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Comment by brundolf

3 years ago

Two key differences vs last time:

1. As you mentioned, most accessories have moved to wireless. I still (usually) use a physical cable for charging, and I guess I have a 3.5mm dongle, but I think those are the only two things I've plugged into my iPhone in years. Docks with a physical port, in particular, were super popular 10+ years ago and don't really exist anymore. People won't be throwing away speakers.

2. They aren't switching to a new proprietary port, they're switching to a standard port. Which means there's already a thriving ecosystem of accessories that will now be usable with iPhones (some of which people may already have, for use with their other devices!)

I'm more cynical in my interpretation of Apple's motives: I think they just wanted those licensing dollars

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brundolf

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rootusrootus  3 years ago

> I'm more cynical in my interpretation of Apple's motives: I think they just wanted those licensing dollars

They've switched every other non-iPhone device to USB-C. The more plausible interpretation would be that they don't want to piss off a core constituency of customers who've built up 10 years of Lightning cables. The number of people who care about standardizing on USB-C are definitely less than the vocal folks who will now complain loudly that Apple just forced them to buy a whole bunch of expensive new cables.

At least USB-C is more durable by far than Micro USB was, even if it's not as durable as Lightning. Nothing can fix the stupidity of USB-C cables, though. What a mess.

  • Reason077  3 years ago

    > ”The number of people who care about standardizing on USB-C are definitely less than the vocal folks who will now complain loudly that Apple just forced them to buy a whole bunch of expensive new cables.”

    I don’t think that’s true. Even hard core iPhone users likely already have multiple USB-C devices and cables, and the existing chargers are already USB (A or C) and will continue to work just fine. Apple does still include a charge cable in the iPhone box.

    It’s not like the old days when people were invested into all kinds of accessories with 30-pin connectors. Most people just don’t care that much about a few Lightning cables and will be glad to rid of them.

    • iso1631  3 years ago

      We have 2 recentish iphones and an old c. 2016 ipad, but we have at least 10 lightning connections around the house, car, etc to plug into.

      We obviously aren't going to replace all 3 devices at the same time, so it means that the first device we replace will suffer from not having the places to plug in that we currently can (sofa, kitchen, bedroom, car, office, bag, etc), or we have to get more power supplies in those areas, and over time we'll have to get another 10 cables to replace them (and usb-c cables are a total mess)

      We'll adjust of course -- we were burnt when they dropped the dock connector meaning we couldn't use two of our radios any more, but we didn't make that mistake again

      3 replies →

  • brundolf  3 years ago

    > They've switched every other non-iPhone device to USB-C

    The only device I know of that started out on lighting and switched to USB-C was the iPad, and that was specifically because they're pushing it as a "creator" device, for which people needed to be able to plug in things like flash drives, SD card adaptors, cameras, mice and keyboards, etc. There's significantly less drive for those kinds of accessories on iPhone

    • eropple  3 years ago

      I think there's more drive for that than you'd expect. The camera breakout kit is really popular in my circles. Not for cameras, but for talking to USB audio interfacs.

    • Tagbert  3 years ago

      Last week, with the new Apple TV the remote switched from Lightning to USB-C charging. That indicates that they are now in the process of transitioning accessories. It’s a pretty clear indicator of an overall shift in their plans.

    • scarface74  3 years ago

      > The only device I know of that started out on lighting and switched to USB-C was the iPad

      The new AppleTV remote

      > and that was specifically because they're pushing it as a "creator" device, for which people needed to be able to plug in things like flash drives, SD card adaptors, cameras, mice and keyboards, etc.

      Apple has sold a USB to Lightning adapter for ages.

  • somerandomqaguy  3 years ago

    Maybe? The USB specifications calls for USB Micro-B to have the same 10,000 connect/disconnect cycles as USB-C:

    -----------------------------------

    Table 3-1 USB Electrical, Mechanical and Environmental Compliance Standards

    Performance Requirement

    1500 cycles

    5000 cycles for Mini “B”

    10,000 cycles for Micro series

    10,000 cycles for ruggedized Standard “A”

    Cycle rate of 500 cycles per hour if done automatically and 200 if manual cycle

    -----------------------------------

    https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/CabConn20.pdf

    From what I'm guessing, a lot of the problems can stem from either parts that don't meet the spec because it saves some money, or sloppy QC on the solder joints. Unless I'm missing something, USB-C doesn't inherently solve problems of manufacturers picking out of specification parts or bad QC.

    • rootusrootus  3 years ago

      > Maybe? The USB specifications calls for USB Micro-B to have the same 10,000 connect/disconnect cycles as USB-C

      Micro USB was such a dumpster fire. I never got within two orders of magnitude of that spec, I'm pretty sure. It's a terrible connector, easily broken.

      1 reply →

    • samatman  3 years ago

      The main thing USB-C and Lightning have going for them, which Micro-B doesn't, is the redundancy of two connection pads.

      I've had more than one female Lightning port start to get tetchy about which direction a cable goes in.

      All I'll miss from Lightning is being able to clean the port with a toothpick. Then again, that's not a small thing. When I hear/feel a bit of grit in a USB-C port I get a sinking feeling, with Lightning I just reach for a dental pick.

      2 replies →

  • scelerat  3 years ago

    > Nothing can fix the stupidity of USB-C cables, though

    What is the stupidity of USB-C cables? Honestly don't know, simply not up on USB or cable technology

    • sdfhbdf  3 years ago

      In short there is no way of knowing by looking at a USB-C cable or socket what it supports because there is a myriad of standards all using the same connector - USB Power Delivery, USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 4.0, Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort over USB

      You have to usually measure to know what does the cable support and what speeds and or voltages are possible.

      4 replies →

    • bobbylarrybobby  3 years ago

      Unlike every other connector, with USB C the male end is in the phone and the cable is female. Since the male end has a thin piece that inserts into the cable, it both invites lint to get stuck the port and makes it somewhat risky to clean out, as snapping that thin piece requires replacing the port (and maybe the whole phone depending on how it's made).

      Compare to lightning, which AFAIK is indestructible, and lint can easily be cleaned out of the phone port with a toothpick.

      I'm sure people more knowledgeable than me will have other facts as well.

      1 reply →

    • willseth  3 years ago

      USB-C is only a connector spec, and the actual USB protocol it supports could be one of many different versions and options. Or it can be Thunderbolt 3 or 4!

  • gcapu  3 years ago

    I just want my Mac and my iPhone to use the same charger. It’s not necessarily about the spending.

    • gnicholas  3 years ago

      And just in time for MagSafe's return...the iPhone will go to USB-C! Of course, you can still charge a Mac over USB-C — it's just not as much of a unification as it seems.

      5 replies →

withinboredom  3 years ago

I’m more hopeful that they’ll actually include drivers for those devices (probably not). It’d be nice to hook up a screen via hdmi instead of needing an Apple TV. Or plugging in a dock with regular mouse/keyboard attached.

  • KerrAvon  3 years ago

    USB-C iPads already support all of that, and you can already do those things today on current iPhones with an appropriate adapter -- search for "Lightning Digital AV Adapter" for an example.

soco  3 years ago

I already use my laptop charger for giving the phone extra juice when I'm sitting, now my wife will be able to do the same with her iPhone. Same in the car, only one cable.