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Would Lightning been better than USB-C?

B

ByteTheBooty

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 8, 2015
133
0
I know this is not going to be an unpopular opinion but I would have loved for the rMB to have lightning cable. Mainly because it's already on all my devices. I mean that way I could carry a single Lightning for my iPhone iPad and Mac. Also Lightning looks less fragile than USB-C..

I don't think lighting does all the fancy stuff that USB-C does Apple could have tweaked it a little to make it more functional...and either way most people that are going to buy this computer are not really going to use the fancy ports..
 
I think it would be a mistake by apple to embrace a non-standard port like that. Just look at how well Thunderbolt is being embraced by other computer makers and that's more open to them then lightening.
 
Lightning is only one end of any existing cable though, the other end being USB. So everyone would need new cables even if their current devices have lightning ports as no one has lightning to lightning cables.

Also we'd end up with all peripherals costing lots more than they should - just look how much of a price premium thunderbolt devices have.
 
Lightning would need a lot of changes to be able to do this. It would need to be changed significantly enough it would probably need to be called lightning 2 or something. I just don't see this happening as a computer isn't designed to be as portable as an iphone.
 
ByteTheBooty said:
I know this is not going to be an unpopular opinion but I would have loved for the rMB to have lightning cable. Mainly because it's already on all my devices. I mean that way I could carry a single Lightning for my iPhone iPad and Mac. Also Lightning looks less fragile than USB-C..

I don't think lighting does all the fancy stuff that USB-C does Apple could have tweaked it a little to make it more functional...and either way most people that are going to buy this computer are not really going to use the fancy ports..
Click to expand...

So they will use it for 10 hours and then buy another one?
 
Lightning is purely an Apple standard. USB-C and even Thunderbolt are shared with other communities of users
 
iRun26.2 said:
Lightning is purely an Apple standard. USB-C and even Thunderbolt are shared with other communities of users
Click to expand...

Exactly. The rMB would have severe limitations if it came with just a Lightning port. Imagine the outcry there would be? The complaints about only one USB port are nothing like what there would be if Apple was stupid enough to only equip it with a Lightning port.

We just need a USB-C to Lightning cable. It makes me worried that Apple hasn't announced one yet.
 
Charging with lightning cable would take at least 4-5 hours to fully charge the macbook
 
Lightning can't carry the current required to charge a laptop-sized battery quickly enough. Electrically there's sufficient differences.
 
Agreed, I remember that when lightning came in, it's benefit included the additional power capacity over mini usb, making it good for iPads.

The usb c being a similar step up. Quite shrewd I reckon with a bit of forethought from apple if the notion that they pushed for the standard is true.
 
i guess you guys are right...people would have criticized the MB much more if they would have put lightning...

But deep down I still wish it was lightning and that I could carry a single charger for all my device. But Im very happy with the rMB :)
 
I can see the iPhones and iPads moving to usb c as well further down the line. At the end of the day, it's just a cable change between the charge block and the device to do it.
 
ByteTheBooty said:
i guess you guys are right...people would have criticized the MB much more if they would have put lightning...

But deep down I still wish it was lightning and that I could carry a single charger for all my device. But Im very happy with the rMB :)
Click to expand...

That doesn't make sense, though. Lightning doesn't have anywhere near the capability that USB does.
 
PDFierro said:
That doesn't make sense, though. Lightning doesn't have anywhere near the capability that USB does.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know that, but if apple wold have tweaked it and if it could do everything USB-C could....But I know that would probably never happen

Im happy with the computer...just dont enjoy crying 2 chargers... But you you are right, USB C is better in every way..
 
There's no way Apple will not sell a USB-C to Lightning cord. That would allow you to charge any Lightning-equipped iOS device from the rMB charger.
 
newellj said:
There's no way Apple will not sell a USB-C to Lightning cord. That would allow you to charge any Lightning-equipped iOS device from the rMB charger.
Click to expand...

But wouldn't they have put it on the website already like they did for the other adapters? I agree with you, I'm just wondering why we haven't seen it yet.
 
Lightning does not have native support for displayport 1.2, like USB C. Lightning is also currently limited to USB 2 on all devices that ship with it, so it is unknown if it supports USB 3. Lightning may not be rated for 40 watts, which is what the macbook needs. So many reasons - these are just a few.
 
PDFierro said:
But wouldn't they have put it on the website already like they did for the other adapters? I agree with you, I'm just wondering why we haven't seen it yet.
Click to expand...

Maybe there is a problem scenario. The iPhone and iPad USB wall adapters are 5v. The wall adapter for the rMB is said to be either 12v or 20v. Unless Apple offers a USB C smart cord that has voltage reduction, you'd have problems if you plugged a simple USB C-Lightning cable into the rMB wall adapter.

I only do wired backups and syncs of my iPads and iPhones. If it isn't possible to connect an iPhone or iPad to the rMB, that'll be a big deal for me. :(
 
Last edited:
Don't base your purchase decision on future Apple dongles.

Here's the brilliant idea that came to me a couple nights ago:

Everybody talks about Apple having no room for additional ports.

Well, if you're gonna do away with ports in the pursuit of thin and light, do away with the headphone port. Put a USB-C port on each side. You'd have the possibility of charging from either the left or the right, with external harddrive or monitor on the opposite side.

Audio can go bluetooth.
 
Idefix said:
Don't base your purchase decision on future Apple dongles.

Here's the brilliant idea that came to me a couple nights ago:

Everybody talks about Apple having no room for additional ports.

Well, if you're gonna do away with ports in the pursuit of thin and light, do away with the headphone port. Put a USB-C port on each side. You'd have the possibility of charging from either the left or the right, with external harddrive or monitor on the opposite side.

Audio can go bluetooth.
Click to expand...

Ha, no. Most people still don't use Bluetooth for listening to audio on laptops/smartphones/tablets.
 
PDFierro said:
We just need a USB-C to Lightning cable. It makes me worried that Apple hasn't announced one yet.
Click to expand...

The USB Type-C-only MacBook isn't actually available yet. And a cable isn't exactly something worthy of its own "announcement". I'm sure one will be released by the time the MacBook is actually available.
 
newellj said:
Maybe there is a problem scenario. The iPhone and iPad USB wall adapters are 5v. The wall adapter for the rMB is said to be either 12v or 20v. Unless Apple offers a USB C smart cord that has voltage reduction, you'd have problems if you plugged a simple USB C-Lightning cable into the rMB wall adapter.

I only do wired backups and syncs of my iPads and iPhones. If it isn't possible to connect an iPhone or iPad to the rMB, that'll be a big deal for me. :(
Click to expand...

The fact there is already a USB adapter says you'll be fine.
 
Mr. Buzzcut said:
The fact there is already a USB adapter says you'll be fine.
Click to expand...

Yes, with the dongle (and by the way, the $19 dongle, not the $79 dongle), that's right. I was thinking about a "native" solution.

The other thing that occurred to me is that if I buy one of these I will almost certainly keep my rMBP, which is my mobile media management solution. It's probably unlikely that I'd be trying to sync and manage apps and media on iOS devices with an rMB that I'm using as a secondary laptop - although I reserve the right to change my mind. ;)
 
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