I'm not ready to cut the cord for a portless iPhone 17 Air yet

For starters, removing the USB-C port – or any charging port at all – means wireless charging is your only option. And let’s be honest, that is not always ideal.

First, wired charging is still significantly faster. The iPhone 16, for example, maxes out at 25W to 30W for wireless charging, which isn’t exactly slow but definitely falls behind competitors, especially brands like Xiaomi and OnePlus. A USB-C cable can charge quicker, saving time when you need it most.

Second, what if you forget your wireless charger? Unlike USB-C chargers, which are practically everywhere now, wireless chargers aren’t as common. I mean, good luck with borrowing a charger at a café or airport. After all, even Apple had to ditch Lightning for USB-C because it is the global standard now. In fact, EU regulations pushed that change – and they are also reportedly the reason Apple didn’t make the Air model portless.

Back to the topic – with a USB-C, you can more easily find a place to charge your phone if you are on the go and that is doubtful to change in the next few years.

Also, let’s not forget a USB-C port isn’t just for charging – it is also a fast and reliable way to transfer files or connect your phone to other devices, like a laptop. Sure, Apple offers wireless syncing with MacBooks but what if you use a different brand?

And finally, getting rid of the USB-C port wouldn’t just mean committing to wireless charging – it would also push users toward cloud storage for file transfers. And what if you don’t want to pay for iCloud?

Apple has been leaning more toward subscriptions lately and a portless phone could nudge more users toward paid services, which would be great for the company. But let’s be real – not everyone (especially regulators) would be thrilled about that.

Still, would a portless iPhone really be that bad?

Of course not! After all, if only the rumored Air model ditches the port, you’d still have three other iPhones with USB-C. So, if you prefer a wired connection, just pick one of those. But some people might actually like going all-in on wireless, and that is fair, too.

It would definitely be a bold move and a fresh change in the mobile world, something we don’t see too often. Actually, reportedly, the iPhone 17 Air will mark the start of a major shift for Apple, introducing a new industrial design alongside this year’s revamped iOS 19.

And according to Apple executives, if this model proves successful, the company plans to revisit its portless iPhone ambitions and push more models toward slimmer designs. So, a portless iPhone is definitely still in the cards.

And honestly, a portless iPhone could indeed mean an even slimmer design. While I personally think there are better areas that manufacturers should focus on, like battery life and camera improvements, there is no denying that ultra-thin phones are trending. Samsung is also about to drop the Galaxy S25 Edge, which will be the thinnest Galaxy phone right now.

Removing the USB-C port could push this even further. The iPhone 17 Air is rumored to be just 5.5 mm thick, but without a charging port, it might go even slimmer. Take Oppo’s Find N5 foldable, for example – it is just 4.2 mm when unfolded and that is basically the same thickness as a USB-C port itself.

The fact that Oppo had to reinforce the USB-C port to hit the record-breaking 9 mm thickness (it's 8.9 mm when folded) with the Find N5 shows just how tough it is to go any thinner with a port. That phone might be as slim as it gets – unless a new, even slimmer charging standard comes into play. So, if Apple ditches the charging port entirely, the iPhone Air could end up even slimmer than the expected 5.5mm thickness.

Overall, portless phones could very well be the future and they could have benefits that would be a great win for us users, like better durability. But for now, I think Apple made the right call by holding off.

There is still a lot of work to do to make going all-in on wireless worth it. It is not just about faster charging speeds. Cross-platform file sharing needs more work before ditching ports entirely makes sense, too.

And let’s be real – if a portless iPhone does launch, it probably won’t be cheaper than the regular models, just because it is different. If Apple wants people to embrace it, it needs to bring more value beyond just a slimmer design.