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iPhone 12 Models Won't Include Charger in Box, Power Adapter Sold Separately

macrumors.com

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Re: iPhone 12 Models Won't Include Charger in Box, Power Adapter Sold Separately

#51

Post by sk0g »

leadingthenet wrote: post #18
sk0g wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And what would these benefits of lightning vs USB C be, aside from being endorsed and embedded in the Apple ecosystem?

I note how you didn’t ask about micro-USB, because you know it to be inferior. Well, first of all, lighting predates usb-c by a few years, so it’s an advantage that we thankfully haven’t had to endure micro-USB in that time. Then, lightning is a male connector which makes it more robust, compared to the female connector in USB-C. I’ve had multiple USB-C cables break when inserted a bit too aggressively, which has not…

Astute observation. Yes, I'm asking you to explain why the 2012 connector is better than the 2014 one, because that's the one I have doubts about, as opposed to the obsolete 2007 one.

Would you rather break a $10 cable or a $800 phone? I'd much rather the cable, though you seem to have different priorities to me.

The last point is referring to the cable tip? That's more to do with individual cable design than anything else.

So, it's not really better in any way, except for being on Apple devices, gotcha.

Re: iPhone 12 Models Won't Include Charger in Box, Power Adapter Sold Separately

#52

Post by makomk »

arghwhat wrote: post #41
rbinv wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would have agreed if you had said Micro-USB. I own tens of those with no USB-C charger in sight.

Hopefully you don't have micro-USB chargers , but USB chargers and micro-usb cables. I don't use Apple products, but reducing waste like this is great. Most people should have buckets of chargers by now, and even if they lack the cable, it's better to buy when needed.

Probably, but that doesn't work so well for USB-C - you really need it end to end in order to get the best charging performance, and the rumour is that Apple will only include a USB-C to Lightning cable with no standard USB equivalent. Also, Apple's official cables cost about as much as a charger on their own last time I checked, and they've done quite a lot of work to lock out unofficial ones.

Re: iPhone 12 Models Won't Include Charger in Box, Power Adapter Sold Separately

#53

Post by ksec »

christophilus wrote: post #43
ksec wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Makes sense! Many consumers likely already have a USB-C charger I am willing to bet money the overwhelming majority consumer dont have USB- C chargers, only USB-A.

But maybe Apple consumers will? I have a number of USB-C cables. Anyway, I agree that reducing waste is good, but this move isn’t about waste. If Apple cared about waste, they’d come up with some way of keeping old devices out of landfills.

>But maybe Apple consumers will?

I dont think that is likely. Outside of tech circle, most have never even touched a USB-C Cable. Especially those only uses iPhone, and not iPad or Mac. There are 1 Billion iPhone users, and only 100M Mac users ( And not every Mac users has a USB-C Mac ).

Not saying it is a bad thing. Most would already have a USB-A to Lightning Cable along with Charger so this doesn't matter. USB4 will be USB-C only anyway, but the move is certainly unApple as they tend to plan this in the very long run. Like including a USB-C 5W Charger for a few years before completely dropping it.

Re: iPhone 12 Models Won't Include Charger in Box, Power Adapter Sold Separately

#54

Post by michaelt »

tokamak-teapot wrote: post #21
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah in theory it's a defensible move, because we're moving towards standardized charging ports. However, Apple is the only one that's being weird about it, introducing the Lightning connector instead of e.g. switching to micro-USB. USB-C was still a while out when Lightning was introduced. But honestly they have no excuse to not adopt Micro-USB or USB-C.

As an iPhone owner, I don’t want USB-C. Not yet, anyway. The reason is that I don’t know how to be confident that a particular cable and power source will charge my phone well and won’t fry it. I expect Apple knows its customers would like to have confidence about this and that’s why they are holding off. With Lightning, I have been happy enough to plug into various non-Apple-brand chargers with USB-A sockets. Maybe…

I don't think the explanation "Apple fears USB C/USB PD will fry devices" fits the facts.

For one thing, this article claims Apple will ship a Lightning to USB-C cable - so the phone will need to accept whatever voltages that come out of USB C chargers anyway.

Second, Apple have adopted USB C on the Macbook - which would make no sense if they were scared of USB C frying devices. And they didn't go in cautiously on the macbook: They were one of the earliest adopters, and they dropped magsafe and USB A as they did it.

So I'm with Cthulhu_ - I don't see any good reason for Apple to stick with Lightning, except licensing fees.

Re: iPhone 12 Models Won't Include Charger in Box, Power Adapter Sold Separately

#56

Post by leadingthenet »

sytelus wrote: post #49
leadingthenet wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also reduce e-waste. Few people need yet another lightning / micro-usb / usb-c cable and charger.

E-waste could be reduced by offering charger for free, if customer wanted. The thing I always liked about iPhone was to open up the box and you have everything you need to use the device,

It would be nice if they offered a “free” charger with the purchase of a new device, if requested.

Am I being cynical if I believe that essentially everybody would take it, even if they didn’t really have a need for one?

Re: iPhone 12 Models Won't Include Charger in Box, Power Adapter Sold Separately

#57

Post by leadingthenet »

panpanna wrote: post #33
leadingthenet wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also reduce e-waste. Few people need yet another lightning / micro-usb / usb-c cable and charger.

> They also reduce e-waste. They do. But please note that Apple does this after years of pressure from EU and are one of the last companies to do so. So please don't make them into some kind of champions for the environment.

> But please note that Apple does this after years of pressure from EU and are one of the last companies to do so.

I have no idea what you’re talking about. When exactly did the EU ask Apple not to include the charger in the box?

I’m very doubtful of this claim.

Re: iPhone 12 Models Won't Include Charger in Box, Power Adapter Sold Separately

#58

Post by lorenzhs »

kohtatsu wrote: post #44
arghwhat wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hopefully you don't have micro-USB chargers , but USB chargers and micro-usb cables. I don't use Apple products, but reducing waste like this is great. Most people should have buckets of chargers by now, and even if they lack the cable, it's better to buy when needed.

[With regards to waste;] 3rd party chargers have been ridiculously unreliable with the lightning connector. No idea what is so hard to get right, but I've never had a ~$10 cable last more than a year, sometimes just a couple months or a week. I'm not particularly rough with them, just plug them in a couple times a day at my desk or bed. Sometimes my girlfriend's iPhone uses my charger as well, which can seem to exped…

A lot of the time when people have trouble with charging cables, it's caused by pocket lint in the phone's charging port, so maybe try that? I use a bent paperclip, but I'm sure there are more gentle ways.

Re: iPhone 12 Models Won't Include Charger in Box, Power Adapter Sold Separately

#59

Post by smileypete »

leadingthenet wrote: post #10
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah in theory it's a defensible move, because we're moving towards standardized charging ports. However, Apple is the only one that's being weird about it, introducing the Lightning connector instead of e.g. switching to micro-USB. USB-C was still a while out when Lightning was introduced. But honestly they have no excuse to not adopt Micro-USB or USB-C.

Lighting is way better than micro-USB, and somewhat better than even USB-C, which, as you correctly mentioned, was released years after its debut. So that’s their “excuse”, and I’m glad for it every time I have to interact with a micro-USB cable.

USB-C has the spring contacts inside the easily replaced cable, whereas lightning has the spring contacts inside the not-so-easily fixed phone.

So all else equal, USB-C is objectively the better design.

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