Bloomberg: Apple originally gave thought to designing a portless iPhone X

If you own the Apple iPhone X, imagine the device without the Lightning port. In fact, imagine the tenth anniversary model being 100% port-free. According to a report published today by Bloomberg, that was an idea that Apple engineers considered when developing the phone. But the idea was rejected because wireless charging is slower than wired charging. And there is something else to consider; having wireless charging technology included inside the box would have jacked up the price of what already was turning out to be quite an expensive handset.

According to people familiar with Apple, the company does plan on eventually removing all buttons and external ports from future iPhone models. This would include the removal of the Lightning port, or whatever port Apple is using to charge the phone in the future. There has been talk that Apple plans on switching to a Type-C USB port for the 2019 iPhone lineup.

The iPhone and iPad have always had proprietary charging ports, starting with the 30-pin connector that was employed with the first-generation iPhone in 2007, through the Apple iPhone 4s. On September 12, 2012, Apple unveiled the Lightning connector along with the first iPhone designed to use it, the Apple iPhone 5. The fourth generation Apple iPad, unveiled the same day, was the first of Apple's tablets to include a Lightning port.

source: Bloomberg