Let me tell you why I would love to connect an iPhone to my MBP and therefore would have loved to have a USB-C cable in the box for my 2016 MBP.
1. iOS Restore
You cannot restore an iOS image wirelessly just yet.
2. Music
I consider it a waste of bandwidth resource to have to stream a song every time I want to hear it. I have about 35GB worth of music I have accumulated over past 15 years of owning a computer. I do not wish to pay for an Apple Music subscription to steam that music back to me. I could AirDrop them today, I will try.
Also, with regards to music, you haven't ever been in a low network or no network zone, have you?
3. Wallpapers and Photos
I have 5GB of iCloud with me. I have taken to shooting with a DSLR since a year, and I transfer JPEG photos to my devices sometimes. You are right - I can Airdrop them. But that is today when I have an MBP with working AirDrop. On my 2011 MBP I have not managed to get it working even today with High Sierra. This much for photos.
About wallpapers, again, I can Airdrop, you are right. Will test these theories and see how well they work for me regarding songs and photos.
4. Apps
There are some apps and games that are a large download. I have them on my disk and can transfer them to the iPhone quicker than downloading them to the phone one by one. Also, case in point about wasted bandwidth when I could keep a copy and use it. Resources must be respected.
5. Electricity
I cannot AirDrop/ transfer my content from my computer to iPhone if there is no electricity to power my Wi-Fi network, yes?
You might say that you gave me a solution of iCloud + Apple Music and iCloud storage solves a lot of issues. Yes. It does. But it costs a subscription that I can avoid paying year on year if I would just get a cable. Also, here is a fun thing to consider. This was just the iPhone. If I also own an iPad, do I go around downloading all the apps on that as well? Waste so much of bandwidth resources and time to download all apps on two devices one by one? In practice, I have 3 iOS devices between family members. So, do I use 3x bandwidth when I could use a single copy from my computer to transfer to all of them? Why would I be so criminally wasteful of a resource?
Going by your reply, I fancy you did not even ever restore your iPhone or install any of the betas on it, or even downgrade it. These are things you need a cable for.
6. No Electricity and Large Downloads
Also, you clearly have not encountered the 100MB limit when downloading apps on a cellular plan. Refer point 5, say I do not have electricity and want to download Monument Valley, can I? Answer is No. Because iPhone will not allow me to download any file over 100MB if I am not connected to Wi-Fi. However, with a cable, I can fire up the MBP and attach my phone and transfer the app in 2 minutes and get going.
Oh, there is one more thing. You forget, you charge your phone. That cable has a 30-pin or Lightning connector at one end and a USB-A at the other. So while you may have never connected the phone to your Mac in years, you have had the ability to. All I wanted was that if there is a USB-C at the other end supplied with the new iPhones, I would have the ability as well on my 2016 notebook. Isn't it fair enough?
Yes. True. So true. I am always shocked at how sometimes people exclaim with surprise at things that would be a normal everyday affair for someone else. That cool confidence with which they proclaim things to be and make assumptions is also often ill-thought out, as I have pointed out.
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