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Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

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Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#201

Post by [deleted] »

crazygringo wrote: post #183
djvdq wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was thinking the same about both connectors. And then I bought an iPhone. I never broke a USB-C connector nor socket in few years of heavy usage on few devices, but I needed to buy new lightning cable because the pins have worn out after less than a year of just connecting the cable to iphone.

That's extremely unusual -- I've used Lightning cables daily for years without any issue at all. Whenever I would notice a cable not working (after about a year and a half), the culprit was always dust buildup inside the Lightning port preventing the plug from entering fully. Clean it out with a toothpick for 15 seconds, and then good as new. If you were using an original Apple cable, that's bizarrely bad luck. I can…

[deleted]

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#202

Post by paulmd »

throwaway434814 wrote: post #198
paulmd wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> existing industry standards appear to suffice reminder: lightning came first , because the industry couldn't get its shit together and agree on a successor to micro-b, despite acknowledgement of the shortcomings. lightning is the pcie 8-pin in this comparison: you may not like the technical limitations it imposes, but, it works well enough that you can build products around it. So why impose a change to The Current…

>> existing industry standards appear to suffice >reminder: lightning came first Lightning was never a standard.

> Lightning was never a standard.

Yes, it is.

DisplayPort is a standard too. So is HDMI. They're not USB-IF standards, but they're a standard. And there can exist more than one organization promulgating standards in an area, sometimes even (gasp!) private, closed, for-profit ones (like HDMI). Like HDMI is so closed and proprietary you can't even implement HDMI 2.1 on linux lol, it's still a standard.

If you want to make a HDMI cable, or have HDMI on your device, step 1 is opening up your checkbook and writing a big fat check to the single, private, for-profit company who controls that standard. Just like Belkin, OWC, Sonnet, etc all license Lightning from Apple. Still a standard, even if you don't like the licensing terms.

Also, post on your main, you coward. Like did you literally spin up a throwaway to post edgy one-liners about fucking USB lmao

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#203

Post by dmitriid »

lacker wrote: post #185

I'm generally not a fan of the EU mandating technical decisions, but for me personally, Lightning connections have always been really low quality. Since my iPhone was about a year old, it often won't recognize a new Lightning cable that's plugged in, I have to unplug and re-plug it several times. Or it will charge for a minute and then suddenly think it's disconnected. Or you will bump it slightly and it thinks it's…

> I have to unplug and re-plug it several times. Or it will charge for a minute and then suddenly think it's disconnected.

Take a toothpick, and scrub inside the connector on the Phone side. Most likely there's some dust/lint stuck in there.

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#205

Post by scelerat »

rootusrootus wrote: post #51
brundolf wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two key differences vs last time: 1. As you mentioned, most accessories have moved to wireless. I still (usually) use a physical cable for charging, and I guess I have a 3.5mm dongle, but I think those are the only two things I've plugged into my iPhone in years. Docks with a physical port, in particular, were super popular 10+ years ago and don't really exist anymore. People won't be throwing away speakers. 2. They…

> I'm more cynical in my interpretation of Apple's motives: I think they just wanted those licensing dollars They've switched every other non-iPhone device to USB-C. The more plausible interpretation would be that they don't want to piss off a core constituency of customers who've built up 10 years of Lightning cables. The number of people who care about standardizing on USB-C are definitely less than the vocal folks…

> Nothing can fix the stupidity of USB-C cables, though

What is the stupidity of USB-C cables? Honestly don't know, simply not up on USB or cable technology

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#206

Post by tristor »

danpalmer wrote: post #19

It's sad that it took legislation to make this happen, but I can see why. I worked in a pseudo-Apple-store during the height of the 30-pin dock connector and I sold so many cases, speaker docks, charging cables, and all sorts of weird accessories that were built for the 30-pin connector. Then Apple switched to Lightning. It was better in every. single. way. And yet people got burnt. There was so much hardware that wa…

My resentment with the change from the dock connector to lightning was that with lightning, at least initially, they refused to license the tech to anyone for a reasonable fee so it completely eliminated entire classes of products from the market for newer iPhones. I specifically kept my iPhone 4S longer than I would have otherwise to be able to continue using an external DAC and amplifier for driving high impedance headphones for this reason, as an example. I had no problem with the lightning form factor, I had a problem with the unnecessary and punitive DRM they included within it for /no reason/ other than their greed. I believe it's for this same reason they've resisted offering USB-C, which would mean anyone could make an accessory by abiding by industry standards without having to pay for an mFI chip and certification.

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#207

Post by toast0 »

jefftk wrote: post #119
garblegarble wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Astonishingly, yes. There was a big thing a while back with a Googler reviewing USB-C products and highlighting if they were dangerous: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3002159/usb-c-benson-l...

It's not astonishing that not following the spec can lead to things getting fried, though? Splice a mains jack onto a USB cable and you'll see some smoke too ;) But I agree that the level of incorrect implementation was shockingly high initially. Luckily it's much better now!

Looks like the Etherkiller[1] needs updating for modern times. I wouldn't be surprised if usb -> serial plus the serial etherkiller would do the trick though.

OTOH, USB Killers do exist, but they only kill hosts; Mains -> USB-C could kill hosts and targets indiscriminately.

[1] http://www.fiftythree.org/etherkiller/

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#209

Post by eropple »

brundolf wrote: post #103
rootusrootus wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm more cynical in my interpretation of Apple's motives: I think they just wanted those licensing dollars They've switched every other non-iPhone device to USB-C. The more plausible interpretation would be that they don't want to piss off a core constituency of customers who've built up 10 years of Lightning cables. The number of people who care about standardizing on USB-C are definitely less than the vocal folks…

> They've switched every other non-iPhone device to USB-C The only device I know of that started out on lighting and switched to USB-C was the iPad, and that was specifically because they're pushing it as a "creator" device, for which people needed to be able to plug in things like flash drives, SD card adaptors, cameras, mice and keyboards, etc. There's significantly less drive for those kinds of accessories on iPho…

I think there's more drive for that than you'd expect. The camera breakout kit is really popular in my circles. Not for cameras, but for talking to USB audio interfacs.

Re: Apple says iPhones will switch to USB-C chargers to comply with new EU law

#210

Post by Jtsummers »

digitalengineer wrote: post #134
danpalmer wrote: post #19

It's sad that it took legislation to make this happen, but I can see why. I worked in a pseudo-Apple-store during the height of the 30-pin dock connector and I sold so many cases, speaker docks, charging cables, and all sorts of weird accessories that were built for the 30-pin connector. Then Apple switched to Lightning. It was better in every. single. way. And yet people got burnt. There was so much hardware that wa…

My MacBooks would like a word. The Magsave cable changes every few years, regardless of outside forces. None of the ‘older’ ones fit my newer MacBooks…

"Every few years"

There have been three versions of MagSafe (not "Magsave"). The first one was in use for 6 years, the second for 6 years before it was dropped for USB-C. The third version has been around for two years worth of devices now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagSafe

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