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Lightning is a much better connector for “iPhones”. Manufacturers have been playing fast and loose with the USB standard to get these crazy charging speeds and now it can be difficult to know what cable will do what. Will this cable charge at 5W, 18W, or 30W? Most of the time it’s just trial and error. With Pixel 4 it won’t even charge with some cables. And don't get me started on USB-C to 3.5mm adapters. With Lightning you know it’s gonna work.

Yeah, we've really just traded the complexity of different connectors with the complexity of having different cables, the only difference is that the different cables can't easily be told apart, but with a different connector it either fits or it doesn't.
 
This argument is the exact same misguided argument that has been made every time a new generation of cellular tech is released. And guys and gals, this is getting old, as in 20 years old.
Except this time the ranges of the “fast” 5G are feet and can be completely negated by facing the wrong direction. That nonsense that T-Mobile is rolling out is basically LTE v1.1, it’s barely any faster. I don’t mind us moving to 5G, but I don’t see any benefit in paying extra for it.
 
How is lightning more durable? Surely that’s down to the manufacturer?

USB is standard - one cable for multiple devices.

The connector is more physically sturdy.

With USB-C the connector is Standard, but how it's used is still widely vague, not all USB-C cables will do everything that connector can do so it just moves the issue, doesn't fix it.
 
So ultimately, USB-C only creates a negative in my usage, I have to buy all new cables for everything for no real other benefit other than maybe one day everything will use that one cable. Apple bet hard on that for the last 4 years and I still don't have a single USB-C device. Maybe it will be nice once everything has moved over and the older tech is obsolete, but right now all my USB-A stuff still works and does what I need it to do.
You buy a new iPhone (11 Pro) or iPad (Pro), and you get a charging brick with a USB-C port. Ditto for all Mac laptops (both their charging bricks and the 'charging-other devices' ports on the laptops). Same for an increasing number of third-party peripherals (that come with their own cable). Sooner or later you'll either use USB-C and USB-A cables in parallel (with all the complexity that ensues) or spend some money to accelerate the transition to USB-C.

Whether the iPhone transitions to USB-C this year or in five years (or never), it's either about keeping to use different charging cables with different devices or to orphan your Lightning cables. There is a downside to either outcome.
 
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iPhone 12 won’t be bundled with airpods, that would add another $100 to the selling price unnecessarily, since many already have them or don’t want them. And relatively few care about the notch or think it’s “terrible” 🙄

Apple doesn’t care what a couple hundred trolls or members of the Apple hate club think. They’ve sold upwards of a couple hundred million iPhones with the notch; the people have spoken.

The notch, though likely smaller in the coming years, could easily be around for another 5-10 years. Get over it, or get a different phone 🤷‍♂️
I agree completely. Apple has been selling millions of pairs of AirPod / AirPod 2 / AirPod Pro / PowerBeats Pro per month. A large percentage of their customer base already have them so I can't see Apple including such an expensive accessory with a new phone. At most they MAY offer a discount on wireless headphones with the purchase of a new iPhone but I absolutely can't see them automatically including them with the new iPhone.

Likewise, I have had the notch on my iPhone X Max, XS Max and 11 Pro Max. While I would prefer to not have the notch, I don't lay awake at night worrying about it and it certainly doesn't prevent me from continuing to upgrade to another iPhone that still has the notch. It took me about 2 days with the iPhone X Max to get accustomed to the notch and I really haven't thought much about it since.
 
I find myself completely unenthused about 5G... I don’t care about speed at latency, at this point, my biggest problem is coverage, particularly in buildings. Not limited capacity, but limited signal strength.

It's not necessarily the speed but more the bandwidth that 5G will bring. Think back to the last time you were in a very crowded place. Could be anything semi-large like a shopping mall to something incredibly large like a stadium. You'll have horrendous internet because there just isn't enough bandwidth to account for all the people.

That's the most exciting thing about 5G. It'll bring a much higher bandwidth which means the amount of devices able to connect at the same time goes up. Being in a stadium, or whatever, now means you won't be cut off from the internet or have to resort to crappy public wifi.

I'm lucky enough to live in a country where coverage is not a problem at all. But we live in incredibly dense cities because of how small the country is. Having more bandwidth will definitely be a positive for all of us in that regard!
 
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This argument is the exact same misguided argument that has been made every time a new generation of cellular tech is released. And guys and gals, it is getting old, as in literally 20 years old.

Meanwhile, the technology world moves on.
Worse, its 40. First call was in 1973. Ha.
 
I care not for 5G, can't see it being launched in the Channel Islands anytime soon and USB-C, no thanks. Lightning is a far better connector (in my opinion)
 
Regarding other people, there are a billion Lightning devices and another couple billion Lightning cables. Compare that to maybe 50 million USB-C laptops and 5 to 10 million iPads.

So yeah, not going to happen. Lightning already supports USB3 speeds and USB-PD for charging. It’s not nearly as robust a connector, and unlike Mac and iPad, there’s nothing to be gained. Zero chance imo.
I'm not sure the argument that the iPhone will never get USB-C AND that it was inevitable that the iPad (Pro) got USB-C is an irrefutable one. I mean why should a 7.9" iPad get USB-C but a 6.7" iPhone should not? (I know the 7.9" iPad doesn't have USB-C yet, but I don't see how one could define a cut-off point in screen size below which a device will never get USB-C.)
 
Based on what?

USB-C not only has better transfer speeds.... it’s more efficient at charging devices

USB-C FTW!

I think it should be possible to do USB-C PD > 18W via a lightning connector, but I remember that the 10.5" iPad Pro and iPhone X/XS/11 are maxing out at 18W.

Full USB-C would also enable USB-C hubs etc like now for the iPad Pro, incl. 4K TV out.
 
Thoughts on radiation risks with 5G? Are they legitimately increased or have I fed the internet hype machine again?
My thoughts on radiation risks with 5G: A non-issue. We are using 2,4 GHz and 5 GHz networks at home for years and nobody had any problems with that. More so, some 5G frequencies are around 700-800 MHz (in order to get more range). Last but not least, we are currently using way lower AND higher frequencies for other stuff like TV, radio and so on. So the hype around 5G radiation is like saying "going 80 is fine, going 200 is fine, but going 110 - man, this one's going to kill us!".
 
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Yep, I might be upgrading to one of these fancy wireless phones with the mobile internets. My old rotary dial landline has a very long extension but I think I'll finally give in and cut the cord.

;)
 
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I find myself completely unenthused about 5G... I don’t care about speed at latency, at this point, my biggest problem is coverage, particularly in buildings. Not limited capacity, but limited signal strength.
In my area, there are a lot of vocal people who don't want 5G because they don't want to see all the antennas. However, I'm the same as you. I don't need the speed, I need better coverage.

As for 5G iPhones, I'll believe it when I see it. For the next 8 or so months until the official Apple announcement, there's going to be so many "This analyst says the next iPhone will have 5G," "That analyst says nope," and "Another analyst says it'll be a staggered rollout."
 
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The connector is more physically sturdy.

What part, exactly, is more sturdy? I’m not saying lightning is as bad as micro usb, but those lightning cables last months at most.

“This argument may not be supported.”
 
It's my upgrade year this year from XS, 5G alone would be a nice upgrade. Even though I absolutely love my XS, I still think 2 years is a great run and it doesn't show any signs of aging either.
 
The iPhone X is turning out to be the most durable iPhone for me. Not just in physical durability (I’ve never had it in a case and it’s still pristine) but also in how it remains modern, fast and with a long lasting battery.

I was on an on/off year upgrade schedule but when they said that the iPhone X was a leap ahead, it was true. This phone hasn’t aged. I skipped the Xs and the 11 Pro and from the looks of it, I might take it into its fourth year.
Same here, I have mine in a case though. I went to the Apple store on Saturday to check out the new Mac Pro and after that decided to browse the selection of iPhones. As much as the 11 Pro looks tempting, I can’t see the difference enough to justify upgrading yet. Sure, the new cameras make it stand out and I am sure they do take better pictures, but its not enough make it a necessary upgrade. Also, the X seems to be handling the latest iOS releases and I’m sure it has a few more releases left in it.
 
All I want from the 2012 iPhone is no notch! I don’t care whether it has USB C or Lightning. I don’t care if it has 5g mmWave or sub-6GHz. I don’t care if it’s 5.4” or 6.7”! I don’t even care if it’s bright pink and has 12 camera bumps on the back of it. It can even just run iOS 13... It can use TouchID with a button, FaceID hidden under the display, TouchID through display or on the power button. It can even be a bit slower and lose an hour of battery life.

For the love of all things good and holy, it has to get rid of the notch. In 2020, if Apple reuses this worthless notched design, Tim Cook and Apple have lost their collective minds. It can even just have symmetrical bezels on top and bottom.

Just no notch! You know, I would even be able to live with a software version to limit the notch and put a large bezel at the top and bottom to make it symmetrical.

No notch will be my deciding factor on whether to buy the iPhone in 2020... and anyone who thinks it’s okay to have a notch in 2020 has lost their dang minds too!
 
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For the love of all things good and holy, it has to get rid of the notch. In 2020, if Apple reuses this worthless notched design, Tim Cook and Apple have lost their collective minds. It can even just have symmetrical bezels on top and bottom.
Sounds like an obsession to me. You also have an interesting definition of the term 'worthless'. But I guess that happens when one gets worked up, one starts to utter senseless rants.
 
Thoughts on radiation risks with 5G? Are they legitimately increased or have I fed the internet hype machine again?

Legitimate, but you'll hear the same response from most large corps. "We don't recommend you hold it up to your head for several hours in a row, but there's no reason to believe it will harm you." So they can't prove it'll harm you, but they still wouldn't do it themselves.

I'm paraphrasing btw, but I've heard that 2-3 times from various agencies and scientists.
 
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Except this time the ranges of the “fast” 5G are feet and can be completely negated by facing the wrong direction. That nonsense that T-Mobile is rolling out is basically LTE v1.1, it’s barely any faster. I don’t mind us moving to 5G, but I don’t see any benefit in paying extra for it.
Heh. Every generation when someone points out that the arguments against new cellular technology are the same as previous generations, there is a followup series of posts as to why this generation is so different than previous generations.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world moves on. In any case, if you don't want or need it, then don't pay for it, simple as that. Some technology rollouts progress quicker than others, but it should be noted that the 5G roll out already began last year, and Apple typically skips the first generation. In 2020, we are already in the second generation of 5G tech.


Thoughts on radiation risks with 5G? Are they legitimately increased or have I fed the internet hype machine again?
It should be noted that we also get these types of questions with every new piece of cellular tech introduced, and it kind of reminds me of this picture. ;)

q10akk7n8q5z.jpg


It's always good to be concerned about your health but many people would benefit far more from stopping smoking or other such vices, getting more exercise, and eating a balanced healthy diet, instead of worrying about brain cancer from cell phones or microwave ovens.

---

BTW, the biggest worry I have about this 5G discussion is that the existence of these timing arguments amongst analysts points to 5G iPad Pros later rather than sooner.
 
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Me
Mail in iOS is definitely buggy. I believe the comment was more referring to lack of features which I never had a problem with before but all my emails immediately disappear and none from the past year will even show up unless I manually search for them. It’s been a few rounds of bug fixes and Apple has still not addressed this.
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Besides developers, who is transferring data using a wired connection? And the charging speed is just as fast with a USB-C power adapter and a USB-C to lightning cable so that’s not a reason either.
Me. Try to avoid wireless where I can.
 
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