The iPhone 12 charging cable could be another big change to what's in the iPhone 12 box, but this may actually be good news.

White on Twitter posted an image of a braided USB-C - Lightning cable. The tweet does not mention the iPhone 12, but this is the type of cable Apple already ships with the Mac Pro, and a plastic one is included in the iPhone 11 Pro and iPad Pro boxes for use with the included 18W fast charger.

If you have owned an iPhone before, you are probably familiar with the flimsy plastic sheathed cable that came with the phone. These cables are easily damaged and often need to be replaced. However, braided cables are much stronger and may last the entire life of the iPhone 12 without the need to purchase spares.

This begins to look like a decision Apple has made, as well as the rumored elimination of bundled wired EarPods and the even more controversial elimination of charging blocks. This is supposedly being done in the name of reducing electronic waste, and more durable cables will help reduce that as well.

Apple has already removed the charging block from the Apple Watch 6 and Apple Watch SE, leaving only the cable. So while this is only a rumor for the iPhone 12, there is already precedent to support this idea.

The rumors and leaks that have been heard about the iPhone 12 for the past year will finally be confirmed or proven false next month, with the iPhone 12 said to be revealed on October 13. Many rumors also say that Apple will stagger the retail releases of different phone models.

There will be four models to choose from, with the smallest iPhone 12 Mini measuring just 5.4 inches and the regular iPhone 12 (possibly also called iPhone 12 Max) measuring 6.1 inches. Both models will feature an OLED display, a 5G-capable A14 Bionic chipset, and two rear cameras, one with a main sensor and one with an ultrawide sensor.

For users seeking the pinnacle of iPhone 12 performance, there is the rumored 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. These will offer the same internal parts and cameras as the other two models, but will add a telephoto camera and LiDAR sensor to the rear array for better long-distance, close-up, and portrait effect photography.