iPhone users worry Apple drop huge hint they're removing key feature with upcoming 18 model

If there's one community you don't want to mess with (other than gamers), it's the iPhone fans.

We understand it can't be easy for Apple to keep innovating and giving us a reason to swap in last year's model for the latest handset, but with an annual rollout, it's becoming more expensive than ever for users to keep up to date.

With iPhone prices tipped to climb thanks to President Donald Trump's tech trade tariffs, more people than ever are in danger of holding onto their existing models for a bit longer.

While we're sure people will be dashing out to splash the cash on the rumored foldable iPhone, expectations are higher than ever for the upcoming iPhone 18 line to pull something out of the bag if it's going to get us opening our wallets.

As we saw from the lackluster sales of the iPhone 17 Air, Apple needs to strike a balance between innovation and nostalgia, and the last thing we want is another situation like Apple Intelligence being branded the 'worst' thing the company has ever created.

There were already rumors that Apple wanted to do away with USB-C ports (Apple)

Now, a Reddit thread suggests that the iPhone 18 could do away with charging cables AND USB-C ports altogether after AirPods 3 removed its own cable. It wasn't long ago that Apple was caught in a regulation quagmire over its Lightning connector, eventually being forced to comply with the European Union's Common Charger Directive that mandated USB-C ports.

The idea of a portless iPhone is nothing new, and in March 2025, 9to5Mac confirmed that the Common Charger Directive only stated that wired ports have to be USB-C, meaning no ports is still technically compliant.

There were rumbles that the iPhone 17 Air was going to be portless until Apple feared it would come into conflict with the EU, although this loophole could see future models go completely wireless. Google AI even suspects that the September launch of an iPhone 18 Pro Max would save some all-important retail space by doing away with the USB-C port.

Relying solely on MagSafe and other wireless technologies for charging and data is clearly a controversial pitch, although the benefits would be improved water and dust resistance from having a sealed unit.

Replying on Reddit, most seemed to agree that a lack of a USB-C might not be the worst idea in the world. One person joked: "In the future it will be an injected. Hip, while your eyes will be the new screen."

Another added: "I don’t think I’ve plugged a cable into my phone once in the past 9 years. The moment wireless charging came out for my 8PM, I just never needed a cable again."

Also defending the tech giant, someone else concluded: "You lose sales in chargers and cables but they save so much in transport by having smaller and lighter boxes that I think they don’t care.

"I never bought an Apple charger since they removed it. I’ll never buy an Apple cable once they remove it. I keep my iPhones at least 5 years, only base models and I wait for discounts. Am I the worst Apple consumer?"

With Apple continuing to struggle to keep a lid on leaks, we don't imagine it'll be long before someone gets those lucrative iPhone 18 specs out there.