Now that iOS 18 is here and shutting down iPadOS 18 devices, a very cool feature is coming to the iPhone 16. But alongside that feature comes an even cooler possibility: a completely portless iPhone successor.
The feature I am talking about is wireless firmware recovery. If your iPhone is stuck and locked in recovery mode, simply place it next to another iPhone. The second phone will download and transfer the required firmware to the faulty phone wirelessly.
This feature seems limited to iPhone 16Whether it’s due to hardware limitations or something else, we don’t know. Older iPhone models still need to be connected to a PC for repair. But as one commenter points out, wireless firmware restores could point to something much bigger.
I’m not just talking about the screen size. | Image credit — PhoneArena
It wouldn’t be a far cry to assume. Yes, the M4 Mac mini does the opposite, but the iPhone is an entirely different category of product. We’ve already seen reports that Apple is working on an iPhone 17 Air — a slimmer, less powerful iPhone — so who’s to say a portless device isn’t on the menu?
Now that Apple is laying claim to TSMC’s 2nm chip supply, the company is more than prepared to make even slimmer devices. And what helps make a device slimmer? A lack of ports, that’s what (rest in peace, headphone jack).
The modern MacBook Air is one of my favorite laptops in the world, simply because of its fanless design. Take away the buzzing noises and it feels like a more powerful phone. It almost feels unreal, and so does a phone without a port. At first.
Samsung has Apple beat when it comes to slim phones, at least according to renders that pit the Galaxy S25 Ultra against the iPhone 16 Pro Max. So a phone that’s completely smooth (and titanium!) will not only attract those who prefer design over functionality, it will also be one of the best phones on the market simply because it is so unique.
