It goes back further than that. Apple said that Lightning would be the connector for the next decade, and it was.
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These Apple Products Are Still Sold With Lightning After More AirPods Switch to USB-C
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All of those (except the older iPhones) will be discontinued next month when they release the new iMac and iPad 11th gen
Your 4k and larger displays and USB3.2gen2 hubs can still happily get power from a 93 year old 110V outlet.
They won't work off a Lightning port, though - it physically doesn't have enough wires (it only kinda-sorta supports USB 3.0 on some iPads with a propretary dongle). That's increasingly an issue with iPads and high-end iPhones being sold as "serious" photographic and video production tools, and once you start going USB-C with iDevices it doesn't make sense to have two different connectors.
Apple would have needed to launch "Lightning 2" by now, which would be pointless when USB-C exists and was being rolled out to Macs (when Lightning launched it was better than those horrible microUSB connectors). On this one, the EU just threw Apple into the briar patch and gave them someone to blame for having to buy a new clock radio stand.
Having USB-A ports is handy, esp. on a Studio where there is plenty of space - but on a desktop, using adapters isn't the end of the world provided you still have the same number of holes to stick them in to. What has tended to happen with other Macs is that USB-A, Ethernet, HDMI etc. just vanish leaving you reliant on hubs/docks to "break out" the various features of a small number of TB ports.
Lightning was a great alternative to mini/micro USB at the time (even though it never gained USB3 speeds), and it’s long served its purpose. Time to finally say goodbye to Lightning.
Strange how the transition from 30 pin to Lightning was so much faster than Lightning to usb c has been… not in such a hurry to swap for a non proprietary connection…
Strange how the transition from 30 pin to Lightning was so much faster than Lightning to usb c has been… not in such a hurry to swap for a non proprietary connection…
Apple should have made the switch to USB Type C connector on the iPhone as far back as the iPhone 12 series models in 2020. Especially most of the other computing devices (iPad, MacBook Air/Pro, Mac mini and even in a way iMac) was already switching to Type C connectors by that time.
Very confusing with the new Pencils. It easy to get them mixed up.
Forgot about the Plus, I thought I saw Pro. You’re right on the iPhone 14 and Plus.
Exactly why they took so long with iDevices. The money was too good.
apple just didn't want to make a double sided lightning port (which was how the first ipad pros got usb 3.0) for iphones for whatever reason
Still miss the days when a desktop machine didn’t need a dock or dongle to have basic connectivity. iMac..
Yep, I bought a laptop stand, magic keyboard (only because it is so small and portable), magic trackpad, and Logitech MX Master 3S mouse for my home office setup.
I was utterly disgusted to discover that the keyboard and trackpad are still lightning. I thought I'd finally got rid of all lightning ports. Christ almighty, sometimes I really really want to inflict terrible things on Tim Cook.
There was no way in hell I was going to buy a magic mouse. What a woefully hopelessly outdated mouse. Terrible ergonomics, and terrible useability. It stems from the old days when Apple stubbornly stuck with the single button mouse and trackpads. I used to use an MS 5 button wheel mouse with my 2008 MBP back in those days, simply because that single button trackpad was so frustrating.
This is messy.
I hope apple will take this chance to refresh the magic mouse.
I hope apple will take this chance to refresh the magic mouse.
Was that how the iPad Pro got USB 3? Interesting, if it shows that a double-sided Lightning plug was feasible (the socket is easy - the plug would have to fit twice as many conductors inside the "blade" without compromising its strength. Still, even double-sided Lightning would have fewer pins than USB-C and anything not plug-compatible with Lightning 1 would have been pointless.
Although Apple have had their share of proprietary connectors, my impression is that they only introduce them when there is no viable standard alternative - and there wasn't when Lightning firsr came out.
Yeah, I think USB-C on iDevices (where you need a single, tiny port that does everything and microUSB was horrible) and going exclusively USB-C on Macs (where forcing independent resources like video, power, USB and Thunderbolt to compete for a limited number of ports causes an unnecessary bottleneck) are two different stories, and Apple kinda got it the wrong way around (because MFi money).
USB 3.0 over lightning plug is definitely feasible as demonstrated by the "Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter" accessory, and that was backwards compatible with USB 2.0 Lightning ports
I think Apple will very likely update the Magic peripherals with USB-C at the October Mac Event. I mean they have to, right? They can't continue selling them in the EU without it.
...sure, but that's just USB 3.0 which is only 9 pins vs. 8 for single-sided Lightning - and could possibly be squeezed onto a single-sided lightning connector. 4-lane DisplayPort (needed for 4k@60Hz) and Thunderbolt/USB4 need 4 lanes - plus the obligitory single lane for USB 2. USB-C has 24 pins, so even double-sided Lightning would have been a stopgap.
I'm not so sure about that. The UE made usb-c mandatory for new products only (though I might be wrong)