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Other Will Lightning be Obsoleted when 15 Released?

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iphonefreak450

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 14, 2014
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I’m currently using my iPhone 14 Pro which I love. It’s fantastic.

However, as we all know by now, that the upcoming iPhone 15 line-up will have a USB-C port on it.

I’m on a budget and I really don’t want to spend more money on buying another iPhone and planning to use my iPhone 14 Pro for as long as I could.

My question is, will Apple stop selling lightning cables as soon as the iPhone 15 gets released?

That’s my main concern.

Or, maybe I’ll just buy a few lightning cables for backup in case my current lightning cable gets damaged 😂😂😂
 
iphonefreak450 said:
I’m currently using my iPhone 14 Pro which I love. It’s fantastic.

However, as we all know by now, that the upcoming iPhone 15 line-up will have a USB-C port on it.

I’m on a budget and I really don’t want to spend more money on buying another iPhone and planning to use my iPhone 14 Pro for as long as I could.

My question is, will Apple stop selling lightning cables as soon as the iPhone 15 gets released?

That’s my main concern.

Or, maybe I’ll just buy a few lightning cables for backup in case my current lightning lightning cable gets damaged 😂😂😂
Click to expand...
Apple is still selling 30-pin cables, and there are many hundreds of millions of devices that still use Lightning. Apple will continue to sell Lightning cables for many years.
 
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Funny, my main concern is that the forums will become overwhelmed by posts discussing issues with USB-C ports and cables, unfulfilled expectations, and arguments about which system is/was better. I don’t envy the mods.

Agreed that we will see Lightning cables sold for many years. Apple still sells (or has recently sold) many Lightning devices that will last for years (AirPods of all varieties, keyboards, mice, Siri Remotes).
 
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As said there are too many lightning powered devices out there such as my iMac keyboard and mouse, Apple TV remotes, and a lot of older iPhones still there. There will also be lots of 3rd party cables available. What I expect to see is a drop in the number of USB-A cables.
 
chrfr said:
Apple is still selling 30-pin cables,
Click to expand...

This is truly stunning, imo, and pretty much proves that Lightning cables are not disappearing anytime soon. We're talking a cable that is almost 16 years old. And still alive even after Apple dropped their 30-pin to Lightning adapters almost five years ago. Though this might be a real oddity and might be reaching EOL in near future: noticed iPhone 4S was still being sold in India until 2016, so we are at or reaching obsolete status with those models with 30 pins.

So ditto what everyone else said that Lightning cables are not going away anytime soon.

If want to take a pessimist view point, using iPhone 14, Apple will sell those for another year, so discontinued in 2024. Products go vintage five years after discontinued, and goes obsolete at seven years. Looking at 2031 before Apple would MAYBE drop Lightning cables. As others mentioned, more than phones are using Lightning so once the last product with Lightning gets discontinued, the clock truly starts ticking.
 
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NoBoMac said:
This is truly stunning, imo, and pretty much proves that Lightning cables are not disappearing anytime soon. We're talking a cable that is almost 16 years old. And still alive even after Apple dropped their 30-pin to Lightning adapters almost five years ago. Though this might be a real oddity and might be reaching EOL in near future: noticed iPhone 4S was still being sold in India until 2016, so we are at or reaching obsolete status with those models with 30 pins.
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It's actually even more impressive; the 30-pin connector is 20 years old. First featured on the 3rd generation iPod which released in April 2003.

I agree with at minimum 2030 or so before they go away, probably closer to 2040 in my opinion. You alluded as well that the Mac accessories are currently using Lightning and may not be updated for a few more years since I don't believe there is any pressing reason for them to migrate them. Given this and that the last Lightning iOS devices will probably lose support around 2030 I suspect it will be later in the decade, around 15 years from now.
 
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U can find the amazon basic lightning cables which are cheaper and of better quality imho.
 
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I don’t use lightning cables anymore as my iPhone 13 has the port plugged up to prevent dirt and dust from getting in as I’ve gone full wireless. Don’t worry though if you still use lightning, as Apple will support it for at least half a decade after the iPhone 15.
 
Way too many devices use lightning for Apple to just discontinue the cables immediately. iPhones 5 through 14, iPod Touch 5 through 7G, iPad 4 through 9, 1st and 2nd-gen iPad Pros, Air 1 through 3. That’s a lot of devices. And even if people upgrade, many people keep devices a long time.


If it were a cable that was used by two devices, I might see Apple dropping it sooner (and even that is unlikely). Lightning though? It’ll be around for a while.
 
BigDO said:
Iphone switching to usb C will actually be a minor inconvenience for me, as I have many more lightning cables than USB C.
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Knock on wood, it’s gonna a few years for me, but I’m already a mix of both and plan to be for years.
 
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retta283 said:
It's actually even more impressive; the 30-pin connector is 20 years old. First featured on the 3rd generation iPod which released in April 2003.

I agree with at minimum 2030 or so before they go away, probably closer to 2040 in my opinion. You alluded as well that the Mac accessories are currently using Lightning and may not be updated for a few more years since I don't believe there is any pressing reason for them to migrate them. Given this and that the last Lightning iOS devices will probably lose support around 2030 I suspect it will be later in the decade, around 15 years from now.
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While I agree with everything you said here for the most part, I disagreed that Apple will keep the computer accessories on Lightning for much longer.
I think you’ll see when the iPhone 15 series releases Apple attempt to do a two month clean sweep, just like they did back in 2012 with lightning.
Between September and October 2012, Apple introduced the iPhone 5 with lightning, the iPod nano 7 with lightning, the iPod touch 5 with lightning, the iPad Mini with lightning, and the fourth generation iPad (only introduced six months after the third generation iPad) also with lightning.
Also, Apple has already started the transition last fall, keeping everything about the Apple TV remote identical, except for a USB-C port where a lightning one used to be.
I expect Apple to quickly do that with everything when the iPhone 15 series releases over the first several months, bump all the AirPods cases to have USB-C, bump all the Mac accessories to have USB-C, all the iPhone battery packs and chargers would obviously be bumped to USB-C…
But yes, I’m sure they’ll still sell lightning cables for years to come.
 
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maerz001 said:
U can find the amazon basic lightning cables which are cheaper and of better quality imho.
Click to expand...

Have a couple of these. And a ton of Ankers of various lengths. Have not used an Apple cable in ages. And all of these are in fantastic shape as they are tucked into different scenario specific jump/go sacks I’ve built that are not daily drivers. For example, I have one with a two port charger, two Lightning cables, and a Watch puck (among other things) for travel. Another sack is a charger with a 10’ Lightning cable for anyone in a hospital (noticed with a family member that 6’ is doable, but depending on bed placement, might be real close to being too short to be of use).

glenthompson said:
What I expect to see is a drop in the number of USB-A cables.
Click to expand...

This would be a bigger “issue” for me. This comment and the thread in general gave me a future to-do: take inventory of ALL the iDevice chargers I have and look into possibility of having slow charging with USB-C.

My phones over the last handful or two of years have seen very little time fast charging and zero wireless charging and they have had long living batteries. Old 5W cube by couch and desk to top off, car USB audio port delivers 5W as well. Bedroom only place that will get 12 or 24 (depends on if other port is charging Watch) if used. So have not “stressed” the battery with charging.

Set for a few years as no plans for new devices so not important to do today, but somewhere down the road, and it might not be possible to do due to specs and technical ”limitations”, need to see if can do 10-12W charging via a USB-C ported charger. Only iDevice that ever gets close zero is iPad and not important to get to 50% fast, so slow and steady ergo less heat generated is ideal for all my gadgets.
 
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That won't happen for another probably 15-20+ yrs. Too many peripherals still use Lightning port/cable. i.e. kb, mice, air pods, all the legacy devices that are still being manufactured right now with lightning.
 
Why would Apple stop selling Lightning cables? It’s a big money maker for them.

By the time you need a cable and Apple doesn’t sell them, your iPhone will be long gone.
 
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I've been switching to only buy USB-C cables. So right now, USB-C to Lightning, and I have all I need. In future, USB-C to USB-C. Trying to avoid buying more devices that don't have USB-C, so no Kindle upgrade since still Micro-USB :(
My new backup phone, a Galaxy S23, is USB-C, and when I replace my 12 Pro, I'll go USB-C. And at some point I'll replace my iPad with an USB-C.

The main issue with USB-C is getting the correct one. Different issues with power delivery levels. Or the speed they support.
 
Torty said:
Still don’t have any device with USB-C.
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Opposite for me: all devices I commonly use (ie laptop, headphones, earbuds) are USB-C equipped…except the iphone.
Guess it helps that bar the iphone I no longer own any other Apple device…

To be honest…unless absolutely necessary I wouldn’t buy a device without USB C charging capability…
 
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kevink2 said:
so no Kindle upgrade since still Micro-USB :(
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Pretty sure that all the current Kindle reader and Kindle Fire stuff is now USB-C.

What's a bit bizarre is that Macs started switching to USB-C (too soon) in 2016 - and have never had lightning ports - but Apple's Tragic Mouse, Tragic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad still use Lightning.

Reality is that I'm going to be stuck with needing a mixture of USB-C, USB-A/B, Lightning and MicroUSB for the foreseeable unless I throw away perfectly good kit (and one Tragic Keyboard).

That said, as long as the chargers have USB A or USB C sockets (Apple's iDevices always have, plus MacBook chargers since 2016), carrying around 2-3 cables isn't exactly a deal breaker.
 
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