Apple Considered iPhone 15 With Lightning Port Before Swapping to USB-C

[AppliedMicro]

It’s one thing to have the EU obsolete through law millions or billions of cables that will end up in landfill

There's hundreds of millions of Lightning-equipped iPhones (and other devices).
And they will be used for years.

And while many Lightning cables will be discarded over the next few years, future iPhones can use standard-based cables. You can charge multiple devices from the same cable, and even throughout changing phones / phone manufacturers. That will save a lot of cables over the long term.

There's no question that over the short term more Lightning cables will be obsoleted than would otherwise be used longer, if Apple didn't change connectors.
There's little question that over the long term it will increase the usable life of USB-C cables - and make people buy less cables, cause they don't need half a dozen cables for the same number of devices.

👉 Short term, yes, more cables will be discarded. Long term, unifying charging connector will see less cables needed and discarded - compared to many devices or manufacturers having their own proprietary standards.

It’s another to upgrade your phone and give it back to apple for responsible recycling

It indeed is.

I estimate I ave purchased iPhones and Lightning cables (even if we include that cables that came out of the box with iPhones/iPads themselves) at at ratio of 1:2 or 1:3. If I weren't careful with my cables, it could be 1:4 or so. And the average iPhone user is probably in that range, too.

Yet the ecological footprint of a single iPhone is much higher than a couple of cables. "Responsible recycling" or not - which actually uses quite a lot of energy.

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.

If you do it before the end of its useful lifespan (losing access to newest OS or considerable slowdown, as suggested above), it absolutely is hypocritical. Also...

 

[I7guy]

There's hundreds of millions of Lightning-equipped iPhones (and other devices).
And they will be used for years.

And while many Lightning cables will be discarded over the next few years, future iPhones can use standard-based cables. You can charge multiple devices from the same cable, and even throughout changing phones / phone manufacturers. That will save a lot of cables over the long term.

There's no question that over the short term more Lightning cables will be obsoleted than would otherwise be used longer, if Apple didn't change connectors.
There's little question that over the long term it will increase the usable life of USB-C cables - and make people buy less cables, cause they don't need half a dozen cables for the same number of devices.

👉 Short term, yes, more cables will be discarded. Long term, unifying charging connector will see less cables needed and discarded - compared to many devices or manufacturers having their own proprietary standards.

It indeed is.

I estimate I ave purchased iPhones and Lightning cables (even if we include that cables that came out of the box with iPhones/iPads themselves) at at ratio of 1:2 or 1:3. If I weren't careful with my cables, it could be 1:4 or so. And the average iPhone user is probably in that range, too.

Yet the ecological footprint of a single iPhone is much higher than a couple of cables. "Responsible recycling" or not - which actually uses quite a lot of energy.

If you do it before the end of its useful lifespan (losing access to newest OS or considerable slowdown, as suggested above), it absolutely is hypocritical. Also...

It's a **** show with the landfils being the losers. USB-C is no panacea with the multiples of protocols - which will translate to having multiple USB-C cables. As I opined before this is crap legislation. Good for apple and the MFI usb-c program. While apple has to follow the law, innovation is inversely proportional to governmental regulation.

Companies can be green, environmentally friendly and carbon neutral and still want their consumers to buy their products. Consumers can also be green, environmentally conscious and still buy products. And no one iside is hypocritical. Recycling uses energy but I suppose that could be avoided by dumping the products into a landfill.

 

[sorgo †]

Dude. Have you even tried MagSafe yourself? Its charging speed is slow as hell, generates excessive heat (wired USBC to lightning charging is not fast and hot already). It’s only great use is to attach it onto a car dash mount and that MagSafe wallet. No wireless charging will replace wired charging. And god Apple is far behind the charging game. We have mocked the Chinese super fast charging tech for explosions, fires, paltry battery life cycle. But now those didn’t happen. Apple better bring us something great this year.

"Something great" is not USB-C, despite what the hordes may say. Just imagine, proportionally speaking, how many more iPhones 15 with flimsy, janky, shoddy USB-C ports there will be in ten years compared to the number of iPhones 5 with rock-solid and perfectly-functional Lightning ports out there now? USB-C takes me back to the early days of flip-phones with its inconsistency and lack of physical robustness. I don't care about transfer speeds and yada yada when the connector itself feels like crap and prone to breaking.

 

[Choco Taco]

"Something great" is not USB-C, despite what the hordes may say. Just imagine, proportionally speaking, how many more iPhones 15 with flimsy, janky, shoddy USB-C ports there will be in ten years compared to the number of iPhones 5 with rock-solid and perfectly-functional Lightning ports out there now? USB-C takes me back to the early days of flip-phones with its inconsistency and lack of physical robustness. I don't care about transfer speeds and yada yada when the connector itself feels like crap and prone to breaking.

No idea what type of connector you’re referring to, but it’s not USB-C. Many Apple products use USB-C already, so I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make.

 

[_Spinn_]

This makes sense that they would start with lightning before moving to USB-C

 

[AppliedMicro]

USB-C is no panacea with the multiples of protocols - which will translate to having multiple USB-C cables.

Could you even link or name a standard-conforming USB-C cable that does not support support the baseline PD spec?

We‘re talking the charging of small electronic devices here. You may have different cables for some very high-speed applications. That is irrelevant for the charging we‘re discussing here.

As I opined before this is crap legislation.

Why and how do you think this regulation was passed?

Look, you may one of these types that is fundamentally opposed to all government legislation, and I may not particularly like the EU. But I assure you they‘ve have highly paid experts that have done their homework regarding the (longer-term!) environmental impact of it.

Good for apple and the MFI usb-c program

If anything is unnecessary crap for the environment, it‘s such thing: locking out perfectly conformant cable just because you want to make more money.

Companies can be green, environmentally friendly and carbon neutral and still want their consumers to buy their products

Possibly. But the production of a new iPhone is neither carbon neutral nor very environmentally friendly.

Consumers can also be green, environmentally conscious and still buy products

Out of (perceived) necessity, yes. But it’s hypocritical to worry about a few cables - when you’re not using your much more environmentally costly products as long as they‘re good.

 

[I7guy]

Could you even link or name a standard-conforming USB-C cable that does not support support the baseline PD spec?

We‘re talking the charging of small electronic devices here. You may have different cables for some very high-speed applications. That is irrelevant for the charging we‘re discussing here.

What is relevant is that about 15 or so lightning cables will hit e-waste.

Why and how do you think this regulation was passed?

The AT&T breakup, many years passed, didn't really stand the test of time with where we are today. I don't suspect this will either.

Look, you may one of these types that is fundamentally opposed to all government legislation, and I may not particularly like the EU. But I assure you they‘ve have highly paid experts that have done their homework regarding the (longer-term!) environmental impact of it.

I do have my opinions about how and what government should be doing. We all do. And as voting, taxpaying citizens of our respective communities I would expect people to have their own opinions.

If anything is unnecessary crap for the environment, it‘s such thing: locking out perfectly conformant cable just because you want to make more money.

Think is will be a damper for innovation in the long run.

Possibly. But the production of a new iPhone is neither carbon neutral nor very environmentally friendly.

This is not about throwing the baby out with the bath water. It's about companies doing their business with the best interests of the environment in mind. Not shutting down. Nor critiquing their customers for buying products more frequently than other customers.

Out of (perceived) necessity, yes. But it’s hypocritical to worry about a few cables - when you’re not using your much more environmentally costly products as long as they‘re good.

No, it is about the cables, and I'm guessing more than a few cables. As I said above , it's not about throwning the baby out with the bath water.

 

[SB1500]

Please go portless to wind up the EU!!!

Why can’t they simply ship a 2cm long Lightning to USB-C adapter in the box and sell em so cheap like $1 each so that USB-C’dophiles can just click them onto their C type cables and pretend it’s the same 😬

 

[SB1500]

Could you even link or name a standard-conforming USB-C cable that does not support support the baseline PD spec?

We‘re talking the charging of small electronic devices here. You may have different cables for some very high-speed applications. That is irrelevant for the charging we‘re discussing here.

Why and how do you think this regulation was passed?

Look, you may one of these types that is fundamentally opposed to all government legislation, and I may not particularly like the EU. But I assure you they‘ve have highly paid experts that have done their homework regarding the (longer-term!) environmental impact of it.

If anything is unnecessary crap for the environment, it‘s such thing: locking out perfectly conformant cable just because you want to make more money.


Possibly. But the production of a new iPhone is neither carbon neutral nor very environmentally friendly.


Out of (perceived) necessity, yes. But it’s hypocritical to worry about a few cables - when you’re not using your much more environmentally costly products as long as they‘re good.

The EU did their homework, the same folks who made that pipeline with Russia? Same folks who think EVs are going to solve our climate issues?

If anything this new mandate to Apple just acts as a distraction to other crap they’re doing. Limiting companies freedom to innovate. Just how they limited Ireland’s freedom to be a tax haven against its will when it came to Apple and taxes 🤷‍♂️🤣 boooo

 

[SB1500]

Sooooo, like any other corporation whose goal is to make as much money as possible?

If you think there’s a publicly traded corporation out there whose goal is to make as much money as possible, with any integrity then you’re sorely mistaken…. Some may pretend they have integrity publicly, but I can assure you behind closed doors in those board rooms they are hatching up ways to milk their customers.

You can make money and do good for the world. Don’t pretend Apple (and others) innovations haven’t made the world the remarkable place it is today.

I don’t know about you, but I choose to give my money to people who give me something worthwhile in return. Apple have always done that.

Yeah it’s expensive, guess what? So are the cookware brands that last more than a few years before the handles fall off. So was the CAT scanner machine that’s saved so many lives.

You should be thankful money motivates huge companies to fund R&D of miraculous inventions. Apple are to credit with more than one of em.

 

[AppliedMicro]

What is relevant is that about 15 or so lightning cables will hit e-waste.

No. What is relevant is the total number of cables that will be produced and discarded long-term.
Not one person‘s 15 Lightning cables. And it‘s not limited to Lightning cables.

Think is will be a damper for innovation in the long run.

It may be, yes.

That said, the USB protocols and standards (that this legislation promote) that are more than two decades old have been a boon to innovation.

It's about companies doing their business with the best interests of the environment in mind. Not shutting down. Nor critiquing their customers for buying products more frequently than other customers.

I wasn‘t critiquing companies business or consumer behaviour.

I was criticising the hypocrisy of pretending being „so concerned“ about the environment but upgrading your phone after three years.

 

[AppliedMicro]

(doublepost)

 

[AppliedMicro]

The AT&T breakup, many years passed, didn't really stand the test of time with where we are today. I don't suspect this will either.

The EU did their homework, the same folks who made that pipeline with Russia? Same folks who think EVs are going to solve our climate issues?

I’m not sure if you’re The AT&T breakup or a pipeline with Russia have got nothing to do with the discussion with the ports on Apple’s iPhones or Lightning cables - that we’re discussing here.

👉 Standardising on a common charging port/protocol standard will reduce the number and e-waste needed or other e-waste discarded over the long-term, because cables (and power adapters) can be used with multiple devices and across manufacturers of electronic devices.

If you‘ve got arguments to make against that statement, be my guest. But talking of Russia or AT&T isn’t - it’s whataboutism (One could just as well point to some unrelated but lauded piece of other legislation or politics).

Why can’t they simply ship a 2cm long Lightning to USB-C adapter in the box and sell em so cheap like $1 each so that USB-C’dophiles can just click them onto their C type cables and pretend it’s the same

Answer: 1$ is way to cheap for Apple’s profit margins.

But guess how I‘ve been charging my Lightning devices for the last few months?
With a 2cm USB-to-Lightning adapter, yes.

But I paid more than a dollar for such an adapters, even from the cheap chinese marketplace.
Why? Getting fast charging to work over Lightning requires proprietary circuitry.
Once again, the Apple tax of Apple’s proprietary tech hits home.

 

[I7guy]

No. What is relevant is the total number of cables that will be produced and discarded long-term.
Not one person‘s 15 Lightning cables. And it‘s not limited to Lightning cables.

Yes there could be billions of cables hitting e waste.

It may be, yes.

That said, the USB protocols and standards (that this legislation promote) that are more than two decades old have been a boon to innovation.

I guess there is a sliding scale of the definition of innovation.

I wasn‘t critiquing companies business or consumer behaviour.

I was criticising the hypocrisy of pretending being „so concerned“ about the environment but upgrading your phone after three years.

These are two different things not wrapped up in a ball of twine.

 

[Dameatball]

-

 

[Dameatball]

Sooooo, like any other corporation whose goal is to make as much money as possible?

If you think there’s a publicly traded corporation out there whose goal is to make as much money as possible, with any integrity then you’re sorely mistaken…. Some may pretend they have integrity publicly, but I can assure you behind closed doors in those board rooms they are hatching up ways to milk their customers.

This is incorrect. Of course the goal of a company is to make money (which apple makes plenty of) but the usb-c is becoming the standard, and it's not just greed that impacts the customer. It's an inferior connection with slower speeds and it's only use is for one product. Microsoft, google/android - certainly fall into the awful/greedy big tech column. but even they dont invent proprietary ports. It's the standard being used for just about all electronics. If the need for that extra money is so important, charge $50 more per phone. It's seriously a better solution than being the only hardware company with proprietary connections.

Apple for years has been very quietly fighting for legislation that prevents 3rd parties from being able to fix their equipment, so it can only be done by apple (or apple certified). Hope you're sitting down, but it's much more expensive when apple does repairs- to the point where fixing it might not be worth it vs buying a new device. Apple makes some good products, but their businesses practices and hypocrisy stands 2nd to none (like the charge for recycling because 'they care about the environment' even though they do everything in their power to prevent you from being able to fix your own hardware so you have to buy new. You can like apple devices, but defending the lighting port is not an argument you want to defend apple on.