Next iPhone to have USB-C? (merged)

[Lloydbm41]

What are the requirements they aren't currently meeting? How have they been selling in the EU all this time?

Talk about government regulation run amok. It's one thing to regulate harmful materials out of products. It's another to tell a company how to design their own products.

FireWire... Thunderbolt... MagSafe... USB-C

Connectors, data transfer rates and charging capabilities change. The only thing the EU has set into motion is to require a single standard for phone connectors. This is not unreasonable and from the time they enacted the ruling to the time OEM's had to implement was 5 years. Apple agreed to this, and have even influenced the design of the product. We're you this upset when Apple forced their Nano-sim tech on the world?

P.S. Apple and Nokia have been able to sell in the EU all this time because the law doesn't require USB-C until 2017.

 

[jrswizzle]

FireWire... Thunderbolt... MagSafe... USB-C

Connectors, data transfer rates and charging capabilities change. The only thing the EU has set into motion is to require a single standard for phone connectors. This is not unreasonable and from the time they enacted the ruling to the time OEM's had to implement was 5 years. Apple agreed to this, and have even influenced the design of the product. We're you this upset when Apple forced their Nano-sim tech on the world?

P.S. Apple and Nokia have been able to sell in the EU all this time because the law doesn't require USB-C until 2017.

Yup, I got the story already.

If you read any of my posts my main beef is with a government dictating what a private company does/how they design products.

Last I checked no government has forced other smartphone OEMs to adopt the nano-SIM.

At any rate, I'll accept whatever Apple puts out. I'll buy my extra cable or two and move on. But that doesn't mean I need to be ok with the government stepping in whenever they feel like it. Keep them out of the private sector. Let consumers hold the ultimate power - which is to choose which product to purchase.

*Edit: Sorry - I made many of these same comments in another thread on the same subject.

 

[Bloodraw850]

I don't see it happening anytime soon

 

[C DM]

I don't see it happening anytime soon

Seems like within the next couple of years would be a fairly likely estimate.

 

[C DM]

Yup, I got the story already.

If you read any of my posts my main beef is with a government dictating what a private company does/how they design products.

Last I checked no government has forced other smartphone OEMs to adopt the nano-SIM.

At any rate, I'll accept whatever Apple puts out. I'll buy my extra cable or two and move on. But that doesn't mean I need to be ok with the government stepping in whenever they feel like it. Keep them out of the private sector. Let consumers hold the ultimate power - which is to choose which product to purchase.

*Edit: Sorry - I made many of these same comments in another thread on the same subject.

The consumers wouldn't be able to influence Apple to adopt a standardized connector. I would venture to say that very likely Apple would have stuck to proprietary connectors for a while if there wasn't some regulation or something like that which would have gotten them to move to it. Sure, regulations and interference in a wide-reaching overall sense can and often are stifling in one way or another, but that doesn't mean that any and all of them are therefore bad and simply shouldn't be there at all. It really isn't just this or that since reality is much more nuanced and complex than just simply two opposite outcomes.

 

[jrswizzle]

The consumers wouldn't be able to influence Apple to adopt a standardized connector. I would venture to say that very likely Apple would have stuck to proprietary connectors for a while if there wasn't some regulation or something like that which would have gotten them to move to it. Sure, regulations and interference in a wide-reaching overall sense can and often are stifling in one way or another, but that doesn't mean that any and all of them are therefore bad and simply shouldn't be there at all. It really isn't just this or that since reality is much more nuanced and complex than just simply two opposite outcomes.

If using a different connector was really that big of a problem, a customer can choose something else.

I think we've effectively discussed this enough.

 

[C DM]

If using a different connector was really that big of a problem, a customer can choose something else.

I think we've effectively discussed this enough.

That's kind of the point, not enough people would do that ("vote with their wallet") for something like just a connector because there's too much else that works for them about the ecosystem and the device, which wouldn't prompt Apple to do it themselves and people would continue paying more for proprietary connectivity not because it's good for them or it's the right thing, but because there's not much on a market scale to change that (which doesn't make it good or right just because there isn't enough to change that).

But, yes, I guess it's been discussed enough by this point.

 

[jrswizzle]

That's kind of the point, not enough people would do that ("vote with their wallet") for something like just a connector because there's too much else that works for them about the ecosystem and the device, which wouldn't prompt Apple to do it themselves and people would continue paying more for proprietary connectivity not because it's good for them or it's the right thing, but because there's not much on a market scale to change that (which doesn't make it good or right just because there isn't enough to change that).

But, yes, I guess it's been discussed enough by this point.

Who decides whats "good for them" if not the consumer him/herself?

We're talking maybe $10-$15 per cable here.....at most, $30-$45 if you buy a bunch....really? With all that's going on in the world, this is where governments decide to put their foot down?

Psh....

 

[KdParker]

What is so damn special about the usb-c that warrants the standard becoming mandated by law in 2017?

 

[C DM]

What is so damn special about the usb-c that warrants the standard becoming mandated by law in 2017?

It's not specifically that USB-C has to be that standard really, as much as it is that phones need to use a standardized vs. a proprietary connector.

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Who decides whats "good for them" if not the consumer him/herself?

We're talking maybe $10-$15 per cable here.....at most, $30-$45 if you buy a bunch....really? With all that's going on in the world, this is where governments decide to put their foot down?

Psh....

Deciding is one part of it, getting it done is another. If many consumers decided a standardized connector is good for them, they would still have little ways of getting that done given what I mentioned in my previous post.

The rest of the government vs. corporation stuff I don't really want to get into as that is just a lot of principles and personal views stuff which doesn't really have much impact on something small and specific like this which benefits the consumers.

But again, seems like we certainly discussed it enough given that the same things keep on coming up again. So it's all good.

 

[ccard3dev]

Maybe if a mobile-optimized "USB-C Mini" was introduced Apple would adapt it...

 

[C DM]

Maybe if a mobile-optimized "USB-C Mini" was introduced Apple would adapt it...

Mobile-optimized in what sense? Seems like USB-C is already almost the same size as Micro USB, so not sure why any Mini or Micro version would be needed (in the near future at least).

 

[NT1440]

Guys, it's important to remember that the port connector itself is just physical. Even IF (and its a big if) apple were to adopt the 3.1c connector...that doesn't magically give it the ability to use it as storage, connect to a monitor, etc. Apple still controls what the port will function for regardless of the what the spec supports.

 

[Attonine]

A big part of the EU's decision was also environmental. To end the days of everyone having a drawer full of chargers. One standard means one charger or data cable can be used for all devices. Cuts down on a lot of waste.

Already we can see the results of this as pretty much every device nowadays charges and passes data through some type of USB, usually Micro or Mini. The wall wart has all but disappeared and a simple mains plug with USB has replaced it.

I guess with USB-C turning up, it's not unreasonable to speculate that we will see this becoming the standard.

 

[meistervu]

A big part of the EU's decision was also environmental. To end the days of everyone having a drawer full of chargers. One standard means one charger or data cable can be used for all devices. Cuts down on a lot of waste.

Already we can see the results of this as pretty much every device nowadays charges and passes data through some type of USB, usually Micro or Mini. The wall wart has all but disappeared and a simple mains plug with USB has replaced it.

I guess with USB-C turning up, it's not unreasonable to speculate that we will see this becoming the standard.

Yes, that is the reason, and I am glad. Every device I've purchased in the past came with its own power adaptor: inconvenient and wasteful.

 

[Lloydbm41]

Who decides whats "good for them" if not the consumer him/herself?

We're talking maybe $10-$15 per cable here.....at most, $30-$45 if you buy a bunch....really? With all that's going on in the world, this is where governments decide to put their foot down?

Psh....

It wasn't the cost that started the ball rolling on standardization. It was the estimated 2 billion pounds of various cables and charging plugs toxifying and filling European landfills. A side effect of standardization will be a cost reduction in final production figures for all OEM's though. This likely offsets the loss in proprietary cable accessory sales by OEM's.

BTW, I am not completely unsympathetic to your views on the EU government. When I hear they are talking about forcing US companies to split up or forcing them to censur data (i.e. as they are with Google), that is crossing the line. Forcing a standard for ALL companies in order to keep production costs down, prevent toxic waste byproducts and decreasing the amount of junk in landfills I can agree with. Just my humble opinion.

 

[cmichaelb]

I think that the switch will have to be made, simply from a user standpoint. The benefit of USB-C is that it can work both directions. If you continue to have lightning on the iPhone and iPad, it will be the ONLY cable that is not reversible, and you will have almost 0 visible indicator as to why. USB-C and Lightning look darn similar from even a short distance. People will (and reasonably) not look closely at which end can plug into the phone and which end plugs into the plug or laptop. That will get annoying very fast.

Heck, looking at these two photos, and hearing from everyone that the lightning cable is slightly smaller, it seems almost inevitable that people shove the lightning into the USB-C connector and break the small chip inside the female end of USB-C.

They just look too similar.
Image

EXACTLY! I don't understand why USB-C doesn't have a male end on the cable rather than the port. I see this as a point of failure and why it won't make for a smaller port than lightning.

 

[sanke1]

One end will be lightning port and other end would be USB C.

 

[Ethos Evoss]

Say BYE BYE to (weird) lightning connector.. usb c (3.1) gonna replace it. Yes

At last that this thunder lightning hybrid connector will be dead like firewire..
USB is BEST !
You will see this flippable connector in iP6s ...

 

[sunking101]

I hate mini USB ports. They don't have the solid connection that a Lightning Port does, and they're very fragile. I know loads of people whose Android charging ports have stopped working and yet nobody has those problems with an iPhone.

 

[eclipse01]

I hate mini USB ports. They don't have the solid connection that a Lightning Port does, and they're very fragile. I know loads of people whose Android charging ports have stopped working and yet nobody has those problems with an iPhone.

I'm sure you mean "mirco" usb? Mini usb is pretty much obsolete now in devices.

on a side note, I read someone saying that USB-C has many benifits over lightning, just wondering what those are? If you say speed, can't they just make a usb 3.1 lightning cable (with a usb-C end on the other side) to tap the data speed?

maybe have two types, one for high speed and one with the normal usb end for normal speed?

 

[Lloydbm41]

I hate mini USB ports. They don't have the solid connection that a Lightning Port does, and they're very fragile. I know loads of people whose Android charging ports have stopped working and yet nobody has those problems with an iPhone.

I have had tons of mini and micro USB cables, several lightning cables and even 2 hybrid micro USB/lightning cables. Not a single one has ever failed me over the years. Could it happen? Sure. But your comment about USB being 'very fragile' is pure horse-manure.

 

[eclipse01]

I have had tons of mini and micro USB cables, several lightning cables and even 2 hybrid micro USB/lightning cables. Not a single one has ever failed me over the years. Could it happen? Sure. But your comment about USB being 'very fragile' is pure horse-manure.

I have actually gone through more Apple cables then anything else (pre lightning era)

I have never had to replace a lightning cable, but have seen people around me replace "non official" lightning cables left and right.

 

[Ethos Evoss]

Guys
say BYE BYE to lightning connector.. usb c (3.1) gonna replace it. Yes

 

[Max(IT)]

I'd like to see a direct comparison inn dimensions between usb C and lightning port.

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I have had tons of mini and micro USB cables, several lightning cables and even 2 hybrid micro USB/lightning cables. Not a single one has ever failed me over the years. Could it happen? Sure. But your comment about USB being 'very fragile' is pure horse-manure.

Your conclusion is anecdotal.... I had two ports failed, on an Acer tablet and on a digital camera. Does that makes his post more credible ?

In my opinion USB actually are more fragile than lightning port.