At the iPhone 15 launch event, Apple revealed that the phone's new USB-C port has a neat party trick: it can be used to charge accessories like AirPods and the Apple Watch.

Specifications for the connection were not revealed at the time, but Apple now has a support page covering charging speeds and a few other interesting details. In short, iPhone users will enjoy more flexibility.

First, charging speeds. The new ports support USB Power Delivery of up to 4.5 watts, which Apple says is "for charging AirPods, Apple Watch, or other small devices."

However, given that the older Lightning port only puts out about 0.3 watts, this could be a big problem for accessory makers. 9to5Mac suggests that bus-powered USB-C hard drives, for example, could be able to connect directly and Apple has specifically mentioned the ability to record ProRes video directly to external storage on Pro models.

Support for large external storage capacities could be particularly useful due to the increased data transfer speeds offered by the iPhone 15 Pro. The same support document states that the port is USB 3.2 Gen 2, providing speeds of up to 10 Gbits/s with a USB 3.1 cable (sadly, this does not include the USB 2 one in the box).

Finally, and perhaps most intriguingly, Apple says that the iPhone 15 will use the DisplayPort protocol for output to the big screen, offering up to 4K resolution and HDR at 60 fps.

This may sound like old news to Android users, but it's a big deal for the iPhone. This is because the previous solution required a $49 Lightning adapter and was still limited to 1080p video output. This still requires a USB 3.1 cable, but Apple recommends using the "cable that comes with the display" if purchasing a separate cable is too much of a hassle.

If you want to output to a TV instead of a monitor, Apple recommends the $69 USB-C Digital AV Multiport adapter.

With the iPhone compatible with Bluetooth controllers and the A17 Pro chipset apparently a big leap forward for mobile gaming, the possibilities for gamers are considerable.

The iPhone 15 goes on sale on Friday, September 22, with less than a week to go until it is in the hands of early adopters; stay tuned for reviews of all four models coming soon.