Yes. Thunderbolt 5 supports DP 2.1, with up to 80 Gbit/s of bandwidth. A 5k/120 with 10 bit color and no DSC display needs 57 Gbit/s of bandwidth.

DisplayPort 2.0 can 5k/120 with DSC and UHBR 10 cables, or 5k/120 without DSC on UHBR 13.5 cables. HDMI 2.1 can handle 5k/120 with DSC in use.

It’s not a bandwidth limitation.

I cannot be 100% certain but I’m confident I was using it not long after the 1.0 release. That’d put me at 2004. 19 years!

Although I did briefly switch over to Chrome when it was new and fast. Then switched back when Firefox had a major optimization pass.

The logistical cost to have separate connectors in two different markets would hit the multi-million dollar range. The financial benefit to Apple of not adopting USB-C in any given market cannot be that significant. It comes down to accessory license fees. Apple is losing that market with losing Lightning, but Apple’s image would take a hit from bisecting their connector across markets (“It just works” being their reputation and all — any unnecessary complexity harms that).

It’s really hard to imagine it being worth it to Apple to make USB-C an EU-only thing. I don’t know all the numbers, so I’m not going to say impossible. I would be very surprised though.

Pro Max prices have been static since their introduction with the 11: $1100 for the base model. Pro models have also been static at $1000, although this article only mentions Pro Max price increases.

That’s a big part of why I’m going to upgrade from my 12 mini.

Also looking forward to better battery life and the higher resolution camera (which if I remember right was mostly for low light pictures?).

There’s a process built into the EU regulation to update it as improvements become possible with a potential switch to a new standard:

Regular updates: the Commission would be required to regularly review and amend requirements for wired and wireless charging, ‘in line with scientific and technological progress, consumer convenience and environmental developments’ (article 3(4)4a RED)

I have an iphone 12 mini and hope to upgrade to a 15 Pro this year.

What I’m looking forward to:

• Better battery life. The 12 mini’s battery isn’t that great and the 1st gen 5G chips were quickly improved upon.
• USB C. Means all my chargeable devices would be on a single cable.
• The upgraded camera that was introduced in the 14.
• The A17 SoC in the 15 is expected to be the first major upgrade in a while. The SoC in the 14 was held back by TSMC’s N3 being delayed, and the SoC in the 13 was a decent but not great upgrade.

None of those particularly apply to you. I was on android before my 12 mini and what I like most about the change is: the interface is snappier, most apps are built for ios first and android second and generally that means you can rely on having a working version of the app. Also the biggest reason for me to make the switch: Apple supports their phones for 5+ years will full updates, not just security. I think android has seen improvement on that front since I switched, but still isn’t at the same level of software support.