What a messy article. The title says that the cables are limited to 2.0 speeds (which they might as well be), the subtitle mentions charging speed as opposed to transfer speed and the article itself then talks about the port on the device having 2.0 speeds (for non "Pro" models).
Anyways, of course they gimp the base model on purpose. Every company does to set the more expensive models apart obviously, but Apple drives it to the extremes especially in recent years, which makes their line-up incredibly confusing. I mean they've gone out of their way to make their 10th gen base iPad use the old Apple Pencil, and they still don't laminate the display even after they redesigned the exterior.
If you want a new iPhone this fall and you're looking for something in the price range of the standard iPhone 15 (which will still be a very expensive phone of course), I'd recommend looking for previous year's "Pro" model. The iPhone 13 Pro dropped around the iPhone 14 price at launch, and it's essentially better in almost every way.
And because people will mention it: of course, you can also get a phone from a different manufacturer if it suits you, or keep your current phone.
Apple didn't even need to use USB C to do this bullshit:
The Lightning receptacle on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st and 2nd generation) and 10.5-inch iPad Pro models has 16 pins, as there are additional eight pins on the other side. It supports USB 3.0 (now USB 3.2 Gen 1) at the maximum transfer speed of 5 Gbit/s.
For reference USB 1.x/2.x A and B connectors have 4 or 5 pins, while USB 3.0+ A and B connectors have 9 or 10, with USB C having 24. USB 4.0 version 2.0 supports transfer speeds of up to 80 Gb/s. I think the 16 pin lighting connector could support USB 4.0, but this is just my speculation.
According to leaker Majin Bu, who has previously shared details about Apple's new cables, the USB-C cables supplied in iPhone 15 boxes are indeed limited to USB 2.0 data transfer speeds at a rate of 480 MBps, which is the same as Lightning.
In contrast, rumors converge on both iPhone 15 Pro models supporting higher USB-C transfer speeds. According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 15 Pro models will support "at least" USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3. For comparison, the iPad Pro features a Thunderbolt port for transfer speeds up to 40 Gbps, while the entry-level iPad’s USB-C port is limited to just 480 Mbps.
And that is the crux of it. rumors
Ah, but what am I saying?! Please, return to your circlejerk, I’ll not bother you with any more inconvenient facts