Apple is under pressure to kill the iPhone's Lightning charger - but here's why that probably won't happen anytime soon

It's uncharacteristic for Apple to make a change to a major product like the iPhone just for convenience's sake, or simply because everyone else in the industry is doing so.

There are several examples that illustrate Apple has no issue with foregoing technologies adopted by competitors, even if it does make it look like the company is falling behind. Android devices, for example, offered features like near field communication (NFC) for wirelessly transferring information and wireless charging long before the iPhone.

Unless it has a way to meaningfully improve the charging experience by adding USB-C, it makes sense that the company would push back on regulation that would require it to re-think how the iPhone and its accompanying accessories are designed.

The Lightning cable, for example, offered a few noticeable benefits over the 30-pin connector: it enabled Apple to create thinner smartphones, as Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, told All Things D back in 2012. Plus, the Lightning cable was more durable than the older 30-pin connector and reversible, making it easier to plug in quickly with less fiddling.

One could argue that convenience alone is a worthwhile benefit for switching from Lightning to USB C. After all, who wouldn't want to use the same cable to charge both their laptop and their iPhone? But that's not usually Apple's style either, as proven by its decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7.

But even then, it did argue that the change would benefit iPhone owners by making the device more durable, since the iPhone 7 was the first one to offer water resistance.

Having its own proprietary charging cable also means Apple has more control over the standards that need to be met in order for accessory makers to create chargers, cables, and other add-ons that work safely with the iPhone.

Expanding the iPhone's compatibility to all USB-C accessories could make it more difficult for Apple to establish guidelines for helping consumers spot counterfeit products. Apple's support page, for instance, even shows how the etchings in the edge of the connector differ on certified Lightning chargers compared to knock-offs.

If there's anything we've learned from Apple's decision to cut the headphone jack from the iPhone more than three years ago, it's that it's probably working toward a completely wireless iPhone that doesn't even have a charging port.

"It makes no sense to tether ourselves with cables to our mobile devices," Schiller said on stage during the iPhone 7 unveil shortly before revealing AirPods.

Apple is rumored to be heading in a completely wireless direction. TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, whose Apple product predictions have been accurate in the past, reported in December that the company could launch a cable-free iPhone by 2021.

If that's indeed the case, it seems plausible that Apple wouldn't want to shake up the charging standard it uses just before it's planning to cut the cord completely. Schiller also said back in 2012 that the Lightning cable would be around "for many years to come."