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Portless will only work if Apple can come out with a battery that lasts two days with normal usage.
 
I can see myself doing great with a portless iPhone, but I am also aware of a lot of edge cases where having a physical port is an advantage or even a requirement.

I think Apple should go portless on the iPhone 14 (the majority of users don't really have any use for the lightning port) and replace lightning with USB-C on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max (Pro users would benefit greatly from USB-C transfer speeds + easy connectivity with third-party accessories).
 
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CarPlay wasn’t mentioned, but that’s probably one of the most important features people would lose.

I just purchased a new vehicle that doesn’t have wireless CarPlay so the chance of me buying a portless phone is pretty well zero.
This has already been solved with devices like carplay2air and the like. I’m honestly shocked apple hasn’t already come out with such a device of their own. I added wireless CarPlay to my 2017 Honda Civic with this years ago
 
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I can see myself doing great with a portless iPhone, but I am also aware of a lot of edge cases where having a physical port is an advantage or even a requirement.

I think Apple should go portless on the iPhone 14 (the majority of users don't really have any use for the lightning port) and replace lightning with USB-C on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max (Pro users would benefit greatly from USB-C transfer speeds + easy connectivity with third-party accessories).
That would be a good dual strategy. Would also force some people to pay more for the Pro model if they wanted the charging port. So Apple would make more money that way.
 
This operates on the very generous assumption that Apple’s claims about waste are credible and not just a useful screen for its desire to hold on to the proprietary port.

I seriously doubt Apple would be worried about what arguments could or couldn’t be turned against it if it was genuinely otherwise ready to launch a portless phone.
Agree. Apple is not at all intimidated by repositioning a message. They have some of the best in the biz at spin. Not at all the issue here.

As mentioned above, the state of CarPlay and revenue from MFi for things like 3rd party microphones and other accessories are more likely the reason. While I find the concept of portless interesting, I don’t yet see that as anything ready for prime time. Will be interesting to see how they navigate this over the next decade. Does seem we’re due for one of those feather ruffling cable/connection shakeups that forces an evolution.
 
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I truly hope they don't go wireless for a long time. There's no decent wireless data transfer solution yet, and unless they can come up with one that matches USB3 or 4 speeds, there's absolutely no benefit in opting for a worse solution than what exists in the phone right now. I used to be a firm advocate of USB-C in the next iPhone but honestly, as long as we get USB-C speeds, I don't mind them keeping the lightning connector. If it went fully portless, I doubt I'd buy the phone.
 
I record my piano videos by connecting my Yamaha digital piano through a USB cable and the Apple adapter to the iPhone for perfectly synced video and clean digital sound from the piano coming through USB audio. It’s been something many Yamaha users love. There are also great portable stereo microphones (e.g. Shure) that connect through a lightning connector to turn your iPhone into a perfect and high quality portable stereo recorder.

It would be a huge mistake to eliminate physical data connector. I hope Apple don’t fall for the BS.

Sorry, Apple will get rid of the Lightning Port for the same reason they got rid of the headphone jack– to sell you something. In getting rid of the headphone jack, they wanted you to buy a 159$ Apple AirPod or a 9$ dongle. And for USB functionality, they want you to buy an iPad.

I think the portless iPhone will be the next butterfly keyboard. It will cause everyone, including Apple, lots of problems for a very minor benefit.
 
I'm just pissed that Apple doesn't include the charger with the purchase of their devices. The BS they told us was that they already gave us a bunch of these and they want to have a postive impact on the environment. Then they switched to USB-C....which Apple has NEVER provided a charger to me for this, except for my MacBook.

I see the port as a feature. You can use it or don't. It's not common that folks are like 'give me less features'. If they sell you a phone that is portless, what? Now you can brag about having a phone with one less feature? Yay! I have a portless phone. Look at me! Personally, I just don't understand how some have it in their minds that having a portless phone is some end goal to achieve.
 
CarPlay wasn’t mentioned, but that’s probably one of the most important features people would lose.

I just purchased a new vehicle that doesn’t have wireless CarPlay so the chance of me buying a portless phone is pretty well zero.
In the same boat also. Only way would maybe use magsafe to transfer from iPhone to CarPlay. Using bluetooth by passes CarPlay interface on mine. Phone and music work but nav does not. No Siri=No Prompts.
 
I truly hope they don't go wireless for a long time. There's no decent wireless data transfer solution yet, and unless they can come up with one that matches USB3 or 4 speeds, there's absolutely no benefit in opting for a worse solution than what exists in the phone right now. I used to be a firm advocate of USB-C in the next iPhone but honestly, as long as we get USB-C speeds, I don't mind them keeping the lightning connector. If it went fully portless, I doubt I'd buy the phone.

Lightning is a great connector, probably better than USB type-C, but Apple hates it and has left it at USB 2.0 speeds. But at least it's not portless. They need to upgrade the port somehow. Either give the Lightning Port USB 3 or 4 speeds or give the iPhone actual USB 3 type-C or USB 4.

I don't want to buy a brand new iPhone that is gimped with such an outdated port, but I don't want a crappy portless phone either. Apple needs to quit trying to make the iPhone a second-class citizen to the iPad. I want an iPhone that is just as capable as an iPad.
 
I think the auhor makes the mistake of assuming it's an all-or-nothing proposition. Why couldn't it simply be one model of the iPhone 14 range that's portless? This would allow Apple to 'measure the size of the market' for such device and work out any kinks in data-/power-related matters before going full-hilt with portliest iPhones. At the same time, it'll allow those who need a port (now) to continue to have that option.
 
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i am holding on to my Xs Max until either USB-C or portless. I don’t want to keep lightning cables any longer than necessary.

also, Apple could conceivably use a MagSafe like on the new MacBooks Pro. Give it a data channel And you effectively have a “portless” iphone. Of course then it’s another unique cable….
 
I've read in a few places that wireless charging increases the speed of battery degradation over time. If that's true (I'm no engineer, so rely on smarter heads to correct me) that would be another hurdle to overcome before killing off the port.

It's very likely to effect it at least a little. The induction coil is right on top of the battery. I think there's a little insulation in between, but it's still going to be getting extra heat from that. Not sure how big of a difference it makes, though. There doesn't seem to be a big advantage in induction charging over using the Lightning port. They're having to use more breakable glass backs to aid the induction charging, plus it less efficient and creates more heat. It's not that big of a deal to have to plug in a cable.
 
Personally, I’m not a big fan of the MagSafe. Anytime I tried to use it. It makes my iPhone extremely hot. I think Apple should introduce USB-C to the iPhones in the future. I think that’s what people would want. The future for wireless charging has not been technologically advanced yet still.
 
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I wish the Lightning connector had been adopted as the standard for USB-C.
Thank god it hasn't. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to connect external display or many high-speed peripherals.
Connectors are always trade-offs between physical size, stability/longevity and signal bandwidth.

Lightning is an 8-pin connector.
USB-C has 24 pins.

That said, Apple could have easily consolidated their iPad lineup to use USB-C, instead of milking customers of "the cheap one" with Lightning peripherals.

Me, I prefer Lightning connectors in an iPhone. The charging cables are small. I don't intend to carry around a much larger MagSafe cable for charging. I also don't like sacrificing charging speed or efficiency for portlessness. And USB2.0 speeds are still reasonable (though not "fast") to restore or move data off/on my Phone.

USB-C is much more finicky, connectors much more prone to become disconnected, dirty, accumulating lint and becoming loose. It's a great idea on a phone theoretically and on technical specs. But less so considering the wear and tear of everyday use.
 
Why would Apple make their iPhones port-less when they make bank from all of the accessories they sell for it like lightning cables?
They’ll still make bank from selling cables for their other devices and selling MagSafe accessories for the portless iPhones.

Idk… I personally am not looking forward to a portless iPhone, but then again I guess I could be ok with it if the battery life significantly improves and MagSafe can do “fast charging”.
 
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