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And USB-C can't?

by pitaj 10y ago

And USB-C can't?

derefr 10y ago
Nah, the USB-C male connector is a hollow sheath of aluminum, and there's no rule stopping anyone from making that sheath as thin and non-load-bearing as possible. And while there are minimum shear force requirements for the female end of the connector (and thus the reinforcement of the housing around said connector), there's no guideline in the USB-C spec about how much torque the device itself needs to be able to sustain when held up by the connector. (So the USB-C slot in your Android phone might do okay at holding onto a USB-C "plug dock", but over the long term, that may gradually pull the housing itself out of your phone, or bend your phone, or poke a hole in the battery inside, etc.) Meanwhile, the Lightning+MFI specs put required tolerances on all of these factors. It's not just about the connector; it's about what having the connector guarantees about the device. That's why Apple will never replace Lightning: it's there to indicate that a device or cable or dock compliant with it won't wear out any other device or cable or dock compliant with it. And the interesting thing is, the design of the connectors forces the hand of at least the knock-off cable manufacturers, into obeying those tolerances. Even if you don't bother to get an MFI license, just making your Lightning cable's male end fit female Lightning connectors means making it structurally-sound—since the male connector is just made out of thick aluminum, and aluminum is already the cheapest metal you can get, and it also needs to serve as a grounding pin as well so you can't just replace it with e.g. plastic. So a bad Lightning cable is never going to break your phone physically. Will a bad Lightning cable be able to break your phone electrically? Probably not; AFAIK, the the device-side board around the female connector is required, according to MFI, to detect the negotiated-current signal using an optoisolator before switching on the current path to the rest of the device. So you actually can't make a "Lightning killer" cable the way you can make a "USB killer" cable.

And USB-C can't?

by pitaj 10y ago

And USB-C can't?

Nah, the USB-C male connector is a hollow sheath of aluminum, and there's no rule stopping anyone from making that sheath as thin and non-load-bearing as possible. And while there are minimum shear force requirements for the female end of the connector (and thus the reinforcement of the housing around said connector), there's no guideline in the USB-C spec about how much torque the device itself needs to be able to sustain when held up by the connector. (So the USB-C slot in your Android phone might do okay at holding onto a USB-C "plug dock", but over the long term, that may gradually pull the housing itself out of your phone, or bend your phone, or poke a hole in the battery inside, etc.) Meanwhile, the Lightning+MFI specs put required tolerances on all of these factors. It's not just about the connector; it's about what having the connector guarantees about the device. That's why Apple will never replace Lightning: it's there to indicate that a device or cable or dock compliant with it won't wear out any other device or cable or dock compliant with it. And the interesting thing is, the design of the connectors forces the hand of at least the knock-off cable manufacturers, into obeying those tolerances. Even if you don't bother to get an MFI license, just making your Lightning cable's male end fit female Lightning connectors means making it structurally-sound—since the male connector is just made out of thick aluminum, and aluminum is already the cheapest metal you can get, and it also needs to serve as a grounding pin as well so you can't just replace it with e.g. plastic. So a bad Lightning cable is never going to break your phone physically. Will a bad Lightning cable be able to break your phone electrically? Probably not; AFAIK, the the device-side board around the female connector is required, according to MFI, to detect the negotiated-current signal using an optoisolator before switching on the current path to the rest of the device. So you actually can't make a "Lightning killer" cable the way you can make a "USB killer" cable.