Gurman: Apple Considered Removing Lightning Connector on iPhone X

[kmann1983]

I’d imagine you do the same thing you do now, bring your charger with you. Wireless charging isn't it built into your nightstand, although possible. Not to mention more and more automakers, hotels, airports, coffee shops are adapting wireless chargers and building them right in. The only logical argument is that it’s slower to charge. The rest are mute.

I think they mean how practically do you charge it?
Right now, with a cable, you can set your phone anywhere the cable will go. The cable is fairly small. A charging base is significantly larger. How do you both fit that in a car and attach your phone to it easily? Surely we don't want people scrambling for their phones while driving. "But you shouldn't be using your phone while driving in the first place" -- sure and you shouldn't go into the ghetto at night but yet people do. So can we not make things _more_ dangerous?

 

[tgwaste]

I would be over the moon happy if they just replaced it with USB-C.
Apple is purposefully holding back this standard and its annoying. Of course pretty much everything Apple does these days annoys me.

 

[ksec]

Tell me how one is suppose to play games without Charging cables....

Tell me how you are going to make a charging mat the same price as the lightning cable "connector".

How is Wireless Charging , in the next 5 years, going to Super Fast Charge a Battery without causing over heat that will damage or shorten its life. ( Hint: We haven't figure out the physics yet, which means we cant. )

Battery Improvement? If we some how made the battery 3x more capacity, Wireless Charging will take a whole 8 hour cycle to be fully charged.

Oh, All those words about renewable energy? Efficiency? Well Every time you wireless charge you are wasting more energy then doing it via cable. Imagine 600M iPhone user wasting that.

 

[pradeepbabloo]

Given how many people I see with portable battery packs plugged into their phones while out and about, if you thought removing the 3.5mm audio jack was taken badly, you ain't seen nothing yet...

Heard of Wireless powerbank?

 

[shadowmatt]

"significantly raise the price" - only in Apple's world

A quality charging mat costs around £40 retail, part of that is the power adapter. Apple could make them on mass for much less than anyone selling those mats, a bit like how they supply something similar with the Apple Watch.

Especially when the phone costs £1000.

Apple has been telling a few porkies today
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Tell me how you are going to make a charging mat the same price as the lightning cable "connector".
.

They managed to provide wireless charging with the Apple Watch.

 

[BruceEBonus]

Let’s hear no more talk of laurel resting and years of R&D procrastination/media hype. When it comes to removing stuff for more cash under the name of progress - Apple is still the market leader.

 

[Lidar]

This is one of the most terrible (rumored) ideas I have heard in quite sometime. Removing the headphone jack wasn’t an issue for me at all. But until they can figure out how to make your battery last all day while driving with turn by turn directions, this is a 100% no-go for me. I was waiting to update to the 11 Plus (or whatever they call it), but if this happens, I’ll stick with my 7 Plus until it dies.

 

[apolloa]

View attachment 767174
Old Memories.

“Unapologetically utterly stupid”

 

[kruegdude]

Wireless charging is slow..

Currently yes. Replacing batteries is fastest, akin to mailing hard drives. Now we’re wire charging. But tomorrow it’ll suffice and offer a better way forward.

 

[apolloa]

If they can make fast wireless charging, and some sort of Watch-style magnetic induction charger for on-the-go, the power issue may not be as bad as we think.

What I worry about is cluttering up the local spectrum by using wireless to connect everything. Using iOS devices in music production, for instance, you can't take your device into an arena where everyone's cell phone is trying to pair with whatever network / device they can find and expect a reliable connection. When you want faster data transfer, backups, audio streaming / MIDI, etc, wireless is getting very good, but wired is always better.

The other issue may be wireless security. If you're backing everything up using WiFi or even LTE then you're at some point risking data interception from third parties, compromised wifi routers or Stingray type devices. Wired connections may not be perfect, but they greatly reduce the possibility of third-party interception. When bidding to supply government IT contracts, or into enterprise customers that must comply with data protection / security regulations, the lack of a secure wired transfer option may be a negative point.

A bit late with your idea, the Google Nexus 4 from a few years back had wireless charging, with little metal dots inside the casing, this allowed it to magnetically sit on its official small charger and not move if budged accidentally.

Wireless charging is inductive charging at present.

 

[kruegdude]

I’m still mad they took away the headphone jack, take away the lightning port and it will be years until I buy another iPhone. I’ll keep my 6s Plus until it no longer functions. Wireless charging and wireless data transfer are not good enough yet. And even though Bluetooth headphones are convenient, their sound and voice quality are still not as good as a pair of $20 wired Sony headphones.

Wireless future is still years away.

Years away but how do you get there except to go forward with changes. Don’t get mad, look for the positive.

 

[44267547]

Lug? The pad weighs maybe 3 ounces.

Re-read what that Member wrote. They were suggesting the overall size of the Airpower to ‘Lug’ Around, NOT the weight.

 

[Defthand]

Funny to hear the responses here.

the iPhone X was supposed to be "way" ahead of its time...so the idea of removing something that would be commonplace in the future sounds exactly what they would have/should have done. The iPhone X wasn't for everyone but for those on the bleeding edge of technology.

Basically how far could they push the iPhone (of the future) while still being a usable iPhone for today's users.

Good point. It escaped my attention that it was a concept model rather than an evolutionary change to the existing models. It would not be confusing if their marketing team had used X to mean experimental rather than ten. That way, the model numbers could have continued in their logical order... nine... ten...

 

[falainber]

Currently yes. Replacing batteries is fastest, akin to mailing hard drives. Now we’re wire charging. But tomorrow it’ll suffice and offer a better way forward.

Perhaps it would be OK to remove the port "tomorrow" after all car, airplanes etc. are equipped with wireless charging pads. This may not happen for a decade or two (or ever).

 

[kruegdude]

Well, I use AirPods and love them, so removing the 3.5mm jack was a non-issue for me. But as someone who uses an iPhone for long FaceTime calls, and uses an iPhone on long flights (and I see a lot of other people doing the same), I think it'd be extremely inconvenient to have no wired charging port. I also see people every single day walking around with their phones plugged into battery packs.

So I don't have any "data" on it, just like you don't have any data on the opposite case, but if you can name practical advantages to removing a wired charging port I'm all ears, because I only see disadvantages. If the iPhones already have wireless charging, how does removing the wired charging port make them better and more convenient?

No wires, pure and simple.

 

[falainber]

Funny to hear the responses here.

the iPhone X was supposed to be "way" ahead of its time...so the idea of removing something that would be commonplace in the future sounds exactly what they would have/should have done. The iPhone X wasn't for everyone but for those on the bleeding edge of technology.

Basically how far could they push the iPhone (of the future) while still being a usable iPhone for today's users.

Those on the "bleeding edge of technology" need the ports. Those who use their phones just for Facebooking, don't have a car, don't travel and can live with charging their phone overnight only (on a mat) are not on the "bleeding edge of technology". They are as far from it as one can imagine.
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No wires, pure and simple.

No wires and no charge. Elegant but useless (Apple could use this as their motto, i am not going to trademark it).

 

[Dangermen]

How about never? They cannot even -reliably- make it so an iPhone or iPad can sync to itunes over Wifi. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to take our iphones or ipads and connect them up, just so wifi sync will work again. It's like itunes just forgets how to talk to the devices or vice versa.

Not all of us back up to the iCloud.

 

[reallynotnick]

Too bad wireless charging is so inefficient, its amazing how much power we will waste to avoid plugging something in.

 

[bdore89]

THIS!!!

I’m still mad they took away the headphone jack, take away the lightning port and it will be years until I buy another iPhone. I’ll keep my 6s Plus until it no longer functions. Wireless charging and wireless data transfer are not good enough yet. And even though Bluetooth headphones are convenient, their sound and voice quality are still not as good as a pair of $20 wired Sony headphones.

Wireless future is still years away.

I too will hold on to my 6S plus until it completely gives up on life. I plan on replacing the battery in December whether it's needed or not just to help extend it's life before Apple jacks the price back up. In my opinion there's not a single feature on the new iphones worth giving up the headphone jack. Make everything USB-C then maybe we'll talk.

 

[code-m]

Tell me how one is suppose to play games without Charging cables....

Tell me how you are going to make a charging mat the same price as the lightning cable "connector".

How is Wireless Charging , in the next 5 years, going to Super Fast Charge a Battery without causing over heat that will damage or shorten its life. ( Hint: We haven't figure out the physics yet, which means we cant. )

Battery Improvement? If we some how made the battery 3x more capacity, Wireless Charging will take a whole 8 hour cycle to be fully charged.

Oh, All those words about renewable energy? Efficiency? Well Every time you wireless charge you are wasting more energy then doing it via cable. Imagine 600M iPhone user wasting that.

I hope you saw this coming to the iPhone when Apple introduced this on the Apple Watch. This company implements ideas on a small scale to test and refine before introducing on a larger scale, for reasons being due to availability, consumer reception, cost, etc.

With the iPhone 8/X we have two methods of charging a device Qi and Lightening, this is not cost effective for a company such as Apple, plus it requires additional hardware to be incorporated internally. USB-C would be nice, however a variety or cable manufactures have created a mess of this promising standard. Some cable only charge, some charge and do data, some no video, etc. Confusion and frustration for a consumer, not Apples way of doing things.

I suspect Apple will either expand by implementing wireless charging and data transmission on Qi. It’s a step-by-step generation process to maximize profits, keep the idea of innovation alive and stimulate the market by having consumers interested and exicited.

The generations may flow something as such:

Gen 1 = Qi Charging (standard)
Gen 2 = Qi Charging (fast)
Gen 3 = Qi Charging (super) and data transmission/sync (standard) + multi-device recognition (limited to 2)
Gen 4 = Qi Charging (super) and data transimission/sync (fast) + video (1080p/4K) + multi-device recognition (limited 4)
Gen 5 = Qi Charging (ultra) and data tramsimission/sync (super) + video (1080p/4K/8K) + multi-device (limited 8)
Gen 6 = etc.....

You get the point, USB-C will be available on laptops and desktops unfortunately, its Apples way to differentiate its lines. ARM device lines 30pin connector > Lightening connector > Qi variant. I will be surprised is Apple incorporates USB-C on ARM as the space required can be put to better use (larger battery) and cut cost.

 

[Applemaniac7]

Wireless charging is slow..

That's because the x is standard speed charging. Wait till next year when apple copy Samsung and their fast wireless charging devices.. the keynote headlines are being written as we speak, about how they have rebuilt wireless charging from the ground up lol

 

[Dethklok]

Wow. I was ready to praise Apple when I read the headline. The obvious thought in my head was that they would remove the lightning port and replace it with a USB-C port. Apparently I gave them way too much credit. How can a company be this out of touch?

 

[Applemaniac7]

Imagine what the cost of the iPhone would be if Apple included a wireless charger and wireless headphones.

2 years ago I bought my other half a wireless charging pad off ebay. It was 5 bucks delivered and still works like a dream. Anyone who thinks these things have to be a 100 bucks cos apple says so is deluded..

 

[code-m]

This is one of the most terrible (rumored) ideas I have heard in quite sometime. Removing the headphone jack wasn’t an issue for me at all. But until they can figure out how to make your battery last all day while driving with turn by turn directions, this is a 100% no-go for me. I was waiting to update to the 11 Plus (or whatever they call it), but if this happens, I’ll stick with my 7 Plus until it dies.

Apple or any other company does not have to develope an all-day battery, they only do so to stay competitive as a selling/marketing features to set they products apart.

Apple will gladly sell you a hunchback battery case for your next iPhone to maximize profits, while making the excuse that battery technology is just not there yet for all-day usage. It’s not in Apples benefit to have users not to recharge their phones often as the battery will last that much longer, meaning people will use their iPhones for 2-4 years without requiring a battery replacement sooner, as the situation we presently live in.

Most apps, games, etc presently do not even harness the full potential of ARM chips since iPhone 6S/7. Most people don’t even use AR or other CPU intensive apps, mainly some games and social apps. What people need is better batteries in iPhones not faster CPU, I have never heard an iPhone customer complain of how slow their device is, I have heard that it does not last long enough or as long as it used to.
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2 years ago I bought my other half a wireless charging pad off ebay. It was 5 bucks delivered and still works like a dream. Anyone who thinks these things have to be a 100 bucks cos apple says so is deluded..

Apple tax, charge an absurd amount. If you are referring to AirPower, its is overpriced to a point, however it introduces and possible expands/extends on the Qi standard.

AirPower should cost around $99-119 USD max, can you imagine the power adapter included with that things to charge 3 devices simultaneously. What if someone places 3 iPhones? That means the AirPower adapter would have to be 60W minimum from lightening to USB-C.

 

[farewelwilliams]

That's great and all, but how are you going to charge the phone in your car? Or at the airport? This is a design edict disconnected from the real world. Time to leave the glass bubble, Jonny.

that’s why they didnt remove it after all. they added wireless charging to the iphone so that all airports and cars will add the standard wireless charging. in a few years we’ll see it go probably