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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 gues
by brundolf 4y 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
- soco 4y agoI 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.
- rootusrootus 4y 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.
- brundolf 4y 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
- musictubes 4y agoThe remote for the new AppleTV is also USB C.
- dervjd 4y agoI have the latest Apple TV 4K, and it still uses the Lightning connector to charge the remote.
- mantecademani 4y agoThe newest Apple TV, announced earlier this month, uses USB-C for the remote. https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-4k/specs/ https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-4k/specs/
- yunohn 4y agoTo be fair, almost everyone missed this announcement. It got less attention than the new iPads.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- burbankio 4y agoThe 3rd-gen Apple TV 4K introduced on the 18th switched the charging port on the remote from Lightning to USB-C.
- jamiek88 4y agoThen you don’t have the latest Apple tv
- RockRobotRock 4y agoIt feels like anything labeled "Pro" got USB-C faster, except the AirPods Pro gen 2 :(
- 4y ago
- Reason077 4y 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 4y agoWe 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
- dwaite 4y agoThe good news is that all functional USB-C cables will generally charge at 30W. They might not be able to go above 30W, they might only have USB 2.0 speeds. The USB-IF has only just now come up with IMHO their first passable attempt at labelling. However, for a couch or car charger for a phone, just about any cable that is wired correctly should do everything you want. The problems come with alt modes and fast charging - the cable might not support the full capabilities, or the device itself (points idly at Nintendo Switch and Raspberry Pi 4) might not have shipped as USB-compliant, breaking with certain valid setups. My opinion, the problem here isn't just cabling but troubleshooting help - how do I know the cable or charger I'm using isn't charging my computer at full speed? And which one is the problem?
- somerandomqaguy 4y agoMaybe? 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 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.
- samatman 4y agoThe 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.
- toast0 4y agoYou can clean out a USB-C with a toothpick too, I did mine a few months ago when the connections got flakey and I got a ton of fluff out and now cables click in (which I forgot was supposed to happen).
- shuntress 4y agoSnap a toothpick in half roughly and you should get a sliver on the broken end that fits around the USB-C tongue very well for cleaning lint.
- rootusrootus 4y 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.
- gcapu 4y agoI just want my Mac and my iPhone to use the same charger. It’s not necessarily about the spending.
- gnicholas 4y agoAnd 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.
- eropple 4y agoDoes MagSafe charging cause a Macbook Pro to heat up in the same way that USB-C charging on the left side of the device does? When I saw that on my new M1 Max, I assumed so, so I never used it. (Also because I had USB-C charging for everything else...except my iPhone.)
- stouset 4y agoNope. My MacBook Pro w/ M1 Max has never even gotten warm, even while plugged in with MagSafe and pegging every CPU at 100% with SIMD instructions.
- eropple 4y agoCool (ha!) good to know. The times I've noticed mine getting pretty toasty when charging was from the left side, so I consciously try to avoid it (apparently a sibling suggests it's Intel only, so it totally could just be selection bias on my part). Regardless, I'm glad MagSafe doesn't have that problem. Thanks!
- evilduck 4y agoWasn't that just an issue with the final 16" Intel MBP? I don't think any M1/M2 Macs have had that problem.
- eropple 4y ago
- scelerat 4y 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 4y agoIn 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.
- rootusrootus 4y agoNot only that, but it is not possible to make a do-everything USB-C cable.
- bryanlarsen 4y agoCan you elaborate? What two features can't be combined? Wouldn't a cable with the new "80 Gbps 240W" logo do everything? https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vkQLWTdsaQ6Cw7S6wRsWHD-970-80.png.webp https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vkQLWTdsaQ6Cw7S6wRsWHD-970...
- scarface74 4y agoZeus-X Pro 5ft/1.5m Universal... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093YVRHMB https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093YVRHMB? - USB A and USB C on one end - micro USB A, Lightning and USB C on the other end - 100W charging - 10Gbps transfer - supports video over USB C These have replaced all of my Lightning cables and most of my USB C cables.
- Dylan16807 4y agoI'd want to see a signal analyzer result at 10Gbps before I trust that speed claim on their 5 foot and 2 meter options. But even if that's true, that means it can't run at Gen 3 speeds (or Gen 4, which has the same cable requirements).
- withinboredom 4y agoI’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 4y agoUSB-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.
- withinboredom 4y agoApparently at USB-2 speeds if I'm understanding things correctly?
- dhkldhlldhgk 4y agoit's also a blue bubble/green bubble thing. lightning is more exclusive and therefore better