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

[Abazigal]

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.

People said the same thing when the market was being flooded with cheap android phones, when Apple removed the headphone jack, when Apple sold $1000 iPhones, and well, let’s just say that their track record as to when people will start abandoning the Apple platform hasn’t been exactly stellar.

Meanwhile, the iphone base continues to grow and near 1 billion active users even as we speak.

The haters continue to bet against Apple to their own detriment.

 

[appahappa]

Makes sense to skip usb-c if they really are planing to go "portless" next year.

 

[DylanGusto]

Shouldn't a smartphone be an all-in-one like a Swiss army knife of tech? I find now I have to stick with LG phones now to keep things I constantly use in every day life. I like Apple, but USB-C is universal which at least makes it acceptable to replace USB-A. But to do something so Anti-consumer as to make more and more proprietary cables without making substantial innovations seems kind of lame? The downside of wireless charging is that it is sedentary and the opposite of a cord. You bring the phone to the pad rather than vice versa with a cord. Magnets as well work on a laptop because a lot of people are not moving around with their laptop but the difference with phones is you are on the move and sometimes you need to charge on the go. A magnet simply does not grip as well as a cord being inserted into a phone. I just think apple should "innovate" in other ways: higher refresh rate, way better battery (that would be a godsent for smartphones!), Better speakers, or even overhaul iOS to let the user better customize, that would be awesome! Sorry for the rant! I just think there really are more important things to "innovate" than getting rid of cords, what do you think?

 

[Steve121178]

I'm all for a portless phone in the future, but how would I connect to my car to use CarPlay? I presume an adapter will be available via the smart connector, which renders a portless phone kind of pointless for many.

 

[DylanGusto]

I still like and care for apple tho

 

[Abazigal]

I just think there really are more important things to "innovate" than getting rid of cords, what do you think?

The lesson Apple keeps teaching and which others keep ignoring is - to create true meaningful change in a market, you need to force change. By taking bold unapologetic stances.

I am interested not so much in Apple removing cords, but more in what succeeds it.

 

[henryngan2006]

why? I only you Qi right now

Because Apple don't release iPhones for 3 years without an S phone

 

[DylanGusto]

The lesson Apple keeps teaching and which others keep ignoring is - to create true meaningful change in a market, you need to force change. By taking bold unapologetic stances.

I am interested not so much in Apple removing cords, but more in what succeeds it.

Understandable, one downside though is they like to only push their innovations and not assist with another. Believe it or not, but later Nokia phones had better cameras than iPhones but apple is typically credited with a higher quality in cameras. Motorola is doing a bang up job with innovating what a smartphone battery can be, extending the life to 3 days with no charge and a good amount of usage, that to me could lead to an all-good innovation rather than a divisive one. Smartphone cameras are great and innovations are so barely noticeable now. I think cordless is a good idea, but people like the option. Innovation is adding new features while still offering the option for users who rely on the old features to keep using something at least similar to the old. 3.5mm dongle? Sure. USB-C to A dongle? (Which I personally am against because even USB A is making HUGE strides towards speed and modularity.) Sure.
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If we're being 100% honest though, consumers just want a good budget smartphone. Check statcounter for stats on mobile operating systems, apple is up because of the SE. People really just need a solid phone with a cheap pricetag. As a tech nerd of course I like to revel in innovation but that is not what the general consensus wants, they want a phone that works for a good price and I think apple needs to keep tapping into that market and not isolating consumers. Apple has seen a steady decline as also seen in statcounter and it is good to see them coming back.

 

[Abazigal]

Understandable, one downside though is they like to only push their innovations and not assist with another. Believe it or not, but later Nokia phones had better cameras than iPhones but apple is typically credited with a higher quality in cameras. Motorola is doing a bang up job with innovating what a smartphone battery can be, extending the life to 3 days with no charge and a good amount of usage, that to me could lead to an all-good innovation rather than a divisive one. Smartphone cameras are great and innovations are so barely noticeable now. I think cordless is a good idea, but people like the option. Innovation is adding new features while still offering the option for users who rely on the old features to keep using something at least similar to the old. 3.5mm dongle? Sure. USB-C to A dongle? (Which I personally am against because even USB A is making HUGE strides towards speed and modularity.) Sure.
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If we're being 100% honest though, consumers just want a good budget smartphone. Check statcounter for stats on mobile operating systems, apple is up because of the SE. People really just need a solid phone with a cheap pricetag. As a tech nerd of course I like to revel in innovation but that is not what the general consensus wants, they want a phone that works for a good price and I think apple needs to keep tapping into that market and not isolating consumers. Apple has seen a steady decline as also seen in statcounter and it is good to see them coming back.

That’s thinking like an engineering-led company and not a design-led one.

Apple is all about minimalism and purity in hardware design. It’s why they keep striving to make their products thinner and lighter, because in the eyes of the then Steve Jobs and Jony Ive, perfection is achieved by cutting out everything not absolutely required in the design. It’s about creating products that are cut down to their absolute most basic form, not necessarily about making those with the most features, or being the most useful.

That’s why when people say “Apple could have sold AirPods while keeping the headphone jack around so users have the option”, they totally miss the point, because from Apple’s perspective, the end goal is a product that is thin, light yet uncompromisingly simple, not something with a huge feature list.

This is obviously not something everyone agrees on, but “perfection” has always been through the eyes of Apple’s design team, never the public. And one can’t deny that apple’s design philosophy has totally reshaped the phone and computer industry over the last decade, because it works.

And we know that Jony Ive’s idealised vision of the iphone and ipad is a single slab of glass, so it would appear that after even his departure, his work and ideals still persist at Apple, where designers call the shots over engineering. The caveat though is that Jony Ive is no longer at Apple, so this idea may ultimately never come to fruition if there is enough opposition to it.

We will see.

 

[jlc1978]

It depends on precisely how you use your phone while charging. I frequently pick my phone up for the wireless charger, do something and then set it back down on the charger. It’s not charging during that one minute (repeated dozens of times), but it’s charging all the rest of the time.

Good point. Both methods have their own advantages. I have a wireless charger on my desk and nightstand, which makes it easy to charge my phone when I am working and overnight. My desktop charger has a detachable battery I can take with me if needed.

A cable is much more useful when traveling or when I am not at my desk. My coach and theater seats have a USB port built in, so it's easier and cheaper to use a cable. Most hotels and airliners have USB plugs so that I use and if I forget a cable it's no big deal. Many hotels and rental car agencies have a collection of them from guests who have left them and will give you one; and if I left one it's a lot less expensive than a wireless charger.

Having the option is useful; and I prefer they stick with Lightening simpky becasue I already have a collection of accessories.

But the real advantage wireless charging is that your phone will tend to be mostly charged whenever you use it, because it’s been on the charger when you weren’t using it. There’s no separate “plug in and wait” step.

That certainly is useful.
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How's 65 cents?

I'd be leary oof a cheap charger having the circuitry to properly control temperature and chargng rates.

Many dash holders have wireless charging built in.

It's not just built in but the ability to deliver enough power to maintain a charge over a long trip. In addition, for those of us who like WeatherTech's cup holder (or otehr designs) a wireless phone is a non starter.

 

[kristof46]

Make up your mind lol

Option A) Car is new and has CarPlay. Car has Qi charging or can get a charging mat.

Option B) Car is old, doesn’t have CarPlay. Use iPhone on a dash holder with Qi.

Are you joking right? Some cars even from 2016/2017 have an option to add CarPlay (you need cable to use it) but there is no option to add qi charger mat. So that's an option C most popular I think not only in Europe but around the world. I have CarPlay in my VW Passat but I couldn't add qi charger. If you want qi charger in it you have to decide about that before you order your version.

 

[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:

 

[alexgowers]

I get that Apple wants you to go wireless. But it’s worse than before for multiple reasons. No longer is a cable used for many devices now not viable it’s also needed in addition to a wireless pad that is less energy efficient and makes dangerous amounts of heat, doesn’t charge as fast and also prevents the use of wired headphones and lighting specific headphones only just released. The ideal solution is usbc to combine all ports that also provides parity with all other Apple devices. Wireless power is just horrid in all its forms and not a eco friendly option.

I and anyone sane will dump the iPhone if it does go truly portless. I suspect Apple knows this and will be a huge internal struggle between depts to right this heinous wrong about to be committed.

 

[citysnaps]

How do I wirelessly charge my phone when I fall asleep while using it?

How do I safely drive my car when I fall asleep driving it?

Change your behavior.

 

[kristof46]

How do I safely drive my car when I fall asleep driving it?

Change your behavior.

nice joke but you forgot that when you charge your phone using cable you can still use it. If you have to use wireless charger you will have to stand over it. Really comfortable

 

[ipponrg]

The lesson Apple keeps teaching and which others keep ignoring is - to create true meaningful change in a market, you need to force change. By taking bold unapologetic stances.

I am interested not so much in Apple removing cords, but more in what succeeds it.

The real lesson here is when you got devoted followers, you can do things that others can’t do. Meaningful change is in the eyes of the beholder

 

[ariusbb]

Who is that leaker?
Probably picked up what John Prosser has been saying for 6+ months now...

 

[Abazigal]

The real lesson here is when you got devoted followers, you can do things that others can’t do. Meaningful change is in the eyes of the beholder

That’s why I am still around.

 

[x-evil-x]

I get that Apple wants you to go wireless. But it’s worse than before for multiple reasons. No longer is a cable used for many devices now not viable it’s also needed in addition to a wireless pad that is less energy efficient and makes dangerous amounts of heat, doesn’t charge as fast and also prevents the use of wired headphones and lighting specific headphones only just released. The ideal solution is usbc to combine all ports that also provides parity with all other Apple devices. Wireless power is just horrid in all its forms and not a eco friendly option.

I and anyone sane will dump the iPhone if it does go truly portless. I suspect Apple knows this and will be a huge internal struggle between depts to right this heinous wrong about to be committed.

i already think apple realizes this too. They won’t drop the charging port because sales would drop an insane amount. It’s not like the headphone jack that could be taken out and it wasn’t a big deal. There can be dongles used for that but if they take out the charge port half to 3/4 of people with CarPlay will be mad. Also all the wired headphones people still using the port just got screwed as well as all the headphone industry besides Bluetooth.
I just don’t see them doing that. It wouldnt make sense just going out and screwing most everyone needing the port for no reason. The 3.5 was manageable. That’s not.

 

[4jasontv]

Change your behavior.

That advice worked so well the last time Apple tried.

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

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.

Absolutely true!
My joke was of course that that solution isn’t really all that portable... but from a sheer power perspective; an iPhone could DEFINITELY handle a full computing experience via a dock, like you describe.
It would likely be at least as powerful as 75% of laptops sold in the last 2 years.
#daretodream

 

[4jasontv]

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.

What the... you know what? You're right!

Also...

I have a $1000 dresser, I should be able to use it like a bed.
And my car, I should be able to use it as a boat.
For crying out loud. My $1000 bread maker should also make mashed potatoes!

LOL. The original Apple TV WAS an inexpensive computer, and barely anyone bought it.

 

[jlc1978]

Absolutely true!
My joke was of course that that solution isn’t really all that portable... but from a sheer power perspective; an iPhone could DEFINITELY handle a full computing experience via a dock, like you describe.
It would likely be at least as powerful as 75% of laptops sold in the last 2 years.
#daretodream

While an iPhone could be made into a computer; it would take some significant chnages and tradeoffs to do so. First is power consumption.People would expect the speed of a full size machine, which would require a powerful chip that is likely to suck down a battery vs a chip designed for a phone. They could, off course, throttle the chip in phone mode but then people would complain about throttling.

The ther is iOS. They would need a real file system; and programs woul dneed to be designed with laptop type use in mind. That, of course, negates the simplicity of the iOS UI; or you wind up withj programs that operate differently in each mode.

Then there is storage. 64GB won't hack it, and 128 is probably a lowerlimit. So either you put in bigger storage capacity, increasing costs, allow external storage meaning yet another device to haul around, or rely on cloud storage and the need for internet access.

Then there the is cost beyond the phone. By the time you add a dock, keybpoard, mouse and decent monitor you're probably 3/4 the way to a low end MB.

It's a solution without a problem, as evidenced by previous attempts to create such a hybrid.

 

[compwiz1202]

The lesson Apple keeps teaching and which others keep ignoring is - to create true meaningful change in a market, you need to force change. By taking bold unapologetic stances.

I am interested not so much in Apple removing cords, but more in what succeeds it.

I'm more interested in what precedes it. If Apple would announce portless now, there would be a 0% chance I would buy it. Apple needs to boost their wireless rate past the wimpy 7.5W, wireless needs somewhat of range so you can use the phone like you do now while charging, and public availability needs to expand a lot. And they would need a reasonably priced reliable CarPlay adaptor.

 

[spinedoc77]

Besides making my phone run super hot, the problem with wireless charging in my car in it's current form is that it can't even keep up with my 11 Pro Max while running Waze and will start to drain the battery while running.
As mentioned countless times also, we're not buying a new car just so we can have wireless carplay. Besides it's mostly only on luxury vehicles as of now.

Try a different charger, I haven't had any issues with my wireless charger keeping up with Waze even with full brightness, although it won't top it off it only keeps up with it. I don't use it anymore only because the new vehicle I have has Carplay which forces me to plug it in.