Apple Reportedly Not Planning to Release USB-C Version of AirPods 3

[dabi]

Well I guess I'm not planning to buy my first Airpods any time soon then

 

[ufgatorvet]

OK, maybe a stupid question, go easy on me, but what do most people do with their previous AirPods when they upgrade? Can they be "traded in" like larger electronics, drop them in the electronics disposal bin at Best Buy, give to friend/relative? Certainly not landfill ...

My OG APPros are starting to act up (random static developing in left pod only) and weighing my options ...

 

[otozuz]

USB C AirPods 4 confirmed for 1st of January 2025?

Another great way to screw the lower end consumer by selling them a device with the legacy connector right up to the legal date they're forced to change it

It's not like the product stops working on Jan 1st 2025 😄

 

[BigMcGuire]

You didn't. Lightning is a far more mechanically robust connector, designed for frequent insertions/extractions, and is especially ideal for devices that do not need much charging current.

Many people just need something to moan about in order to feel better and have a better day.

Just me or is this becoming louder and louder these days? I get it that from MR's perspective it's $ but good grief, it makes these news articles difficult to tolerate. More a FB feed than anything.

If Apple cared about the environmental impact of people throwing away their cables, they would have switched to USB-C years ago, and switched other products over sooner. And also maybe sell/include more durable cables that last.

For every pair of AirPods sold today, that’s another Lightning cable in the trash in less than 5 years — we all know that neither AirPods or Apple cables last nearly that long when actively in use.

So Apple has been selling braided cables for awhile now and I find them far more reliable than the old cables.

Just because USB C comes out or will come out doesn't mean one needs to be ignorant and trash them. Go to your local university and donate them - at UCLA and UCR here in CA - I see tons of old iPhones being used and students that would gladly take cables (I've donated quite a few cables myself).

OK, maybe a stupid question, go easy on me, but what do most people do with their previous AirPods when they upgrade? Can they be "traded in" like larger electronics, drop them in the electronics disposal bin at Best Buy, give to friend/relative? Certainly not landfill ...

Yep, I cleaned mine up and then gave them to Best Buy to recycle. I have a mother in law who uses our AirPods 2 because she doesn't like the 3s - (we made sure to super clean them before giving them to her). IMO, it takes a little effort but it's not difficult to find ways to gift, recycle, or re-use old tech.

 

[mrat93]

Believe it or not, outside the echo chamber of online forums, I think most people don't give a rat's ass if their AirPods use the "wrong cable" to charge. People will just plug it in (using the cable everyone has lying around already) and move on with their lives. Or they'll just charge it wirelessly.

Except that Apple charges $10 more for the wireless charging case on AirPods 3 and doesn’t offer it for with* AirPods 2, or AirPods Max, so wireless charging isn’t an option for 95+% of non-AirPods Pro users.

Oh but good thing they offer the Lightning+wireless charging case for $80! So people can invest more money in wireless chargers while Apple takes their time to innovate a nearly decade-old port into one of their post popular products.

 

[citysnaps]

Except that Apple charges $10 more for the wireless charging case on AirPods 3 and doesn’t offer it for AirPods 2, or AirPods Max, so wireless charging isn’t an option for 95+% of non-AirPods Pro users.

Oh but good thing they offer the Lightning+wireless charging case for $80! So people can invest more money in wireless chargers while Apple takes their time to innovate a nearly decade-old port into one of their post popular products.

Sounds like it's a good time to dump Apple and find a tech company that provides what you want. And find happiness.

 

[sw1tcher]

You clearly take great care when using your phone while plugged in, and that’s great for you!

In reality, myself and many others that I know (and millions of others all over the world) end up having cables that fray after several months of use.

Yes, perhaps it's due to me taking care when using it (i.e. always grabbing it by the end and not pulling on the cable itself; rolling it up into a 3 to 4 inch diameter circle when putting it away/storing it in travel bag vs bending them like how they came packaged in the box; not stepping on or rolling things over it; etc)

Or perhaps the people who have issues with them are abusing them.

You can say that people need to change their habits, or the industry can adapt to reality and make cables that don’t fray under normal use.

Just because it’s isn’t a problem for you, doesn’t mean that their cables aren’t notorious for fraying for a newsworthy amount of consumers.

Funny how many commenters haven't had issues with their cables either. Here are the first 3 from that article 🤣

 

[BigMcGuire]

Yes, perhaps it's due to me taking care when using it (i.e. always grabbing it by the end and not pulling on the cable itself; rolling it up into a 3 to 4 inch diameter circle when putting it away/storing it in travel bag vs bending them like how they came packaged in the box; not stepping on or rolling things over it; etc)

Or perhaps the people who have issues with them are abusing them.


Funny how many commenters haven't had issues with their cables either. Here are the first 3 from that article 🤣

View attachment 2178079

Agreed!

The only Apple iPhone cables that I've had fail are the ones that go in the car with the old school cigarette lighter charger. They end up laying on the floor and getting stomped on, burned to death in the CA sun, and twisted to all hell. Despite this they end up lasting for several years or more before having problems. lol.

Now days, at least for the last 4-5 years, most cars have ways of keeping the cables in the middle console to prevent this. But I remember the old days. lol. But yeah, that's the only time I've had a few iPhone cables fail on me (in car). Outside this they've been very reliable.

We have bought enough Apple tech over the years that if I really wanted to I could probably find 10 lightning cables around the house. Usually try to gather them up and donate them every now and then.

 

[erikkfi]

Then I'll wait for the fourth-generation AirPods.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Maybe we'll see the AirPods 4 in spring 2024 with the USB Type C connector charging case?

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Yes, perhaps it's due to me taking care when using it (i.e. always grabbing it by the end and not pulling on the cable itself; rolling it up into a 3 to 4 inch diameter circle when putting it away/storing it in travel bag vs bending them like how they came packaged in the box; not stepping on or rolling things over it; etc)

Or perhaps the people who have issues with them are abusing them.

Funny how many commenters haven't had issues with their cables either. Here are the first 3 from that article 🤣

Yup, basic "look after your stuff". I've only had one Apple Lightning cable fail on me and it was one plugged into my car. It was certainly used and abused a lot more than my other cables.

Regardless of previous experiences, Apple switching to braided cables is definitely another good step towards improving durability.

 

[maxfromdenmark]

Good! Everybody has a ton of Lightning cables, might as well keep using them. Switching to USB-C is bad for the environment because everyone will have to purchase new cables and throw the old ones away.

I have both an iPad Pro with USB and an iPhone with lightning connector. I wish I could charge all my stuff with the one cable. Either Lightning or USB C. Now it is paranoid with swapping cables all the time.

 

[dockgaze]

So aside from cable hassle opinions/experiences, politics, international law, corporate decision making etc . . . . I’m just wondering which is the superior interconnect for long term connection reliability and higher insertion/removal rates? I use both lightning and USBC cables for my various Apple products - - but I always find myself plugging and unplugging the USBC cables a little bit more consciously, as if I sense they are not as robust as lightning. On these pages I occasionally read about USBC port failure even on newish products and it concerns me.

 

[Remy149]

Apple is shooting themselves in the foot with this one, iPhone 15 buyers will ditch AirPods in favor of the Beats lineup or even of third-party competitors.

The majority of consumers don’t care about what cable they need to charge a device especially people who already been using lightning for years.

 

[Remy149]

OK, maybe a stupid question, go easy on me, but what do most people do with their previous AirPods when they upgrade? Can they be "traded in" like larger electronics, drop them in the electronics disposal bin at Best Buy, give to friend/relative? Certainly not landfill ...

My OG APPros are starting to act up (random static developing in left pod only) and weighing my options ...

I usually give my older AirPods to a family member or friend. I currently use both my AirPods Pro and AirPods Max interchangeably. I’m the warmer months I don’t wear the max outside the house

 

[dmk1974]

JFC. It's bad enough now that half my Lightning cables lateley have USB-C on the adapter end vs USB-A for so many years. Having USB-C at the device end for MacBook Air and iPad but Lightning for iPhone and AirPods sucks.

Knowing Apple, they'll just remove the charging cord alltogether from the device boxes and then sell whatever variant for $19. #courage

 

[klasma]

Except that Apple charges $10 more for the wireless charging case on AirPods 3 and doesn’t offer it for the AirPods 2,

What are you talking about? There's a wireless charging case for the AirPods 2 you can buy either separately or with the AirPods, and it even works for the AirPods 1 (https://support.apple.com/kb/SP793).

 

[Pianoplayah]

USB C AirPods 4 confirmed for 1st of January 2025?

Another great way to screw the lower end consumer by selling them a device with the legacy connector right up to the legal date they're forced to change it

I think you’re probably going to be able to get lightning cables for a good long while still. 🙄 so dramatic.

 

[mrat93]

Yes, perhaps it's due to me taking care when using it (i.e. always grabbing it by the end and not pulling on the cable itself; rolling it up into a 3 to 4 inch diameter circle when putting it away/storing it in travel bag vs bending them like how they came packaged in the box; not stepping on or rolling things over it; etc)

Or perhaps the people who have issues with them are abusing them.

Funny how many commenters haven't had issues with their cables either. Here are the first 3 from that article 🤣

I don’t know what to tell you, man.

Are my friends, family, and some loud people on the internet part of a small cabal of cable abusers that get off on bending our cables until they fray and then complaining about it online? Does the general population reflect the same sentiment at the top comments on an article on an Apple news site?

Or is it possible that this experience extends to millions of normal people just using their devices every day?

I stopped using Apple’s included Lightning cables years ago, and have been using mostly Anker brand braided cables. I haven’t changed my habits otherwise, and I’ve had zero cables fail from normal use.

The industry adapted to peoples’ habits while Apple continued to ship cables that that were inferior in nearly every aspect. There’s no reason for Apple to both continue to ship cables that they know their users will break, and also charge more money for them.

 

[ric22]

At least with iPhones you can replace the battery... these things on the other hand become landfill a little quicker.

During this transition phase it doesn't matter to me much which connector my devices use, but it would be good to move onto the more modern connection. The irritating thing about the transition was how Apple stopped supplying adapters exactly at the moment everyone needed a new USB C wall adapter they didn't yet own.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Good! Everybody has a ton of Lightning cables, might as well keep using them. Switching to USB-C is bad for the environment because everyone will have to purchase new cables and throw the old ones away.

Everyone had a ton of 30-pin connectors too. Wanna still use that? Or how about VGA connectors, everyone used those for over two decades.

 

[mrat93]

What are you talking about? There's a wireless charging case for the AirPods 2 you can buy either separately or together, and they even work for the AirPods 1 (https://support.apple.com/kb/SP793).

Lol… Apple doesn’t sell AirPods 2 with** the wireless charging case. They only sell it separately now. So, if you want AirPods 2 with wireless charging, you pay up to $129 retail, plus $79 for the wireless charging case. $208 total for wireless charging AirPods 2, and now you have an extra Lightning-only charging case laying around — more waste.

I wonder how many people actually buying replacement charging cases for their AirPods. The AirPods’ batteries themselves are likely to fail around the same time as the case. Why buy $79 for a new case when you can get new AirPods for $10 more when on sale?

 

[ric22]

I don’t know what to tell you, man.

Are my friends, family, and some loud people on the internet part of a small cabal of cable abusers that get off on bending our cables until they fray and then complaining about it online? Does the general population reflect the same sentiment at the top comments on an article on an Apple news site?

Or is it possible that this experience extends to millions of normal people just using their devices every day?

I stopped using Apple’s included Lightning cables years ago, and have been using mostly Anker brand braided cables. I haven’t changed my habits otherwise, and I’ve had zero cables fail from normal use.

The industry adapted to peoples’ habits while Apple continued to ship cables that that were inferior in nearly every aspect. There’s no reason for Apple to both continue to ship cables that they know their users will break, and also charge more money for them.

Plus the supplied cables are short... many people only use the 2m ones

 

[Royksöpp]

Why would they? These are the red-headed stepchild of AirPods.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Lol… Apple doesn’t sell AirPods 2 with the wireless charging case. They only sell it separately now. So, if you want AirPods 2 with wireless charging, you pay up to $129 retail, plus $79 for the wireless charging case. $208 total for wireless charging AirPods 2, and now you have an extra Lightning-only charging case laying around — more waste.

I wonder how many people actually buying replacement charging cases for their AirPods. The AirPods’ batteries themselves are likely to fail around the same time as the case. Why buy $79 for a new case when you can get new AirPods for $10 more when on sale?

My assumption is that most of the people buying this are those who lost theirs. <shrug>.

But yeah I'd just buy a new pair for a little bit more like you said.