Whatever reasons Apple had for avoiding USB-C on their best selling products, unless you work for able and are contractually obligated to toe the company line, you can't pretend that the reason for it was the consumer.
Sure I can. At the tune Lightning was introduced your two main alternatives were mini and micro USB. Both sucked and the Lightning connector itself was a design masterpiece: Solid, reversible, easy to connect, and once connected it stayed in place.
If you've been in the iPhone environment, then you have Lightning cables and you probably have Lightning accessories, docks, and so on, and transitioning to a new connector, no matter what that connector might be, is still going to be a transition where you leave all of that old stuff behind and buy new stuff.
It's the kind of thing you really, really don't want to do too often.
The complaints people have are amazing. If Apple had switched to USB-C when they did started added it to Macs people would've complained that It was too soon because micro-USB-B was the common standard and that Apple just likes to change up port interfaces to make users buy new cables, but now that they used Lightning for 11 years it not selfish of them both to force users to change cables -and- that they should've done it years ago. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's almost as if they're just trolls trolling for the sake of trolling.
Personally, I'm glad for the final move to USB-C is upon us, but I will miss the wonderful Lightning that we've had for more than a decade and don't care that the USB-IF aped it from Lightning (which may or may not have had direct involvement from Apple for that process). The long term is simply a better path with USB-C on all Apple devices.
I wonder what the next major port interface standard will be. Perhaps wireless will finally be the de facto shift and this could be it for even longer than Apple keeps their port interface standards. The one thing I absolutely don't miss is seeing kiosks and stands in stores selling nothing but overpriced car and wall chargers for cell phones. All with different connectors for different vendors, often with many options of charging interface within for the same vendor, and all with the wall and car plug permanently attached to the cable.
I remember when Apple released the original iPod and it came with USB-A and FW400 so that you could charge and sun with a Mac with FW400 and sync went Windows with USB. USB 1.x didn't supply power.
I volunteer twice a week at my local State Park doing native plant restoration work in the field and nursery. Involves a lot of grubbing around in dirt and chopping through invasive plants. The iPhone in my pants pocket regularly gets tiny seeds, sand grains, and other debris in the Lightning port. I have accumulated a small arsenal of specialized tools to remove it. Hoping USB-C will make it better, or at least not worse. I know I could buy an expensive Otterbox type of protective case, but don’t want to have that on the other 90% of the time. A small easily removable plastic port plug would be great, but haven’t found one.
one of my concerns with USB C is that it's a coaxial port and there's a center prong which will make cleaning more difficult. Historically, the lightning port has been somewhat sensitive to debris and it only takes a small amount to keep it from completely seating and working. It may be that the USB C will be less sensitive and still work if it's not completely seated but we'll see.
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Personally, I'm glad for the final move to USB-C is upon us, but I will miss the wonderful Lightning that we've had for more than a decade and don't care that the USB-IF aped it from Lightning (which may or may not have had direct involvement from Apple for that process). The long term is simply a better path with USB-C on all Apple devices.
I wonder what the next major port interface standard will be. Perhaps wireless will finally be the de facto shift and this could be it for even longer than Apple keeps their port interface standards. The one thing I absolutely don't miss is seeing kiosks and stands in stores selling nothing but overpriced car and wall chargers for cell phones. All with different connectors for different vendors, often with many options of charging interface within for the same vendor, and all with the wall and car plug permanently attached to the cable.
I remember when Apple released the original iPod and it came with USB-A and FW400 so that you could charge and sun with a Mac with FW400 and sync went Windows with USB. USB 1.x didn't supply power.