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Apple changes connectors rendering expensive accessories useless all the time. There used to be cars with 25-pin docks for ipods and iphones. My Porsche had one. Apple didn’t care about rendering my boxster’s digital dock useless.

The Dock Connector lasted from 2003 to 2011... so 8 years.

The Lightning Connector from 2012 to potentially ending in 2020... so that will be another 8 years.

That's basically an eternity in tech time.

It doesn't really sound like "changing connectors all the time" but I understand how frustrating it can be when you have an expensive item with an obsoleted connector. Especially a car!

However... it probably wasn't the best idea to put connectors in cars that only worked with Apple devices. Sure the Dock Connector was great if you had an iPhone or iPod... but it did nothing for people who had Samsungs or Blackberries. :p

I'm glad car manufacturers have finally switched to using plain ol' USB ports. Then you can plug anything into it. That's probably what they should have done in the first place... instead of using one manufacturer's proprietary connector.

Hindsight... 👓
 
The Dock Connector lasted from 2003 to 2011... so 8 years.

The Lightning Connector from 2012 to potentially 2021... so that will be at least 9 years.

That doesn't really sound like "changing connectors all the time" but I understand how frustrating it can be when you have an expensive item with an obsoleted connector.

However... it probably wasn't the best idea to put connectors in cars that only worked with Apple devices. Sure the Dock Connector was great if you had an iPhone or iPod... but it did nothing for people who had Samsungs or Blackberries. :p

I'm glad car manufacturers have finally switched to using plain ol' USB ports. Then you can plug anything into it.

By “all the time” i wasn’t just referring to ios connectors. Remember various FireWire connectors, ADB, etc? Apple does what is necessary to move the technology forward, and they don’t worry about people whining about incompatibility with existing stuff.
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Is this the biggest new features of the iPhone 12? Boring if it is.

Yes. There will be no new features other than magnets.
 
Wireless CarPlay isn’t ubiquitous enough. You need serious upgrades to the head units even in cars made right now.

Admittedly I have it in my car, preinstalled but it’s possible and very easy to retrofit.

In fact for about $60, you can convert any wired CarPlay system to wireless with a simple adapter.
 
How is this a “wireless” charger? If this is wireless, the so was MagSafe on MacBooks.

MagSafe on MacBooks was a magnetic attachment, but it held physical pins in contact with each other. That's different from Qi induction charging, which iPhones and Watches use.

It would be amazing if Qi charging became efficient enough (with Apple's ingenuity) that MacBooks could be charged using it, and MagSafe would return in its full glory! My main laptop is a 2013 MacBook Air, which has MagSafe 2, and it's still fantastic. The move to USB-C was a downgrade, and I think Apple knows that.
 
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This is going to gimp the iPhone 12 mini. Take the iPhone 12 mini to a cell phone shop and get them to remove these stupid things Cook threw in...

Glass Back
Copper coil
magnets

Useless junk that serves ZERO purpose for anyone who pushes the limits

Weight is the enemy, never ever give an inch to these tyrants. Where we go we are one, Ultralight iPhones or die!!!!
 
Lightning wasn’t ubiquitous when apple dropped the 25 pin connector, and lots of cars (mine included) had 25 pin docks for iPods and iphones back then. Apple doesn’t care.

That's a reach. Technology evolves, and solutions are introduced that bridge the gap between generations.

I introduce you to a website called Amazon that has several solutions for your problem.

 
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This is going to gimp the iPhone 12 mini. Take the iPhone 12 mini to a cell phone shop and get them to remove these stupid things Cook threw in...

Glass Back
Copper coil
magnets

Useless junk that serves ZERO purpose for anyone who pushes the limits
Glass back is presumably necessary due to antenna placement.
 
I have been using magnetic iphone chargers for about a year now. It's amazing. I now have one cable on my desk that charges my keyboard, mouse, headphones, airpods, iPhone, iPad, travel battery, etc.

I doubt this will be that good.
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Lightning wasn’t ubiquitous when apple dropped the 25 pin connector, and lots of cars (mine included) had 25 pin docks for iPods and iphones back then. Apple doesn’t care.

Neither do car manufactures. Look at Chevy tooting their horns and acting like wireless airplay is new.
 
That's a reach. Technology evolves, and solutions are introduced that bridge the gap between generations.

I introduce you to a website called Amazon that has several solutions for your problem.


I no longer have this problem (and the adapter wouldn’t have worked, anyway - it was a dock. The phone didn’t fit in the dock with an adapter at the time).

And I am not complaining. I am the one saying that apple will do what it thinks is necessary, regardless of whether people whine about compatibility.
 
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The difference being that the 25pin>Lightning issue could be solved with a simple, cheap adaptor.




Wrong. It DOES, for the majority of cars - (including some 2019/2020 models) so don't act like it's a non-issue.



This device has been almost universally panned aside from 9to5mac who were paid to feature this adapter. Countless people on these MR forums (and others such as Whirlpool) have complained in its dedicated thread about how buggy it is. This is NOT a solution. Removing the port entirely and not providing a cheap, reliable, OFFICIAL solution would severely cripple the entertainment units of millions of cars should people wish to upgrade their phones.

WRONG! (As you put it to others).

The article is now old and there are many newer, more reliable and cheaper solutions to the problem.

search for Carlinkit. I retrofitted wireless CarPlay to my wife’s car just last month and it’s flawless.
 
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They can't remove the port. CarPlay needs a port, can't do it with Bluetooth.
I agree with you, however, 3rd party wireless adapters exist and work well, this could be a solution for the future. Turns any USB only CarPlay system to a Wifi/Bluetooth system
 
This really shows where Apple is going. No wonder they haven’t shown much interest in bringing USB C to the iPhone. I don’t feel like iPhone 13 will be it necessarily, but iPhone 14 or most likely iPhone 15 will be the first portless iPhone. Get ready to upgrade those accessories that depend on lightening.
 
This seems like an unpleasant use case. Nothing holding that charger in place to the table or what not. Don’t see the point of this particular implementation.
That It’s Qi charging without having to stay on the table allowing for charging and use.
 
I have a great idea: you connect a cable to the phone via a small hole in the phone and that cable is connected to the wall which delivers electricity over the cable at rates much faster than this supposed wireless charging. It’s an incredible invention let me tell you. I call it a “plug”.
Because you know the charge rates at which this charges? 🤔 Trolling for days smh. Easier to quickly attach this and go than trying to fumble around with a lightning cable, usb-c, or standard Qi charger.
 
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This is a relatively new company (March 2020) and based in Japan (where it is already Oct 13th). I wonder if they messed up the timezone/date difference and simply scheduled this press release the same date as the Apple event (on the 13th in the US, which is the 14th in Japan). Rookie mistake for a young, small company? Or clever way to get their brand name out there.
 
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