Comment by aasasd

It seems that the patents aren't the only obstacle to ubiquitous Lightning:

> Yes, it's hard to make floating paddle and sheet metal spring indents more robust than a solid metal puck, but it also comes with extra baggage that Apple is willing to eat and most USB committee companies are not willing to. USB has always made the connectors out of stamped sheet metal for mass production, but it is not possible to make the lightning puck like that. Having potentially live exposed contacts also complicates things.

(https://reddit.com/comments/6xfo53/comment/dmfqbnc)