On the latest MacBook Pros, Apple has replaced all of the ports with USB-C connections. This makes it more complicated to charge your phone, as you can no longer use your Lightning-to-USB cable with your MacBook.
Apple wants USB-C to be the new standard, and it’s undoubtedly a great connector, but during the switch, you’ll be stuck using dongles and adapters to connect the devices Apple left behind (which ironically includes the latest iPhone models).
Use a USB-C to Lightning Adapter Cable
The simplest solution is to ditch the old USB connector altogether and switch over to USB-C. Apple sells adapter cables that allow you to connect your phone directly to your laptop, with no dongles or mess to worry about, though you can always get a third party cable for cheaper on Amazon.
But there’s a catch—now you’ll have two charging cables, one for charging with your MacBook and one for charging from the wall. If this bothers you, you could ditch wall charging and only charge your phone from your MacBook, or you could throw out your old cable and plug your new cable into your MacBook charger block. This will let you charge off the wall without your old cable, but then you’ll be stuck juggling between charging your MacBook or your phone, which use different connectors.
The easiest method is to get a dedicated USB-C wall block for your phone and keep it all separate. You can find USB-C wall chargers on Amazon.
Get a USB-C to USB-A Dongle
These adapters are handy, so you’ll probably want one of these for your MacBook anyway. You plug your existing phone charger cable into the adapter’s USB-A slot (the older, larger USB ports you’ve been using for years), and then plug the adapter into your MacBook, forming a bridge between the two. There are also multi-port hubs with many different connectors that will work as well, so long as they have a USB-A port to plug into. You can find all kinds of USB-C adapters on Amazon.
These dongles are a little clunkier than just switching to USB-C but will allow you to keep your current USB wall charger while still being able to charge through your MacBook. They are also useful for plugging other USB based devices into your MacBook, so it’s good to have one around even if you prefer using the USB-C to Lightning cable to charge your phone.
