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

[Nickerbocker]

I'm not so sure about the 12-megapixel camera.

We're probably approaching the point of minimal additional benefit. Cellphone camera lenses are very small and 8-megapixels is probably around the limits of resolving power for such a small lens and sensor. Even if you increased the pixel count, you might not be capturing more detail because of the resolving power (which is finite). Furthermore, more pixels risk increasing digital image noise.

More beneficial would be improved sensors, especially in regard to low-light sensitivity as well as power consumption.

Also, more megapixels mean larger file sizes, which translates to longer network transfer times.

I agree, but people tend to "lap up" digital camera MP specs like they "lap up" GHz specs.

5MP is more than enough for the kinds of optics possible with such a limited amount of space IMHO. I would rather have a really fast sensor that is good in low-light as oppose to one that generates really large crappy images.

 

[nikaru]

FFS guys! Two weeks from now, the asians will offer lighthing cables. Bye one for 5 bucks and get lost! Someone will say you own 9999 devices with the 30pin conector. There will be tons of compatible adapters at low pricesfor your stereos, cars, alarms, etc. The 30pin conector was lame, big,fragile and too complex. Now you have small and elegant conector. And yes, the name for the new cale is stupid because apple has only one conector of portable devices. They could just called it the new conector or whatevr.

 

[Zunjine]

(wireless charging)
I hate when my phone is charging and I get a call or need to make a call and it's stuck some other place in the house, or on my computer, or I can't talk and walk around at the same time, etc.
I see a real use for wireless charging.

I'm not sure what you think wireless charging is, but it doesn't allow you to charge the device from anywhere in the house or have it charge while you walk around with it. Wireless charging means putting your device on a charging mat that's plugged into a power outlet. It's wireless but not contactless.

If you're using a cable you actually can use the device while it charges. A charging mat, however, doesn't allow you to do that. It's appreciably worse as a charging solution in almost all ways. It's fancy and high tech but it serves almost no useful purpose.

As for NFC, fine. It's a nice bit of tech. Would have liked it but it's not a big deal.

12 megapixels? Why? How large due you want your photos to be? I'm always perplexed when people tout megapixels as a big deal. I thought we'd got passed that.

 

[ChristianVirtual]

NFC is insecure. There is already a hack where the attacker can hack your phone using NFC by just standing near you. No other connection with the phone needed. How cool is that!

Less cool when it really happen; not yet a problem in real life where I life. At least in Japan NFC its used million times each day; would that be a substantial risk I'm sure it would not that be successful.
Hacks also exists for Bluetooth; I still enjoy cable-free music from my iPod touch though.

I would expect Apple to offer the tool; for me as customer stay the responsibility to judge if the balance of risk and value in positive for value. Which for NFC would be the case for me.

 

[CFreymarc]

So, why not USB 3?

The old 30-pin connector was mostly used for power and serial communications. I'm sure those in MFi land are going crazy waiting for all the docs to come out seeing how this will affect their accessories. Hope there is some sort of retrofit part set for these.

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I'm not sure what you think wireless charging is, but it doesn't allow you to charge the device from anywhere in the house or have it charge while you walk around with it. Wireless charging means putting your device on a charging mat that's plugged into a power outlet. It's wireless but not contactless.

If you're using a cable you actually can use the device while it charges. A charging mat, however, doesn't allow you to do that. It's appreciably worse as a charging solution in almost all ways. It's fancy and high tech but it serves almost no useful purpose.

As for NFC, fine. It's a nice bit of tech. Would have liked it but it's not a big deal.

12 megapixels? Why? How large due you want your photos to be? I'm always perplexed when people tout megapixels as a big deal. I thought we'd got passed that.

Wireless charging has been around since Tesla. Problem is power attenuation and leakage. Palm promoted their wireless recharger base for the doomed Pre line and it never took traction.

First, as it was said, using wireless recharging "you plug in another device" making it more a problem. Second a lot of these wireless charging base stations are power vampires and don't totally shut down when a device is not recharging.

There were even start-ups trying to promote wireless power around a house. Imagine a neighbor sucking your power and not just your WiFi! I passed when I saw that portfolio.

 

[The Phazer]

LOL @ folks complaining about lack of USB 3.0. Who freaken cares? So you can sync faster? Setup wireless sync so that your phone just syncs when you charge it at night and then forget about ever needing to plug it into the computer again.

I don't leave my computer on overnight.

Ever.

 

[jmpage2]

I am disappointed by the lack of NFC but Phil has a point. There's almost nothing out there you can do with it right now beyond the "bump" between devices to share data.... mobile payment systems are another couple of years out from being mature enough to make the trade offs that would have been needed such as a different device form factor or shorter battery life.

As some others have rightfully pointed out, it's not about ticking boxes off on a spec sheet... it's about the overall user experience. I know two people who have switched to the Galaxy III and promptly switched back to an iPhone due to the freakish device ergonomics, poor battery life, and as my director reported, holding it up to his ear was like he was trying to use a clothes iron on his head.

Maybe at some point in the next year or two there will be enough of a benefit to NFC for Apple to include it. I am a bit disappointed that there was nothing super innovative in the new iPhone design, but it's effectively the pinnacle right now of what is possible. Here's hoping to "one more thing" from the Cupertino brain trust now that Señor Jobs is not around to steer the ship.

 

[faroZ06]

Really, "Lightning"? That's such a lame name.

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So are we stuck with usb 2.0 for another 9 years?

I think it can be easily updated without changing the layout of the cable.

 

[JD0001]

FFS guys! Two weeks from now, the asians will offer lighthing cables. Bye one for 5 bucks and get lost! Someone will say you own 9999 devices with the 30pin conector. There will be tons of compatible adapters at low pricesfor your stereos, cars, alarms, etc. The 30pin conector was lame, big,fragile and too complex. Now you have small and elegant conector. And yes, the name for the new cale is stupid because apple has only one conector of portable devices. They could just called it the new conector or whatevr.

That quite an overarching statement considering that Apple's own adapter does not support all of the native 30-pin connector functionality. And try to find a composite video adapter like the one that was available on the MiniDvi port on the MB Pro for the new MiniDisplay or latest generation Thunderbold ports.

Look at the Tech Specs on Apple's Website comparing the iPods. You will note that video out support is not listed for the new iPod versus the iPod 4th Gen.

 

[faroZ06]

Does Lightning provide digital audio? How is this supposed to work with docks?

 

[manu chao]

Calling a USB 2.0 cable in 2012 'Lightning' is a bit ridiculous if you ask me.

'Slimline Dock Connector' would be better, but lightning-speed it is not.

Technically, the cable isn't called Lightning, the connector is.

 

[lostngone]

NFC is awesome, I don't care what the haterz say

I think the potential of it being awesome is there.

Having NFC in a phone is useless if retailers don't support it.

Sixtafoua of the services/venders you use how many support NFC? I will bet it is less then 1%.

 

[Swift]

he means on the iPhone (& other iOS devices) side

It's not the proprietary USB. It's custom. One thing is, you can put it in either way, instead of the horrible mini USB, or even the regular plug. It's got 8 channels and a ground.

They've put USB 3 in their Ivy Bridge machines. Nothing stops them from making this USB 3'ish in speeds, but as it would require a chip, or a drain on the processor, what do you get out of USB 3 for an iPhone?

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That quite an overarching statement considering that Apple's own adapter does not support all of the native 30-pin connector functionality. And try to find a composite video adapter like the one that was available on the MiniDvi port on the MB Pro for the new MiniDisplay or latest generation Thunderbold ports.

Look at the Tech Specs on Apple's Website comparing the iPods. You will note that video out support is not listed for the new iPod versus the iPod 4th Gen.

No, because it's the old analog video. Now your output will be digital. HD. Better.

 

[TMay]

You're lying Phil, you're just making an excuse for an overpriced cable & adapter. If you really want thin then this should be the cable thinner than lightny http://goo.gl/QWoC0 and it's the standard.

Let's have a contest.

You have a phone with mini USB and I have an iPhone with Lightning. Each of us has to pick up the cable and the phone off of a table, plug it in, unplug it, and leave the cable and the device back on the table.

We do this 10 times in a row and see who finishes first.

Either of us might win, but I would bet that I would have the better odds with the Lightning connector.

Now let's try it in a car, in the dark. My odds just got substantially better.

 

[lilo777]

I think the potential of it being awesome is there.

Having NFC in a phone is useless if retailers don't support it.

Sixtafoua of the services/venders you use how many support NFC? I will bet it is less then 1%.

Once again - NFC is not just for retail. Read about NFC tags.

 

[ritmomundo]

As for wireless charging, Schiller notes that the wireless charging systems still have to be plugged into the wall, so it's not clear how much convenience they add. The widely-adopted USB cord, meanwhile, can charge in wall outlets, computers and even on airplanes, he said.

"Having to create another device you have to plug into the wall is actually, for most situations, more complicated," Schiller said.

This is typical Apple (and Apple fanboy) mentality. Just because it's not "convenient" for some people or some situations means that no one should have it. It's their way or the highway. It's not like you're going to take the wireless charger with you on an airplane. I don't carry my dock with me when I'm traveling, just the cable. It's nice to have options.

 

[Analog Kid]

I don't understand the passion for wireless charging and NFC. Parlor tricks, mainly...

 

[aristotle]

NFC for credit cards is a bag full of hurt. Just in a small country like Canada, there are two competing "standards" so far tied to two different credit card companies.

Mastercard has "Paypass" and Visa has "Paywave" and they are not interoperable with each other for obvious reasons.

Very few retailers offer either one but those that do are exclusive to one brand or the other. This is why it is a non-starter.

Now expand that to the global scale and you begin to see the big problem. There are other problems beyond what I mentioned but I cannot talk about that here.

 

[Lancer]

IMO Apple should have made this a 9 pin connector, thus they could easily upgrade to USB3 later but they it's not USB3 now is anyones guess, Tim?

I mean yes you don't need the speed in normal Sync but that about when you sync for the first time or if you have 1080 video to edit/transfer?

FYI - Still pissed over no iMac update

 

[macosxuser01]

Wireless charging is stupid. NFC why do we need this??

 

[kgs]

You certainly would, especially if you were syncing a large media collection or importing photos.

No. That would require faster flash memory. Right now USB2 speeds are more than enough to cap the speed of an iPhone's flash memory.

You'd see nothing from USB3 except possibly faster charging when plugged into a computer since USB3 offers a tiny bit more power through the cable.

Edit:

Also, lightning is only the one end of the cable. The business end that plugs into a computer can be adapted to other connector types. Yes, electronics would be needed most likely. But I'm sure that will be what happens in the future. USB3 is just not ubiquitous enough to care right now. Especially for the price. Also, given what I said above, there is no real "value" here for this purpose. The iPhone's flash memory is already hitting its cap with USB2, no need to ship a faster cable that would be under utilized.

 

[SchneiderMan]

I really wanted a MagSafe connector

 

[iSamurai]

Mastercard has "Paypass" and Visa has "Paywave" and they are not interoperable with each other for obvious reasons.

I thought they are - in Australia the same terminal accepts both paypass/paywave...

 

[Stephen123]

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.

It also adds weight, size, and energy consumption.

 

[lilo777]

It also adds weight, size, and energy consumption.

yes, just look at Samsung Galaxy SIII. It has wireless charging and it's 1% thicker and 1% heavier than iPhone 5. Apple would never compromise on weight that much (forget the brick that was iPhone 4S).