Lightning was GREAT when they first came out. Micro usb SUCKED. But now USBC is everywhere and it’s damn robust. The iPhone is the last thing on earth that makes me keep a separate set of lightning cable in my car, office, desk, sofa, bed. Screw lightning. Go EU. Not to say it wastes a usb port on my charger just for the iPhone. I can’t wait to dump the lightning cables and keep just a few for AirPods trackpad for just a few more years.
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Apple Considered iPhone 15 With Lightning Port Before Swapping to USB-C
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I think in order to comply with EU regulations, the USB Type C port on the iPhone 15 models will be as follows:
iPhone 15/15 Plus: 5 Gbps Certified (USB 3.2 1x1) with up to 30 watts initial charging rate
iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max: 10 Gbps Certified (USB 3.2 2x2) with up to 40 watts initial charging rate
iPhone 15/15 Plus: 5 Gbps Certified (USB 3.2 1x1) with up to 30 watts initial charging rate
iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max: 10 Gbps Certified (USB 3.2 2x2) with up to 40 watts initial charging rate
There are no new EU charging regulation requirements on the iPhone 15, or likely even the iPhone 16.
Also, the EU regulations say nothing about data capabilities.
The EU regulations come in January 2025.
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I may upgrade a year earlier than I typically would just to get rid of lighting. #BYE
I'd almost agree, but I do think Apple will want to make sure the USB Type C port is fully compatible with the cables already out there. That's why I was skeptical that Apple would make the Type C port quasi-proprietary on the iPhone 15.
Oh, I'm sure its USB-C ports will be fully compatible to spec; but the bounds of USB Type-C compatibility is pretty wide.
How about this analogy?
The Apple car used to need a different connecter at the gas station in order to fill your car with gas.
And Apple charged for this connector type.
The EU then says no, this is unacceptable, and all gas station connectors need to be one standard so all cars can use them all.
Apple begrudgingly agrees to this, but then slows the flow of fuel down the hose unless you pay them for their own version of it.
Makes you wonder how long this would be allowed
The Apple car used to need a different connecter at the gas station in order to fill your car with gas.
And Apple charged for this connector type.
The EU then says no, this is unacceptable, and all gas station connectors need to be one standard so all cars can use them all.
Apple begrudgingly agrees to this, but then slows the flow of fuel down the hose unless you pay them for their own version of it.
Makes you wonder how long this would be allowed
This is wrong. There are no mechanical clips on a lightning cable at all!
It's more like the other way around! USB-C ports can be much sturdier, for instance look at how snug the USB-C charge cable connects to a modern MacBook Air! It's a very tight connection and much stronger than Lightning can ever be.
Don't worry, USB-C CAN be done right! Have you ever felt how secure the USB-C charge cable connects to a new (M1 or newer) MacBook Air? It's MUCH better than Lightning.
Yes, USB-C can vary (done wrong on cheap cables where they can feel wobbly, even if plugged in the same MacBook Air). But if done right then it's very tight, still has a "click", and offers much more technological advances (IF Apple actually implements this in terms of speed).
Oh please make it more durable because lightning has blessed my household with three broken iPhone ports already, model after model, and is nothing to shout home about anymore.
And in between we’ll get plenty marvellous posts about when it will be announced, shipped, shall I really smash it, this time with a reworked poll, shall I not smash it, why I decided to keep it and so on.
I assure you that is exactly my experience as well. You’re not alone. Three broken lightning ports in a row on my side here too, all on original Apple charge cables, of course. Still, refreshing to keep reading the same hogwash about the superiority of the build of lightning, a good sign that the reality distortion field surpassed SJ.
That is still going strong today my friend. Just read posts about the M series chips.
And from what direction should they steer away that is not a successful enough business and how are they going to replace that ? What direction do you feel is necessary?
When I upgrade to an iPhone 15 from my 12 later this year, I'm going to pack up my 20 lightening cables and ship them off to the EU leadership who forced this move. While I'm happy to have USB-C for consistency sake with my Macs, the amount of waste that this is generating is bananas.
The EU regulation is "supporting USB-PD", and I expect the EU will be very quick to come down on Apple if they limit charging when using non-Apple equipment.
If you’re so concerned about the environment, you shouldn’t needlessly ship Lightning cables around the world. You’d better recycle them locally or hand them down to other users that may need them.
Also, the fact that you feel upgrading from a perfectly capable iPhone 12 to a new model so soon really casts considerable doubt about your earnest concerns about e-waste.
The number of cables in the house and cable types and chargers are a PITA although easy to organize.
- USB-A to lightning is the most prevalent
- USB-A to usb-c
- usb-c to usb-c
- usb-a to microusb
- magsafe
- qi chargers
- usb-c to lightning
One cable to charge everything is a pipe dream.
Think they’re onto something. Let the EU leadership recycle them. Having all of the cables in one place will probable negate the carbon footprint needed to get them there.
As far as the iPhone 12 upgrade how do you know the phone doesn’t have an issue which wasn’t clarified in the post? It’s the EU that’s filling the landfills.
If it was such an issue, the poster wouldn't wait for the release of a product that hasn't even been announced yet (and likely won't be for another few months) to "upgrade".
So what is your benchmark then about when one can upgrade so as to not negatively impact the environment?
An upgrade will impact the environment. It isn't without such impact.
And the iPhone 12 is still a very fast device on the most recent OS.
So... how about when your current phone loses access to the most recent iOS update?
Or when it slows down to such degree that it's immediately noticeable to the average person (whoever that is)?
Look, everyone can upgrade anytime, to whichever model they want. But if you do it while Apple is still selling (or immediately afterwards) your current model as brand-new, you need not pretend you'r oh-so-concerned about your ecological impact and the environment, let alone when it's just about a few cables.
It’s one thing to have the EU obsolete through law millions or billions of cables that will end up in landfill. It’s another to upgrade your phone and give it back to apple for responsible recycling. It’s not hypocritical to care about the environment, upgrade your phone and recycle it or give it away or sell it and criticize the EU.