iPhone 6/+ USB3 Cable

[-BigMac-]

Hi Guys.

I have the 128gb iPhone 6 Plus and this question has been on my mind for years.

With the increasing space on the iPhones, larger apps every week, higher quality movies and larger iTunes Libraries, not even mentioning the higher quality (bigger sized) photos and videos... why has there not been an implementation of the USB3 connection?

It makes SO much sense to make it USB3 compatible.. why is it not?

Can someone shed some technical reasoning behind not implementing USB3 on the iPhones, and thus every other iOS device?

Thank you

 

[richwoodrocket]

Usb 3 isn't really mainstream yet...
And more and more people are getting away from using the computer to sync content. I know I am. I can't remember the last time I synced my phone or even backed it up to iTunes.

 

[-BigMac-]

Usb 3 isn't really mainstream yet...
And more and more people are getting away from using the computer to sync content. I know I am. I can't remember the last time I synced my phone or even backed it up to iTunes.

how do you get your content on there? iTunes match?

 

[yjchua95]

how do you get your content on there? iTunes match?

In my case, yes, that and iCloud.

Yay, fellow Melbournite!

 

[eelw]

The memory chips used aren't fast enough to utilize USB 2.0 speeds. So no benefit moving to USB 3.0 yet.

 

[richwoodrocket]

how do you get your content on there? iTunes match?

I use spotify for music. Work good and syncs across all devices. The best part, it's free.

 

[-BigMac-]

I use spotify for music. Work good and syncs across all devices. The best part, it's free.

Free if you hardly use it...

Not free if you stream hundreds of songs a week onto your mobile device, using cellular data, because the free version doesnt let you locally store the songs

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The memory chips used aren't fast enough to utilize USB 2.0 speeds. So no benefit moving to USB 3.0 yet.

well that settles that then. Would it take up extra space to utilize usb3 chips?

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In my case, yes, that and iCloud.

Yay, fellow Melbournite!

haha go melbourne!

Does itunes match sync your movies too? Is your whole movies collection 'purchased'?

 

[Applejuiced]

Because Apple wants to have its own proprietary hardware connection and any company that wants to make wires or any plug in accessories has to pay royalty and licensing fees to them just to be able to sell products compatible to Apples idevices.
Even if there's something out there better or faster or more widespread used in the end its about control and money

 

[rui no onna]

The memory chips used aren't fast enough to utilize USB 2.0 speeds. So no benefit moving to USB 3.0 yet.

Funny you should say that when benchmarks show internal memory capable of ~200+ MB/s sequential read and ~80+ MB/s sequential write. Heck, even the iPad 4 was capable of exceeding real-world USB 2.0 limits when it comes to sequential read (granted, not by as much as the current generation).

 

[satinsilverem2]

I don't believe that Apple will ever include 3.0 due to the inclusion of Wireless sync and Wireless AC which is fast enough for the internal flash anyways. I can't even remember the last time I actually got a lightning cable and plugged my device into the computer. With Wireless Sync and iCloud its just easier and don't have to think about when I last synced.

 

[scaredpoet]

With the increasing space on the iPhones, larger apps every week, higher quality movies and larger iTunes Libraries, not even mentioning the higher quality (bigger sized) photos and videos... why has there not been an implementation of the USB3 connection?

It makes SO much sense to make it USB3 compatible.. why is it not?

Can someone shed some technical reasoning behind not implementing USB3 on the iPhones, and thus every other iOS device?

Actually, there's a very good reason: The NAND Flash storage on your iPhone has a write speed that is slower than a USB 2.0 connection

USB 2.0 tops out at roughly 48 MB/s. Getting realistic and accounting for overhead, we'll call it an even 40MB/s in optimal use, 25-30MB/s in less than ideal conditions.

Well, at it's very best, the random write speed of the iPhone 6 tops out at only around 16 MB/s.

This is pretty much run of the mill for most smartphone storage: the practical write speed is simply too slow to justify a USB 3.0 connector at this time.

It's still plenty fast for recording an HD video, and the overall read speed is far faster. But generally, the sync direction of a phone tends to lean overwhelmingly on the side of loading stuff onto the phone. If that write speed isn't fast enough to top out USB 2, then a USB 3 connection won't do you any good.

Note that some USB flash drives and most laptop SSDs are much faster, and indeed justify USB 3.0 connectors. Those storage systems are also a lot more expensive. Faster storage on your smartphone would significantly increase its cost, when the vast majority of users find the current speeds to be okay.

 

[scaredpoet]

Funny you should say that when benchmarks show internal memory capable of ~200+ MB/s sequential read and ~80+ MB/s sequential write.

Sequential write is a best-case scenario, and not indicative of real-world usage. The odds of a user loading data on their device that happens to mimic a sequential write scenario, every time, is extremely low. At best, only half of an average user's block reads and writes will end up being sequential. Wear-leveling logic on the NAND flash controller would ensure that would be the case as the device ages, even if a user were deliberately trying to stage their writes to be sequential every time.

So, even if we take that best-case figure, you're getting nowhere near 80Mbps write speed in real-world use.

 

[pukrnukr]

Usb 3 isn't really mainstream yet...
And more and more people are getting away from using the computer to sync content. I know I am. I can't remember the last time I synced my phone or even backed it up to iTunes.

USB3 is totally mainstream. It's on every mac sold today and pretty much every other computer $500 and over. Most external HD are USB3 too.

But I think the majority of people are like you and never plug their phone into they're computer to back it up. I think most people just use the free iCloud storage and that's it. I know lots of people who have iPhones and never put their own music or movies on there phone and just stream everything. I back my phone up to iCloud and my computer. I was hoping for USB3 too but I doubt it's going to happen anytime soon.

 

[richwoodrocket]

USB3 is totally mainstream. It's on every mac sold today and pretty much every other computer $500 and over. Most external HD are USB3 too.



But I think the majority of people are like you and never plug their phone into they're computer to back it up. I think most people just use the free iCloud storage and that's it. I know lots of people who have iPhones and never put their own music or movies on there phone and just stream everything. I back my phone up to iCloud and my computer. I was hoping for USB3 too but I doubt it's going to happen anytime soon.

If it was mainstream the iPhone would have it

 

[yg17]

If it was mainstream the iPhone would have it

Not sure if serious....

USB 3 has been on every Mac since 2012 and many PCs since before then. Nearly every external hard drive is USB 3 and now even thumb drives are USB 3.

USB 3 is missing from the iPhone because the flash memory write speeds in the iPhone are slower than USB 2 so there's no benefit to USB 3. But that doesn't mean it's not mainstream.

 

[rui no onna]

Sequential write is a best-case scenario, and not indicative of real-world usage. The odds of a user loading data on their device that happens to mimic a sequential write scenario, every time, is extremely low. At best, only half of an average user's block reads and writes will end up being sequential. Wear-leveling logic on the NAND flash controller would ensure that would be the case as the device ages, even if a user were deliberately trying to stage their writes to be sequential every time.

So, even if we take that best-case figure, you're getting nowhere near 80Mbps write speed in real-world use.

I reckon transferring video files to/from iTunes would be a fairly sequential read/write scenario. That and backup/restore are really the only times I even bother syncing via cable. I believe Apple was correct in implementing 802.11ac first over USB 3.0 but I'm sure iOS devices will get USB 3.0 eventually.

Mind, from what I've noticed based on daily backup logs on my PCs, transferring thousands of small files benefit from USB 3.0, too. A run of CrystalDiskMark supports that data. On USB 2.0, random 4K maxes out at ~5-8 MB/s, iirc. On USB 3.0, I was getting results close to SATA (~15-20 MB/s 4K read and ~30-40 MB/s 4K write on an Intel X25-M G2). Granted, I wasn't seeing anywhere near those speeds in real-world scenarios but halving the time needed to backup is still a big boon.

 

[cmichaelb]

Hi Guys.

I have the 128gb iPhone 6 Plus and this question has been on my mind for years.

With the increasing space on the iPhones, larger apps every week, higher quality movies and larger iTunes Libraries, not even mentioning the higher quality (bigger sized) photos and videos... why has there not been an implementation of the USB3 connection?

It makes SO much sense to make it USB3 compatible.. why is it not?

Can someone shed some technical reasoning behind not implementing USB3 on the iPhones, and thus every other iOS device?

Thank you

Apple addressed this a couple of years ago. The memory in the iPhone can't handle that high of speed so there is no advantage to USB 3 on the iPhone.

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Not sure if serious....

USB 3 has been on every Mac since 2012 and many PCs since before then. Nearly every external hard drive is USB 3 and now even thumb drives are USB 3.

USB 3 is missing from the iPhone because the flash memory write speeds in the iPhone are slower than USB 2 so there's no benefit to USB 3. But that doesn't mean it's not mainstream.

Never mind- see above ^

 

[scaredpoet]

I reckon transferring video files to/from iTunes would be a fairly sequential read/write scenario.

On a fresh, new device, perhaps. On one that's been used even for a little while, not so much, not even after a wipe and restore. As data accumulates, pictures are taken, files are added and deleted, then the storage controller will start to pick and choose which spots on the storage medium the next bits of data should go, and they will start to be more random than sequential.

That and backup/restore are really the only times I even bother syncing via cable. I believe Apple was correct in implementing 802.11ac first over USB 3.0 but I'm sure iOS devices will get USB 3.0 eventually.

Agreed; when the NAND flash more clearly has the capability to overwhelm USB 2.0, a USB 3.0 connector will certainly make more sense. I for one look forward to it, and even wish Apple had invested in faster storage, but that just wasn't the case this go-round.

 

[rui no onna]

On a fresh, new device, perhaps. On one that's been used even for a little while, not so much, not even after a wipe and restore. As data accumulates, pictures are taken, files are added and deleted, then the storage controller will start to pick and choose which spots on the storage medium the next bits of data should go, and they will start to be more random than sequential.

That's pretty awful TRIM and garbage collection if so. Also, random access isn't so much the issue here as it is the write/erase. Writes can be done by page but erase is much slower as it has to be done by an entire block. Mind, I'm not sure about others but I tend to load up an entire TV season on my iPhone/iPad, delete after watching, and then load up a new season again. If a stupid microSD card can handle that without significant reduction in write speed, I don't know what that says about the storage controller used on iOS devices.

Agreed; when the NAND flash more clearly has the capability to overwhelm USB 2.0, a USB 3.0 connector will certainly make more sense. I for one look forward to it, and even wish Apple had invested in faster storage, but that just wasn't the case this go-round.

Ah, but storage performance on iOS devices has improved year after year. Just last year, sequential write just barely bumped into USB 2.0 limits. Now, it's exceeded it. Given the size limitation and resulting lack of parallelization, however, there's only so much performance you can achieve. Certainly not comparable to 2.5" SSDs with powerful (and relatively power hungry) controllers and 8-16 channels running in parallel.

Imho, flash storage in the iPhone 6/6+ and Air 2 (at least on the larger capacity models) are fast enough to benefit from USB 3.0. That said, given the move to wireless syncing/streaming and cloud-based services, USB 3.0 is not exactly something Apple has to rush to roll out.

 

[nickchallis92]

Having USB3 does also allow phones to charge more quickly though when you're forced to charge via USB.

It is quite a noticeable difference on my Note 3

 

[geoff5093]

Having USB3 does also allow phones to charge more quickly though when you're forced to charge via USB.

It is quite a noticeable difference on my Note 3

This. USB 3.0 allows you to charge from a PC up to 900mA, versus 500mA from USB 2.0.

 

[yjchua95]

haha go melbourne!

Does itunes match sync your movies too? Is your whole movies collection 'purchased'?

I don't know, because I don't watch movies on my computer.

I normally head to a cinema nearby my place (around Lygon), or the IMAX theatre at the Royal Exhibition Building

 

[-BigMac-]

I don't know, because I don't watch movies on my computer.

I normally head to a cinema nearby my place (around Lygon), or the IMAX theatre at the Royal Exhibition Building

yea thats true, but some people do own some sort of movies in iTunes, and they take a while to load up using wifi.. even though we have the Telstra Gateway Max.

The iMax is pretty sick i dont blame you.. still got a 2 person voucher which i got on christmas. Pumped is an understatement.

Now just need someone to go with me.. hahaha

 

[yjchua95]

yea thats true, but some people do own some sort of movies in iTunes, and they take a while to load up using wifi.. even though we have the Telstra Gateway Max.

The iMax is pretty sick i dont blame you.. still got a 2 person voucher which i got on christmas. Pumped is an understatement.

Now just need someone to go with me.. hahaha

How about going with me lol

I haven't been there ever since I watched Interstellar there last year.

 

[T5BRICK]

how do you get your content on there? iTunes match?

I stopped using most Apple services but I still really like my iPhone. I'm using Google Play for my music. It's free and you can store 50,000 songs in the cloud(and locally on your phone), or you can pay the monthly subscription cost and get access to most of Googles music library as well.