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> Apple has had two versions of its charger (30 pin and Lightning), and USB has had how many? 7 iterations? Android phones only ever had micro-usb and usb-c, A

> Apple has had two versions of its charger (30 pin and Lightning), and USB has had how many? 7 iterations? Android phones only ever had micro-usb and usb-c, AFAIK. You can rant about variations on usb-c, but you can still charge your phone with any usb-c cable you've got. You have to go back to pre-iPhone days to find (non-Android) smartphone that had mini-USB.

mmastrac 5y ago
That's not totally true. Early, early android phones (HTC magic) had mini. The Nexus One and beyond were micro IIRC. You are 99% on the nose I believe.
BoorishBears 5y ago
Android phones have had Micro, Mini, USB-C, and Micro-USB 3.0 (which is meaningfully different than Micro)
- Dylan16807 5y ago
  Micro 3.0 is almost never going to be a problem because normal micro cables fit. And realistically, how many had mini? The very first nexus had micro. The Droid had micro. LG's first one had micro. I see HTC had a couple nonstandard quasi-mini models before moving to micro?
  - BoorishBears 5y ago
    A lot of tablets had mini. A lot. And supporting Micro 3 via Micro is a non-starter for most people, one of the best parts of the 3.0 standard was a much sturdier connector. It's a terrible experience using a Micro with a Micro 3 port.
    - Dylan16807 5y ago
      > A lot of tablets had mini. A lot. Noted, but I'm most worried about phones. > And supporting Micro 3 via Micro is a non-starter for most people, one of the best parts of the 3.0 standard was a much sturdier connector. It's a terrible experience using a Micro with a Micro 3 port. Even then, that's no worse than a micro 2.0 port. For someone that prioritizes the downsides of port proliferation, then only micro 2.0 and C really matter; they get to ignore micro 3. For someone that prioritizes sturdiness, there's more to discuss, but it's a separate issue.
marderfarker2 5y ago
You can use Lightning cable with only Apple products. With a USB cable you can use it with your camera, power bank, phone, earbuds, toaster so on and so forth. I’ve had a grand total of 2 USB cables, a USB A to micro USB for legacy devices and a USB A to USB C for every other recent device. For my iPhone I needed to buy an extra USB A to lightning in addition to the one provided by Apple, because the cable they provided does not fit with any existing chargers (except with my laptop). I agree Lightning port feels much sturdier than USB C, not sure if this is an inherent design flaw of USB C.
- dmitriid 5y ago
  I have a grand total of god knows how many cables, and I still don't know which one will fit a certain device. I don't use them that often or have that many devices, but having just a bank card reader and a power bank requires me to have two different USB cables (mini and micro).
- addicted 5y ago
  The ultimate irony of course is that if I own a Samsung phone and a MacBook, I can travel with a single USB-C charger and charge both devices. It’s only if I need to pair my MacBook with an iPhone that I now need to different charging cables.
bushbaba 5y ago
Androids post iPhone did use mini usb (htc dream g1) micro usb, usb c & proprietary (Samsung galaxy tab 2).

mmastrac 5y ago

That's not totally true. Early, early android phones (HTC magic) had mini. The Nexus One and beyond were micro IIRC. You are 99% on the nose I believe.

BoorishBears 5y ago

Android phones have had Micro, Mini, USB-C, and Micro-USB 3.0 (which is meaningfully different than Micro)

Dylan16807 5y ago
Micro 3.0 is almost never going to be a problem because normal micro cables fit. And realistically, how many had mini? The very first nexus had micro. The Droid had micro. LG's first one had micro. I see HTC had a couple nonstandard quasi-mini models before moving to micro?
- BoorishBears 5y ago
  A lot of tablets had mini. A lot. And supporting Micro 3 via Micro is a non-starter for most people, one of the best parts of the 3.0 standard was a much sturdier connector. It's a terrible experience using a Micro with a Micro 3 port.
  - Dylan16807 5y ago
    > A lot of tablets had mini. A lot. Noted, but I'm most worried about phones. > And supporting Micro 3 via Micro is a non-starter for most people, one of the best parts of the 3.0 standard was a much sturdier connector. It's a terrible experience using a Micro with a Micro 3 port. Even then, that's no worse than a micro 2.0 port. For someone that prioritizes the downsides of port proliferation, then only micro 2.0 and C really matter; they get to ignore micro 3. For someone that prioritizes sturdiness, there's more to discuss, but it's a separate issue.

marderfarker2 5y ago

You can use Lightning cable with only Apple products. With a USB cable you can use it with your camera, power bank, phone, earbuds, toaster so on and so forth. I’ve had a grand total of 2 USB cables, a USB A to micro USB for legacy devices and a USB A to USB C for every other recent device. For my iPhone I needed to buy an extra USB A to lightning in addition to the one provided by Apple, because the cable they provided does not fit with any existing chargers (except with my laptop). I agree Lightning port feels much sturdier than USB C, not sure if this is an inherent design flaw of USB C.

dmitriid 5y ago
I have a grand total of god knows how many cables, and I still don't know which one will fit a certain device. I don't use them that often or have that many devices, but having just a bank card reader and a power bank requires me to have two different USB cables (mini and micro).
addicted 5y ago
The ultimate irony of course is that if I own a Samsung phone and a MacBook, I can travel with a single USB-C charger and charge both devices. It’s only if I need to pair my MacBook with an iPhone that I now need to different charging cables.

bushbaba 5y ago

Androids post iPhone did use mini usb (htc dream g1) micro usb, usb c & proprietary (Samsung galaxy tab 2).