Anticipating the Coming USB-C iPhone Backlash

I wonder if Lightning could have *become* the new USB connector (instead of the Type-C that we got) if Apple had not tried to profit off of having their own proprietary connector. In that alternate history, Apple would have switched to Lightning in 2012, and the entire rest of the industry would have followed over the next decade.

To be clear, I don’t know whether there are technical limitations that would have prevented the Lightning connector from being used for this purpose, and I don’t know if the USB-IF would have adopted the connector even if Apple had been offering. But if this scenario had been possible, then the upcoming backlash (and needless replacement of millions of perfectly good Lightning cables) is purely a product of Apple’s own desire for profit.

I can understand limiting Thunderbolt to the Pro models. But it’ll feel like nickel and diming if the standard models are limited to USB 2 speeds instead of USB 3.2.

I welcome the future with just one connector for everything, but I will regret Lightning, which was in my opinion mechanically superior. The Lightning connector is both smaller and firmer. They click nicely and remain in place. USB-C connectors are often flimsy, and I've had bad contacts more than once with USB-C.

The optimist in me hopes that the reason we don't have a new iMac is solely because they are waiting to introduce type c magic keyboards, trackpads, and mice.

1 min Pro Res 4K video is 6 GB.

USB 2 transfer speed is ~ 45 MBps (from theoretical 480 Mbps).

Transfer takes a couple of minutes.

If 900 GB or almost 3 hours of Pro Res 4K video are taken (on a iPhone) then more than 6 hours of transfer time are required. At night typically.

It’s clear to me anyone with the transitory hobby of shooting high resolution videos on an iPhone has time on his / her hands and can wait. A professional can invest almost $200 in a Thunderbolt cable instead. If doesn’t own one already.

I’m irritated, but not with Apple. They’ll grub some money, but that’s what they’re here to do. This move is clearly in response to the EU mandate of USB-C. It’s not the end of the world, but it’ll do more harm than good when millions and millions of obsolete lightning cables get thrown away. Not to mention all the power bricks dependent on a USB-A type plug. All this in the name of reducing waste. I just bought a USB-C SSD from Crucial. They included an adapter for USB-A connections. I won’t have occasion to use it — but Apple creating an adapter to go along with the shift would go a long way toward diminishing the complaints.

Didn't the EU demand Apple and other phone makers adopt USB-C as the standard charging connector by 2024? I've linked to a 2022 Verge article claiming that. Apple may have just decided it didn't want to give up the European market for its phones.

I haven't had a good experience with Lightning connectors. They don't make a very good connection, the wires are thin and fragile, and the exposed leads often get coated with stuff that then clogs the socket. USB offers sturdier cables and protection from cruft. While USB-C cables can be confusing - different cables get you different maximum speeds - they offer a spectrum of prices and capabilities. If you just want to charge, you can use a pretty cheap cable. Even better, they're an international standard, so phones can plug in to the same chargers as computers.

Isn’t USB-C bigger and more power hungry than Lightning?

I'm looking forward to being told how great it is to have a unified charging cable standard over and over again as if this is something totally new and revolutionary.

@Darrenoia Why would people throw away USBA power bricks? There are plenty of USBA to USBC cables you can use to charge stuff. Even at high speed.

@Kaleberg Yeah, this is basically Apple bending the knee to the EU here.

> I haven't had a good experience with Lightning connectors. They don't make a very good connection, the wires are thin and fragile, and the exposed leads often get coated with stuff that then clogs the socket.

I'm worried that USB-C, with its breakable sticky-outy part inside the $1000 pocket computer, is a reliability downgrade from the wide-open small hole that's the concave part of a Lightning connector. With Lightning, I can easily get inside with a plastic spudger to clean out pocket lint. With USB-C, I'd need someting like a teeny-tiny plastic needle (that nobody sells) if a blast of canned air doesn't do the trick.

I figure that this is a reliability downgrade, and will give me a reason to buy a MagSafe stand so I can charge the phone without having to rely on what seems like an inferior design.

@Ben E

A buddy of mine said that Apple goofed big-time when they didn't open-standard Lightning. Considering that the EU seems to like to micromanage this sort of thing, and that Apple seems willing to go along as to not lose a major market, I wonder if they'll start open-standardizing the charger that they use for the watch and AirPods Pro 2 case.

@Wu Ming

Definitely bigger. Not sure about power consumption, either when transferring data and/or power or at idle.

"I think there’s going to be a backlash that most USB-C proponents don’t see coming, premised on accusations that this switch is a money grab from Apple to get people to replace all their Lightning cables with new $30 USB-C cables from the Apple Store."

How many people are there who own iPhones, but don't own any other devices that already use USB-C? I have a whole box full of USB-C cables, from all kinds of devices: game controllers, electric screwdrivers, cameras, hard disks, flashlights, fans, screens, mice, keyboards, and so on. They'll all work fine for charging a phone.

Gruber and Snell’s US-centric ramblings aside, I doubt there’ll be a grand backlash in countries where Apple-only folks/households are a minority.

@Nathan

>I'm worried that USB-C, with its breakable sticky-outy part inside the $1000 pocket computer, is a reliability downgrade.

Fear not! USB-C have been standard on android phones for years now, and this just isn't an issue. Just as it isn't an issue on MacBooks.

>With Lightning, I can easily get inside with a plastic spudger to clean out pocket lint. With USB-C, I'd need someting like a teeny-tiny plastic needle (that nobody sells)

They are called toothpicks and can be found in any super market by the toothbrushes and toothpastes.

>I figure that this is a reliability downgrade, and will give me a reason to buy a MagSafe stand so I can charge the phone without having to rely on what seems like an inferior design.

It's not an inferior design. It will charge faster, and with less energy waste than a MagSafe, AND will have the potential to transfer data quicker (not that I ever transfer anything from my phone via cable).

But go ahead and by a bespoke charger so that you'll have the joy of packing more stuff whenever you go somewhere. Plus the added bonus of only being able to charge your phone at a certain place in your home. (I say, whilst unplugging my MacBook powercable to charge my phone)

> This move is clearly in response to the EU mandate of USB-C.

I mean… yes and no, I think?

Like, what's the alternative scenario? If the EU _hadn't_ mandated it, do people think Apple would've stuck with Lightning in perpetuity? Obviously not. Would they have done a Lightning 2 with higher bandwidth? Maybe, but that doesn't seem so likely to me, since they've already been moving Macs and iPads to USB-C for years.

I can buy that the EU mandate gave a further push towards "alright, I guess this is the year we do it". I don't really buy that, without the mandate, Apple would've left the iPhone on Lightning for much longer.

>How many people are there who own iPhones, but don't own any other devices that already use USB-C?

I don't yet have a lot of USB-C stuff. I don't believe there's even a single C-to-C cable in this household, so I wouldn't be able to connect an iPhone to my new Mac. Whereas, by virtue of having gone through several iPhones over the years, I do have a bunch of old Lightning cables.

> game controllers, electric screwdrivers, cameras, hard disks, flashlights, fans, screens, mice, keyboards

Few connect a screen via USB-C.

Many of the other items: I mean, sure, if you buy one _today_. But a keyboard is going to last you longer than USB-C has been out, so we're simply still in the middle of the transition.

I'm a developer who produces the same software on Android and iOS/iPadOS. There is about 60GB of test data that has to be got onto my test devices. I do this incrementally, rather than pushing the whole lot every time, which would be ludicrously slow.

With Android devices and USB 3.2, the daily test data push is quite quick, less than a minute. With iPadOS, at USB 2.0 speeds, the slowness is obvious, and very irritating on an expensive iPadPro.

> Yeah, this is basically Apple bending the knee to the EU here.

Is it? I really like Lightning but its days have been numbered for a while. Whole world (including Apple) has moved on to USB-C.

> It’s not the end of the world, but it’ll do more harm than good when millions and millions of obsolete lightning cables get thrown away.

I don't think so. iPhones, even old ones, are expensive so that people don't throw them away. Old iPhones are passed on to family or sold so Lightning cables won't be thrown away. Otherwise how those old iPhones will be charged? Some cables might end up in a landfill, sure, but they aren't very roust in the first place, so they'd end up there anyway.

> But the vast silent majority of normal iPhone users? I think there’s going to be a backlash that most USB-C proponents don’t see coming, premised on accusations that this switch is a money grab from Apple to get people to replace all their Lightning cables with new $30 USB-C cables from the Apple Store.

I can't imagine that. Is there a significant number of people living in iPhone-only bubble that don't have ANY USB-C device (incl. Macs, iPads Pro)? I guess most people will be "OK, now I have to use that-other-type-of-cable".

There will be a very vocal minority that hates any change (or just likes to complain), but they are overrepresented on teh interwebs.

@Sören
> I can buy that the EU mandate gave a further push towards "alright, I guess this is the year we do it". I don't really buy that, without the mandate, Apple would've left the iPhone on Lightning for much longer.

I do understand the advantages of increased bandwidth to match increased storage space. Even though I suspect the real use case is probably very limited. Nowadays very few use a cable to exchange data.

I don’t appreciate the fact EU positioning the mandate as a mean to decrease e-waste. Consider chargers are interchangeable already, just replace the cable, versus the environmental cost of marketing perfectly useable Android phones as throw-away after few years because OS updates have stopped. That is the real culprit EU politics mysteriously failed to recognize.

I connect to my office monitor via USB-C and it's fantastic. It has old fat USB ports so my keyboard is connected via the monitor. And since USB-C is such a superior format I get power through the same cable that connects my laptop to the video and keyboard.

One cable to plug in vs three cables at home (because I didn't get a USBC monitor)

@Kristoffer answered @Nathan:
>>I'm worried that USB-C, with its breakable sticky-outy part inside the $1000 pocket computer, is a reliability downgrade.
>Fear not! USB-C have been standard on android phones for years now, and this just isn't an issue. Just as it isn't an issue on MacBooks.

But that's pretty anecdotal. In my own experience, Type C has been far less mechanically reliable. I have seen 3 distinct failure modes on Lightning devices:
1. bad plugs at the strain relief that exhibits as either intermittent charging or one-sided orientation charging (broken internal wires); but not a port problem
2. Lint or some other detritus in the Lightning port that obstructs full plug insertion and locking into the port (not a port problem, per se).
3. The charging controller gets "zapped" somehow, and the port fails completely. Usually can be traced to repeated use of bad or poor quality cables or chargers. (Some people just CANNOT get it through their heads that FiveBelow is NOT a quality electronics supplier!)
The prime "complaint" from me on #1 and #3 is Apple: their cables suck and their greed towards licensing hurts their customers, and they CONTINUE to often make the "repair part" (the Lightning port and charge-control chip) integral to the motherboard on some products, not a separate, easily swappable component... that's just asinine. But #1 and #2 are inexpensive fixes.

For Type C, I have seen 2 additional failure modes:
1. The tongue within the port breaks, and not always completely off.
2. The contacts on the tongue become misaligned, likely due to bad plugs or insertion "slop".
In both cases, the port needs to be completely replaced. And, like with the Lightning situation, that isn't often straightforward, simply replacing a component board, nor inexpensive. Anecdotally, the Type C users (mostly Android phones) tend to "deal with" the issue as long as they can by doing "plug-in dances", usually until they get a new phone (and often the frustration prompts them to get a new phone, usually a "freebie" cheap Android junk phone from their carrier). But I've *personally* had to have AppleCare service on Type C ports on an iPad Pro and MacBook Air, and I *know* my devices get babied when plugged in, never dropped or banged and always using quality cables. When polling clients, the Type C failure rate is significantly higher than Lightning devices (mostly on MacBooks Airs and iPad Pros). Beyond me how Apple thought it was a good idea to push MBAs with Type C-only charging into schools; super #fail there. Plus nothing worse for Apple's reputation than having to explain to a client how the Type C charge port on a big-$ iPad Pro, which doesn't have wireless charging, requires an entire logic board replacement. I've seen both the piles of dead MagSafe2 adapters with frayed connectors AND the stacks of dead MBAs with dead Type C ports at a few schools. I'll take many more of the former than the number of the latter with respect to the recycling narrative that Apple espouses. (And yes, I realize that the Type C ports on most of the MBAs are on a replaceable daughter card... however the cost to get Apple to repair that is not insignificant, nor is the cost of repairing it yourself by attempting to obtain the part from Apple (good luck), and so most schools just budget that as a "failed unit" and off they go to the recycler. Which is, IMHO, an even sadder, secondary discussion about Apple.)

So... I respectfully disagree that Type C is mechanically robust enough compared to Lightning, ie "isn't an issue."

Not entirely sure wether or not you are okay with anecdotal evidence but that's all I've got to offer. I've personally no idea what a plug-in dance is supposed to be. I have personally never, nor has any of my colleagues with usbc, had issues with their phone ports, switch ports, headphone, monitor, flashlight etc ports. Other than lint getting in there of course and to be fair I think getting lint out of usbc might be slightly trickier.

I also don't see how Apples notoriously shoddy repairability has anything to do with this, but a user replaceable usb-c port is 15 EUR for the Fairphone 4, so that sounds like a superior alternative to what Apple has on offer.

Plenty of schools offer dirt cheap Chromebooks with USBC ports so I guess it should be quite easy to find examples of how easy USBC ports break due to careless handling. I'll make sure to ask a friend who works at a highschool next time I see him.

>With iPadOS, at USB 2.0 speeds, the slowness is obvious, and very irritating on an expensive iPadPro.

Haven't iPad Pros been on USB 3.0 speeds for a while?

>I do understand the advantages of increased bandwidth to match increased storage space. Even though I suspect the real use case is probably very limited. Nowadays very few use a cable to exchange data.

Yeah, which is why (assuming this rumor is true) iPhone non-Pro coming with a USB 2.0 cable and iPhone Pro coming with a USB4 cable makes sense to me. Most users on a non-Pro will never use the cable for data. They use it for charging. Users on the Pro, OTOH, are more likely to have that need.

>I connect to my office monitor via USB-C and it's fantastic. It has old fat USB ports so my keyboard is connected via the monitor. And since USB-C is such a superior format I get power through the same cable that connects my laptop to the video and keyboard.

I understand the convenience, but I'd be surprised if even 1% of monitors are connected via USB-C.

HDMI is very widespread, and then there's also DisplayLink. USB-C is a distant third. (Heck, even VGA might still be more common.)

"I don't believe there's even a single C-to-C cable in this household"

You don't need a C-to-C cable to charge your phone, and for connecting to a computer that only has USB-C, most people have some kind of dock that provides USB-A, since that's still an incredibly popular plug for most types of devices.

"Few connect a screen via USB-C."

Looking at the kinds of connectors smaller screens ship with, it seems that most people who connect their laptops to a screen do so using USB-C.

As for reliability, in a decade of using USB-C on literally hundreds of devices, I've had one port fail, and that was because the whole port came off the PCB, which was not the connector's fault.