I prefer lightning over the USB C connector - they both allow USB 3 speeds and the lightning connector feels more robust and secure. I think part of it is the indentations on the side that allow the socket to securely hold the plug. I don't think USB has anything like that and it feels like the plug is held in only by friction. USB C ultimately allows for faster speeds and more power transfer, I don't know if those would really be necessary for an iPhone or not. The XS Max may benefit from more than 7.5W of power that USB A typically delivers. GeorgeB's point is interesting - with the A12 processor, the Xs is as powerful as many laptops. Being able to plug it to a dock would be cool!
Given Apple's switch on the iPad, switching everything over to USB C would make sense. It would let you use the same cable to charge your iPad, laptop, iPhone, etc and would also standardize among other smart phones. Apple typically doesn't worry about things like that, though.
As far as wireless goes, wired connections are superior in virtually every way and there are applications which require a wired connection. If all you need to do is charge your phone slowly on your desk or nightstand wireless might be ok, but most people do more than that.
I think the Lightning connector is physically superior to USB-C (having used an all-USB-C MBP since late 2016). I do see the need for USB-3 speeds, especially when setting-up a new phone or pad, but I continue to believe that Apple could engineer that into Lightning in a backwards-compatible fashion.
Putting USB-C on the other end of the cable seems more important to me. With my MBP 2 years old and Apple's apparent drive for USB-C, I couldn't believe that my new iPhone XS needed a dongle to connect to my MBP. So let's have a brave drive for the future at the charger/host end of the cable first.
You do not require a ”dongle” to plug the XS into your MBP, you simply need a cable.
You are technically correct of course. The point is that what comes in the box is not interoperable: a MacBook Pro and iPhone XS, out of their respective boxes, cannot be connected using the cable supplied. I said dongle because, living in the real world with a laptop, I have found essential, and bought, a USB-A dongle (well, two actually). I have also now bought a USB-C to Lightning cable.
If Apple believes that USB-C is the future (and the MBP, plus statements at its launch, suggest that they do) then why does the iPhone, two generations later, not come with a USB-C charger and cable? Or with a USB-C cable in addition to the USB-A one (which would be analogous to the inclusion of a headphone dongle with previous generation iPhones).
It's not the cost at issue, it's the lack of system thinking and integrated ecosystem that used to be a hallmark of Apple kit (the "it just works" bit) Transitions are always difficult but Apple doesn't seem to be consistent on this one.
Plenty lightening cables around so it's all good if 2019 iPhone stays with Lightening port. But in future if Apple going to move iPhone to USB-C than sooner is better. I don't see another physical port standard on horizon unless everyone move to Wirless for charging and Data/music transfer.
I don't see any reason ever to move the iPhone to USB-C. Wireless charging is the next standard Apple will likely move to, and drop the exposed port concept from their phones entirely. They've steadily been moving to seal it up completely. For the optional need to make a physical connection for a very small portion of Apple's iPhone base, something like the SmartConnector is likely the way to go. For most customers, wireless will suffice to meet all of their needs, and encourage use of Apple's Cloud services -- which after all is a stated goal of their transition away from hardware focused profits.
I totally agree with all of your points.... But, there's another (very potential) aspect for the future: The iPhone is becoming powerful enough to be the driver of a laptop or even a desktop. Technically, the potential for it to be plugged into a hub with a 27" monitor, keyboard, mouse and external storage exists. Or, previously, somebody floated the idea of a laptop with an iPhone slotted into it in place of a trackpad and the iPhone provided the trackpad, CPU, GPU, memory, storage, and connectivity.
Will Apple ever do that? It's not really science fiction anymore. ... I think Steve would have had the guts to do it. I'm not sure that current Apple management does.
And I don’t disagree with your point. But, Apple seems to be solidly focused on the Cloud as a solution for sharing data between different configuration platforms, rather than docking solutions of any kind. Docks have been rumored for decades, but Apple hasn’t made one since the sublime Duo.
If Apple ever gave us a dockable iPhone, then there would be no reason not to give us the Mac/iPad hybrid, mouse control on an iPad, phone apps on iPads and Macs, and so on...
Maybe Apple is planning a paradigm shift in the way they market hardware, and basically become an expensive iPhone maker, with expansion docks to turn the one device into every dedicated device Apple now sells, by just plugging it into a larger screen and hub. But even then I have to wonder whether Apple wouldn’t just expand on airplay to extend the screen wirelessly, with wireless keyboard and mouse, with expansion storage in the cloud.
Either way, I’d bet we’re years away from Apple merging file and operating systems between devices to accommodate that, in which case switching to USB-C now is extremely premature where the majority of iPhone customers only use Lightning for charging. I’d still argue that wireless is still the short term goal, and that if Apple ever did turn the iPhone into a dockable solution they’d introduce a brand new proprietary connector compatible only with their docks. For now, USB-C still only makes sense to me on PC-centric devices. I’d even be surprised to see the low cost consumer iPads switching to USB-C in the very near future. Maybe once USB-C is so common that a cable can be found anywhere, then maybe Apple switches the iPhone to it, assuming the iPhone still has a port at all.
I have 50GB+ of photos and another 40GB of high quality music. I am not waiting weeks for a cloud to back up and/ or restore, nor am I going to pay for additional storage. I do not trust the cloud and NEVER will. It reminds me of main frame computing, and that's the reason we all got PCs because the "cloud" was not reliable.
It SHOULD remind you of mainframe computing -- because basically, that's exactly what it is: a central repository of software and data.
But, like mainframes, it has both advantages as well as disadvantages. It's why we are going back to that model: the standalone PC also had disadvantages that were too often overlooked. Now AWS, Microsoft, etc... are returning to the mainframe model and claiming that they invented something new!
I have 50GB+ of photos and another 40GB of high quality music. I am not waiting weeks for a cloud to back up and/ or restore, nor am I going to pay for additional storage. I do not trust the cloud and NEVER will. It reminds me of main frame computing, and that's the reason we all got PCs because the "cloud" was not reliable.
Plenty lightening cables around so it's all good if 2019 iPhone stays with Lightening port. But in future if Apple going to move iPhone to USB-C than sooner is better. I don't see another physical port standard on horizon unless everyone move to Wirless for charging and Data/music transfer.
I don't see any reason ever to move the iPhone to USB-C. Wireless charging is the next standard Apple will likely move to, and drop the exposed port concept from their phones entirely. They've steadily been moving to seal it up completely. For the optional need to make a physical connection for a very small portion of Apple's iPhone base, something like the SmartConnector is likely the way to go. For most customers, wireless will suffice to meet all of their needs, and encourage use of Apple's Cloud services -- which after all is a stated goal of their transition away from hardware focused profits.
Wireless phones and self doing cars ain’t gonna happen Tim needs to blow out the competition with some battery breakthroughs then we’ll cut that wire for good not before
They have them... at least Panasonic does. Enzyme batteries. Problem is they will never use it as it would negate the need to upgrade devices. Apple and tech in general aren't in the market of 1 and done. They want to sell you the same thing over and over...
LoL yeah, maybe Apple is replacing Lightning with an IV 😂
Plenty lightening cables around so it's all good if 2019 iPhone stays with Lightening port. But in future if Apple going to move iPhone to USB-C than sooner is better. I don't see another physical port standard on horizon unless everyone move to Wirless for charging and Data/music transfer.
I don't see any reason ever to move the iPhone to USB-C. Wireless charging is the next standard Apple will likely move to, and drop the exposed port concept from their phones entirely. They've steadily been moving to seal it up completely. For the optional need to make a physical connection for a very small portion of Apple's iPhone base, something like the SmartConnector is likely the way to go. For most customers, wireless will suffice to meet all of their needs, and encourage use of Apple's Cloud services -- which after all is a stated goal of their transition away from hardware focused profits.
Wireless phones and self doing cars ain’t gonna happen Tim needs to blow out the competition with some battery breakthroughs then we’ll cut that wire for good not before
They have them... at least Panasonic does. Enzyme batteries. Problem is they will never use it as it would negate the need to upgrade devices. Apple and tech in general aren't in the market of 1 and done. They want to sell you the same thing over and over...
LoL yeah, maybe Apple is replacing Lightning with an IV 😂
Comments
Given Apple's switch on the iPad, switching everything over to USB C would make sense. It would let you use the same cable to charge your iPad, laptop, iPhone, etc and would also standardize among other smart phones. Apple typically doesn't worry about things like that, though.
As far as wireless goes, wired connections are superior in virtually every way and there are applications which require a wired connection. If all you need to do is charge your phone slowly on your desk or nightstand wireless might be ok, but most people do more than that.
If Apple believes that USB-C is the future (and the MBP, plus statements at its launch, suggest that they do) then why does the iPhone, two generations later, not come with a USB-C charger and cable? Or with a USB-C cable in addition to the USB-A one (which would be analogous to the inclusion of a headphone dongle with previous generation iPhones).
It's not the cost at issue, it's the lack of system thinking and integrated ecosystem that used to be a hallmark of Apple kit (the "it just works" bit) Transitions are always difficult but Apple doesn't seem to be consistent on this one.
If Apple ever gave us a dockable iPhone, then there would be no reason not to give us the Mac/iPad hybrid, mouse control on an iPad, phone apps on iPads and Macs, and so on...
Maybe Apple is planning a paradigm shift in the way they market hardware, and basically become an expensive iPhone maker, with expansion docks to turn the one device into every dedicated device Apple now sells, by just plugging it into a larger screen and hub. But even then I have to wonder whether Apple wouldn’t just expand on airplay to extend the screen wirelessly, with wireless keyboard and mouse, with expansion storage in the cloud.
Either way, I’d bet we’re years away from Apple merging file and operating systems between devices to accommodate that, in which case switching to USB-C now is extremely premature where the majority of iPhone customers only use Lightning for charging. I’d still argue that wireless is still the short term goal, and that if Apple ever did turn the iPhone into a dockable solution they’d introduce a brand new proprietary connector compatible only with their docks. For now, USB-C still only makes sense to me on PC-centric devices. I’d even be surprised to see the low cost consumer iPads switching to USB-C in the very near future. Maybe once USB-C is so common that a cable can be found anywhere, then maybe Apple switches the iPhone to it, assuming the iPhone still has a port at all.
But, like mainframes, it has both advantages as well as disadvantages. It's why we are going back to that model: the standalone PC also had disadvantages that were too often overlooked. Now AWS, Microsoft, etc... are returning to the mainframe model and claiming that they invented something new!