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USB-C Reportedly Coming to AirPods and AirPods Max as Soon as 2024
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They already play lossless, if you plug them in. Bluetooth simply doesn’t have enough bandwidth for lossless.
That's the boat I'll be in when I buy my first USB-C iPhone down the road. Though my three main places to charge (bedside, car, office desk) are all done with wireless qi chargers. I also have a few USB-C to USB-C cables around already for my MacBook, but they're a bit long and chunky for charging up a phone.
I was planning on both a new iPhone Pro and AirPods Pro, both very overdue for me, so sweet timing. SE2 to iPhone 15 Pro will be quite a leap lol. And AirPods 1 to whatever AirPods Pro is out too.
Will the upcoming 16" M3 MBP tempt me to upgrade my 16" M1 MBP? If the battery life improvements are significant, and other non-chip-performance improvements, then maybe. Depends on price and my potential business tax "discounts" probs. This 16" M1 MBP is epic as is, so it won't be an upgrade just for the hell of it. I'd rather spend the cash on taking me and my son travelling to cool places.
Will the upcoming 16" M3 MBP tempt me to upgrade my 16" M1 MBP? If the battery life improvements are significant, and other non-chip-performance improvements, then maybe. Depends on price and my potential business tax "discounts" probs. This 16" M1 MBP is epic as is, so it won't be an upgrade just for the hell of it. I'd rather spend the cash on taking me and my son travelling to cool places.
Haha, you bastard*, I just took a sip of coffee as I read this. Almost sprayed it everywhere.
* Note: I am Australian, and in this context, "bastard" is a term of endearment: Australian English terms for people
Added to the absurdity is the absurd explanation of the removal of the jack for it being "outdated", whilst continuing to use the Lightning cable. And yet also continuing to keep the jack in every Mac model, from the MBA to the Mac Pro, because, um.... audio/video professionals duh.
The single major theme I will remember Tim Cook for is his mantra of profits over functionality. Every single absurd design decision can easily be explained by profits.
Keeping the slow, outdated, proprietary Lightning connector:
Profits: being able to charge licensing fees for every single 3rd party cable produced.
Functionality: slow data speeds; annoying effort to find cables that will work.
Removing the jack:
Profit: pushing everyone away from cheap EarPods onto expensive AirPods.
Functionality: can't use wired professional earphones with iPhones.
Removing self upgradeable SSD and RAM:
Profit: charging 400% markup on standard retail prices
Functionality: can't add more when needs grow; can't easily and affordably repair components, particularly SSDs which notoriously degrade;
Denying access to the underlying *nix command line and file system (which is the basis of macOS/iOS/iPadOS) on iPhones/iPads:
Profit: prevents sideloading, thus all apps must pay the 15/30% App Store Apple Tax
Functionality: true power of the iPhone/iPad is deliberately and brutally hamstrung.
I'm sure there's more, but that will do for this rant.
Yeah, no I totally get it, my Audeze’s ruined me for audio. I dont listen to audio much outside the dedicated space lately and still relying on my old IEMs and lightning dongles that fail after 6 months.
I've never understood the infatuation with USB-C over Lightning. I would be grateful if someone could explain it to me.
EDIT: I just did some Googling, and now understand that USB-C is faster at charging than Lightning. OK, fair enough. But the charging time for my AirPods Max is good enough for me.
EDIT: I just did some Googling, and now understand that USB-C is faster at charging than Lightning. OK, fair enough. But the charging time for my AirPods Max is good enough for me.
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Shift to USB C should happen when the next versions are launched. Expecting that in 2024
On things like the AirPods, the benefit is standardizing everything around USB-C.
Everyone complaining about AirPods not switching over right now, would accuse Apple of being nefarious if they released USB AirPods now and new AirPods in a couple of months.
Let's say it only takes half an hour to charge the iPhone, for most people it wouldn't matter if the battery has degraded a bit after a two years because topping it off would take very little time.
Personally, I would like the option of fast charging. But here's the thing, if you don't want to fast charge your iPhone, just use a power brick which isn't capable of fast charging. For example, you could use a 5A or 10A brick for your overnight charging where slower is better for battery health.
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Let’s wait for EU mandate that only devices are allowed to be sold with swappable batteries. Problem solved 😊
I'd rather have fast charging now, then waiting for removable batteries which require a tool to access.
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TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
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It’s crazy how Apple has not updated the headphones for nearly 3 years since they first launched. In addition to USB-C hopefully, we get new colors as well.
If all you are worried about is a basic charge then Lightning is arguably a better-designed connector than USB-C. When Lightning was launched, the alternative was microUSB - which is a horrible connector.
However, as you noted, USB-C can provide more power, but perhaps more importantly it uses a (relatively) future-proof industry standard for power delivery which ensures backwards compatibility - the 240W version of USB PD is already in the pipeline. In the past, although most chargers would trickle-charge any device, "fast" charging without the "correct" charger for your device was a crapshoot.
Also - look at the current M1 iPad Pro - it already has USB-C not because of the EU but because it supports 6k displays and Thunderbolt data transfer, for which Lightning simply doesn't have enough data lanes. With the flagship iPhone increasingly being sold on its media creation capabilities, its likely that future iPhones will need USB-C - but even if they don't, it's good if they can get a fast charge using the same cable as an iPad.
Not to mention that Apple standardised on USB-C for Macs 7 years ago... Most of the fault here is that (save for the lovely, lovely money from Lightning cables and MiFi licensing) Apple should have dropped Lightning years ago - at the latest, when they dropped headphone sockets from iPhones, before people started buying Lightning headphones.
Yes, that's gonna be an annoyance but - at the end of the day - its just new cables (and they won't have to be expensive proprietary Apple ones - reputable manufacturers can now compete so it's not 'MiFi certified vs. XYZZY brand dubious knockoff'), and you're talking about the case of a strictly iPhone-only environment. Even if you've got a < 5-year-old MacBook Air (or a newer iPad Pro), you'll start benefiting from having a common charger and cable.
Lots of other devices - and pretty much everything going forward - now charge from USB-C. eReaders, handheld games consoles, wireless headphones...
The other Big Deal is that this is all part of the drive to unbundle chargers from devices without manufacturers turning the charger into a de-factor "hidden extra" that you have to buy from the manufacturer either because it uses a proprietary connector or because you can't be sure anything else supports the same fast charging standard. This isn't just about Apple, its setting a level playing field for the whole market.
(If Apple salespeople try telling people they can only use MiFi certified USB-C chargers they'll soon be back in hot water in EU and many other countries).
From where I sit I can see 4 Apple iDevice chargers from past iPods and iPads sitting on a shelf - currently unused but more than capable of charging a wide range of devices. The limitation is that they're pre-USB PD standards so although most of them are 10W there's no guarantee that they'll deliver more than 2.5W to any given device. I'm pretty sure there's a couple more surplus 3rd party USB chargers somewhere - and that's not counting the half-dozen that are actually in use, or the multi-port USB hub with 3 fast charging sockets on my desk.
It's definitely not counting the box of old non-USB wall-warts with 57 varieties of barrel plug (that could be re-used if the plug fits and I carefully checked voltage, current and polarity...) or all the in use individual wall warts that I could consolidate into a couple of multiport USB PSUs if only the devices used USB. The past can't be undone, but until the wider EU directive cuts in, the un-needed wall warts are just going to keep piling up (a new gizmo with a barrel-connector wall wart arrived yesterday - hopefully one of the last)
Everyone's situation is different, but a couple of options are:
1. Include your cables when you sell your iPhone.
2. If you are trading phones, then post on your local neighborhood group/nextdoor that you are giving away your lightning cables. There are plenty of people still using Lightning iPads and iPhones who would appreciate extra cables. Bet someone in your family hasn't upgraded yet.
3. Donate them at your local assisted living residence because lots of people there are using Lightning devices.
4. Get an adapter so you can use a lightning cable with your new iPhone.
The last time I was in the Apple store, a lady was having her iPad replaced for the 5th time after breaking the USB-C connection. Plugging it in even slightly off angle will begin to snap the inner prong of the connection, once broken, the iPad must be fully replaced, no repair is easy.
I have one(1) apple USB-C device, and I hate it. I have to be super delicate with it. I will plan to own a Lighting iPhone for the next 4-5 years, and all of my devices are Lighting thankful except for this iPad Air.
Even my M2 MacBook Pro no longer needs the USB-C to do basic charging thanks to the return of MagSafe3.
USB-C was a foolish design choice, too delicate, and poorly implemented. Sad day that we care what the EU has to say.
A few times I forgot that my iPad was still connected and charging and I took it from the table. The lighting cable was pulled out by force. Don’t know if usb-c would have survived that.
I’ve never ruined a USB-C port, but I do agree that it is a bigger risk than lighting. Having a thin, flat arm inside the USB-C hole does come with some risk of being bent. The lighting slab insert into an empty hole is a better design, I think.
People doing stupid things without taking a moment to consider if it's correct will suffer the consequences, full stop. Personal technology is often fantastically complex and involves precision parts that make a beautiful, functional, amazing whole. If people want to live their poor impulse control and be all monkey-with-a-hammer when using it, then s*** breaking is the natural, if entirely preventable, outcome. And who's fault is that? No one's but the monkey.
This is one of the best breakdowns I've seen. Thanks!