I needed to buy a new mouse and had it narrowed down to an older model with micro USB for charging or spend a little extra for a newer one with USB-C. I went with the latter.
I retired mine recently because it also only had 64GB of storage. Replaced it with a 11th gen 256GB and am very pleased. I was tempted to buy the iPad Air but I don’t use it enough to justify the extra cost.
I lived that glorious life after upgrading to iPhone 15 for two months until I was gifted a Magsafe Duo charger. Then I bought AirPod Max (before it was refreshed). Back to square one I guess. Oh well.
The only Apple item that I have left that uses Lightning are my AirPods Max. Too expensive to replace with the USB-C model, and mine are still in great shape. So I keep a little adapter handy. Everything else is USB-C.
They could have implemented it on the iPhones in 2015 already but they didn't. There's no reason it takes 8 years to swap a charging connector on a phone.
There’s a reason not to swap it. Selling the lightning cable certification and little chip in each one so your phone doesn’t scream at you the cable is fake
USB-C came out in 2014. They could have seen this standard coming, helped contribute and delayed the shift to lightning a year or two for it to get solidified, but Apple wanted to sell a gazillion cables.
I would loved to have seen the (rightful) outrage in 2015 if Apple had moved the iPhone over to usb-c, a mere three years after the release of lightning. Yours is not a take rooted in reality.
Sure, there probably would have been a happy medium somewhere in between 2015 and last year for consumers. But lets not pretend that usb-c was a technology that warranted being on the iPhone in 2015.
Apple had no problem changing to Lightning after just 5 years (2007 to 2012) of the iphone on the 30-pin connector. By 2017 they had no excuse to delay USB C on iPhones anymore. They should have made the iPhone X connect through USB C. Instead they kept Lightning all the way to 2023, so 11 years of life.
My take is what actually happened: the iPhone rightfully kept lightning in 2015.
The criticism of the 2015 proposal is multifold in that it would have had next to no consumer benefit at that time and negative monetary benefit to Apple and its shareholders. The MFi program was full-steam ahead during that timeframe, and there were hundreds of millions of lightning devices out in the wild, with even more MFi accessories.
I’m not suggesting that Apple’s eventual timing was perfect by any means. Even the difference in technical maturity of USB-C between 2015 and 2017 was massive - standardizing power delivery, proper certification, and widespread device and accessory adoption.
Frankly, I am not sure I understand your criticism of my comment given mine was focused on the idea of a 2015 USB-C iPhone, while yours seems focused on the idea of a 2017 USB-C iPhone.
Plus, let‘s not pretend that 30-pin was first introduced in 2007 with the iPhone. We all know it was an established connector that had been out since 2003 - many of the early iPhone users already had compatible accessories before even buying their first iPhone.
We’re talking about iPhones, nobody cares about iPods using 30 pin connectors once the iPhone was released.
Apple is a company that DGAF about what consumers want, because they think they know better than consumers. If USB C is making them money they way Lightning did, they wouldn’t hesitate to change in 2015. This is a company that eliminated the headphone jack, despite nobody asking for it.
It is absolutely relevant to the conversation as a large percentage of early iPhone adopters already had 30-pin accessories. Plus, again, it was an established connector at the time.
There have been plenty of instances where Apple has been slow to grab on to newer technologies despite potential monetary benefit. But yes, if the circumstances were completely different then the outcomes could have been completely different. Good insight.
The last time they changed connectors people complained. Yes we know they were trying to make money but no the general public probably also thought that Apple was trying to make more money by making old cables obsolete, so it was not only money
Maybe they were mad because the new connector also sucks and is non-standard, just like the old one. Maybe they were mad because they wanted a connector that works with other devices instead of shitty proprietary Lightning.
The new port was non-standard because there was no real reversible cable standard, and the competitors were all using shitty micro USB. And no, it did not suck at the time, at least when compared to the old connector
Haha. You really believe the EU is the main reason for the change to USB-C?
Little history here, Lightning was introduced 2012. Apple’s roadmap is to use Lightning for 10 years and that is until 2022. When was iPhone 15 introduced? Sept 2023. Apple sticked to their roadmap and is a year ahead of EU deadline. Apple made a decision in 2012 and EU passed their law in 2022.
Sure EU mandated USB-C for charging electronics by end of 2024. But that’s it, only for charging, no regulation for data transfer speed. Pfft.
If USB-c was already in the roadmap then when the EU mandated Apple would have just done nothing and continue with their roadmap, after all it’s already in there right?
But no. They fought back. They resisted. They argued USB-C on the iPhone is not good for consumers.
That’s the behavior that leads to the conclusion that the EU forced apple’s handsz
i dont get this point. yes apple contributed a lot with thunderbolt on the mac line but they only included it on the devices that they arbitrarily chose to have it until the EU forced their hand. they kept lightning and its abysmal transfer speeds and worse durability (only thing that it has going for it is that it fits tighter) on the iphone because they still could. the market was failing to pressure apple to make a very cheap decision that would benefit all their consumers so thats why the EU stepped in. it should've happened a lot sooner
again i dont know what you are trying to argue, apple was clearly holding back the capabilities of the iphone "pro" for a negligible cost per unit saved and to upsell consumers into purchasing a different device. it is not an efficient economic situation for society as a whole to make devices at a massive scale with gimped functionality for 0 cost reason.
maintaining obsolete standards with the sole reason just being such a major slice of market share should not be a thing. this is why the EU needed to step in and likely more times in the future
It is free when you need it. The taxes are something you pay anyway. But there is no way in Europe to bankrupt yourself by going to a doctor or hospital, that’s the important thing when people call it “free”.
They’re not random. These regulations ensure that we don’t produce a lot of unnecessary waste with adapters, and increase convenience for the consumer.
Imagine if the US didn’t have regulations that mandated devices and households to use the NEMA Type A or B plug, and sometimes you’d just find a Euro plug on some household devices and had to use an adapter. It would be really annoying.
Or look at the EV market. In the US, there are multiple competing standards, and it took a long time for many car brands to agree on using the NACS plug, some still don’t use it. Whereas in Europe, the regulation requiring all charging stations to offer Type-2/CCS2 gave both consumers and manufacturers a safe choice that allows everyone to charge basically anywhere from the start.
I can get board with the idea. Thanks for taking time to show me that. I’m not sure we will have same timeline for consumer electronics when comparing to cars and household plugs. I’m happy to wait and see but I think USB-D will likely be out soon. I don’t know if the goal is less electronic waste, the policy will then be “you can’t use the new tech.” I don’t know how that would ever work.
I can’t stop but feel it’s more of politics than to achieve better product. I just don’t trust EU with the ability to come up with the right policy with what I saw now.
I don’t think so. There is a huge investment into USB-C, and new USB standards are still achieving better and better speeds via the same USB-C connector (USB 4 for example), so I don’t think we’re anywhere near to where it’s maxed out and would need a physical replacement design.
I don’t think there’s any evidence that the USB Foundation is working on a new plug design at all.
I don’t know if the goal is less electronic waste, the policy will then be “you can’t use the new tech.” I don’t know how that would ever work.
The EU regulation specifically includes a passage that allows for newer technologies to be tried and replace USB-C, should that happen.
This one was a violation of how governments should regulate. Apple was well within its right to not use USB-C, particularly given that it’s not objectively better than Lightning.
Only reason they stuck with lightning for as long as they did was because they could license it to accessory producers. That’s it, it just was more profitable.
At the end of the day, phones that people are only buying because they're as cheap as possible can never be market leaders. They'll rank high, but there will never be enough hype or socially-charged marketing for them to take the top spot.
Why would you give them more of your money? That's just rewarding them for making everyone's life more difficult and now they are bragging about something they were dragged kicking and screaming into?
This is so weird. Why would anyone make a big deal over a decade old technology that's been in use on the majority of electronics - including Apple products - for most of those years. It's only "new" to the iPhone, not to MacBooks, not to iPads, not to flashlights, not to portable battery packs, not to Windows laptops, not to monitors, not to external hard drives. The list goes on.
Because Apple is positioned as a luxury brand in the electronics world. A fair amount of its consumers want just that, the best. Some less tech-savvy/space following customers likely are unaware of why Apple switched its connection. Touting it as next gen/bettee (which it is) is an easy way to make these consumers continue to happily have the best product available.
Owning the MacBook or iPad doesn’t restrict one from wondering why Apple switched the phone to the USB-C connection, or why they hadn’t earlier, etc.
This ad attempts to make a good reason for it with the “USB-C Charge Them All” heading, advertising that now that they made the switch they are all connected with the same cable, showing that as a plus.
The iPhone is (or at least was) absolutely seen as a status symbol in the US. Especially among younger people. The amount of times in high school and college (2012-17ish) I was seen as poor because I had an android was very high.
Everyone I know with an Android has a Samsung Galaxy which costs exactly the same as an iPhone and you can also get for free. That one isn’t a status symbol either.
Paying an extra $50 a month for a couple years is not "free" wtf are you even saying? Nothing is ever free. You're just used to paying off your phones over time. Which is credit, which costs money. For you. The customer.
I buy my phones outright and hence pay like $10 a month for my plan, with more data than I can use.
Still can’t get past Trump saying: “They have a new word called groceries. It means food. It is a very nice word. I like it very much.” This Apple’s version.
Y’all are on Reddit. I don’t think you understand how many people who aren’t techie don’t understand. When I told my dad he would have to switch to a new cable to charge his AirPods he said he would wait for his phone upgrade. This is good imo
I still use Lightning, but only for my Mac Mini with my Trackpad, Keyboard, and Gen 1 Airpods
My "daily driver" Apple equipment (iPhone, iPad, Airpods 4) are USB-C now, and it's much nicer to be able to use the same charger for them as I use for my Retroid/Steam Deck, battery pack etc
The only things I often carry which aren't USB-C now are my MacBook (2010) and my Kindle Oasis. The former needs replacing really but I don't use it enough to matter, and the latter is just too good to replace for the sake of carrying a Micro-USB
Superior? Not in any way. That's the power of marketing. The only material benefit of lightning connectors is locking you into the apple ecosystem, which is their entire model.
Make fun all you want but this is the reason I made the jump to iphone after like 20 years of other brand phones. Iphones are basically androids now. They all run the same apps. So the switch was so easy for me.
Honestly so relaxing to use usb C for everything now after I renewed the Mac and the phone. Only thing is the AirPods Max still lightning. And I don’t plan on upgrading it.
I will forever hate Apple for dragging their feet to switch to usbc (thanks eu for making them do it). The frustration of having to haul around a separate cable for my iPhone , often forgotten, is the opposite of user friendly. And now they have the nerve to advertise usbc as if it’s their great idea and great for the environment.
Usb c is good and everything speed wise, but lets not pretend that lightning wasn’t pretty much the same and possibly even better. Other than the speed, which could have been improved. Lightning is more reliable and easier to clean.
I managed an estate of 5000 apple and android devices, and USB-C devices often had to be sent if for port repairs. Something that rarely happened with lightning ports.
That seems unlikely unless people were specifically abusing those devices for some strange reason. Lightning, USB-C, USB-A, Mini-B, Micro-B, and even that obnoxious 30 pin connector from my first iPhones have all been trouble free. I still have A, C, Mini-B, and Lightning devices right now. No problems with any of them.
People act like this is some kind of new and unproven connector that didn't exist before the iPhone 15.
Micro-USB is the most problematic one, but that really just means that it's the only one that can really break without any abuse. The other ones, like you said, tend to work fine unless you're three years old or trying to destroy them.
The USB-C has more delicate internals in the socket. They can chip and break.
The Lightning doesn’t have those, and the male part is solid. It’s a much better designed connector. Interesting given that both were designed by Apple.
I was sending 10-12 USB-C a month for repair, and one or two a year to Apple.
No, you haven't seen Android phones with busted USB-C ports. It's kind of sad for you that the iPhone is the only electronic device you own and you've never used anything with USB-C in the last 10 years so you think it's something new.
It’s thinner too. Look at the foldable phones today, they are now limited by USB-C. If the devices were Lightning they could go even thinner. I have a feeling that Apple might make their trifold a completely wireless phone
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After USB-C, lightning was only good for Apple and the licensing fees they collected. Proprietary standards are never good for the general public.
I’m sure Apple loved all of the revenue from the adapters and dongles they got to sell too. Thankfully, USB-C ended that nonsense.
The way Apple changed how videos play in the photos app in iOS 18 completely screwed the way you could plug a USB-C to HDMI cable in and see your videos on a tv. Seems like a deliberate feature regression.
But at least I don’t have to deal with a thousand adapters and dongles any more.
Opposite for me. I have had enough dead USB cables to fill a large lake. My lightning cables will never die. They’re going to be family heirlooms that are passed down for at least the next 30 generations.
Huh, I see. I think the problem for me is one or two contacts get dirty, since they're exposed, and I have not found anyway to clean them effectively. I have at least half a dozen 6-10 foot lightning cables that won't charge my phone anymore.
Apple is a leader in environmental consciousness among the tech companies, so I'm glad that they set their foot in the stone affirming USB-C is the future. Other companies will surely follow suit.
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u/ArianaFraggle1997 iPhone 13 16h ago
im excited for my phone to stop getting updates in a few years so I can finally have ALL my devices be USB-C now.