Leaker: Apple to Stick With Lightning Over USB-C for 'iPhone 12' Before Going Port-Less Next Year

[uniquexoxo]

these people complaining lol don't buy if you can't afford it and don't buy if it's not practical for you, buy something that fits your need instead.

 

[yurc]

Oh my, DFU would be PITA on portless device. How I managed my device when something bad happened to restore it manually?
Also, I was wonder if we asked to buy charger separately….

 

[Man on the moon]

Really hope there is some new advances in wireless charging tech because right about now. All the solutions are terrible and extremely slow.

In no way even close to using a fast charger.

 

[McG2k1]

I like your phones Apple, but I sometimes wonder if the people who work there actually use phones like normal people. No earphone jack, no fingerprint reader, no charging cable... I think that might be a bridge too far for me.

 

[terpsbball2002]

How would CarPlay work in my car if an iPhone a few years from now has no ports? ?

 

[ctyrider]

Good luck using your phone while charging.

I don’t recall ever having to use my iPhone while charging it. But even if I needed to - would not be much of a problem using it while its sitting on my Qi charging dock.

 

[groove-agent]

I hope this is a false rumour. I've been holding out for a USB C iPhone so that all my Apple devices have the same ports (iPad Pro, 2019 16" MBP). I like having a port I can connect an audio interface to, or a field microphone.

If they want me to pay over $1000 for a phone, I'd like to be able to connect it to some pro peripherals, and not just accessories they make.

However who knows what this "smart connector" actually is, but it sounds like another fistful of dongles and adapters that I have to carry around wherever I go.

 

[Xade]

So my phone is getting low, I still have a while to go to get to my destination, now I can't plug it in to a power brick, computer or usb power supply with a short cable? It has to be wireless? I can't plug in a usb stick (even via another dongle) to off load data? How to hamstring a great device.

 

[groove-agent]

For a $1000+ phone you *should* be able to use it like a computer. Imagine coming home and docking your iPhone and using like a Mac with a proper monitor, keyboard and mouse?

But Apple counts on you buying an iPhone, a Mac, and an iPad, so this will likely never happen. They could easily turn the Apple TV into an inexpensive iOS computer as well, but never will.

I like to travel light too!
Instead of bringing an iPad or a laptop; I wish I could just bring a usb c cable, my iPhone, a monitor, a mouse, and a trackpad.
Ugh.
I guess Apple just isn’t thinking about you and me.

 

[largefarrva]

If Apple does decide to be completely port less on the next iphone after this year’s then this year’s iPhone better be damn good to last several years to prolong me having to move onto an Android phone (/puke). I use my phone for navigation and there is no way I can do that and expect the battery to last a whole day without charging.

I’m not going to want to take a clunky wireless charger to everywhere I go just so I can charge my phone. A lightning cable is way easier to use and can allow me to use my phone the way I need to be able to use it. I just can’t think that Apple would think this would be a good idea....hopefully they are smarter than this.
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Oh my, DFU would be PITA on portless device. How I managed my device when something bad happened to restore it manually?
Also, I was wonder if we asked to buy charger separately….

Another good point. Just like with the Apple Watch....if you had to take it in because of some sort of software/hardware issue they would have to send your phone in to get repaired.

Or they would have to get much more liberal on their phone replacement policies....because consumers will not be willing to go without their phones for days or weeks at a time. No way no how.

 

[Xade]

As it currently stands, wireless charging is slow and nearly useless, considering the fact that you need to place the phone exactly above the induction circuits. I would rather stick with fast, reliable cable charging.

Agreed. Quite a few times I've thought my phone was charging overnight only to discover in the morning it wasn't aligned on the charger 'just so' and wake up to a nearly flat phone battery.

 

[MrTSolar]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-needs-to-give-us-the-80-max-charge-option-on-the-iphone.2365460/post-31653730

Due to events ^, all I have to say now is:

 

[ChrisA]

Wireless recharging is a very poor description of what is done.

What "wireless really means is that you have a cable what one end plugs into a wall socket and the other end has a HUGE connector on it. Ok so the connector need not actually be inserted into the phone but still must touch the phone and the connector is really BIG compared to USB-C.

A true wireless charger would allow the phone to be charged while you walk around with the phone in your pocket.

What if other "wireless" services like WiFi required you to place the phone in contact with something the size of a small plate and the plate needed a cable to the wall? Would you call that "wireless"?

As long as a wire has to come to the phone it is not wireless, it just means you have a huge connector on your cable.

 

[stylinexpat]

How many years has Apple been using this lightning port for now..? A little outdated now. I think they way overmilked this lightning port now. It’s pretty pathetic to still be using it if you ask me. They should have moved to USB C with faster data transfer speed a couple of years ago. I think Apple can do better but they seem to like being stingy on RAM and upgrading that old lightning port they have been using for years now

 

[wigby]

So is the “Pro” iPhone going to be a consumer-only device then? What are the “Pros” that actually use these ports going to do?

And CarPlay.

I just don’t but this happening as soon as even next year. I certainly don’t buy them making the highest-end iPhone have such a serious compromise at this point in time.

This isn’t like removing a headphone jack or changing from Dock Connector to Lightning, this sounds more like the trashcan Mac Pro and an absolute nightmare for travelers and “Pros.”

Edit: To be clear, I love wireless charging and it’s how I charge my iPhone and AirPods 90% of the time. But again, CarPlay. And when my battery is low, fast charging is indispensable, and I’m hesitant to think the conservative Apple will have a much faster wireless option available by then, and at that point, all my 10W chargers (that Apple still doesn’t take full advantage of) do nothing for me in a pinch. I didn’t complain about Lightning, USB-C, the removal of the home button or even headphone jack. I’m generally very forward-thinking on these matters.

But to remove a primary and generally ubiquitous charging port for no port at all is beyond stupid and user-hostile in current times and will be for the foreseeable future.

People get too hung up on the names of these products. “Pro” means nothing because Apple changes the narrative every few years. I agree that if Apple just released a slightly faster phone and removed the lightning port, it would be a mistake. That’s why they’re going to remove the lightning port and offer a sexy phone with a few killer features that only that phone will have. They did this already when they removed the home button and Touch ID on the X and it was a big seller.
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How many years has Apple been using this lightning port for now..? A little outdated now. I think they way overmilked this lightning port now. It’s pretty pathetic to still be using it if you ask me. They should have moved to USB C with faster data transfer speed a couple of years ago. I think Apple can do better but they seem to like being stingy on RAM and upgrading that old lightning port they have been using for years now

It sounds like you are just comparing iPhone to Android phones. That’s fine but that’s not how Apple operates and most Apple customers are perfectly happy (and somewhat oblivious to Android features) with their iPhones. Lightning works fine. USB-C only provides faster speeds but nearly nobody syncs anymore and Apple’s USB-C fastcharger is plenty fast. Once a truly wireless iPhone comes along, all phone makers will be lining up to do the same thing because any consumer device requiring cables will look like outdated technology.

 

[cannono]

zero chance they expect to make people switch to wireless charging. Leaker is lying a bit to sound knowledgeable. Wireless is slow and useless while you are holding your phone and working while you charge. Either smart connector is getting quick charging abilities by the time the port is axed, or they are straight up keeping the port and wired chargers remain the standard speedy charge we are getting used to in premium phones.

 

[brinary001]

There is already faster wireless charging than the fastest wired charging that Apple offers.

And yet still not as good as wired charging over USB-C can get which, theoretically, would be 100w since that's the max current it's rated for. Wireless charging has made it into the 40's I think, but still not nearly as good as wired charging will be for the foreseeable future. Not even close.

Nixing the headphone jack at least made a little sense, and it was a somewhat easy pill for most people to swallow eventually. But this...this is just asinine on Apple's part. If this is indeed true about next year's iPhones, then this year will be my last upgrade. This isn't an audio port, it's a god damn charging port, and customers will flee from Apple in droves. Like I've never been an Apple-is-doomed kind of person about any of their decisions over the last decade, even if I didn't agree with them, but this will absolutely be what forces Tim Cook to step down as CEO for letting such a poor decision make it to market.

 

[brinary001]

these people complaining lol don't buy if you can't afford it and don't buy if it's not practical for you, buy something that fits your need instead.

Careful what you wish for, you might not have a company to swoon so hard over when everyone leaves Apple for real phones with the mind blowing technology of..charging? Wait really? Sorry it's just weird to type it out but then again, it's weird that this discussion is even happening. I mean...the charging port? Seriously? It's as odd of a choice as say, the speakers or the battery for them to axe. Like yeah the hardware is still there for you to get the same results, but now you have this expensive and convoluted mess of a solution to achieve what should've been possible out of the box.

 

[Shanghaichica]

And yet still not as good as wired charging over USB-C can get which, theoretically, would be 100w since that's the max current it's rated for. Wireless charging has made it into the 40's I think, but still not nearly as good as wired charging will be for the foreseeable future. Not even close.

Nixing the headphone jack at least made a little sense, and it was a somewhat easy pill for most people to swallow eventually. But this...this is just asinine on Apple's part. If this is indeed true about next year's iPhones, then this year will be my last upgrade. This isn't an audio port, it's a god damn charging port, and customers will flee from Apple in droves. Like I've never been an Apple-is-doomed kind of person about any of their decisions over the last decade, even if I didn't agree with them, but this will absolutely be what forces Tim Cook to step down as CEO for letting such a poor decision make it to market.

But Apple have capped fast wired charging at 18 W. You can’t do 100W wired charging on the iPhone. If Apple do away with all the ports then you can be sure that the rest of the industry will follow suit. You can’t get a flagship phone now (except LG) with a headphone jack. Customers won’t have anywhere to flee to in the end. Somethings we might not like but we have to accept them as the way the market is going. People got over floppy discs and they will get over the headphone jack and charging ports.

 

[unoporfavor]

How do you wirelessly charge a phone when it's, say, in your car being used for navigation (something I do every day to get to work). I like to take a lightning cable with me everywhere I go, and leave one in my car, and leave one at home, because otherwise I'd eventually not have one when I need it. I doubt wireless chargers would be cheap enough to just buy 3 of. They are also much more bulky than a simple cable.

there's plenty of wireless car phone holders already

 

[brinary001]

But Apple have capped fast wired charging at 18 W. You can’t do 100W wired charging ok the iPhone. If Apple do away with all the ports then you can be sure that the rest of the industry will follow suit. You can’t get a flagship phone now (except LG) with a headphone jack. Customers won’t have anywhere to flee to in the end. Somethings we might not like but we have to accept them as the way the market is going. People got over floppy discs and they will get over the headphone jack and charging ports.

Well then this might be the ensuing moment that heavily disrupts the industry for the first time since the iPhone came along (which would be hilariously ironic). As another forum member commented, Apple is losing touch with their customers more and more it seems, and what Apple's engineers think of as the perfect phone isn't at all what most people want. Enter: Samsung, Google, Huawei, and other big names to essentially step in and say "We gotchu don't worry, we still let you actually charge your phone." People will flock to said companies en masse, and you better believe I'll be one of them.

I've long been called a sheep, fanboy, elitist - you name it - for seemingly blindly going along with Apple's riskier decisions over recent years, but I have to draw the line with this one. How anyone cannot see that this is just asinine I think are the true sheep, fanboys/girls and elitists. Also, it's a piss-poor business decision to say the least. Not only will it scare away domestic buyers, but also Apple doesn't have a huge market share internationally compared to the US market, and this elitist BS isn't exactly going to move more iPhones in Asia or even Europe for that matter. So I think I'll be selling my stock the day before this unfortunate announcement next fall.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Hint: the universal charging "cable" is now Qi. It works on Android phones and it works for iPhones.

I can't charge anything in my home with a Qi cable, but I can charge multiple things with USB-C. And even if I was replacing everything today, I won't be charging my laptop or iPad with Qi, and I don't see that changing in the future. So, no, it is definitely not a universal cable.

 

[CarlJ]

I was pretty frustrated with the Samsung S20 series and I thought ok, now is the time to make the switch. . .but they stick with the lightning port!!!!! So, I have to carry two cables for my Ipad Pro and my Iphone???? Who is making the decisions at apple? Oh well, I'll look at Google or Motorola to see what they ahve.

You make your decision on which device / operating system / ecosystem to use based on whether or not you’ll need a different $10 cable? Man, your priorities are really different from mine. To me it’s all about the OS and apps, and the quality of the hardware. Cables are the least of my worries.

 

[msp3]

Based Apple. So this is what that UWB chip inside the iPhone 11s are for... Good riddance to the fascist EU ports.

 

[The Game 161]

Well then this might be the ensuing moment that heavily disrupts the industry for the first time since the iPhone came along (which would be hilariously ironic). As another forum member commented, Apple is losing touch with their customers more and more it seems, and what Apple's engineers think of as the perfect phone isn't at all what most people want. Enter: Samsung, Google, Huawei, and other big names to essentially step in and say "We gotchu don't worry, we still let you actually charge your phone." People will flock to said companies en masse, and you better believe I'll be one of them.

I've long been called a sheep, fanboy, elitist - you name it - for seemingly blindly going along with Apple's riskier decisions over recent years, but I have to draw the line with this one. How anyone cannot see that this is just asinine I think are the true sheep, fanboys/girls and elitists. Also, it's a piss-poor business decision to say the least. Not only will it scare away domestic buyers, but also Apple doesn't have a huge market share internationally compared to the US market, and this elitist BS isn't exactly going to move more iPhones in Asia or even Europe for that matter. So I think I'll be selling my stock the day before this unfortunate announcement next fall.

From apple’s point of view they see they are doing everything correctly. 19.5 million sales of the iphone 11 in one quarter? 28 million in total? They won’t see an issue and whatever they decide with ports everybody else will follow suit.