug, but that it will be delivered through a Lightning cable. USB-C can send power through more quickly than old-style USB, meaning that phones can also be charged more quickly.

"We believe all three new iPhones launching in 2H17 will support fast charging by the adoption of Type-C Power Delivery technology (while still retaining the Lightning port)," Mr Kuo wrote in a report, according to MacRumors. "A key technical challenge lies with ensuring product safety and stable data transmission during a fast charge.

"In order to achieve that goal, we think Apple will adopt TI's power management and Cypress's Power Delivery chip solutions for the new iPhone models. We note the OLED version may have a faster charging speed thanks to a 2-cell L shaped battery pack design."

The next iPhone is expected to come in two versions. One will be a more traditional iPhone 7s and 7s Plus that looks mostly like the existing phone but updates the insides, and the other will be a radical redesign that includes new features like an OLED screen, according to reports.

Both of those will keep the Lightning charger because it is smaller, Apple makes money from charging companies to use it and because it isn't yet necessary to use the fast data connection that USB-C can provide.