USB-C will be exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro
It is estimated that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will offer a data transfer rate of at least 20 gigabits per second with USB 3.2 and 40 gigabits per second with Thunderbolt 3. It is said that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models will also maintain USB 2.0 speeds, allowing data transfer over the Lightning port at the same speed as the 2022 10.9-inch iPad.
Apple has been using the Lightning port on its phones since the iPhone 5 model. It took 2015 for USB-C to arrive in Apple products. As you may recall, the first 12-inch MacBook had a USB-C port. Although USB-C was introduced shortly after Lightning, it took Apple quite a long time to incorporate it into its products.