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This is unquestionably the best physical port. The port you want does not exist. Find me a connector that does everything USB-C can do. High speeds. High power

This is unquestionably the best physical port. The port you want does not exist. Find me a connector that does everything USB-C can do. High speeds. High power charging. Alt modes. Mobile friendly size. Lightning is good for the meager feature set that iPhones support. It is absolutely awful for everyone else that is used to a vast, feature rich ecosystem.

mwint 3y ago
My iPhone 14 charges fast enough. Any file transfers go over airdrop, which is fast enough. The port is smaller than USB-C. I can clean it by rummaging around in it with a toothpick and not worrying about breaking stuff. USB-C is an unambiguous downgrade for me, and I wish they had just welded an adapter into the port for EU customers.
fragmede 3y ago
Why does it have to do simply everything? What's that saying? Jack of all trades, master of none? The "meager" support that lightning supports means it's better suited for things that go in pockets where lint lives, than usb-c ever could be. That it's not an open standard is a problem, but let's be honest that it does have advantages over usb-c.
- ianburrell 3y ago
  Lightning only support USB2 data speeds. The iPad Pro or iPhone 15 Pro have USB3 data speeds because of USB-C (iPhone 15 only does USB2). People don't plug in their phones much, but it makes a big difference for the initial transfer. The Lightning AV adapter is limited speed to resolution it can support. The iPhone 15 supports 4K with USB-C. The advantage of USB-C that can use the same connector for your headphones, phone, to computer. You can use one charger and cables. The cables and adapters have multiple sources instead of just Apple.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    The iPhone 15 Pro supports USB3 speeds. The other ones didn't get the new SoC. I understand the advantage, thank you for mansplaining that it to me. I, too, will enjoy not having to have a mess of different cables to charge all my devices. I just wish that Apple wasn't such a bunch of proprietary dick heads about the lightning connector and their participation in defining the USB-C connector spec. We could have standardized on a receptacle that is easier to clean out, and harder to break with common household tools.
- JellyBeanThief 3y ago
  The U in USB stands for Universal. Doing everything is explicit in the name itself. And compared to how we connected things 15 years ago it's certainly master of all.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    I have a cable. It's got USB-C plugs on both ends. What can it do? Power? How much? Data? How much? Alternate mode? How long is it? How flexible is it? Can I charge my car with it? Use it to connect my Cisco router to my Juniper router in my IPX? What does the cable itself report it is capable of, vs what is it actually capable of? Don't get me wrong, I'm super happy that we're standardizing on something. I, too, have that box of old chargers "just in case" I have something that matches. I'm so happy that most of the laptops around me can be charged over usb-c. But they fucked up parts of implementation of it; it's jack of all trades, master of none.
stouset 3y ago
> This is unquestionably the best physical port. No, it is absolutely not. The lightning physical port is noticeably superior for many. > Find me a connector that does everything USB-C can do. High speeds. High power charging. Alt modes. Mobile friendly size. That is not a function of the connector, that is a function of USB 3.0 (or 4.0) and USB-PD. The connector is a USB Type-C connector, which is a related but wholly independent standard. You are mistaking the USB protocol and USB power delivery standards for the design of one particular connector which supports those standards.
- memen 3y ago
  Do you know of another mobile-friendly connector that supports those standards? Lightning certainly does not. Even if USB2.0 was the highest supported standard on the USB-C, it is on par with lightning at least.
- Steltek 3y ago
  Then can you share a device or cable that uses a Lightning connector and supports the USB 3.0 and USB-PD protocols? Who in their right minds would standardize on something that doesn't exist?
  - stouset 3y ago
    This is irrelevant. You said > This [USB-C] is unquestionably the best physical port. It is not. USB 3.0 is unquestionably better than the USB 2.0 supported by Lightning devices, and you’ll get no argument from me there. But that is completely independent of the design of the physical port.
  - jasongill 3y ago
    Older iPad Pro's support USB 3.0 over their Lightning port but that's a very niche case obviously.

mwint 3y ago

My iPhone 14 charges fast enough. Any file transfers go over airdrop, which is fast enough. The port is smaller than USB-C. I can clean it by rummaging around in it with a toothpick and not worrying about breaking stuff. USB-C is an unambiguous downgrade for me, and I wish they had just welded an adapter into the port for EU customers.

fragmede 3y ago

Why does it have to do simply everything? What's that saying? Jack of all trades, master of none? The "meager" support that lightning supports means it's better suited for things that go in pockets where lint lives, than usb-c ever could be. That it's not an open standard is a problem, but let's be honest that it does have advantages over usb-c.

ianburrell 3y ago
Lightning only support USB2 data speeds. The iPad Pro or iPhone 15 Pro have USB3 data speeds because of USB-C (iPhone 15 only does USB2). People don't plug in their phones much, but it makes a big difference for the initial transfer. The Lightning AV adapter is limited speed to resolution it can support. The iPhone 15 supports 4K with USB-C. The advantage of USB-C that can use the same connector for your headphones, phone, to computer. You can use one charger and cables. The cables and adapters have multiple sources instead of just Apple.
- fragmede 3y ago
  The iPhone 15 Pro supports USB3 speeds. The other ones didn't get the new SoC. I understand the advantage, thank you for mansplaining that it to me. I, too, will enjoy not having to have a mess of different cables to charge all my devices. I just wish that Apple wasn't such a bunch of proprietary dick heads about the lightning connector and their participation in defining the USB-C connector spec. We could have standardized on a receptacle that is easier to clean out, and harder to break with common household tools.
JellyBeanThief 3y ago
The U in USB stands for Universal. Doing everything is explicit in the name itself. And compared to how we connected things 15 years ago it's certainly master of all.
- fragmede 3y ago
  I have a cable. It's got USB-C plugs on both ends. What can it do? Power? How much? Data? How much? Alternate mode? How long is it? How flexible is it? Can I charge my car with it? Use it to connect my Cisco router to my Juniper router in my IPX? What does the cable itself report it is capable of, vs what is it actually capable of? Don't get me wrong, I'm super happy that we're standardizing on something. I, too, have that box of old chargers "just in case" I have something that matches. I'm so happy that most of the laptops around me can be charged over usb-c. But they fucked up parts of implementation of it; it's jack of all trades, master of none.

stouset 3y ago

> This is unquestionably the best physical port. No, it is absolutely not. The lightning physical port is noticeably superior for many. > Find me a connector that does everything USB-C can do. High speeds. High power charging. Alt modes. Mobile friendly size. That is not a function of the connector, that is a function of USB 3.0 (or 4.0) and USB-PD. The connector is a USB Type-C connector, which is a related but wholly independent standard. You are mistaking the USB protocol and USB power delivery standards for the design of one particular connector which supports those standards.

memen 3y ago
Do you know of another mobile-friendly connector that supports those standards? Lightning certainly does not. Even if USB2.0 was the highest supported standard on the USB-C, it is on par with lightning at least.
Steltek 3y ago
Then can you share a device or cable that uses a Lightning connector and supports the USB 3.0 and USB-PD protocols? Who in their right minds would standardize on something that doesn't exist?
- stouset 3y ago
  This is irrelevant. You said > This [USB-C] is unquestionably the best physical port. It is not. USB 3.0 is unquestionably better than the USB 2.0 supported by Lightning devices, and you’ll get no argument from me there. But that is completely independent of the design of the physical port.
- jasongill 3y ago
  Older iPad Pro's support USB 3.0 over their Lightning port but that's a very niche case obviously.