There's a big difference with the USB-C mess and previous standards. With Ethernet, a "faster" cable supports all the slower/older standards. You can buy a single Ethernet cable that can handle any configuration. The cable won't be the limiting factor. I carry a single Ethernet cable for Gig E, 100BaseT, and 10BaseT.
With older USB cable, "faster" cables supported the slower standard. You could buy a USB 3 cable, and it would work with the older devices. You can buy a "fast" USB cable, and it won't be the limiting factor.
USB-C changes all that. A Thunderbolt 3 cable may not support full USB-3 speeds. A cable that supports USB-3 may not support full power charging, or Thunderbolt-3. A cable that supports charging may not support USB-3 speeds nor Thunderbolt. A cable that supports USB-3 speeds may not support charging nor Thunderbolt.
Add the video alternate modes, and it gets even more complicated.
Try the following exercise. Find a "universal" cable suitable for charging, USB 3, and Thunderbolt 3. In order to be useful as a charging cable, it must be at least 6 feet long and support 100W charging (like Apple's charging cable). In order to be useful for Thunderbolt 3. it should support full Thunderbolt-3 speeds, and not limit you to half speed. Of course it should support the full USB-3 speed.
I've been looking and I haven't yet found such a cable. That's the problem with USB-C. There are no universal cables. My bag has universal Ethernet cables, universal older USB cables. But no universal USB-C cable.
Of course, I could be wrong. Perhaps such universal USB-C cables do exist. If so, please post a link to one, and It can replace three other USB-C cables I have to carry around.
This should happen soon with the Titan Ridge chipset, but I'm not sure why you'd want to use what will likely be a $60 cable for a $8 charging job. Alpine Ridge didn't allow for active USB 3.1 type C negotiation. Titan Ridge does.
Because as a simple and/or comfortable user you simply couldn’t care less. I want one cable to rule them all. Full stop. And preferrrably not 60 bucks. This current situation is reminiscent of 20 years plus back when you had to carry around a bag full of various cables when you wanted to be safe you could connect. As a consumer it’s not my problem that the consortium screwed up USB3. Apart from the fraying topic I absolutely love lightning for being compact, robust and universal.
I'd guess the reason the iPhones are the last to switch to USB-C even though they were the first to lose the headphone jack is because the majority of iPhone users are actually Windows users (there are only 100 million Mac users and a billion+ iPhone users). I'd say that MOST PC laptops do not have functioning USB-C ports. Maybe Apple doesn't want to annoy their single biggest customer base (and source of revenue) with dongles? (Even though they had no issues at all doing that to Mac users...)
OTOH, if USB-C is actually less reliable/durable than lightning, we're all in trouble, because lightning has not been exactly care free with my iPhones - in fact, the number one reason I've had iOS devices replaced is a broken lightning port...
Horrible idea. USB-C on an iPad is passable. But USB-C has shown on the MacBooks it is NOT a durable connection- the ports get loose, they are flimsy and pull right out. On an iPad or MacBook this is not much of a problem. But on an iPhone, you're frequently plugging it in, dropping it, catching it by the cable while plugged in- it gets A LOT of wear and tear, and USB-C is way to flimsy a connector for this. Beef up Lightning and make a new, higher capacity version of it, please. We need robust connectors for devices that are used as much as our phones are.
Alternative idea: Perhaps the plan for iPhone is to phase out a wired connector entirely. It seems to me that once wireless charging gets a big enough foothold, and Bluetooth matures for short range data transmission, there is not compelling reason to continue punching a big hole in the bottom of our iPhones. I'd prefer a completely wireless iPhone that was more waterproof & had more room for battery & functional components.
There is always the bootstrap/SW-reset condition. the 'I'm not certain my code is correct/confused' iOS state currently requires connecting to iTunes via cable. Having promiscuous WiFi mode for resets (button jamming to get it to come up and 'connect to any WiFI to hard reload corrupt SW') seems frought with hacking vectors.
Wireless for data/in-out and power in are pretty simple and have limited and user-controlled' security risks. Full reset code updating... not so much.
I'm sure there are certain technical issues. But this is something that could be worked on. They make the Watch work without a user accessible cable fallback.
Anecdotally, I haven't used a data cable for restore/troubleshooting in 4 years. I could have given up my cable before that, but being a nerd, I thought the process would work better via cable. Based on my experience managing my iPone wirelessly, I can't imagine going back to cable restores for anything.
They do, but they also have customers return the watch whenever there's a seemingly quite common update failure, see watchOS 5.1. That's in no way good for anyone, especially people located without an Apple Store near, so they have to send off their phone and be without it for a week.
Getting rid of all ports from the iPhone would be a disaster. My series 4 watch is winging its way back to apple after the latest bricking. There was no way to fix it.
I'm fine with the switch to USB-C as long as Apple does it on the iPhone, too, and soon. But right now their port strategy is a bit of a mess. I realize that Apple wants us to go wireless on earphones, but I would really appreciate it if they would stop killing analog audio ports on devices. USB-C is great in concept, but think about this scenario: I can buy a MacBook Pro with a TRRS audio port, an iPad Pro with a USB-C port, and an iPhone with a Lightning port. In order to use any standard headphones with a TRRS connector, I now have to carry a USB-C adaptor and a Lightning adaptor. Yes, I can do this wirelessly with Apple's W1 equipped Bluetooth headsets. However, to switch between devices, I still have to perform multiple steps to make the switch each time. None of those steps are intuitive. Add to that, I have the Apple earphones that shipped with my iPhone X. There's no way to use them with the new iPad Pro or a MacBook. Since they're putting USB-C on the iPad Pro and enabling high-res display output, I'd really like to see a good way to use that connectivity to expand the productivity features a la Samsung Dex. Dex is a great concept with poor software/OS implementation. Apple has the hardware and the software to make it happen well, I think. The hardest part is really enabling the UI switch so that you can use a mouse/trackpad in docked mode without destroying the workflow/ease-of-use for standard (undocked) iOS. Switching the iPad into a large trackpad with room for some contextual buttons a la the Touch Bar may be the best way IMHO.
Alternative idea: Perhaps the plan for iPhone is to phase out a wired connector entirely. It seems to me that once wireless charging gets a big enough foothold, and Bluetooth matures for short range data transmission, there is not compelling reason to continue punching a big hole in the bottom of our iPhones. I'd prefer a completely wireless iPhone that was more waterproof & had more room for battery & functional components.
There is always the bootstrap/SW-reset condition. the 'I'm not certain my code is correct/confused' iOS state currently requires connecting to iTunes via cable. Having promiscuous WiFi mode for resets (button jamming to get it to come up and 'connect to any WiFI to hard reload corrupt SW') seems frought with hacking vectors.
Wireless for data/in-out and power in are pretty simple and have limited and user-controlled' security risks. Full reset code updating... not so much.
I'm sure there are certain technical issues. But this is something that could be worked on. They make the Watch work without a user accessible cable fallback.
Anecdotally, I haven't used a data cable for restore/troubleshooting in 4 years. I could have given up my cable before that, but being a nerd, I thought the process would work better via cable. Based on my experience managing my iPone wirelessly, I can't imagine going back to cable restores for anything.
They do, but they also have customers return the watch whenever there's a seemingly quite common update failure, see watchOS 5.1. That's in no way good for anyone, especially people located without an Apple Store near, so they have to send off their phone and be without it for a week.
I’ve never encountered someone who had to return a watch to Apple to fix something they could have fixed themselves given a cable connection. Maybe that’s a bigger deal than it seems to me.
Why do iDevices still include legacy USB charging cables, 2- 3 years after the Macbooks did away with those ports? I now have to spend another $30 on a charge cable to work with my MBP on top of the $1,000+ cost of an iPhone. At least give us the option of buying the iPhone with a USB-C cable instead of USB 2.0.
Thunderbolt doesn't seem to work with my PCs and my iPhones, so I hope not. I have issues and I'm using Apple's USB-C to Lightning cable. My new Dell XPS 9570 crashes when unplug my iPhone X from it (this is every time and consistent). I still used my iPhone 7 as DashCam and when I transfer videos from my iPhone to my custom built PC (if I transfer too much data), the connection drops.
This sounds like a Dell issue. I've got no problems with my devices on my Macs or my Intel NUCs.
What's the value of adding the Macs into the conversation? It's a completely different architecture [OS X vs. Windows] and device driver series.
Intel is notorious with firmware issues.
Your one off about Intel NUCs adds no value. Are the NUCs using the same hardware USB controllers? Serial Numbers? What? The NUC is a single controlled platform BY INTEL.
They better get that right and more importantly it's a very narrow case of USB controllers. Every single key piece of the NUC is made by Intel w/ perhaps the Power Supply by a third party.
DELL like any third party OEM has dozens of vendors to coordinate with, exacerbating the probable errors.
USB-C isn't smart for Apple. Lightning is a very specific small set of variables to control, thus reducing the recalls and costs on Apple's end.
This iPad Pro will be a test case by Apple. How well or poorly that decision to include it will be determined within the next 12 months. Apple would be stupid to switch over their entire portable line to it w/o the guinea pig flushing out all the issues.
Alternative idea: Perhaps the plan for iPhone is to phase out a wired connector entirely. It seems to me that once wireless charging gets a big enough foothold, and Bluetooth matures for short range data transmission, there is not compelling reason to continue punching a big hole in the bottom of our iPhones. I'd prefer a completely wireless iPhone that was more waterproof & had more room for battery & functional components.
There is always the bootstrap/SW-reset condition. the 'I'm not certain my code is correct/confused' iOS state currently requires connecting to iTunes via cable. Having promiscuous WiFi mode for resets (button jamming to get it to come up and 'connect to any WiFI to hard reload corrupt SW') seems frought with hacking vectors.
Wireless for data/in-out and power in are pretty simple and have limited and user-controlled' security risks. Full reset code updating... not so much.
I'm sure there are certain technical issues. But this is something that could be worked on. They make the Watch work without a user accessible cable fallback.
Anecdotally, I haven't used a data cable for restore/troubleshooting in 4 years. I could have given up my cable before that, but being a nerd, I thought the process would work better via cable. Based on my experience managing my iPone wirelessly, I can't imagine going back to cable restores for anything.
They do, but they also have customers return the watch whenever there's a seemingly quite common update failure, see watchOS 5.1. That's in no way good for anyone, especially people located without an Apple Store near, so they have to send off their phone and be without it for a week.
This is not something they have to do. There is a port behind one of the band connectors which Apple could engineer for customers to access in such extreme situations. That said, it's a little complicated for the average consumer. But that doesn't mean it has to be that way for the iPhone. A SmartConnector is all that's needed for an iPhone. The iPad has it already. A SmartConnector can theoretically handle the same USB 2.0 connections that current iPhones offer. Since it would only be in the case of emergencies, there's no real need to worry about using a non-standard dongle -- i.e. SmartConnector to USB-C. And Apple may have other tricks up their sleeves as well for inductive data transfer.
Alternative idea: Perhaps the plan for iPhone is to phase out a wired connector entirely. It seems to me that once wireless charging gets a big enough foothold, and Bluetooth matures for short range data transmission, there is not compelling reason to continue punching a big hole in the bottom of our iPhones. I'd prefer a completely wireless iPhone that was more waterproof & had more room for battery & functional components.
As others have pointed out, there are situations where a physical connection is clearly beneficial. On top of that, Apple would have to include a wireless charging mat with every phone, something that would be a major expense. They could sell the phones without, but there would be a huge uproar, and not even the sycophants here on AI could back Apple it.
Another issue is the fact that many/most people now have a charging cable in their car and one in the kitchen, etc. Straight cables are relatively cheap, but a charging pad is more expensive and wouldn't even work in a lot of cars.
Alternative idea: Perhaps the plan for iPhone is to phase out a wired connector entirely. It seems to me that once wireless charging gets a big enough foothold, and Bluetooth matures for short range data transmission, there is not compelling reason to continue punching a big hole in the bottom of our iPhones. I'd prefer a completely wireless iPhone that was more waterproof & had more room for battery & functional components.
Wireless charging will have to gain not only a big foothold in homes, but everywhere else too. It's one thing to tote around a charging cable to be able to plug in anywhere there's a spare outlet. It's a whole other thing to have to carry a charging mat around.
How is carrying around a charging mat a bigger problem than carrying around the cable and charger you’re already carrying around? A small portable disk that magnetically attaches to the back of the phone shouldn’t add substantially to that bundle. Plus Qi charging is rapidly expanding in public places. By the time Apple is ready to drop the Lightning port, it probably won’t be that hard to find a charging station or mat. Then again, when has Apple ever cared if the support for a hardware choice was already in place before changing something?
Alternative idea: Perhaps the plan for iPhone is to phase out a wired connector entirely. It seems to me that once wireless charging gets a big enough foothold, and Bluetooth matures for short range data transmission, there is not compelling reason to continue punching a big hole in the bottom of our iPhones. I'd prefer a completely wireless iPhone that was more waterproof & had more room for battery & functional components.
Wireless charging is completely impractical for too many people and too many use cases.
As an example, I forgot to charge my phone last night. If I couldn't use a portable battery pack today, I would not be able to use my phone for the first few hours of my work day. Second, under normal conditions, not being able to use the phone while it's charging is a major hindrance.
If you had a portable battery pack with a charging mat attached, I’d think it would be no different. Or you have a new battery pack with a built-in Qi charger eliminating the need for cables. And why wouldn’t you be able to use your phone while it’s charging on a Qi mat?
Charging mats are more expensive and bulkier. Qi charging may be gaining a foothold, but for the foreseeable future cables will still rule the land. The bottom line is a cable can charge everything. A mat can charge some things. in general, cables are faster, too.
Another issue with Qi charging is on the order of 30-40% less efficient. If I'm running out of power and have to use a battery to recharge my phone, I don't want to waste 40% of that power.
As I said in my other post, cars pose an issue because if you don't have a flat, stable place for it, it won't work. In my car, my phone is usually resting in a cupholder. a charging mat won't work for that.
Then there's the issue with cases...
I like the idea of USB C on phones - not only would it unify and standardize apple's product lines, but other phone manufacturers are moving to it as well, meaning there will be more and more usb c availability in public spaces. I like the lightning connector - it was a big improvement over the old 30 pin, and also better than mini/micro usb plugs, but USB C can now take it's place.
There's a big flaw in this analysis. The iPhone XR screen already pushes the lightning connector off center. USB-C's bigger size, even though "slight" would literally require the XR to be significantly thicker. No way that would have been a good choice this year... or probably ever. If iPhone cables really are a nightmare for you Apple already has a solution for that (Qi support).
https://daringfireball.net/misc/2018/10/iphone-xr-lightning-port.jpg
Alternative idea: Perhaps the plan for iPhone is to phase out a wired connector entirely. It seems to me that once wireless charging gets a big enough foothold, and Bluetooth matures for short range data transmission, there is not compelling reason to continue punching a big hole in the bottom of our iPhones. I'd prefer a completely wireless iPhone that was more waterproof & had more room for battery & functional components.
Wireless charging will have to gain not only a big foothold in homes, but everywhere else too. It's one thing to tote around a charging cable to be able to plug in anywhere there's a spare outlet. It's a whole other thing to have to carry a charging mat around.
How is carrying around a charging mat a bigger problem than carrying around the cable and charger you’re already carrying around? A small portable disk that magnetically attaches to the back of the phone shouldn’t add substantially to that bundle. Plus Qi charging is rapidly expanding in public places. By the time Apple is ready to drop the Lightning port, it probably won’t be that hard to find a charging station or mat. Then again, when has Apple ever cared if the support for a hardware choice was already in place before changing something?
Alternative idea: Perhaps the plan for iPhone is to phase out a wired connector entirely. It seems to me that once wireless charging gets a big enough foothold, and Bluetooth matures for short range data transmission, there is not compelling reason to continue punching a big hole in the bottom of our iPhones. I'd prefer a completely wireless iPhone that was more waterproof & had more room for battery & functional components.
Wireless charging is completely impractical for too many people and too many use cases.
As an example, I forgot to charge my phone last night. If I couldn't use a portable battery pack today, I would not be able to use my phone for the first few hours of my work day. Second, under normal conditions, not being able to use the phone while it's charging is a major hindrance.
If you had a portable battery pack with a charging mat attached, I’d think it would be no different. Or you have a new battery pack with a built-in Qi charger eliminating the need for cables. And why wouldn’t you be able to use your phone while it’s charging on a Qi mat?
Charging mats are more expensive and bulkier. Qi charging may be gaining a foothold, but for the foreseeable future cables will still rule the land. The bottom line is a cable can charge everything. A mat can charge some things. in general, cables are faster, too.
Another issue with Qi charging is on the order of 30-40% less efficient. If I'm running out of power and have to use a battery to recharge my phone, I don't want to waste 40% of that power.
As I said in my other post, cars pose an issue because if you don't have a flat, stable place for it, it won't work. In my car, my phone is usually resting in a cupholder. a charging mat won't work for that.
Then there's the issue with cases...
First, the Apple Watch already offers this, with the charging puck included in the box. So, cost is not really an issue. Second, the Apple Watch charging puck is magnetic and sticks to the back of the watch -- so no, you don't need a flat, stable surface to charge it on. Third, the Lightning port stays for at least two more generations before it comes off completely, and Apple is certainly working on improving the efficiency of Qi charging during that time. Fourth, there's always adding a SmartConnector to the iPhone as was rumored last year I think; this would give virtually all of the same benefits that Lightning currently does as far as charging and data, albeit with another proprietary connector -- but that connector is only for those who don't want to move to the wireless standard Apple is clearly moving to. And finally, cases would be designed to accommodate these needs.
Thunderbolt doesn't seem to work with my PCs and my iPhones, so I hope not. I have issues and I'm using Apple's USB-C to Lightning cable. My new Dell XPS 9570 crashes when unplug my iPhone X from it (this is every time and consistent). I still used my iPhone 7 as DashCam and when I transfer videos from my iPhone to my custom built PC (if I transfer too much data), the connection drops.
This sounds like a Dell issue. I've got no problems with my devices on my Macs or my Intel NUCs.
What's the value of adding the Macs into the conversation? It's a completely different architecture [OS X vs. Windows] and device driver series.
Intel is notorious with firmware issues.
Your one off about Intel NUCs adds no value. Are the NUCs using the same hardware USB controllers? Serial Numbers? What? The NUC is a single controlled platform BY INTEL.
They better get that right and more importantly it's a very narrow case of USB controllers. Every single key piece of the NUC is made by Intel w/ perhaps the Power Supply by a third party.
DELL like any third party OEM has dozens of vendors to coordinate with, exacerbating the probable errors.
USB-C isn't smart for Apple. Lightning is a very specific small set of variables to control, thus reducing the recalls and costs on Apple's end.
This iPad Pro will be a test case by Apple. How well or poorly that decision to include it will be determined within the next 12 months. Apple would be stupid to switch over their entire portable line to it w/o the guinea pig flushing out all the issues.
You're aware that the Thunderbolt controller is literally the same on both the Mac and the NUC right? So yeah, it's a legit comparison.
Works on Mac in macOS and Windows 10, Intel in Windows 10, but not on Dell in Windows 10. One of these things is not like the other.
I'm fine with the switch to USB-C as long as Apple does it on the iPhone, too, and soon. But right now their port strategy is a bit of a mess. I realize that Apple wants us to go wireless on earphones, but I would really appreciate it if they would stop killing analog audio ports on devices. USB-C is great in concept, but think about this scenario: I can buy a MacBook Pro with a TRRS audio port, an iPad Pro with a USB-C port, and an iPhone with a Lightning port. In order to use any standard headphones with a TRRS connector, I now have to carry a USB-C adaptor and a Lightning adaptor. Yes, I can do this wirelessly with Apple's W1 equipped Bluetooth headsets. However, to switch between devices, I still have to perform multiple steps to make the switch each time. None of those steps are intuitive. Add to that, I have the Apple earphones that shipped with my iPhone X. There's no way to use them with the new iPad Pro or a MacBook. Since they're putting USB-C on the iPad Pro and enabling high-res display output, I'd really like to see a good way to use that connectivity to expand the productivity features a la Samsung Dex. Dex is a great concept with poor software/OS implementation. Apple has the hardware and the software to make it happen well, I think. The hardest part is really enabling the UI switch so that you can use a mouse/trackpad in docked mode without destroying the workflow/ease-of-use for standard (undocked) iOS. Switching the iPad into a large trackpad with room for some contextual buttons a la the Touch Bar may be the best way IMHO.
What's interesting, is that for those who want, or need to use a wired pair of headphones, and only want to carry one pair for use on all of their Apple devices, the cleanest way to do it, would be with a pair of USB-C headphones, and a single Lightning to USB-C dongle. It's ironic, because Apple does not make USB-C native headphones in any of their divisions, thus pushing their customers who want/need this to buy third party products.
Now, I still don't think that solves the problem of using digital headphones on non-digital devices, e.g. no USB-C headphones to 3.5mm jack converters. So still two adapters if one wants to carry one set of headphones for use with all possible devices.
Lightning is a better design, smaller and more resilient compared to USB-C. If this is true, I wonder what would be the strategy to switch all their line of accessories, keyboards, mice, Beats, etc.
That's certainly my experience, having lived with just USB-C on my MBP for two years now. I often connect to projectors and external drives and am very careful with the connectors but it doesn't do to move the computer whilst using peripherals. It's most noticeable with projectors as you tend to be in less than ideal circumstances, move the computer, lose the projected image and go into a very un-Apple-like connector-wobbling session to retrieve it. Lightning has a much more positive click-in and I don't think I've ever had one drop out (though that's obviously not used with a projector).
I admit bias towards Lightning but I'm still surprised Apple is going this way. Having the same connector on all its small devices makes sense and there seems little benefit in changing - I remain convinced that Lightning could support USB 3 speeds, which covers most bases. Dare I hope that this is just an iPad Pro look-I'm-a-real-computer thing? And if not, how come, two years down the road from buying the MBP with its all-in USB-C is the future design, my iPhone Xs didn't come with a cable that can connect to it?
No. Just no. USB connectors are not made to last, not matter how careful you are with handling. I have yet to own a device or build a computer that doesn’t come with faulty USB ports or that simply don’t last.
Lightning is a better design, smaller and more resilient compared to USB-C. If this is true, I wonder what would be the strategy to switch all their line of accessories, keyboards, mice, Beats, etc.
That's certainly my experience, having lived with just USB-C on my MBP for two years now. I often connect to projectors and external drives and am very careful with the connectors but it doesn't do to move the computer whilst using peripherals. It's most noticeable with projectors as you tend to be in less than ideal circumstances, move the computer, lose the projected image and go into a very un-Apple-like connector-wobbling session to retrieve it. Lightning has a much more positive click-in and I don't think I've ever had one drop out (though that's obviously not used with a projector).
I admit bias towards Lightning but I'm still surprised Apple is going this way. Having the same connector on all its small devices makes sense and there seems little benefit in changing - I remain convinced that Lightning could support USB 3 speeds, which covers most bases. Dare I hope that this is just an iPad Pro look-I'm-a-real-computer thing? And if not, how come, two years down the road from buying the MBP with its all-in USB-C is the future design, my iPhone Xs didn't come with a cable that can connect to it?
The iPhone didn't come with that cable, because you're more likely to come into contact with a USB-A connector in the wild than USB-C. I don't think Apple really encourages people to connect to their Macs. I know I rarely do it. Most iPhone users don't even use Macs. And smart homes and apartments are equipped with USB-A outlets now. Smart cars all have USB-A connectors. Hotels, airports, etc. So it'll be a few years before USB-C becomes the de facto standard for charging.
Apple probably could have kept Lightning on the iPad, but I think they realize in a year or two they will be dropping Lightning altogether in favor of wireless charging, and clearly aligning the iPad Pro as a PC replacement. Given that, I think they decided to avoid a larger Pro community backlash by jumping ship now, before the Pro community invests much more into Lightning accessories.
Lightning did what it needed to. Forced USB to evolve into something good. If it wasn’t for Lightning, we’d still be using crappy single way keyed USB micro connectors. I guess that’s why Apple relinquished its hold on Lightning manufacture.
Comments
OTOH, if USB-C is actually less reliable/durable than lightning, we're all in trouble, because lightning has not been exactly care free with my iPhones - in fact, the number one reason I've had iOS devices replaced is a broken lightning port...
Another issue is the fact that many/most people now have a charging cable in their car and one in the kitchen, etc. Straight cables are relatively cheap, but a charging pad is more expensive and wouldn't even work in a lot of cars.
No thanks, I'll keep the port.
Charging mats are more expensive and bulkier. Qi charging may be gaining a foothold, but for the foreseeable future cables will still rule the land. The bottom line is a cable can charge everything. A mat can charge some things. in general, cables are faster, too.
Another issue with Qi charging is on the order of 30-40% less efficient. If I'm running out of power and have to use a battery to recharge my phone, I don't want to waste 40% of that power.
As I said in my other post, cars pose an issue because if you don't have a flat, stable place for it, it won't work. In my car, my phone is usually resting in a cupholder. a charging mat won't work for that.
Then there's the issue with cases...
I like the idea of USB C on phones - not only would it unify and standardize apple's product lines, but other phone manufacturers are moving to it as well, meaning there will be more and more usb c availability in public spaces. I like the lightning connector - it was a big improvement over the old 30 pin, and also better than mini/micro usb plugs, but USB C can now take it's place.
What's interesting, is that for those who want, or need to use a wired pair of headphones, and only want to carry one pair for use on all of their Apple devices, the cleanest way to do it, would be with a pair of USB-C headphones, and a single Lightning to USB-C dongle. It's ironic, because Apple does not make USB-C native headphones in any of their divisions, thus pushing their customers who want/need this to buy third party products.
Now, I still don't think that solves the problem of using digital headphones on non-digital devices, e.g. no USB-C headphones to 3.5mm jack converters. So still two adapters if one wants to carry one set of headphones for use with all possible devices.
I admit bias towards Lightning but I'm still surprised Apple is going this way. Having the same connector on all its small devices makes sense and there seems little benefit in changing - I remain convinced that Lightning could support USB 3 speeds, which covers most bases. Dare I hope that this is just an iPad Pro look-I'm-a-real-computer thing? And if not, how come, two years down the road from buying the MBP with its all-in USB-C is the future design, my iPhone Xs didn't come with a cable that can connect to it?
Apple probably could have kept Lightning on the iPad, but I think they realize in a year or two they will be dropping Lightning altogether in favor of wireless charging, and clearly aligning the iPad Pro as a PC replacement. Given that, I think they decided to avoid a larger Pro community backlash by jumping ship now, before the Pro community invests much more into Lightning accessories.