iPhone Sticking With Lightning Port Over USB-C for 'Foreseeable Future'

[farewelwilliams]

If having to buy more expensive stuff and dongles is a benefit, including overpriced USB-C hubs when you run out of ports, sure.

Oh so you'd rather buy Thunderbolt 2 cables that only work with other Thunderbolt 2 devices, buy USB-A to USB-B, buy USB-A to micro-B (for hard drives), buy USB-A to micro-USB (for webcams), buy USB-A to USB-C, displayport cable, Apple branded MagSafe adapter, and a third party MagSafe compatible battery? How is that better than USB-C?

Your logic doesn't make sense considering at the very least you have to buy an Apple MagSafe power adapter which is far more expensive than an Anker USB-C power brick and good luck finding a MagSafe compatible battery under $100.

Just buy USB 4 cables, tips, and a USB-C PD power brick FROM CHEAP THIRD PARTY manufacturers and you're good to go. USB-C is far better.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

So I’ve seen this brought up a lot, so how about we talk about it.
let’s go back to 2012, when the iPhones still used 30 pin connectors.
The majority of android phones used micro USB, a non-reversible, extremely breakable, and extremely unreliable cable.
The iPhone 5 made the iPhone much thinner, going from 9.3 mm thick to 7.6 mm thick. There was absolutely no way to fit a 30 pin connector.
they weren’t going to switch to micro USB, and USB-C wasn’t a thing yet, so they created their own new cable called lightning. It was thin, it was reversible, it snapped right into place, and it was quite reliable.
just between September and October 2012, they switched the iPhone, iPod touch, iPod nano, and iPad all over to Lightning, completely making the 30 pin connector irrelevant.
by 2014, they weren’t selling any devices that still had the 30 pin connector.
it was basically a dead port at this point.
Now in 2021, Lightning is on every iPhone, the iPad, iPad mini, AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods max, magic keyboard, magic mouse, magic trackpad, Apple TV remote, Smart battery cases, MagSafe Duo, and probably more devices that I’m not even thinking of.
the only Apple devices that have USB-C are the Mac, which is an entire computer that needs universal interfaces, and The two high end iPads that are targeted at people trying to replace their computers. that USBC port is not only meant for charging. It’s meant for data. Because people like transferring data on their computer devices.
and now, we have rumors that the next MacBook Pro might be bringing back several Legacy ports, along with magsafe.
USBC has not been the final port that everyone is hoping it would be. There’s so many different hands in the pot, but it just hasn’t worked out as it should. The world is still filled with micro USB, HDMI, regular USB, etc. and unfortunately, not everything has switched over to the one port to rule them all.
Meanwhile, lightning ports work just fine. You buy a lightning device, it works. You don’t have to make sure you have the right lightning port that matches up with the cable, there’s no making sure that it’s a USB-C or a thunderbolt four or whatever connector, it just works. And there’s millions and millions of lightning capable devices out there. If they switched the iPhone over to USBC, and then two years later they removed the port, that’s just gonna make customers angry twice. There’s absolutely no benefit to switch now. Two more years of lightning will keep their current customers happy.
as for removing the port, for CarPlay users, it’s simple. Dongle‘s exist to turn wired CarPlay into wireless. You’ll just have to buy one of those.

 

[Martinpa]

I'd be annoyed about this if USB-C was truly the one universal cable, but not all USB-C plugs or USB-C cables support all protocols (i.e. Thunderbolt 3/4) or throughput. USB-C was supposed to make things easier, but when you have two visually identical cables that don't do exactly the same thing, it just becomes more complicated.

 

[Omega Mac]

Someone posted somewhere on this forums sometime that the lighting port ad connector were hands down the best of all. I agree.

It is the best connector system ever. It fits in easy. No worry about which way. Easy in the dark. The positive feedback off the dull click. It always feels pretty sturdy but if yanked out, no big deal.

 

[hot-gril]

Oh so you'd rather buy Thunderbolt 2 cables that only work with other Thunderbolt 2 devices, buy USB-A to USB-B, buy USB-A to micro-B (for hard drives), buy USB-A to micro-USB (for webcams), buy USB-A to USB-C, displayport cable, Apple branded MagSafe adapter, and a third party MagSafe compatible battery? How is that better than USB-C?

Yes, cause I already have all that stuff, and it comes in the box anyway. Except I've never used Thunderbolt cause, why.

 

[planteater]

I know I'll catch flak for saying this, but...

I'm glad. The lightning connector is a lot more durable than USB-C. I honestly think that this is why Apple keeps using it in their highest volume products.

We tend to plug and unplug our phones a lot to charge them, sometimes on a daily basis.

I've seen Macbooks with USB-C where the socket has worn out to such an extent the plug will fall out if you turn it sideways.

I've never seen a lightning connector wear out. At the worst it needs an occasional cleaning.

Yes, it's annoying to have a different connector than my Android friends but honestly, it's not a big deal. I almost always have a cable in my car I can use in an emergency.

I agree with your position on lighting. But as an aside, I have worn out a lighting cable. The fitting was no longer snug within my phones, so the connection was sporadic with it. I had to throw it away.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Yes, cause I already have all that stuff, and it comes in the box anyway. Except I've never used Thunderbolt cause, why.

Yes, let's all cater the port selection to what you already have and what you don't use. That's the best customer experience for all new customers going forward, right?

🤦‍♂️

 

[zorinlynx]

I agree with your position on lighting. But as an aside, I have worn out a lighting cable. The fitting was no longer snug within my phones, so the connection was sporadic with it. I had to throw it away.

This is just good connector design.

It's always better for the cheaper part (the plug in this case) to wear out before the expensive part (the socket in the phone). It's a lot easier to just get a new lightning cable than to get the port in your phone replaced.

With USB-C it seems we're back to the socket wearing out instead of the plug, which was the same problem MicroUSB, and mini-USB before it, had. The USB-IF doesn't understand that it's far preferable for the plug to wear out than the socket in 99% of cases.

 

[hot-gril]

Yes, let's all cater the port selection to what you already have and what you don't use. That's the best customer experience for all new customers going forward, right?

🤦‍♂️

It is. Why would I buy new stuff if it's not better than my old stuff?

 

[farewelwilliams]

It is. Why would I buy new stuff if it's not better than my old stuff?

Well you already have a Mac. So why would you buy a new one?

My brother has thunderbolt 3 and usb-c accessories from his pc/android. He doesn't have a Mac yet. Why should he buy your old, obsolete cables to use a Mac?

What makes you more important than any other potential customer?

 

[planteater]

This is just good connector design.

It's always better for the cheaper part (the plug in this case) to wear out before the expensive part (the socket in the phone). It's a lot easier to just get a new lightning cable than to get the port in your phone replaced.

With USB-C it seems we're back to the socket wearing out instead of the plug, which was the same problem MicroUSB, and mini-USB before it, had. The USB-IF doesn't understand that it's far preferable for the plug to wear out than the socket in 99% of cases.

True about the design. Also, I'm probably a much heavier user of cables than a typical iPhone owner. I'm easily inserting and removing a cable probably no less than a dozen times per day, quite possibly much more than that. The cable that i wore out was a few years old and had been subjected to heavy daily usage for a couple of years.

 

[hot-gril]

Well you already have a Mac. So why would you buy a new one?

I haven't bought a new Mac since 2015. When I do, it'll be because M1 > Intel, and my old machine is too slow for my needs.

 

[hot-gril]

This is just good connector design.

It's always better for the cheaper part (the plug in this case) to wear out before the expensive part (the socket in the phone). It's a lot easier to just get a new lightning cable than to get the port in your phone replaced.

With USB-C it seems we're back to the socket wearing out instead of the plug, which was the same problem MicroUSB, and mini-USB before it, had. The USB-IF doesn't understand that it's far preferable for the plug to wear out than the socket in 99% of cases.

This makes sense in theory, but is it really a problem IRL? There are all those Android phones. Users would be furious if their phones stopped working one day just cause of the connector. I always thought microUSB was bad only cause it looked ghetto and didn't provide the same features as Lightning.

 

[Skoal]

At least it's not portless. It should still be USB-C though, instead of the money grab that is Lightning.

How is it a money grab. Every phone or iPad I’ve bought comes with one.

 

[farewelwilliams]

I haven't bought a new Mac since 2015. When I do, it'll be because M1 > Intel, and my old machine is too slow for my needs.

Ah, what you're using is too slow, so you need something that's faster.

Gee, Thunderbolt 2 was too slow for many customers. Therefore Apple built in Thunderbolt 3 to make things faster. That's why we have USB-C.

 

[[AUT] Thomas]

TBH... the best connector so far is the smartconnector used on the iPads.
They are easy to waterproof, visually pleasing, don't accumulate dirt, NEVER wear out (the magnets probably will in a couple decades) and they are -like magsafe- practically impossible to damage.

Magnetically alligned they also make a better docking and charging solution than wireless charging stands ever could while maintaining 100% efficiency.

 

[Skoal]

Yea, crazy how a person might want to use the same charger / cable for their iPad & iPhone.

You’re right. It is crazy. And lazy.

 

[hot-gril]

Ah, what you're using is too slow, so you need something that's faster.

Gee, Thunderbolt 2 was too slow for many customers. Therefore Apple built in Thunderbolt 3 to make things faster. That's why we have USB-C.

TB2 with its 20gbit/s was too slow for what fraction of customers? The 0.0001% of people who are connecting RAID0 SSD arrays or eGPUs or something to their Macs? Like I said, I never even used TB2 cause USB3 was fast enough for me, nor have I known anyone else using TB2. Except for HDMI dongles if one needed to attach multiple displays.

USB-C isn't about TB3, it's about unifying the connectors. Instead of doing the migration like usual, adding it alongside existing ports and letting users switch on their own schedule, Apple removed the ports everyone uses and forced the switch. And now they're going back on it in ways.

 

[dwaite]

Lighting is so vintage and so slow I cant understand why Samsung does’t mock at it

...and then release a phone using a nearly identical proprietary connector five months later?

 

[MrHoudini]

I know I'll catch flak for saying this, but...

I'm glad. The lightning connector is a lot more durable than USB-C. I honestly think that this is why Apple keeps using it in their highest volume products.

We tend to plug and unplug our phones a lot to charge them, sometimes on a daily basis.

I've seen Macbooks with USB-C where the socket has worn out to such an extent the plug will fall out if you turn it sideways.

I've never seen a lightning connector wear out. At the worst it needs an occasional cleaning.

Yes, it's annoying to have a different connector than my Android friends but honestly, it's not a big deal. I almost always have a cable in my car I can use in an emergency.

Yes, and pocket lint. Cleaning compacted pocket lint out of Lightning port is easier to do without damaging the port. The USB-C port has that fin in the middle of it.

 

[MrHoudini]

Currently an Android user and have been toying with the idea of the switch to iPhone but won't happen because of the lightning port. Wonder how many others are like me; I made a conscious effort to have everything charge off the same cable, so much more convenient

FFS You can charge an iPhone without using any cable, so much more convenient.

 

[MrHoudini]

2 of my last 3 iPhones have had to be replaced bc the lightning port wore out. Thankfully my current phone can charge wirelessly, but I can’t use CarPlay anymore. The lightning port is awful.

It's far more likely that it's compacted pocket lint preventing the Lightning port from being plugged in all the way, then it being "worn out." I see this all the time at work. And cleaning it out is far easier with a Lightning port than with a USB-C port.

 

[1258186]

USB-C is suitable for the iPad but not the iPhone? How stupid is that.

 

[akbarali.ch]

I know I'll catch flak for saying this, but...

I'm glad. The lightning connector is a lot more durable than USB-C. I honestly think that this is why Apple keeps using it in their highest volume products.

We tend to plug and unplug our phones a lot to charge them, sometimes on a daily basis.

I've seen Macbooks with USB-C where the socket has worn out to such an extent the plug will fall out if you turn it sideways.

I've never seen a lightning connector wear out. At the worst it needs an occasional cleaning.

Yes, it's annoying to have a different connector than my Android friends but honestly, it's not a big deal. I almost always have a cable in my car I can use in an emergency.

I havent used the type C connecter much, i dont have any device, except a pendrive. I can say for sure lightning port/pin are rock solid. They have never failed till date. The only time it failed was slight cloth thread got stuck in the port wihich we took out using tooth pick. So the port is rock solid, no doubt. But i'd still want 1 cable solution. i dont have preference for lightning or type C, just 1 port, reversible, to rule them all. let the engineers decide which one is best and make the whole world follow it.

 

[germinator]

I know I'll catch flak for saying this, but...

I'm glad. The lightning connector is a lot more durable than USB-C.

?!?!? You mean the connector where a couple of pins regularly oxidize and whose plug body disconnects from the contacts? Durable, my a$$!