Never understood it myself, untill i tried, now i would not want to go back!
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iPad Pro's Lightning Port Supports USB 3.0 Transfer Speeds, New Adapters in the Works
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Because that would be admitting that they made a mistake. Apple doesn't like to admit things like that so they'll wait a few more years and then just willy-nilly switch it one model and act like no on noticed (like with the "one button" mouse where they eventually added another button quietly in the dark of night but HID it so a casual Windows user wouldn't see it and MOCK IT).
I'm hopeful that USB 3.0 speeds for the lightning port will usher in 256gb+ iPads, target display mode and a Lightning to GbE adapter. I have a number of clients that due to regulatory rules, cannot support WiFi.
Because then you'll b*tch that we have to change connectors. Everyone was up in arms about the iPod connector changing "so many times" like that one time in a decade.
The Lightning connector is a clever piece of engineering. Unlike USB 2.0, the Lightning connector has 2 differential pairs. With the authentication chip, it can switch from a single differential pair for USB 2.0 to dual differential pairs for USB 3.0. It doesn't have to carry the third differential pair for backwards compatibility to USB 2.0, because the authentication chip ensures compatibility. Obviously, the USB 3.0 cable would need additional shielding, and you need to know the authentication code for USB 3.0 speeds, but the pinouts are already in the Lightning connector.
I'm really not sure why everyone gets hung up with two things...
a) no mouse support
b) no file management
I think that's the most backwards thinking I've ever heard. The reason why Apple will not support this in iOS devices is to force you to move on. If you don't want to move towards a new paradigm of computing, then stick with a laptop. But that does NOT mean that it's a toy. It means that it's different and many younger generations have no clue why you want the "benefit" of manually dragging and dropping your files around the place with a plastic dead rodent.
Here's how future-looking people see this.
a) touch is superior is the UI is designed around it.
b) folder-based file management is antiquated and better served via attribute-based file systems that are abstracted.
For instance, with touch I can use 10+ fingers to interact with an app. Now this doesn't work *if* the developer is thinking of how things should be interacted with a mouse. But it *does* work if the developer has embraced it. It's just as easy to do most things you need on a touch-based device, and the focal point of the work is much more pronounced. For professionals, this is important.
Many professionals would rather access their data and not have to know how the file system was designed. For instance, I'd rather ask Siri "show me that drawing I made for the Rogerson building" and have it open. That's called an "attribute-based" file system. The file is stored in a heap and the system can locate the file based on certain heuristic tags. That's the "future", but if you want to keep putting copies of a file (or aliases) in different folders and manage that manually, I guess "have at it".
The future of file storage *is* iCloud. Period. Or Dropbox, but iCloud has this idea down. The idea is that you have access to all of your documents on any device and they are stored locally if they are needed. That way the device is lightweight and you have a persistent backup. When you have a manual file system, it's next to impossible to do this.
So, I guess the point I'm making is Apple has a plan and it's much further in the future than many of us can comprehend. But it's where things are going. If you don't want to be part of the future and want to stick to legacy methods, that's fine too. But I wouldn't expect Apple to do any of the things you want. But that does not preclude this device from being used by professionals who have already grasped the future.
You do understand that iClouds (so does Dropbox) has folders right? Wich means a filesystem.
I too want the convenience of telling Siri what i want to see, but I also want to be able to make let's say a back up copy on a usb stick, wich requires guess what? a filesystem.
Also there ar ethings you simply cannot work well either with a finger nor a stylus, the "plasti rodent" might be old, but still useful in certain aspect, like tech drawings for example.
So the future is...
a) not being able to access your files when you're away from or have a bad internet connection?
b) managing and moving files at sub 100 Mbps speeds oppose to 10 Gbps USB speeds?
c) paying a monthly subscription for your storage?
Ok then.
Edit: Also can you tell me, if I have say, an external hdd or flash stick or memory card with lots of old unorganised family photos that I need to go through and delete any low res duplicates, what would be the futuristic way of doing this on an iPad pro? Or say a music collection I need to import from the same external media source, how would one do this? Or say I'm a photographer with 400GB worth of work I need to get through in raw format? Or a video editor with multiple TB worth of 4K footage?
Ps. Fun fact, based over five years...
1) iCloud Drive 80 Mbps 1TB £6.99pm
[before isp monthly cost]
2) USB drive 5 Gbps 1TB £0.80pm
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I see both points as the future is going away from locally filing. It's not all the way there yet but all devices can access dropbox and iCloud. Even in those two mediums, I can use my finger to create a file but none the less, Siri may not be able to access those files through command.
There have been so many times that I forgot where I've stored something (I'm pretty forgetful) and I've found myself using a good amount of time searching folders and trying to find the right search key word to locate it.
I see the direction from which it's going for iOS but there is much more work to be done. We'll get there one day.
Yes, the elimination of 1000% profit margins and an Apple sticker.
When I was selling iGizmos the employee discount on a USB cable was cost + 10%.
I got the $15 cable for about a $1.80.
Maybe Monoprice will come out with something that will work eventually.
Man I've been wondering about this since 2012 when the computers finally got USB 3.0. I'm old school, still sync and backup my Mac with a cable to my rMBP.
Yeah, no reason they couldn't. Especially since 10/100 Ethernet already sortof works through a lightning to usb to Apple usb to ethernet adapter...
Hopefully Apple will release new iDevices next year with USB-C, then we can finally all live in port Utopia, at least for mobile devices. Having a hold out like Apple with their own proprietary device port is annoying, I would rather them come out with USB-C to Lightning adapters so new devices support legacy accessories rather then continue to release iDevices with Lightning in the near future.
Apple should have released the iPad Pro with a USB-C port as I doubt few existing iPad Lightning accessories like docks or speakers would hold something the size of the iPad Pro so it would not have been terrible to introduce a new market product with a "new" port.
Apple should have released the iPad Pro with a USB-C port as I doubt few existing iPad Lightning accessories like docks or speakers would hold something the size of the iPad Pro so it would not have been terrible to introduce a new market product with a "new" port.
Whose fault is that? If Microsoft can transform Windows to take touch input, why can't Apple? Even google is combining their ChromeOS with Android. The future is to have one OS per ecosystem.
But no one is talking about USB 2.0 or 3.0 regular or micro-connectors for god's sake. We're talking about using USB-C instead of Lightning. USB-C is the new STANDARD for EVERYTHING. It will encompass Thunderbolt III and USB 3.x and all power connections. It's literally a one connector does EVERYTHING standard and it will be on EVERYTHING within a few years. It's also reversible and not dainty like the micro-USB connectors. In short, there is ZERO reason for Lightning to exist at this point. Apple should have waited and just moved everything Lightning now does over to USB-C last year and EVERYTHING on EVERY Mac next Spring when Thunderbolt III over USB-C plus Skylake with graphics are available (I mean every single Mac made and every single mobile device made and maybe even your television, stereo and hell your refrigerator while they're at it. There is ZERO need for ANY other type of connector in the near future on any product other than for backwards compatibility for existing devices.
I would expect future iOS updates to address not only that but many more enhancements that can take advantage of the advanced hardware (CPU/GPU/Ram/3.0 USB) already in place. Add in a few 'pro' level apps more than likely in development and you have quit the device.
As I've said, my only hesitation is buying it now and waiting for future enhancements or buy it later when it matures. I'll have to decide if it can do what I need it to do this early on, or not.
I wondered about that too, especially since Apple probably designed USB-C, why not just make it nice and simple like Lightning. But I'm pretty sure there's a good reason for it: exposed connectors are usually a bad idea, especially when you can expect high amp currents through it since it doubles as a charger port now. Imagine you were about to connect your MacBook to the charger, and by accident your hand slipped and the connector touched the metal housing of the MacBook, it could instantly short out and screw up the charger. USB-C can deliver 100 Watts and can generate a lot of heat if shorted (think 100 W light bulb), it could easily cause a fire.
This could be an issue with the Lightning connectors too, but they only deliver 12 Watts, which probably won't start a fire.
Given the relatively small size of those batteries, 1 or 2 mm thicker would indeed give a significant mAh boost, and that would make a lot of people happy for sure. Not being a huge iPhone power user myself, I get by just fine with overnight charging.
Btw, I had seen that size comparison table back in the spring, and I suspect that slightly larger size of the USB-C port as compared to Apple's currently used Lightning port in addition to Apple's penchant for proprietary ports and connection protocols is possibly causing some anxiety, mixed emotions, and or reason to pause in the minds of Tim and Jony. As much as they might want to implement it on future iOS devices, it'll curtail their thinness ambitions, while those astonishing ThunderBolt3 speeds really are overkill for iPhones and non-pro iPads. So that's a fairly large sacrifice by Apple's standards basically just for universal charging convenience.
In retrospect I wouldn't bet on USB-C ports coming to iOS devices, but give it maybe a 50-50 chance they will be appearing on our future iPhones and such. Given Apple's ports history, there's no such thing as certainty here.
I am however more buoyantly optimistic about the transition to the new USB-C ports on their desktops and laptops. Most (starting with SkyLake) will no doubt be TB3-enabled, and being totally universal as well as backward compatible with all previous USB versions, after a hopefully short (but no less annoying) transition with some adapters, USB-C can finally give us what Thunderbolt (over DisplayPort) had promised, but failed to deliver because of costly cables and licensing issues: Truly one universal (and reversible) port to rule them all.
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Actually the subject of this thread is USB 3.0 over Lightning. You don't like the Lightning connector? I can live with that. No reason to rage.
the male plug shouldnt be exposed to potential hazards like it does with lightning.
Easier to brake the male than the female, I am glad the male is outside the "main device" and replaceable.