Apple intros new USB-C accessories to support 2018 iPad Pros

AppleInsider

Reflecting the switch to USB-C on its new iPad Pros, Apple has released a pair of USB-C adapters to ensure people can keep using key features.

The USB-C to SD adapter.

The USB-C to 3.5mm adapter will let people connect headphones, speakers or other accessories that depend on a 3.5mm plug. The product reflects the removal of a headphone jack on 2018 Pros.

Also available is a USB-C to SD card reader, which Apple says can operate at UHS-II speeds when a compatible card is inserted. It also supports any standard-sized SD card.

Notably, while the SD adapter will work with Macs as well as 2018 Pros, the 3.5mm adapter only explicitly supports iPads.

The 3.5mm adapter.

Both products can be shipped as soon as Nov. 1, and should be in stores Nov. 2. The 3.5mm adapter is $9 and the SD accessory is $39.

SpamSandwich

Wish they’d offer their own USB-to-MIDI port and 1/4” audio in jack connecting cable. Professional hardware needs to connect to pro audio equipment including keyboards, guitars, mics, etc.

tylersdad

They can't include a $9 USB-C-to-3.5" adapter in a device that starts at $800? When they included the adapter on iPhones, it was a bit tougher to say that they removed it to increase accessory sales. Now?

mac_128

At least now there's one iOS device that's compatible with the MacBooks using native headphones. Is there even a way to connect USB-C headphones to an iPhone? 

Not what musicians and pro audio folks would prefer. Just more dongles to hang off an otherwise excellent portable solution. Looks like audio professionals and musicians will choose the new MBA instead.

Guess this means no way to use existing Lightning devices with the new iPad?

MisterKit

SpamSandwich said:

Wish they’d offer their own USB-to-MIDI port and 1/4” audio in jack connecting cable. Professional hardware needs to connect to pro audio equipment including keyboards, guitars, mics, etc.

Exactly. The headphone jack on the last few generations of iPhone and iPad provides an audiophile pro spec line output. That combined with lightning MIDI input has been an extremely useful quality kit. A USB-C to headphone adapter is of no use in these situations. You are giving up everything USB-C offers just for a line output. The only solution is more complex bulky adapters. My current 2017 iPads are going to be seeing continued use for now.

lovemn

What does USB-3 offer that Lightening doesn’t?

seankill

lovemn said:

What does USB-3 offer that Lightening doesn’t?

Assuming the iPhone goes to USBC, you could use a cable to charge an iphone, iPad, MacBook, and competitor devices. 

Just hoping the iphone follows. 

Rayz2016

lovemn said:

What does USB-3 offer that Lightening doesn’t?

Well, it can transmit data faster for one thing.

The problem I have with it is that the design isn't very good. They put the tongue inside the port, instead of on the cable, like it is with Lightning. I think the tongue should be where it's cheaper to fix/replace if it gets damaged.

rorwessels

And herein lies the issue anytime Apple does something new. People will complain. If Apple had not made the new iPad Pro with USB-C, then people would have complained that Apple missed the boat and should have done it because it can transmit data faster and allows for faster recharging times, etc... And now you have the one complaining because Apple DID make the switch to USB-C (only on the pro models mind you) and you would think it was the end of the world. And Pro audio or audiophile? Really? You would rely on the built in DAC and audio jack? If I want audiophile quality sound, I used the lightning to USB adapter with an AudioQuest DragonFly Red and the AudioQuest JitterBug to clean up line the port noise from USB. Bluetooth has also gotten so much better, though I do wish that Apple would go ahead and license APT-X and APT-X HD. I am sure they won't, but it would be nice if they did.

maciekskontakt

Will the jack converter break as easily as Lightning version for iPhones? What is the qiuality of sound conversion? Apple needs to start reading reviews on their own store website. People tell a lot.

MisterKit

rorwessels said:

And herein lies the issue anytime Apple does something new. People will complain. If Apple had not made the new iPad Pro with USB-C, then people would have complained that Apple missed the boat and should have done it because it can transmit data faster and allows for faster recharging times, etc... And now you have the one complaining because Apple DID make the switch to USB-C (only on the pro models mind you) and you would think it was the end of the world. And Pro audio or audiophile? Really? You would rely on the built in DAC and audio jack? If I want audiophile quality sound, I used the lightning to USB adapter with an AudioQuest DragonFly Red and the AudioQuest JitterBug to clean up line the port noise from USB. Bluetooth has also gotten so much better, though I do wish that Apple would go ahead and license APT-X and APT-X HD. I am sure they won't, but it would be nice if they did.

Yes, I was indeed surprised after doing some research that the DAC used in the headphone output does in fact rival some hi end boutique hardware’s converters.

maciekskontakt

rorwessels said:

And herein lies the issue anytime Apple does something new. People will complain. If Apple had not made the new iPad Pro with USB-C, then people would have complained that Apple missed the boat and should have done it because it can transmit data faster and allows for faster recharging times, etc... And now you have the one complaining because Apple DID make the switch to USB-C (only on the pro models mind you) and you would think it was the end of the world. And Pro audio or audiophile? Really? You would rely on the built in DAC and audio jack? If I want audiophile quality sound, I used the lightning to USB adapter with an AudioQuest DragonFly Red and the AudioQuest JitterBug to clean up line the port noise from USB. Bluetooth has also gotten so much better, though I do wish that Apple would go ahead and license APT-X and APT-X HD. I am sure they won't, but it would be nice if they did.

That is not the point. The change toowards wireless and faster multifunction single wired is the right direction, but Apple paces it way too fast without proper accessories support. Even their own is medioocre quality that breaks after few months. There are other options that Apple tries to "unsupport" with every iOS update. I thisnk they are only affraid Amazon Essentals acccessories, because it would not turned well for Apple if they tried to "unsupport" those. Unfortunatelly they do not seem to keep up with Apple changes, but at least they offer many times batter quality cables than Apple. I have thrown away a bit of Apple OEM cables and not yet one Amazon Essentials.

maciekskontakt

Rayz2016 said:

lovemn said:

What does USB-3 offer that Lightening doesn’t?

Well, it can transmit data faster for one thing.

The problem I have with it is that the design isn't very good. They put the tongue inside the port, instead of on the cable, like it is with Lightning. I think the tongue should be where it's cheaper to fix/replace if it gets damaged.

It also gives abiliy to escape penalties from EU for proprietary connectors and accessories USB is mandated in EU even though people still use others to reduce junk products of different types. USB-C is approved way I guess.

mac_128

rorwessels said:

And herein lies the issue anytime Apple does something new. People will complain. If Apple had not made the new iPad Pro with USB-C, then people would have complained that Apple missed the boat and should have done it because it can transmit data faster and allows for faster recharging times, etc... And now you have the one complaining because Apple DID make the switch to USB-C (only on the pro models mind you) and you would think it was the end of the world. And Pro audio or audiophile? Really? You would rely on the built in DAC and audio jack? If I want audiophile quality sound, I used the lightning to USB adapter with an AudioQuest DragonFly Red and the AudioQuest JitterBug to clean up line the port noise from USB. Bluetooth has also gotten so much better, though I do wish that Apple would go ahead and license APT-X and APT-X HD. I am sure they won't, but it would be nice if they did.

You need to actually work in Pro audio to understand the needs in-context of a powerful portable device like the iPad Pro. For audio output and mastering, yes one would want to hook up an external DAC, likely into a breakout box, for post processing and mixing of the individual tracks. But for in the field recording, what happens when your pro audio mic is plugged into the USB-C port -- where are you going to plug your headphones for monitoring against the playback track? Or even the quality of what's being recorded? Now you need a dongle, which starts to make the iPad less portable. And if you're doing a long session, at a club, now you need to plug in power as well, with yet more dongles. A full rig is one thing, but the loss of the headphone jack reduces the ability of what the small transportable iPad made possible -- a mobile professional recording studio.

docno42

Beyond idiotic to drop the headphone jack on the iPad Pro.  

Form wins over function again.  Freaking designers running amok...

Pjs

ipad 10.5 also supports these adapters?

curtis hannah

docno42 said:

Beyond idiotic to drop the headphone jack on the iPad Pro.  

Form wins over function again.  Freaking designers running amok...

The iPhone is actually small, that iPad is much bigger, and they didn't even bother to give the adapter like the iPhones for 2 years.
Also I noticed that new MacBook Air has a headphone port, and it has 2 usb c ports so you can charge it without losing that audio plug. mac_128 said:

At least now there's one iOS device that's compatible with the MacBooks using native headphones. Is there even a way to connect USB-C headphones to an iPhone? 

Not what musicians and pro audio folks would prefer. Just more dongles to hang off an otherwise excellent portable solution. Looks like audio professionals and musicians will choose the new MBA instead.

Guess this means no way to use existing Lightning devices with the new iPad?

I know you can't use lightning headphones on USB C(which means people buying them can no longer use them on iPads). You can plug the usb c headphones into the usb c to lightning adapter and it should most likely work since the iPhone by EU law must work with USB C devices.

The Pro model lacking features that the basic model having is a new trend with Apple for some reason, the XR having a bigger screen with better battery to XS, the Pro model that you pay $150 more than the .5" smaller not having a headphone jack, the MacBook Air now having 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports, better battery life, and a larger screen over the $100 more MacBook are all examples why Apple has made some of its weirdest and most confusing(not to mention massive price jumps) product lines this year.

I'm pretty sure Apple refuses to allow its accessories to work with Android/ Windows so they will never release a lightning to USB C adapter (unlike what they did with the 30pin to lightning), while neglecting the fact that that made IOS accessories incompatible with Mac, and now just iPhone accessories incompatible with any other Apple devices(excluding the accessories of the newer Magic Mouse, keyboard and Apple TV remote still being lightning, which the Mac accessories suddenly make even less sense).

Also, why did they not have this USB C to SD card reader before so MacBook users could have used it for the past couple of years?

spheric

mac_128 said:

rorwessels said:

And herein lies the issue anytime Apple does something new. People will complain. If Apple had not made the new iPad Pro with USB-C, then people would have complained that Apple missed the boat and should have done it because it can transmit data faster and allows for faster recharging times, etc... And now you have the one complaining because Apple DID make the switch to USB-C (only on the pro models mind you) and you would think it was the end of the world. And Pro audio or audiophile? Really? You would rely on the built in DAC and audio jack? If I want audiophile quality sound, I used the lightning to USB adapter with an AudioQuest DragonFly Red and the AudioQuest JitterBug to clean up line the port noise from USB. Bluetooth has also gotten so much better, though I do wish that Apple would go ahead and license APT-X and APT-X HD. I am sure they won't, but it would be nice if they did.

You need to actually work in Pro audio to understand the needs in-context of a powerful portable device like the iPad Pro. For audio output and mastering, yes one would want to hook up an external DAC, likely into a breakout box, for post processing and mixing of the individual tracks. But for in the field recording, what happens when your pro audio mic is plugged into the USB-C port -- where are you going to plug your headphones for monitoring against the playback track? Or even the quality of what's being recorded? Now you need a dongle, which starts to make the iPad less portable. And if you're doing a long session, at a club, now you need to plug in power as well, with yet more dongles. A full rig is one thing, but the loss of the headphone jack reduces the ability of what the small transportable iPad made possible -- a mobile professional recording studio.

That really, really doesn’t sound like a „pro“ scenario. 

owencunn

Is there a USB-C to HDMI cable available? Or how can I connect one of these 2018 iPad Pros to my TV? (without an Apple TV, and my TV doesn't have USB-C)