Apple accessories set for rapid Lighting to USB-C shift

AppleInsider · September 9, 2023 1:29PM

Apple will refresh many iPhone accessories as it shifts to USB-C, a prominent leaker insists, with the MagSafe Battery Pack and MagSafe Duo on the docket.

MagSafe Battery Pack

The "Wonderlust" Apple event on Tuesday is widely expected to introduce a USB-C iPhone 15 as Apple continues to shift away from its use of the Lightning connector. With the iPhone making the migration, it is reckoned a number of other connected accessories will do so as well.

According to Mark Gurman speaking to MacRumors, the move over to USB-C will impact more than its main device lines, as it will also be performed on accessories within each ecosystem too. The change from Lightning to USB-C will be fairly quick, reminiscent of Apple's change over to Lightning in 2012.

Gurman proposes the Apple is "going to need to do a new MagSafe Duo with USB-C," and that the company "certainly can update the MagSafe Battery Pack." Furthermore, the discontinued Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock could be brought back with USB-C too, he offers.

While change is a must for the accessories, Gurman doesn't expect "any curveballs or any brand new types of accessories" to be introduced in Tuesday's event.

The MagSafe Battery Pack update is under development by Apple but won't be arriving soon, Gurman adds. The updated version could offer new features, such as stacking units to daisy-chain multiple battery packs together, or to charge multiple items at the same time.

Though Apple's accessories are expected to change over to USB-C at some point, rumors have claimed that an AirPods charging case with the connector is on the way.

Read on AppleInsider

rob53 · September 9, 2023 1:52PM

This really sucks because USB-C connectors are known to not stay connected. Lightning is just fine for phones, especially because this is a really good connector that actually stays connected. I continue to have issues with USB-C cables staying connected to external storage and my iMac. The connection keeps dropping, even after I tape the connector to the SSD enclosure. Move it a tiny bit and it disconnects. I've never had this problem with Lightning except when the cable has been damaged. It really upsets me that an inferior "standard" is being forced on Apple. Intel has never provided the computer market with a good connector.

avon b7 · September 9, 2023 2:11PM

Yet no one forced it into Macs, and initially Apple didn't add just a port or two to the MBP. They went for wholesale switch all on their own initiative and removed everything else.

They went to USB-C on the iPad too.

I'm sure you will admit that Apple had USB-C on its iPhone roadmap too so being 'forced' is a statement that is false.

edited September 2023

tmay · September 9, 2023 2:46PM

The day the gauge changed;

the history guy the day they changed the rail gage

Some 11,000 miles of southern railway was changed to STandard Gage in the span of about 36 hours.

Needles to state, the railroads pocketed the efficiencies rather than passing them on to customers.

mayfly · September 9, 2023 5:53PM

Good move. Everything else in the world is moving to USB-C.

edited September 2023

mayfly · September 9, 2023 5:58PM

Well, you'll either just have to deal with it, or keep your old stuff until it dies, and then deal with it.

basharar · September 9, 2023 6:08PM

I have NEVER had a USB C drive disconnect, something is wrong with your cables, Mac or drives....

netrox · September 9, 2023 6:18PM

I have 5 external drives via USB-C (4 via usb hub) and I don't have those issues on my iMac. Occasionally, it would disconnect and reconnect immediately and that is an expected behavior if USB devices didn't stay powered up (and no longer an issue when plugged into UPS). But if you yank the cable and it gets disconnected, then you have a bad cable. It shouldn't happen.

mayfly · September 9, 2023 6:51PM

Neither have I.

mayfly · September 9, 2023 6:53PM

If you yank ANY cable enough times, it's going to fray and break. Cables should always be disconnected by pulling in the plug, not the wire.

neoncat · September 9, 2023 7:24PM

All day long I use four different USB-C peripherals with my MacBook Pro: Two SSDs (one commercial, one a blade in a custom case), a JBOD box with two WD Reds, and a USB-C hub/breakout. I also have an iPad Pro M1 that, of course, charges with USB-C, and I also use an external SSD with it in the field or when traveling.

Not once. Not once have I had a cable just "become loose," "fall out," or any other invented non-problem. It all "just works," with equal clarity as Lightning, without being a proprietary, intentionally kneecapped dead-end like Lightning. I can tailor speed, power-delivery, and other metrics, to specific use-cases and budgets, choosing peripherals and cables accordingly.

Do your research, invest in quality cables, manage your connectivity and peripherals like the precision tools they are. Or, you know, don't, and keep moaning about it here in the clubhouse. Lightning is done and buried, as it should've been long ago, and the benefits far outweigh any temporary pain.

edited September 2023

dewme · September 9, 2023 10:06PM

Why do so many people keep pushing the false narrative that Apple intended to compete across the board against USB-C with Lightning? That has never been the case. Lightning appeared on the market at a time when the EU and a consortium of cellphone manufacturers were trying to standardize on Micro USB as a charging connector standard. I loath Micro USB. I never want to see another Micro USB device in my lifetime. It's such a hideous port.

Lightning was and still is far superior to Micro USB and it is still acceptable for low power charging and data moving purposes. But both Lightning and Micro USB are too limited in power delivery and high data rate requirements, both maxing out at USB 2 levels. Apple needed something better for modern devices with higher power demands and greater data transfer requirements. Could Apple have done Lightning II or something else so they could bypass USB-C? Sure, but with themselves and other companies moving to USB-C and the EU overlords looming large, why fight a fight that they could never win?

Additionally, with everyone including their competition committing to USB-C, at least for now, the "quality and value of the connectivity port" product attribute is no longer a product level differentiator when buyers compare products between brands. That game is over and totally off the table. Now go invest the time and resources that would have been spent on designing and building a perfect Lightning replacement, one that probably would have totally crushed USB-C, on some other product feature that still has differentiated value to buyers. It's one less thing on Apple's plate.

Apple started moving some of its products to USB-C nearly 5 years ago. Of course Apple kept Lightning in products that didn't really require the benefits of USB-C. If it's not broken, why try to fix it? Plus, Lightning arguably provides a more stable physical connector, which is a good thing for devices that are being constantly plugged in and out on at least a daily basis, like phones. However, the clock was ticking on Lightning for Apple's most important products so they had to move. Did the EU edict speed up the move? Maybe, but probably not a whole lot except for products like AirPods and HomePod minis that will not benefit in the least from the move to USB-C. Perhaps Apple will gain some economies of scale with its USB-C port hardware suppliers.

Who really knows, and ultimately, who really cares? If you have a USB-A charging brick and a Lightning cable you're not going to run out and buy a new USB-C charger and USB-C-to-Lightning cable unless you really need to, which may occur when you buy your first USB-C only Mac/PC or decommission or replace the Lightning dependent device. Once you've acquired all of the dongles and adapter cables you need - no big deal. People who routinely travel outside of their home country already understand the necessity of bringing a bag full of adapters with them just to power up their devices.

edited September 2023

baconstang · September 9, 2023 10:45PM

I wonder if they'll be offering a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle for the new phones?

chia · September 10, 2023 12:43AM

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MU7E2ZM/A/usb-c-to-35mm-headphone-jack-adapter

It already exists, just a question of whether it'll be compatible with the new iPhones

uffenman · September 10, 2023 4:06AM

You’re spot on….the lightning connector as far as it’s physics is superior to USB-C. It snaps in place and keeps the connection. There’s no good reason phones need anything else. I’m cringing at the thought of not having it. Bowing down to EU demands is senseless and will create a TON OF WASTE. Super lame.

krawall · September 10, 2023 4:41AM

I'm really happy the switch to USB-C comes and it's way too late... Apple knew the switch was coming, so why not offer the magsafe battery pack and the AirPods Pro with USB-C for a long time. Then the switch will be easier now.

I have not had a single USB-C port/cable failed while all our lighting cables have this "erosion" of contacts - live in a humid climate I guess and then they're for the bin.

I know when Apple gave up the 30-pin connector, it was just bad timing that USB-C was not around but USB-C is far superior with the protected pins.

Nowadays feels like an idiot going to any place, bar, restaurant and asking if they have a charger and like "oh, apple, no we can't charge for you". Finally this is over. but it could have been long ago. Yeah I get it, they don't want to create extra electronics waste but the switch had to come eventually and by switching parts over earlier, the waste would have been way less.

Magsafe battery pack with USB-C and perhaps the DUO with USB-C would have gone a long way.

citpeks · September 10, 2023 10:29AM

Should be no problem. I use one with my iPad Pro, and another with my iMac as a cheap DAC/secondary 3.5mm output solution.

May be the cheapest product Apple sells, and a good quality DAC as well. Hard to beat for ten bucks.

I like Lightning as a physical connector; robust feeling and has a nice positive "snap" when inserted. But it has too few pins for the modern age.

Type-C is ok, but it lacks the same feeling of robustness, and the quality of the connection varies by the quality of the cable. Like HDMI, the strength of the retention mechanism is so-so, esp. when compared to something like Lightning. I know how to properly handle cables (the "fragile" OE Lightning cable from my iPhone 5 was in daily use for six years before it finally failed), but I do have a 2.5" enclosure that I use for weekly backups that is starting to show signs of sensitivity to physical bumps, causing flaky connections. It's certainly not immune to wear. But the benefits clearly outweigh the disadvantages, and no connector is perfect.

It's amusing how so many try to turn this into a religious war. Lightning was a connector Apple designed to suit its needs at that time and place, and it has served its purpose. Apple, as a prominent member of the USB IF, helped inspire and contribute to the development of Type-C, and was one of its earliest adopters as well, so it isn't sacrilegious to see Apple employ it as well, and move toward adopting it wholesale.

I guess it's similar to those who continually pine for Steve Jobs and complain about Tim Cook as the devil incarnate, while conveniently forgetting that Cook was Jobs' hand-picked successor, and have no way of predicting how Jobs would have acted had he lived longer. Jobs might have had a design sense that Cook lacks, but was a much a businessman as Cook, perhaps even more so. Cook was chosen to safeguard Jobs' legacy and raise his baby to maturity, and by almost every objective measure, has done just that.

neoncat · September 10, 2023 4:15PM

Citpeks hints at a point that is continually lost in conversations like this: Apple is not only a prominent member of the USB IF, it is one of the key members and holds a chair position. Apple was instrumental in the design and engineering of the USB-C connector. It is as much an Apple product as Lightning was, except better in every way that actually matters. The only reason it is not celebrated as such is Not-Invented-Here syndrome bollocks. Evaluated objectively, Lightning served a purpose, its purpose is done, and now it should be supplanted as quickly as possible—as USB-C's connector itself will be some day. This is how technology works. Complaints are nonsensical, you're tilting at windmills. You may as well start complaining about "the boom boom music the kids are listening to these days" next.

Give it a year. I bet those who reacted with the most fear and the loudest histrionics over the Lightning to USB-C transition will have long since upgraded to the New Shiny and forgotten all about their attachment to the false narrative about the USB-C connector's "fragility." Or who knows, maybe this will be the hill that some die on. There are still communities of Mac users trying to keep Classic MacOS machines going, bemoaning the "cancer" of OS X/modern MacOS. They're still bitter and angry, years later. What a way to live.

edited September 2023

rundhvid · September 11, 2023 5:36AM

Image: https://forums.appleinsider.com/uploads/editor/7i/cxrkw6vh093j.jpeg

—please do not do this with your USB-C iPad !

Apple accessories set for rapid Lighting to USB-C shift

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