The iPhone 14 Is Unlikely to Be Portless, Here's Why

[4jasontv]

Just curious, you said $20 to $30 dollars per month on cables, I assume that’s per year, not a one time purchase. What happened to you where that was necessary? We have quite a few lightning cables in our home, many that are just about as old from when Apple started selling them.

We had cables in every room and they averaged about $15 each to $20 each. They would last a few months before the connection between the wire and the plug gave way and exposed the wires or just died completely. Had we not had so many I would assume they would die a lot faster. The Apple ones were no more reliable, but they were so short they were used a lot less. Which made them last longer. Anker has gotten less reliable, but so have the cheap cables. I would say we replaced a cable every 6 weeks.

One issue is that because the phone can't be used upside down like the iPad the weight of the phone is easily put on the cable itself either while being held or balanced. The MagSafe charger avoids this issue because the interface with the 'plug' is aligned with the back of the phone and this makes it a lot harder to apply pressure that causes damage.

Add to these issues plug-unplug stress and the inevitable rolling over the charging device while asleep and the lightning cable will die while the MagSafe keeps trucking.

This isn't just me, it's everyone in my household and our friends and families. It happened with iPhones and the old iPads. Lightning cables die with enough regularity that it's cheaper to buy MagSafe chargers, USB C extension cords and pay more for electricity than to deal with the frustrating wired connection.

USB C however has been spot on. Our iPads, mice, keyboards, Switch, etc., have all run fabulously. So it's not an issue with how we use the cables but rather something about how lightning is made.

 

[Alexander_im]

An excellent article, thank you MR.

 

[FelixDerKater]

How much of the world's power consumption will go to efficiency losses from wireless charging?

 

[ian87w]

Biggest issue with iPhone is DFU mode, where it requires connection with a Mac/PC. Android, OTOH has built-in safe mode. Apple needs to resolve this if they want a truly portless iPhone. I believe this is what's keeping Apple from making a portless iPhone. iOS was created with the mindset of the mac/PC as the main computer, with the iPhone being an extension of that. Apple talked big about post-PC era, but clearly that have to really revamp iOS from the ground up to be an actually post-PC device.

As for the bandwidth, I have a feeling Apple will come up with their own proprietary solution using their own wireless chip designs. Kinda like Airdrop on steroid.

As for lightning based accessories, I'm sure Apple would be more than happy selling some sort of wireless lightning adapter, just like how they sold 30-pin dock connector to lightning way back when. More stuff for people to buy, more money for Apple. So I don't think lightning accessories compatibility is something Apple is concerned about.

 

[bingeciren]

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.

Wireless CarPlay adapters exist. Carlinkit is an example for instance.

 

[Sophisticatednut]

Agreed with the comment about CarPlay requiring a wired connection. My car is new and wired connection is the only way to connect.

There are some aftermarket 'wireless CarPlay adapters', but the reviews indicate that they don't always work well. And they are just another piece of electronics junk.

Apple is caught between a rock and a hard place if their only fix for the USB-C mandate is no connector. But a no connector iPhone would be a mistake for many.

I am surprised with the push for universal connectors. In the past, it would have been micro-USB which was terrible. Now it is USB-C. When a better connector comes along, how long will it take for the regulators to allow its implementation?

And what is the big deal with a different phone connection when it goes to a charger that accepts USB. And the charger evolution from USB-A to USB-C causes similar problems.

It doesn’t work like that. The regulation work by the manufacturers cooperate to change the port to a new one if it improves in the future, they just need to be universal. The law doesn’t mention what kind technically to use.

 

[bingeciren]

For those of us who travel light, portless phone is a disadvantage. Try charging your phone on an airplane. You will have to carry a Magsafe puck or something similar instead of a simple charge cable.

Overall, rather than carrying just a small charger and a cable, one must additionally carry a Qi charger or a Magsafe adapter for travel. I fail to see the benefit in that.

 

[4jasontv]

For those of us who travel light, portless phone is a disadvantage. Try charging your phone on an airplane. You will have to carry a Magsafe puck or something similar instead of a simple charge cable.

Overall, rather than carrying just a small charger and a cable, one must additionally carry a Qi charger or a Magsafe adapter for travel. I fail to see the benefit in that.

I mean the solution to that problem benefits everyone.

 

[ssmed]

I am conflicted with this. In the car I have a cabled solution - it works well and CarPlay and charging would need accessories which might not fit in a glove compartment - I tend to keep the car for some time! On the hill, running or in the clinic (for disinfection) a very waterproof device would be great. Waterproof speakers and microphones are slightly challenging of course.

On longer trips away, would a MagSafe charger be smaller than an USB battery box. I guess so, so again this is not an easy choice.

Perhaps they will have the $2K waterproof version and then the $2.5K ported version ;-)

 

[SFjohn]

We had cables in every room and they averaged about $15 each to $20 each. They would last a few months before the connection between the wire and the plug gave way and exposed the wires or just died completely. Had we not had so many I would assume they would die a lot faster. The Apple ones were no more reliable, but they were so short they were used a lot less. Which made them last longer. Anker has gotten less reliable, but so have the cheap cables. I would say we replaced a cable every 6 weeks.

View attachment 1941320

One issue is that because the phone can't be used upside down like the iPad the weight of the phone is easily put on the cable itself either while being held or balanced. The MagSafe charger avoids this issue because the interface with the 'plug' is aligned with the back of the phone and this makes it a lot harder to apply pressure that causes damage.

Add to these issues plug-unplug stress and the inevitable rolling over the charging device while asleep and the lightning cable will die while the MagSafe keeps trucking.

This isn't just me, it's everyone in my household and our friends and families. It happened with iPhones and the old iPads. Lightning cables die with enough regularity that it's cheaper to buy MagSafe chargers, USB C extension cords and pay more for electricity than to deal with the frustrating wired connection.

USB C however has been spot on. Our iPads, mice, keyboards, Switch, etc., have all run fabulously. So it's not an issue with how we use the cables but rather something about how lightning is made.

We all use Apple extra long USB C to lightning cables, and we have a few USB A to lightening extra long Apple cables that are REALLY old, the connection doesn’t look great, but they perform flawlessly.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

If Apple were to remove the port, it would be very typical of them I think. We’ve had years of using flimsy workarounds for things like the removal of headphone ports, Mac’s losing features, additional cables needed to connect devices etc. Right now we have a very weird situation where they can’t decide what cable they want to use too. When I go away I have to take a lightning cable for my iPhone, a USB-C for my iPad and yet another type of cable for my Apple Watch .

Removing the port completely off the phone would just be a headache. For example, when my work colleague wants me to transfer a couple of hundred photo’s from a test to his laptop, how would I do it quickly?? Right now I plug my iPhone in, and drag the images off in bulk. How would I plug headphones in the iPhone also? Probably be in a situation where I’d have to buy a wireless device to bridge the gap or just use my Bluetooth headphones which are poorer in terms of quality. I can really see Apple doing this in the next couple of years just to be awkward.

Apple will also benefit from many more visits to their stores from people who have unresponsive iPhones who can no longer plug in to force a reset. They don’t remove anything unless it benefits them financially IMO.

 

[kyykesko]

The phone won’t be portless until Apple includes a MagSafe puck in the box.

A phone without buttons and ports *might* have been a goal under Ive, and that’s a mighty big assumption, the MBP changes are an indication that is not necessarily true. Heck the watch has a big physical control button that could have been touch/software instead.

Why would they include it when they can sell it separately and make huge prof... I mean, consider the environment!

 

[kyykesko]

Heck the watch has a big physical control button that could have been touch/software instead.

How would you come up with a solution to replace the crown that would be even half as usable as the current one? Touch/software solutions sound nightmarish to me. Now we at least have one controller that works as it should. And no, I don't want that other button to be replaced by a software/touch solution either. I want the feedback of an actual button being pressed.

 

[The Game 161]

And they shouldn’t for one until they can get charging speeds in the 50-60w range.

 

[kyykesko]

Or at least a two version strategy for a few transition years. People have the option to buy a portless design if they want or with the dual charging version like they presently have. Apple is unlikely to do that though. A switch to USB-C would mean all the cables over the years are largely useless now but would be a good interim move until the entire industry goes towards a wireless only solution.

They'll do what they have done before: They include the old dual version in the budget version of the phone and make the flagship model portless. And then claim everyone loves the portless option because it's the only half-decent phone of the lot from other perspectives.

Wireless only option at this point doesn't make any sense no matter how you look at it. Efficiency is poor, speeds are poor, (especially) usability is poor if you have to lug that giant puck around with you everywhere. Thanks, but no thanks. Were they to do what I assume they will (when they decide to go full wireless) I've no options left. I'm not on the market for budget options nor am I interested in a phone you can't connect to anything. Wireless connectivity is nothing.

 

[metapunk2077fail]

I use MagSafe charging but everywhere I go won't have a MagSafe charger in case I need urgent power so a cable port is necessary until MagSafe is ubiquitous.

 

[daanodinot]

Wasting half my electricity while charging really doesn’t sound like the future I want.

 

[Tozovac]

Apple's longtime goal has been to design an ‌‌iPhone‌‌ with no external ports or buttons for a clean, streamlined device

“for a clean and streamlined device…”

?

What’s the endgame with BS like that?

Are iPhones for lying on the desktop and inspiring users into dreamlike trances over its sleekness? Or for convenient use?

iPhones already are photoshoot-ready jewelry-like streamlined pieces of art way too fragile to be used in the wild without a case. How much more streamlining do we really need? And a more challenging question: And why?

When’s the last time someone ran into usability issues over the existence of volume/power buttons, or wished they were less easy to reach by feel only, or had less direct confirmation when pressed?

Users needed something new on their nearly-perfect mobile device’s screen and we get the ios7 hot mess (that’s been slowly back-stepped towards intuitive, efficient interface design).

Users wanted zero bezels and we got the silly notch (that removes real estate up top for various key status icons).

Users wanted thinner, lighter, sleeker, and we got the escape-keyless butterfly keyboard with usb-c-only MacBooks (that’s been back-stepped to Magic Keyboard MacBooks with escape-keys and more useful, convenient ports).

At some point it’s ok to put the pencil down and stop adding by removal. This is a potential mistake I never hope comes to fruition.

Why would Apple make their iPhones port-less when they make bank from all of the accessories they sell for it like lightning cables?

(thankfully, yet sadly) THIS!

 

[hans1972]

If Apple is serious about the environment then the main reason not to go 100% wireless is the loss of energy while charging wirelessly. Unless somebody invents a way to come close to the efficiency of wired energy transfer, pure wireless should be a big no.

12 Wh x 365 = 4.38 kWh. Let's say we need to more than double that to 10 kWh.

One charge of a Tesla Model 3 is about 78 kWh.

Charging phones isn't were you save energy.

 

[hans1972]

As someone who travels a lot with their iPhone Pro AND iPad Pro… I for one would LOVE if Apple switched to USB-C for their iPhone Pros. Then I’d only have to bring one cable & charger when I travel.

You only need one charger and two cables today.

One charger with a USB-C and a USB-A port, or one charger with one or two USB-C ports.

 

[Tozovac]

Heck the watch has a big physical control button that could have been touch/software instead.

But hopefully never will.

What are the two round buttons found to be "must haves" by automobile manufacturers who have spent countless dollars on focus groups? Volume and temperature.

Thanks to muscle memory and tactile feedback, you can enact each without even looking while gaining instant confirmation.

With today's iOS/iPadOS, how frustrating is it to to first take the time to find something that used to be out there in the open, and then press the text-as-a-button only to find your finger completely covers it *and* you're not getting the results you are commanding. Then you start wondering and re-trying and getting frustrated.

At some point it's really OK to say "enough."

 

[arvinsim]

They might fix it right away by releasing lossless AirPods Pro 2 ? They used that dubious strategy when they ditched the headphone jack, and while it got heavily criticized, it actually paid them extremely well... so well the AirPods division alone would be a Fortune 500 company.

I am not talking about consuming music. I am talking about producing music with various devices on the iPhone or iPad.

 

[jamcgahey]

For everyone complaining that they kept the lightning over swapping to USB-C THIS IS WHY. They are actually doing you a solid. Could they swap to USB-C? Sure, but in a couple years when everything is fully connector free ya'll will complain that you just spent "x" amount of money on USB-C charging cords only to have them no longer compatible.

 

[Atlantico]

Having a portless phone is a pointless battle to commit to.

So what if it was possible? The benefits are questionable at best, if any, and the drawbacks are very real.

Wireless communication will always be considerably inferior to wired.

 

[bayportbob]

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 always been my view on this issue. I have a new vehicle and the CarPlay interface is not wireless, why would I desire to disable that functionality or spend a lot of money to keep that functionality? not on my watch.