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Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller on NFC, Wireless Charging and the Lightning Connector

Mad Mac Maniac said:
I agree with everything he said.



I am highly confident that Apple could update it to usb 3/thunderbold without changing the "lighting" connector.

Plus I also forsee people using the cable to sync to a computer less and less over the next 9 years. I personally haven't plugged my iPhone into my Mac since iOS 5 hit nearly a year ago.

meh
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Yes, the issue preventing USB 3/TBolt would be on the device side. The connector could stay the same.

Zunjine said:
If it adds no appreciable value then including it only adds cost and complexity. I'm glad they didn't bother with it. It's gimmicky.
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I agree that NFC and wireless charging would have caused design compromises, but he didn't address that part, which is what I was poking at.

And wireless charging/power is the future. It's just a debate of when it arrives.
 
Follow the money.... no USB 3 since it would probably be a few bucks more expensive and they would rather have consumers use iCloud to wirelessly backup their devices vs to their computers hard drive. iCloud = selling consumers more gigs to hold ever increasing libraries.

So they save a few bucks by using the old standard USB 2 tech and if you don't want to sit and wait you go with the iCloud solution which backs up your device while plugged in and charging. Again, follow the money trail and you usually end up somewhere near the truth.
 
goobot said:
So are we stuck with usb 2.0 for another 9 years?
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Maybe they'll be able to support USB3 with the same connector in the future (or maybe even TB as well). Of course there's the question why they didn't just do that in the first place.

Sixtafoua said:
I'm not. Apple is very comfortable in their proprietary ecosystem.
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I assume he means the part that connects to the computer, which is currently USB2. And not proprietary.


MythicFrost said:
USB 3 isn't capable of doing all the things the dock connector can, such as passing through audio and video, and other things, etc.
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At this point do we know that the lightning connector can pass video? The adapter can't.

blucurv said:
I have a feeling that it is. We'll find out soon, I'm sure.
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The cable is already listed on the apple store. USB2 only.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD818ZM/A/lightning-to-usb-cable
 
I thought the EU passed legislation saying that all manufacturers should use the same microUSB standard. Not sure how Apple got an exemption to this?
 
jimbo1mcm said:
Absolutely, positively guaranteeing that the next Iphone will have wireless charging. Book it. By then, everyone will have it and they won't want to be left behind. Besides, they can sell you a charging plate.
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Charging plates or mats are worthless and if its not sitting on there just right then it won't charge. If its that tedious, then I'd rather just plug it in.

Future upcoming technologies like WiTricity with the charging device built into the phone or tablet will charge and power your device as long as you're near the base station. This concept will be killer once Apple introduces into their desktops for use with the wireless keyboards and mouse/trackpad. Then once that's complete is when they'll introduce it to their iDevices.
 
KPOM said:
Some customers want it, and many of them don't know how they'll use it. Apple doesn't build devices to check boxes on a spec sheet. They build devices with features designed around what people are actually likely to use.
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Yeah I hear that. Like I said, I don't think I have any use for NFC. But these days a lot of people buy based on specs, not OS alone. And NFC has a lot of value outside of just paying for stuff. Add to that the fact that Apple implementing NFC would seriously push retailers to adopt it. I think they are dropping a ball on this one, and it's not because I want NFC, it's just the attitude I see all around me toward it.
 
teknikal90 said:
THIS SUCKS.

I don't mind change, I get it you need change....but for virtually no new features - not faster...?
...
I'll wait on this generation until the new plugs (lightning and the stupid magsafe 2) are more widely adopted.

too bad, I would love LTE and the A6 :(
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At some point Apple needs to make a change in order to get the devices smaller and prepare for the future. They decided 2012 was the right year (between MagSafe 2 and Lightning). Let's face it. 9 years is a long time for a proprietary plug.

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b166er said:
Yeah I hear that. Like I said, I don't think I have any use for NFC. But these days a lot of people buy based on specs, not OS alone. And NFC has a lot of value outside of just paying for stuff. Add to that the fact that Apple implementing NFC would seriously push retailers to adopt it. I think they are dropping a ball on this one, and it's not because I want NFC, it's just the attitude I see all around me toward it.
Click to expand...

In due time. Apple is playing it slowly when it comes to mobile payments. NFC's other main use is for location-based settings (e.g. put an NFC tag in a car to automatically change settings in the phone). I'm guessing Apple would rather find a software solution for that rather than use physical tags all over the place.

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Greg. said:
I thought the EU passed legislation saying that all manufacturers should use the same microUSB standard. Not sure how Apple got an exemption to this?
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They give away a free Micro-USB adapter in Europe.
 
USB 3 is for the 5s guys!

But seriously, don't understand the 'lightning' brand behind it if it's not faster somehow..?
 
teknikal90 said:
THIS SUCKS.

I don't mind change, I get it you need change....but for virtually no new features - not faster...?
[snip]

too bad, I would love LTE and the A6 :(
Click to expand...

How do you say not new features, say its not faster, then mention the A6 and LTE??? :confused:
 
"It's not clear that NFC is the solution to any current problem"

Hasn't stopped Apple in the past from creating a solution to a problem that never existed.
 
Reaktor5 said:
A Thunderbolt iPhone would see no boost in speed. The controller used in the iPhone flash storage is good for tens of megabytes per second, not Thunderbolt's speeds.
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It would have given a use to the thunderbolt ports though :p
 
NT1440 said:
How do you say not new features, say its not faster, then mention the A6 and LTE??? :confused:
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I meant for the connector.
It's not a faster interface - which means down the road, say they figured out how to make SSDs scream faster than 480mbps... they'll have to redo the connector again to accomodate other things than USB2
 
I knew this would happen. Apple left out a few pieces of tech everyone wanted to see and people turn on them like crazed dogs.

Anyone who is paying attention knows Apple rarely, if never puts tech into their devices for the sake of doing it. They are rarely the first but when they do embrace a piece of technology they some how seem to make it so we never knew we could live without it.
 
I had money prepared in my pocket to buy iPhone 5. But no NFC... Samsung has it, even almost dead Nokia has it. I use NFC daily and I'm dissapointed. I can wait whole another year or I will just buy a new Nokia 920, but problem is I like Apple and iOS. Why you doing this to me, Apple?
 
teknikal90 said:
I meant for the connector.
It's not a faster interface - which means down the road, say they figured out how to make SSDs scream faster than 480mbps... they'll have to redo the connector again to accomodate other things than USB2
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure apple has made their intent to eventually move beyond the wire pretty clear. Thats why they're always playing around with the itunes sync (which trust me, will only get better overtime, currently its so-so).
 
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