Rumor: End of the lightning port

[Cmaier]

The iPhone 14 may be Apple's last handset with a Lightning port

A new report from Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will be moving to USB-C for the 2023 iPhone lineup.

www.macworld.com

According to Kuo, who has had mixed success for the last couple of years.

I actually prefer the lightning port for mechanical reasons, but the speed and ubiquity of USB-C are pretty good reasons to switch. That said, I still think it possible that they abandon ports altogether and go wireless before they switch to USB-C. Personally, I like me a good wire.

 

[Runs For Fun]

I still say they will go portless rather than switch to USB-C. I have a feeling Apple really want to go portless so there's no way they are going to switch to USB-C for a couple years and make everyone buy new cables only to go portless. Imagine the outrage over two changes like that in a short period of time.

 

[Cmaier]

I still say they will go portless rather than switch to USB-C. I have a feeling Apple really want to go portless so there's no way they are going to switch to USB-C for a couple years and make everyone buy new cables only to go portless. Imagine the outrage over two changes like that in a short period of time.

I could imagine a world where the “pro” iphones have usb-c and the regular iphones are portless. No idea if they’d do that, but it makes a small amount of sense (the idea being you can at least move files, photos, etc. much faster off your device that way).

 

[Citysnaps]

I also prefer Lightning for its robust mechanical design - it has a great engagement snap. Have never had a problem with that connector.

I suspect USB-C is fine, but that longer (and wider) plastic barrel gives me pause as a nice lever waiting to be accidentally force-tested when plugged into my laptop.

 

[rdrr]

I also prefer Lightning for its robust mechanical design - it has a great engagement snap. Have never had a problem with that connector.

I suspect USB-C is fine, but that longer (and wider) plastic barrel gives me pause as a nice lever waiting to be accidentally force-tested when plugged into my laptop.

I haven't had a problem with the port, but the cables on the otherhand... They always seem to get frayed, or spliced, and eventually don't work. I am talking about both the official Apple cables and high quality licensed brands. I'd rather buy the $6 - $10 cheap CVS cables and get a year out them rather pay the Apple price and get only a year to 18 months.

 

[Cmaier]

I haven't had a problem with the port, but the cables on the otherhand... They always seem to get frayed, or spliced, and eventually don't work. I am talking about both the official Apple cables and high quality licensed brands. I'd rather buy the $6 - $10 cheap CVS cables and get a year out them rather pay the Apple price and get only a year to 18 months.

The usb-c ports on my old MacBook won’t hold cables in, so I feel like lightning ports are better re longevity. But whatever apple decides to do will work for me, I’m sure.

 

[DT]

It makes sense if Apple stays wired to move to USB-C, and they're already done that with most of the iPads (current model Mini, Air and Pro use USB-C, iPad "regular" doesn't), and of course, that's the port that's on their computers (in some cases, only USB-C/TB).

No wired connect for an iPhone kind of makes sense, though I'd think they'd still need some kind of physical connector for diagnostics/resets, development, etc., even the Watch has a physical diagnostic port.

 

[Deleted member 215]

I don't think we'll see a portless phone until wireless charging can be made more efficient.

In the meantime I'll welcome USB-C, though I'm not sure why they could not increase the speed of Lightning. Why is it stuck at USB 2.0? It theoretically could allow for faster transfer speeds...

 

[Cmaier]

I don't think we'll see a portless phone until wireless charging can be made more efficient.

In the meantime I'll welcome USB-C, though I'm not sure why they could not increase the speed of Lightning. Why is it stuck at USB 2.0? It theoretically could allow for faster transfer speeds...

Agreed. Though I guess the logic is “why bother modifying usb 2.0 and creating potentially incompatible accessories, wires, etc. when there is already a standard that does all that and has a connector that is good enough.”

Lightning was great when we were coming from the iPod connector, but USB-C is pretty good for the present.

 

[DT]

In the meantime I'll welcome USB-C

I think I'd also favor one less proprietary cable spec. There will be a cutover where we're still on mixed port devices, but one full upgrade round if/when this happens, and it's good times in USB Town

Lightning was great when we were coming from the iPod connector, but USB-C is pretty good for the present.

We had an iPad 3 Gen that had the 30-pin port, got rid of it when those 4th Gen models released, mostly because of the lightning port, since there were barely any other changes

 

[Herdfan]

Can they really go portless?

Don't they use it for diagnostics? I'm not sure I would want to rely on wireless to bring back a bricked phone.

That said, my wife & daughter's iPads are USB-C, so they are already halfway there.

Would love to see the whole world go USB-C. One world, one connector.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

The 2025 iPhone will be iPhoneless, a technological marvel that will reduce size and weight to zero. Prices starting at $899.

 

[Joe]

I can't wait. Everything I have is USBC except the dang iPhone. I would love to just carry 1 charger for everything when I travel.

I no longer use AirPods because they kept giving me issues and the Sony earbuds I have use USBC. My new Kindle is USBC. One step closer to 1 cable!

 

[Andropov]

Just realized that I haven't transferred anything over USB on my last two iPhones, ever. I think I've only ever used the port for charging.

 

[Cmaier]

Just realized that I haven't transferred anything over USB on my last two iPhones, ever. I think I've only ever used the port for charging.

I use the port to migrate from one iPhone to the next.

 

[Runs For Fun]

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1524428674027515904/

 

[dukebound85]

I also prefer Lightning for its robust mechanical design - it has a great engagement snap. Have never had a problem with that connector.

I suspect USB-C is fine, but that longer (and wider) plastic barrel gives me pause as a nice lever waiting to be accidentally force-tested when plugged into my laptop.

my only issue is the slow usb 2 speeds

 

[Nycturne]

I just hope you can buy an iPhone with a port. But that’s the developer side of me where using WiFi for debugging is just not fun.

 

[Andropov]

I just hope you can buy an iPhone with a port. But that’s the developer side of me where using WiFi for debugging is just not fun.

Oh I totally forgot I use it for that too. Although WiFi debugging hasn't been too bad for me. It has seemingly improved A LOT since they first shown it (WWDC '17!).

 

[Alli]

I use the port to migrate from one iPhone to the next.

What?! You don’t just bring the new iPhone close to the old iPhone and let it do everything itself? Heck, that little feature has made it worth upgrading phones every year!