7 ms·

There isn't much need these days to plug a phone into a Mac. If you need or want to, there are lightning to USB-C cables. I would be surprised to see them swit

There isn't much need these days to plug a phone into a Mac. If you need or want to, there are lightning to USB-C cables. I would be surprised to see them switch anytime in the next few years. I would be less surprised if they removed lightning altogether from a new phone than if they switched from lightning to usb.

shshhdhs 8y ago
> There isn't much need these days to plug a phone into a Mac. Actually, I plug my phone into my MacBook for two reasons: (1) to charge it when there’s no outlet nearby and (2) to have less interference when I use it as a hotspot and to charge it at the same time.
- scarface74 8y ago
  That would be an even better reason for Apple to switch to USB C on both ends.
SippinLean 8y ago
But if you want to quick charge your iPhone X (or 8) you need USB-C. The included USB-A to Lightning cable won't do it (neither will the 5W power brick included with the iPhone X). You'd need a lightning to USB-C cables and a USB-C PD power brick, neither are very cheap. Apple's USB-C cables start at $19 and the charger at $49!
- Shikadi 8y ago
  Apple has a history of expensive accessories and cables, so it's nothing new
- ryanianian 8y ago
  I've purchased a large number of USB-C cables, and the Apple one is the only one that seems to charge a macbook pro at full-speed (87watts). All the others (Anker, Amazon Basics, a few others) only charge at 30w or 60w which can leave your computer out of battery after a full day of use even when plugged in if you're doing compute-heavy things. Not saying the $19 price-tag is "fair," but at least it's a high-quality cable.
  - rvense 8y ago
    "High quality" in this case probably means that the microcontroller embedded it spits out the right sequence of bytes to make the laptop enable full-speed charging.
    - reaperducer 8y ago
      Surprisingly, no. Google around for tear-downs of Apple charging gear. They usually have comparisons with tear-downs of the generic "equivalents." It's fascinating how different the engineering is from one brand to another, and the (sometimes terrifying) shortcuts the non-Apple chargers take.
      - hrktb 8y ago
        Aren’t we talking about the cables here ? I’d be curious to know what in the Apple cable is so high quality that it allows it faster speed than the other decent brands. Otherwise my Google-fu is failing me on the USB-C charger teardown, do you remember where you saw one ?
        briandear 8y ago
        Aren’t these actually Thunderbolt 3 cables?
        photojosh 8y ago
        No, the charging cables aren’t. They’re even only USB2 speeds for data IIRC.
        brigade 8y ago
        Sufficiently low resistance wire; in particular, USB power over 60W needs >3A current, so a high-gauge high-resistance wire can cause voltage to drop below the minimum specs. Since everything 60W and below uses a max of 3A, that’s the common maximum design target.
- dwighttk 8y ago
  This doesn't require a change of port on the phone, just a purchase of a different cable.
- jonknee 8y ago
  It's nearly as fast to just use a higher wattage charger like they ship with iPads or any number of third parties. I haven't used an iPhone charger in years.
- photojosh 8y ago
  A critical morsel of information missing here is that iPhones charge pretty quick using 12W/2.1A USB-A chargers, to the point where I’m not inclined to move to USB-C for only a few % gain in speed. Yes, it’s super slow using the included 5W charger, so I haven’t used one of those since 2013 or thereabouts, it stays in the box until resale time.
  - givinguflac 8y ago
    Totally agree, iPad charger ftw. My favorite (if such a thing can be said about usb charging bricks) is that it uses the same detachable power prongs as a Mac charger. So I’ve got a Mac extension cable plugged into an iPad charger and voila, extended charging cable without a usb extension killing charging speeds due to voltage drops.
- L_Rahman 8y ago
  The good thing is that the USB-C ecosystem is open and a wide variety of known, vetted OEMs have stepped up to serve it. USB-C to Lightning cables are still expensive because Apple hasn't opened the connector up for MFi certification yet, but Monoprice will happily sell you a USB-C brick with upto 40W output for $15: https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=116&cp_id=10851&cs_id=1085102&p_id=24426&seq=1&format=2 https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=116&cp_id=10851&cs_id...
  - zaarn 8y ago
    I expect high powered chargers and battery packs to become more common as recently full system chips for handling USB-C PD have been released which support up to the 100W via various means. That makes it much easier to build them rather than having to rely on your own fab or reusing USB2.0 chips with some hacks.
mrtksn 8y ago
File transfers are outstandingly simple and fast with Airdrop, everything is synced on the cloud, there's screen recording on the phone itself and there's wireless charging. I wonder why they even keep around that port. Couldn't they create a wireless USB dongle that simulates a wired connection for the situations that "must-have-USB-connection", like Carplay over the USB only or legacy accessories? Then make a wireless charging cable with magnets(like with the Watch) so that you can charge when using the phone. I am sure that there would be engineering challenges but Is there a valid reason to have to keep that port around any longer?
- leetrout 8y ago
  My 2018 Toyota Sienna requires the phone to be plugged in to the USB port on the vehicle while using Bluetooth in order to provide moving map functionality through the Scout GPS app. Not sure if this is something Toyota could fix with Bluetooth or if they'd need to move to WiFi or something else... just tossing this out as one of the ways I use the port daily on my phone in my car.
  - mrtksn 8y ago
    That's why I suggested a USB dongle that you plug into your car and that dongle connects to the iPhone wirelessly but your car thinks that it's a regular USB connection. That's actually something that I always dreamed of :) Wireless USB. Which seems to be a real thing anyway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_USB https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_USB
    - JoBrad 8y ago
      I always thought of Bluetooth as a form of wireless USB. It’s specifically designed to connect devices in close vicinity.
      - givinguflac 8y ago
        True, but modern Bluetooth is just a hacked together transfer solution that was originally intended to replace IR for office gear. I personally can’t wait until it dies. To be fair, for a lot of things, yes it’s kinda like wireless USB, for when you really look at the protocol and transfer capabilities they’re nothing alike.
s_dev 8y ago
Unless you're an iOS/macOS dev -- and nearly all iOS/Mac apps are developed on Macs -- a small minority come from hackintoshes. The simulator just doesn't cut it for many apps. e.g. the camera function can't really be tested in the simulator.
- dwighttk 8y ago
  Apparently you can debug ios and tvos wirelessly now.
- JonathonW 8y ago
  Wireless app deployment/debugging's an option now-- sometime in the last Xcode version or two (not sure exactly when, I haven't been paying as close attention to that as I used to). For iPhone and iPad, you still have to connect with a cable at least once to establish the connection, but the infrastructure's there to go completely wireless-- the app development workflow for Apple TV and for the watch is fully wireless (no ports to connect to on either).
  - s_dev 8y ago
    Good point. I wasn't aware of this - but as you concede it's necessary to connect at least once but this is progress in the right direction. Perhaps charging is necessary to plug iPhone in to Mac. Apparently if you plug in to the mains it will wear the battery quicker.
0x0 8y ago
Some good reasons for plugging in are: Transferring photos off the device (image capture) Backing up to encrypted iTunes (AFAIK the only way to fully back up everything including wifi passwords and health data) iOS development in xcode Charging USB tethering instead of wifi tethering Pushing mp3 files on to the device via iTunes
- dwighttk 8y ago
  iOS development and USB tethering are the only two that require plugging in. Everything else is available wirelessly (and tethering is too.)
  - saagarjha 8y ago
    You can debug iOS (and tvOS, since Apple TV 4K doesn’t have a USB port) apps wirelessly now.
    - kitsunesoba 8y ago
      It’s a bit laggy and buggy, though. For now hardwired debugging is more reliable.
    - 0x0 8y ago
      I have tried and given up, it does not work very well at all.
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    Web development, too. If you plug an iOS device into a Mac running Safari, you can do extra special things.
- djrogers 8y ago
  -> Backing up to encrypted iTunes (AFAIK the only way to fully back up everything including wifi passwords and health data) Nope, iCloud backup or WiFi iTunes backup can do this as well
  - 8y ago

shshhdhs 8y ago

> There isn't much need these days to plug a phone into a Mac. Actually, I plug my phone into my MacBook for two reasons: (1) to charge it when there’s no outlet nearby and (2) to have less interference when I use it as a hotspot and to charge it at the same time.

scarface74 8y ago
That would be an even better reason for Apple to switch to USB C on both ends.

SippinLean 8y ago

But if you want to quick charge your iPhone X (or 8) you need USB-C. The included USB-A to Lightning cable won't do it (neither will the 5W power brick included with the iPhone X). You'd need a lightning to USB-C cables and a USB-C PD power brick, neither are very cheap. Apple's USB-C cables start at $19 and the charger at $49!

Shikadi 8y ago
Apple has a history of expensive accessories and cables, so it's nothing new
ryanianian 8y ago
I've purchased a large number of USB-C cables, and the Apple one is the only one that seems to charge a macbook pro at full-speed (87watts). All the others (Anker, Amazon Basics, a few others) only charge at 30w or 60w which can leave your computer out of battery after a full day of use even when plugged in if you're doing compute-heavy things. Not saying the $19 price-tag is "fair," but at least it's a high-quality cable.
- rvense 8y ago
  "High quality" in this case probably means that the microcontroller embedded it spits out the right sequence of bytes to make the laptop enable full-speed charging.
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    Surprisingly, no. Google around for tear-downs of Apple charging gear. They usually have comparisons with tear-downs of the generic "equivalents." It's fascinating how different the engineering is from one brand to another, and the (sometimes terrifying) shortcuts the non-Apple chargers take.
    - hrktb 8y ago
      Aren’t we talking about the cables here ? I’d be curious to know what in the Apple cable is so high quality that it allows it faster speed than the other decent brands. Otherwise my Google-fu is failing me on the USB-C charger teardown, do you remember where you saw one ?
      - briandear 8y ago
        Aren’t these actually Thunderbolt 3 cables?
        photojosh 8y ago
        No, the charging cables aren’t. They’re even only USB2 speeds for data IIRC.
      - brigade 8y ago
        Sufficiently low resistance wire; in particular, USB power over 60W needs >3A current, so a high-gauge high-resistance wire can cause voltage to drop below the minimum specs. Since everything 60W and below uses a max of 3A, that’s the common maximum design target.
dwighttk 8y ago
This doesn't require a change of port on the phone, just a purchase of a different cable.
jonknee 8y ago
It's nearly as fast to just use a higher wattage charger like they ship with iPads or any number of third parties. I haven't used an iPhone charger in years.
photojosh 8y ago
A critical morsel of information missing here is that iPhones charge pretty quick using 12W/2.1A USB-A chargers, to the point where I’m not inclined to move to USB-C for only a few % gain in speed. Yes, it’s super slow using the included 5W charger, so I haven’t used one of those since 2013 or thereabouts, it stays in the box until resale time.
- givinguflac 8y ago
  Totally agree, iPad charger ftw. My favorite (if such a thing can be said about usb charging bricks) is that it uses the same detachable power prongs as a Mac charger. So I’ve got a Mac extension cable plugged into an iPad charger and voila, extended charging cable without a usb extension killing charging speeds due to voltage drops.
L_Rahman 8y ago
The good thing is that the USB-C ecosystem is open and a wide variety of known, vetted OEMs have stepped up to serve it. USB-C to Lightning cables are still expensive because Apple hasn't opened the connector up for MFi certification yet, but Monoprice will happily sell you a USB-C brick with upto 40W output for $15: https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=116&cp_id=10851&cs_id=1085102&p_id=24426&seq=1&format=2 https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=116&cp_id=10851&cs_id...
- zaarn 8y ago
  I expect high powered chargers and battery packs to become more common as recently full system chips for handling USB-C PD have been released which support up to the 100W via various means. That makes it much easier to build them rather than having to rely on your own fab or reusing USB2.0 chips with some hacks.

mrtksn 8y ago

File transfers are outstandingly simple and fast with Airdrop, everything is synced on the cloud, there's screen recording on the phone itself and there's wireless charging. I wonder why they even keep around that port. Couldn't they create a wireless USB dongle that simulates a wired connection for the situations that "must-have-USB-connection", like Carplay over the USB only or legacy accessories? Then make a wireless charging cable with magnets(like with the Watch) so that you can charge when using the phone. I am sure that there would be engineering challenges but Is there a valid reason to have to keep that port around any longer?

leetrout 8y ago
My 2018 Toyota Sienna requires the phone to be plugged in to the USB port on the vehicle while using Bluetooth in order to provide moving map functionality through the Scout GPS app. Not sure if this is something Toyota could fix with Bluetooth or if they'd need to move to WiFi or something else... just tossing this out as one of the ways I use the port daily on my phone in my car.
- mrtksn 8y ago
  That's why I suggested a USB dongle that you plug into your car and that dongle connects to the iPhone wirelessly but your car thinks that it's a regular USB connection. That's actually something that I always dreamed of :) Wireless USB. Which seems to be a real thing anyway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_USB https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_USB
  - JoBrad 8y ago
    I always thought of Bluetooth as a form of wireless USB. It’s specifically designed to connect devices in close vicinity.
    - givinguflac 8y ago
      True, but modern Bluetooth is just a hacked together transfer solution that was originally intended to replace IR for office gear. I personally can’t wait until it dies. To be fair, for a lot of things, yes it’s kinda like wireless USB, for when you really look at the protocol and transfer capabilities they’re nothing alike.

s_dev 8y ago

Unless you're an iOS/macOS dev -- and nearly all iOS/Mac apps are developed on Macs -- a small minority come from hackintoshes. The simulator just doesn't cut it for many apps. e.g. the camera function can't really be tested in the simulator.

dwighttk 8y ago
Apparently you can debug ios and tvos wirelessly now.
JonathonW 8y ago
Wireless app deployment/debugging's an option now-- sometime in the last Xcode version or two (not sure exactly when, I haven't been paying as close attention to that as I used to). For iPhone and iPad, you still have to connect with a cable at least once to establish the connection, but the infrastructure's there to go completely wireless-- the app development workflow for Apple TV and for the watch is fully wireless (no ports to connect to on either).
- s_dev 8y ago
  Good point. I wasn't aware of this - but as you concede it's necessary to connect at least once but this is progress in the right direction. Perhaps charging is necessary to plug iPhone in to Mac. Apparently if you plug in to the mains it will wear the battery quicker.

0x0 8y ago

Some good reasons for plugging in are: Transferring photos off the device (image capture) Backing up to encrypted iTunes (AFAIK the only way to fully back up everything including wifi passwords and health data) iOS development in xcode Charging USB tethering instead of wifi tethering Pushing mp3 files on to the device via iTunes

dwighttk 8y ago
iOS development and USB tethering are the only two that require plugging in. Everything else is available wirelessly (and tethering is too.)
- saagarjha 8y ago
  You can debug iOS (and tvOS, since Apple TV 4K doesn’t have a USB port) apps wirelessly now.
  - kitsunesoba 8y ago
    It’s a bit laggy and buggy, though. For now hardwired debugging is more reliable.
  - 0x0 8y ago
    I have tried and given up, it does not work very well at all.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  Web development, too. If you plug an iOS device into a Mac running Safari, you can do extra special things.
djrogers 8y ago
-> Backing up to encrypted iTunes (AFAIK the only way to fully back up everything including wifi passwords and health data) Nope, iCloud backup or WiFi iTunes backup can do this as well
- 8y ago