4 ms·

I don't get it. If I buy an old IPhone, or anything with a Micro-usb, I can just take my phone knowing I can charge it just about anywhere. But they put a new c

I don't get it. If I buy an old IPhone, or anything with a Micro-usb, I can just take my phone knowing I can charge it just about anywhere. But they put a new connector on it. Why not just put a micro-usb without adaptor on it? It seems that it would make a lot of sense for those of us who don't want pockets/bags full of cords and adaptors. Or just do both.

spicyj 14y ago
For one, Apple's new connector ("Lightning", but I'm not sold on the name) is reversible so is easier to insert correctly.
- sophacles 14y ago
  That is fantastic. Seriously, USB is annoying that way. But now when I take a trip for a couple days, which my work has me doing regularly, and if I have an Iphone 5, I have to be sure to bring my adaptor kit, or pay a $30 adaptor tax. With micro usb, I pay a $1 forgetfulness tax, if that, because almost everywhere has a spare usb charger or cable lying around. I don't want to pay that much to not have to turn the cable over once.
  - danielweber 14y ago
    In nearly every single situation, the right orientation for a USB cable is with the USB symbol on top. There are exceptions, but this one rule let me get it right for all but 1 device I own.
    - andrewaylett 14y ago
      Unfortunately (and speaking as one who has never knowingly given Apple any money) not all USB devices get this right: I've got a card reader (made by Kingston) with the USB logo on the wrong side of the plug. It's really anoying.
    - brunnsbe 14y ago
      Yes, but it's still the connector most people put in correctly on the third try. ;-)
      - notimetorelax 14y ago
        I noticed that micro USB is better in this respect.
    - jl6 14y ago
      Doesn't help in the dark, which happens to me every night as I put it onto charge.
    - mdonahoe 14y ago
      My symbols have long faded away. I had to scratch one side.
- grecy 14y ago
  The tech spec page says "Lightning to USB Cable". Doesn't say if it's USB 2 or 3, and doesn't say if it could be Thunderbolt (unlikely)
jellicle 14y ago
Because selling the new cords and accessories and licensing the new connector to other companies will make Apple a lot of money, and the costs are not visible to the consumer (i.e., a cable costing $10 instead of $2, with $8 going into Apple's pockets - the $8 Apple surcharge is not easily visible to the consumer). If Apple had decided to make the same amount of money overall by raising the price of the iPhone 5 and using standard connectors, it would be more visible to you. This way is akin to the "cheap printer and expensive ink" paradigm, or the "cheap airfare but you have to pay all the taxes and fees separately" paradigm. Most consumers will not look ahead to calculate the lifetime cost of ownership of the device, they'll only look at the initial price.
- jpxxx 14y ago
  A reasonable estimation is that apple is going to NET about 32 billion dollars in sales of iPhone 5s in its first sales year. Take that $8 surcharge, add an extra adapter at $10 a pop for every one of those customers, and you're talking about an extra 0.5% of net revenue. It's meaningless to them. It really is. Regardless of what reason they ended 30-pin, it cannot be seen as a primarily financial one.
  - mdonahoe 14y ago
    In the past I would agree, but with all the stories of cost cutting lately, I am skeptical that it is meaningless.
    - cube13 14y ago
      Factoring in supplier changes and development costs, I would wager that the .5% revenue would result in an overall wash on the accounting sheets. I really don't think it was to sell connectors. Those kinds of things are too low margin for Apple to really care that much.
    - jpxxx 14y ago
      Some ill-sourced dirty laundry about Apple Retail does not apply here. If I may engage in some hyperbole: this is the highest-profile product in all of consumer electronics that is at the forefront of almost any discussion regarding the biggest change in how seven billion humans spend their days in a long, long time. And disrupting a decade-old ecosystem of a billion 'things' is not engaged in for cost saving measures.
stevejohnson 14y ago
Likely for size reasons. "Micro" USB is still pretty thick on the iPhone thickness scale. I'm just speculating, but it seems more reasonable than the "because they can charge you for it!!!" hand-waving going on in my sibling comments.
- jamesaguilar 14y ago
  Also, the new connector is reversible. I'll gladly take that over standard, although I know other people have different preferences.
  - cube13 14y ago
    Which is really the only major benefit over both the standard USB and the current Apple 30-pin. To be honest, I'm not sure if that alone is really worth the extra annoyance of a new connector.
    - jamesaguilar 14y ago
      TBH, there's almost zero extra annoyance for me. On the day my iPhone 5 arrives, I'll pack up the old connectors in the family misc cables box and never use them again. I'll probably buy two extra connectors, one for the car and one for the office. Overall effort spent: less than twenty minutes and twenty dollars. Definitely worth it by my accounting.
- BitMastro 14y ago
  This phone http://img.pics.livedoor.com/012/d/3/d3c8a2642464e6c8bfd0-LL.jpg http://img.pics.livedoor.com/012/d/3/d3c8a2642464e6c8bfd0-LL... is 6.65mm thick
larsberg 14y ago
I'd assume it's because controlling the adapter means controlling the device ecosystem and therefore both less testing they have to perform and less support issues from the random stuff people try to connect up to the device.

spicyj 14y ago

For one, Apple's new connector ("Lightning", but I'm not sold on the name) is reversible so is easier to insert correctly.

sophacles 14y ago
That is fantastic. Seriously, USB is annoying that way. But now when I take a trip for a couple days, which my work has me doing regularly, and if I have an Iphone 5, I have to be sure to bring my adaptor kit, or pay a $30 adaptor tax. With micro usb, I pay a $1 forgetfulness tax, if that, because almost everywhere has a spare usb charger or cable lying around. I don't want to pay that much to not have to turn the cable over once.
- danielweber 14y ago
  In nearly every single situation, the right orientation for a USB cable is with the USB symbol on top. There are exceptions, but this one rule let me get it right for all but 1 device I own.
  - andrewaylett 14y ago
    Unfortunately (and speaking as one who has never knowingly given Apple any money) not all USB devices get this right: I've got a card reader (made by Kingston) with the USB logo on the wrong side of the plug. It's really anoying.
  - brunnsbe 14y ago
    Yes, but it's still the connector most people put in correctly on the third try. ;-)
    - notimetorelax 14y ago
      I noticed that micro USB is better in this respect.
  - jl6 14y ago
    Doesn't help in the dark, which happens to me every night as I put it onto charge.
  - mdonahoe 14y ago
    My symbols have long faded away. I had to scratch one side.
grecy 14y ago
The tech spec page says "Lightning to USB Cable". Doesn't say if it's USB 2 or 3, and doesn't say if it could be Thunderbolt (unlikely)

jellicle 14y ago

Because selling the new cords and accessories and licensing the new connector to other companies will make Apple a lot of money, and the costs are not visible to the consumer (i.e., a cable costing $10 instead of $2, with $8 going into Apple's pockets - the $8 Apple surcharge is not easily visible to the consumer). If Apple had decided to make the same amount of money overall by raising the price of the iPhone 5 and using standard connectors, it would be more visible to you. This way is akin to the "cheap printer and expensive ink" paradigm, or the "cheap airfare but you have to pay all the taxes and fees separately" paradigm. Most consumers will not look ahead to calculate the lifetime cost of ownership of the device, they'll only look at the initial price.

jpxxx 14y ago
A reasonable estimation is that apple is going to NET about 32 billion dollars in sales of iPhone 5s in its first sales year. Take that $8 surcharge, add an extra adapter at $10 a pop for every one of those customers, and you're talking about an extra 0.5% of net revenue. It's meaningless to them. It really is. Regardless of what reason they ended 30-pin, it cannot be seen as a primarily financial one.
- mdonahoe 14y ago
  In the past I would agree, but with all the stories of cost cutting lately, I am skeptical that it is meaningless.
  - cube13 14y ago
    Factoring in supplier changes and development costs, I would wager that the .5% revenue would result in an overall wash on the accounting sheets. I really don't think it was to sell connectors. Those kinds of things are too low margin for Apple to really care that much.
  - jpxxx 14y ago
    Some ill-sourced dirty laundry about Apple Retail does not apply here. If I may engage in some hyperbole: this is the highest-profile product in all of consumer electronics that is at the forefront of almost any discussion regarding the biggest change in how seven billion humans spend their days in a long, long time. And disrupting a decade-old ecosystem of a billion 'things' is not engaged in for cost saving measures.

stevejohnson 14y ago

Likely for size reasons. "Micro" USB is still pretty thick on the iPhone thickness scale. I'm just speculating, but it seems more reasonable than the "because they can charge you for it!!!" hand-waving going on in my sibling comments.

jamesaguilar 14y ago
Also, the new connector is reversible. I'll gladly take that over standard, although I know other people have different preferences.
- cube13 14y ago
  Which is really the only major benefit over both the standard USB and the current Apple 30-pin. To be honest, I'm not sure if that alone is really worth the extra annoyance of a new connector.
  - jamesaguilar 14y ago
    TBH, there's almost zero extra annoyance for me. On the day my iPhone 5 arrives, I'll pack up the old connectors in the family misc cables box and never use them again. I'll probably buy two extra connectors, one for the car and one for the office. Overall effort spent: less than twenty minutes and twenty dollars. Definitely worth it by my accounting.
BitMastro 14y ago
This phone http://img.pics.livedoor.com/012/d/3/d3c8a2642464e6c8bfd0-LL.jpg http://img.pics.livedoor.com/012/d/3/d3c8a2642464e6c8bfd0-LL... is 6.65mm thick

larsberg 14y ago

I'd assume it's because controlling the adapter means controlling the device ecosystem and therefore both less testing they have to perform and less support issues from the random stuff people try to connect up to the device.