Faster USB 3 charging & file transfers are exclusive to Apple's 12.9" iPad Pro

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPad edited September 2020
Apple's new USB 3 Lightning accessories offer faster file transfers and battery recharging abilities, but the only Apple device with a USB 3 Lightning port supporting those featuers remains the jumbo-sized 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Apple has launched a new Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter that features a standard USB port with USB 3 speeds. The company also offers a new Lightning to USB-C cable that is compatible with all Lightning-enabled Apple products for syncing and charging. However, in the description for the camera adapter, Apple notes that USB 3 data speeds are only capable with the iPad Pro. Similarly, the Lightning to USB-C cable will not offer quick charging benefits for any other devices. That means the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro lacks one key feature of the larger 12.9-inch model: It doesn't have a USB 3 capable Lightning port. Still, the new Lightning to USB-C cable gives users the ability to plug their iPhone, iPad or otherwise directly into Apple's 12-inch MacBook, which features a single USB-C port for both syncing and charging.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    AI2xxxAI2xxx Posts: 38member
    Better late than never. I wonder if we'll see Thunderbolt 3 in the next couple of years.
  • Reply 2 of 25
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,069member
    I can charge my iP6+ with my iPad 12w charger to 100% in about an hour.  I can understand the file-transfer speeds with USB3, but I'm not understanding the charging times being implied with USB3.

  • Reply 3 of 25
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    AI2xxx said:
    Better late than never. I wonder if we'll see Thunderbolt 3 in the next couple of years.
    Thunderbolt means it's using an Intel chip. I doubt we'll ever see that on their iDevices.
  • Reply 4 of 25
    BlasterBlaster Posts: 97member
    sflocal said:
    I can charge my iP6+ with my iPad 12w charger to 100% in about an hour.  I can understand the file-transfer speeds with USB3, but I'm not understanding the charging times being implied with USB3.

    The USB 2.0 standard provides up to 500ma per port.  USB 3.0 standard provides up to 900ma per port.  The "high power" USB ports found in some computers including Macs are actually nonstandard implementations.
    edited March 2016 razorpit
  • Reply 5 of 25
    focherfocher Posts: 687member
    However, in the description for the camera adapter, Apple notes that USB 3 data speeds are only capable with the iPad Pro. Similarly, the Lightning to USB-C cable will not offer quick charging benefits for any other devices.

    That means the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro lacks one key feature of the larger 12.9-inch model: It doesn't have a USB 3 capable Lightning port.
    Umm, is this accurate? The new 9.7 iPad is a "Pro" and during the event, Schiller even announced this adapter alongside the iPad Pro 9.7 so it's not clear whether that model supports USB 3. I think it's more likely that it does support USB 3 for data transfer and that this isn't just limited to the iPad Pro 12.9.

    update: didn't see the last sentence in the description, so 9.7 is USB 2 only
    edited March 2016
  • Reply 6 of 25
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    You guys hands on with the new 9.7" iPad Pro - check the Lightning port to see if it has two sets of 8 pin contacts sitting inside the port...if it does it probably incorporates USB3 speed capabilities like its bigger brethren. It it doesn't then probably not.
    edited March 2016
  • Reply 7 of 25
    mfrydmfryd Posts: 208member
    The description for this product on Apple's web site explicitly says "The 12.9-inch iPad Pro transfers data at USB 3 speeds, while the 9.7-inch iPad Pro uses USB 2."
  • Reply 8 of 25
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    mfryd said:
    The description for this product on Apple's web site explicitly says "The 12.9-inch iPad Pro transfers data at USB 3 speeds, while the 9.7-inch iPad Pro uses USB 2."
    Well that settles it then...its a shame they've put that kind of limitation on a new 'Pro' iPad product, so to put it lower down in the pecking order. I thought it was supposed to be the equal off the 12.9" just with a smaller screen...it isn't.
    edited March 2016 cash907censored
  • Reply 9 of 25
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,501member
    AI2xxx said:
    Better late than never. I wonder if we'll see Thunderbolt 3 in the next couple of years.

    I doubt it. That requires a lot more power, and a much faster bus in the device. It's also a PCI Express 3 only interface.
  • Reply 10 of 25
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,501member

    1983 said:
    mfryd said:
    The description for this product on Apple's web site explicitly says "The 12.9-inch iPad Pro transfers data at USB 3 speeds, while the 9.7-inch iPad Pro uses USB 2."
    Well that settles it then...its a shame they've put that kind of limitation on a new 'Pro' iPad product, so to put it lower down in the pecking order. I thought it was supposed to be the equal off the 12.9" just with a smaller screen...it isn't.
    That's the only thing. But otherwise, it's better than my iPad Pro 12.9" model. It's got the new 12MP camera with the multi hue flash. The bigger color gamet, and that's really a pretty big thing. It's got the ambient light sensors for color adjust, which I assume can be turned off. That's really useful. They both can be bought with 256GB storage.

    Overall, this is a pretty good upgrade. Yes, it's too bad the USB 3 isn't there, but there must be some reason, and from what is included, it doesn't seem to be a sales differentiating factor. If anything, from the other features, the 9.7" model is more desirable.
    justadcomicsnolamacguypropod
  • Reply 11 of 25
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    Apple should build standard ports like USB in all apple devices.
    Besides a Mac tablet. 
  • Reply 12 of 25
    rezwitsrezwits Posts: 868member
    Now all I need is a USB3 to USBC adapter/cable so I can use the USBC to Lightning Cable, for syncs and backups. Should pull in at USB3 speeds...
  • Reply 13 of 25
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    Yeah!! Finally high bandwidth enough to run the iPad as an extended display for the Mac! Astropad, I'm sure, has been working to get the latency and pixelation go away.

    ... on second thought. We need a lightning to USB3 CABLE to do that. Not a lightning to USB3 ADAPTER. Oh well.. 
    edited March 2016
  • Reply 14 of 25
    BlasterBlaster Posts: 97member
    appex said:
    Apple should build standard ports like USB in all apple devices.
    Besides a Mac tablet. 
    But I thought iPads are Macs, therefore Mac tablets.
    edited March 2016
  • Reply 15 of 25
    staticx57staticx57 Posts: 405member
    melgross said:

    1983 said:
    Well that settles it then...its a shame they've put that kind of limitation on a new 'Pro' iPad product, so to put it lower down in the pecking order. I thought it was supposed to be the equal off the 12.9" just with a smaller screen...it isn't.
    That's the only thing. But otherwise, it's better than my iPad Pro 12.9" model. It's got the new 12MP camera with the multi hue flash. The bigger color gamet, and that's really a pretty big thing. It's got the ambient light sensors for color adjust, which I assume can be turned off. That's really useful. They both can be bought with 256GB storage.

    Overall, this is a pretty good upgrade. Yes, it's too bad the USB 3 isn't there, but there must be some reason, and from what is included, it doesn't seem to be a sales differentiating factor. If anything, from the other features, the 9.7" model is more desirable.
    I would have to imagine that there would be different calibration settings for the new 9.7." Letting it use the DCI-P3 would render all other colors that use sRGB, which is most of the content on the internet, inaccurate. Could this be the start of color profiles like OSX has?
  • Reply 16 of 25
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Soli said:
    AI2xxx said:
    Better late than never. I wonder if we'll see Thunderbolt 3 in the next couple of years.
    Thunderbolt means it's using an Intel chip. I doubt we'll ever see that on their iDevices.
    I'm not too sure about that. I wouldn't be surprised to find that Apple has licensed the technology from Intel to implement as they want when they want. Apple isn't about to close the gate on TB3 in its ARM based devices. They may not have a solution now but I can see them having one in the future as the performance of iOS devices increases.
  • Reply 17 of 25
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,665member
    wizard69 said:
    Soli said:
    Thunderbolt means it's using an Intel chip. I doubt we'll ever see that on their iDevices.
    I'm not too sure about that. I wouldn't be surprised to find that Apple has licensed the technology from Intel to implement as they want when they want. Apple isn't about to close the gate on TB3 in its ARM based devices. They may not have a solution now but I can see them having one in the future as the performance of iOS devices increases.
    Is it possible to implement TB3 on ARM or is it exclusive to x86?
  • Reply 18 of 25
    cash907censoredcash907censored Posts: 83member
    Can someone explain this omission, as it seems like the internals of this thing pretty closely match its older brother, albeit clocked slightly lower. I was really excited about the faster transfer rates seeing how SD card to iPad transfers are going to be a common occurance for me, and USB speeds would have been nice. Gonna take a long time to backup and transfer 128GB over USB 2 speeds as well. 
    razorpit
  • Reply 19 of 25
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    This is dumb. I can't imagine it's saving Apple much $$ so why not have it match the 12.9" device? It reminds me of when the retina mini launched but the the color gamut wasn't as good as the Air. Of course now the mini 4 has a display as good if not better than the Air. Stupid!
    edited March 2016
  • Reply 20 of 25
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    Yeah, awesome idea: 256GB paired with USB2 speeds...
    ...painful enough to restore a 128GB device now that's 2/3rds full.
    Maybe it's Apple giving the FBI some leverage: "Give us your password, or we'll make you restore your iPad again..."
    razorpit
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