Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

transpo1

macrumors 65816
Jul 15, 2010
1,030
1,707
I have used the USB "C" since they became available. The loose fit has always been a problem. But that problem comes from junk cables. The quality control on some of them is terrible. Here is what you do before you condemn this plug get a Micrometer You don't have to spend big bucks on a Starrett or a Mitutoyo, Amazon has reasonably priced digital ones that are plenty accurate enough for these kind of measurements. When you get a cable check out the "C" plugs actual dimensions and compare them with the standard. What you will find is cables that are View attachment 2311425 out of standard. Good cable vary only a tiny amount all with in the standards tolerance.
Great info! But my experience the ports wear out as well over time. Case in point, my 2017 MacBook port was loose using an Apple branded cable. We can make the case that not all Apple cables are high quality, of course…but I believe it’s more than that and is just the nature of variances not only in the cables but the ports themselves. Just today, my Glyph TB3 (USB-C connector) drive disconnected when I nudged it. If these were strong connections, this would not happen as often.
 

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,750
22,332
Singapore
My 2018 iPad Pro’s usb c slot is still going strong after 5 years of charging and adapters. I have had colleagues whose work laptops’ usb c slots became loose after a while, but I always assumed that was more user error than anything else.
 

Tripps9000

macrumors regular
Dec 27, 2021
181
261
New phones are just like cars mass producing the same model over and over unfortunately there are bound to be some things that get missed a bolt not tightened or a loose wire being the 15 series are the first mass produced iPhones with usbc ports there are bound to be some mistakes made like a loose charging port just take it in to a Apple Store or authorized Apple dealer and get it fixed or the phone replaced and quit complaining about it🤔🤨
 

Dust-by-Monday

macrumors 6502
Aug 24, 2021
280
264
New phones are just like cars mass producing the same model over and over unfortunately there are bound to be some things that get missed a bolt not tightened or a loose wire being the 15 series are the first mass produced iPhones with usbc ports there are bound to be some mistakes made like a loose charging port just take it in to a Apple Store or authorized Apple dealer and get it fixed or the phone replaced and quit complaining about it🤔🤨
After all, Apple are new at putting usb c into things /s
 

ninecows

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2012
678
1,097
Just see my previous post w/video. Two Apple devices from 2017, used heavily, one with USB-C, one with Lightning. Both tested with an Apple branded cable.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-usb-c-loose-saw-this-coming.2410653/post-32718980
Ok. So your sample size is 1. And you’re not even comparing on similar devices, but a MacBook vs an iPhone.

If you want to compare the force needed to pull the plug out, make a video where both ends are plugged in. Pull the devices away from each other on a flat surface and see what end goes out first.

But that’s just how hard you have to pull to get the plug out. If that’s the only measure for physical strength then you might be right. But I am not sure it’s relevant at all. In either case you are not gonna use the cable for hanging your device in. And it might be an advantage if it comes out easily?
 
Last edited:
  • Angry
Reactions: AlexMac89

ninecows

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2012
678
1,097
Btw. Just tried the above test on a cable from Apple. USB-C plugged into the charger and lightning into the phone. The lightning came out of the phone first consistently for 3 runs. Go figure 🤷‍♂️
 
Last edited:
  • Angry
Reactions: AlexMac89

Wando64

macrumors 68020
Jul 11, 2013
2,203
2,807
What’s wrong with usb-c? My two cents: lightning is male to female. The cable is male, and there’s only a hole in the device, with the connectors.

The male part of a USB-c cable is actually a female in disguise. The device socket has a tiny male piece floating barely attached to the chassis. It risks breaking.

I’ve got a mini usb device with that shotty design. Due to neglect, The plastic floating cisgender protuberance got broken and now the connectors touch each other.

That’s why I agree with whoever claims that usb-c is mediocre design compared to lightning. Maybe Apple should have open-sourced the design or maybe it became obsolete because usb-c has better specs
Why don’t you take two phones, one with a lightning cable attached and one with a usb-c cable attached, then proceed to slowly twist the plug downward until it breaks. Let us know which break first. If you are willing to accept bets I will place my chips on the lightning cable snapping first.
 

GuruZac

macrumors 68040
Sep 9, 2015
3,615
11,503
⛰️🏕️🏔️
Like it or not, USB-C is here to stay for the foreseeable future, and having a universal cable that is compatible with a wide variety of products is really a pretty great win for consumers in the end.
This. I love having USB-C. One cable to charge my MBA, iPad Pro, 15 Pro Max. Many electronics products we buy also have a USB-C charging port. Just yesterday my daughter bought a Nintendo Switch OLED that came with USB-C. Worked perfect charging my phone as well. One connector to rule them all.

As another example, I was on an anesthesiology rotation, and one of the scrub techs had a Galaxy S22 Ultra. He forgot to charge his phone and I was able to let him borrow my 15 Pro Max charging cable. Nice to be able to have cross compatibility for stuff like that.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Sunset Cassette

Any name

Cancelled
Aug 9, 2023
121
149
Why don’t you take two phones, one with a lightning cable attached and one with a usb-c cable attached, then proceed to slowly twist the plug downward until it breaks. Let us know which break first. If you are willing to accept bets I will place my chips on the lightning cable snapping first.
Wire me 2000 USD to purchase the devices and the tools; and I’ll post the results on YouTube.
 

johnmacward

macrumors 6502
Jul 12, 2011
347
254
Nope. USB-C has always been a less stable connection than Lightning. USB-C connections get looser over time. And it certainly is the EU’s fault. Now there will be hundreds of tons of Lightning cables dumped into landfills because of them.
Depends on your use I suppose considering that I have multiple devices that work flawlessly with USB-C and while possibly Lightning feels that little bit more solid while in the port, that's less the case when it gets filled with lint and the connection barely works until a clean out is needed - that doesn't happen with USB-C whose port hole is a much narrower profile (and I've never had to clean said port on devices I've had for years, to be fair none are pocket devices). Next, why generalise in saying that 100 of tonnes of lightning cables will be dumped because of this - 100's of tonnes are undoubtedly thrown in all the time from just being faulty, broken, frayed, yellowed, cheap knockoffs that don't work and possibly 100's of tonnes are recycled too. Proprietary ANYTHING should be principally thrown away (preferably recycled OR never built in the first place) BECAUSE its usually a way for a company to create lock-in, to continue revenue just for them and to suit exclusively the company and NOT its users (if only their licensed cable works with their device, its only them that makes the money and they price fix this too and make repairs generally more expensive) For example ask yourself this question; when Apple went from 30 pin to Lightning, how many 30 pins were thrown in landfill or sit in a drawer doing nothing, un-recycled. Plenty - did you care, did Apple care ? I doubt it. There will always be some waste from change - we should aim to minimise it and a standardised cable goes WAY further in doing this than a bunch of proprietary cable types. A standardised cable that's old can still give life to a totally different device that's still compatible with it.

Simplifying to one single cable type that works well is unbelievably more logical than having 5/6 proprietary cables for all of your different devices that you use regularly, for example if you tend to charge in multiple places - at home, in your car, at the office, on the train you might buy multiple cables for all those places to have one there in case you needed one. Now imagine you had 3/4 different devices all with proprietary socket types - you'd have to have 12 - 16 cables in all of those places if you want an easy life, each place would have a spaghetti of a mess of things (and if one broke you couldn't just another). Lets keep going, your iDevice is dead and its cable type is Lightning and you ask a friend with an Android if they have a Lightning cable - clearly they wont and your device will remain dead. You might say "they might ask me for a USB-C cable and I won't have one either" but in this case, ask yourself what's more abundant - Lightning or USB-C chargers (Lightning charges iPhones, AirPods and that's it, USB-C charges almost EVERYTHING else - MacBooks, phones, headphones, iPads, routers, cameras, e-cigarettes, desk Christmas trees, LED's, fans etc.) and well there's your answer. I shouldn't have to point this out here but if you have an iPad from the last few years you're using USB-C, a MacBook Air, Pro from the last few years - its USB-C. The problem isn't the EU, its Apple's silly line-up of inconsistent devices - Apple's own product decisions show how silly this is.
 

johnmacward

macrumors 6502
Jul 12, 2011
347
254
What’s wrong with usb-c? My two cents: lightning is male to female. The cable is male, and there’s only a hole in the device, with the connectors.

The male part of a USB-c cable is actually a female in disguise. The device socket has a tiny male piece floating barely attached to the chassis. It risks breaking.

I’ve got a mini usb device with that shotty design. Due to neglect, The plastic floating cisgender protuberance got broken and now the connectors touch each other.

That’s why I agree with whoever claims that usb-c is mediocre design compared to lightning. Maybe Apple should have open-sourced the design or maybe it became obsolete because usb-c has better specs
While that can happen for sure, the outer jacket is supposed to be the rigid piece that never really permits pressure on the inner "protuberance" because the design has pretty tight tolerances. This CERTAINLY was not the case with earlier USB-B and A designs and USB-mini which admittedly were disastrously bad. BUT don't forget the working group that designed these ports is the same industry that brings us our Androids, iPhones, Motorolas, Samsungs etc. The industry that whinges that it doesn't want standardisation is the same one that designs the cable type - and undoubtedly they do it in such a way that it ends up cheapest for them - they don't see a purpose in designing something super robust if they want you to buy a new device in 2 years time. No doubt that these considerations are made that for every port produced and soldered to a board, if it costs 3 cents less than something a bit more robust and long lasting - well, we know how these industries operate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Any name

transpo1

macrumors 65816
Jul 15, 2010
1,030
1,707
Ok. So your sample size is 1. And you’re not even comparing on similar devices, but a MacBook vs an iPhone.

If you want to compare the force needed to pull the plug out, make a video where both ends are plugged in. Pull the devices away from each other on a flat surface and see what end goes out first.

But that’s just how hard you have to pull to get the plug out. If that’s the only measure for physical strength then you might be right. But I am not sure it’s relevant at all. In either case you are not gonna use the cable for hanging your device in. And it might be an advantage if it comes out easily?
Haha. It's apparent you're tying yourself in knots to justify the disparity in the video.

It's very clear how easily the USB-C cable pulled out of the Macbook. The only reason I didn't show the same thing with the iPhone is because I was holding the camera with one hand and need two hands to pull out the Lightning connector, it's just such a rock solid connection.

The wear and tear on the MacBook port is pretty relevant. Just imagine if you tried to keep your iPhone with USB-C for 3-4 years, a device which gets charged much more frequently.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AlexMac89

Dust-by-Monday

macrumors 6502
Aug 24, 2021
280
264
I have a new problem with my usb c iPhone…. My wife still has lightning so when I’m in her car and want to charge my phone, I can’t. The other day she was in my car and it was dark and she instinctively tried to plug my usb c cable into her iPhone and I had to stop her hah.

So much for one charger to rule them all.

Also, my Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, AirPods and Apple TV remote all still take lightning.
 

AustinIllini

macrumors G5
Oct 20, 2011
12,687
10,519
Austin, TX
Oh, I guess I've never had a sub par lighting cable then. Also, I've never broken a lighting cable either. Maybe I'm just careful with my stuff?
Nah, i mean, i tend to use apple branded everything, but my parents tend to cut corners on cables and they're constantly replacing them :D

Didn't mean to come up accusatory or insulting :D
 

Prof.

macrumors 603
Aug 17, 2007
5,310
2,026
Chicagoland
Y’all are obsessing over something so incredibly silly. For the record, it’s not the iPhone USB-C port, but rather the specific cable you’re using. The actual port is not loose. Some of my USB-C cables fit in nice and snug, while the cheaper ones I own are a tad more loose.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

transmaster

Contributor
Feb 1, 2010
1,431
664
Cheyenne, Wyoming
While we are talking about loose "C" plugs, I am thinking how little we actually have to use one. You can charge an iPhone wirelessly with Magsafe, except for plugging an iPhone into a Mac you don't really need a USB-C cable except for emergency charging and even than both Apple, and Anker make Magsafe batteries that snap onto the back of an iPhone to power and charge them.
 

Any name

Cancelled
Aug 9, 2023
121
149
Nope. USB-C has always been a less stable connection than Lightning. USB-C connections get looser over time. And it certainly is the EU’s fault. Now there will be hundreds of tons of Lightning cables dumped into landfills because of them.
Apple and intel designed the usb-c connection
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sorinut
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.