This is the best summary I could come up with:
A new law in the European Union mandates that all phones sold in its member countries must use USB-C for physical charging, and Apple has acknowledged it will have to follow the rules.
For one thing, a huge number of iPhone owners will be forced to replace all their cables or, at the very least, buy a bunch of unsightly dongles to keep their stuff working.
One persistent rumor about the iPhone 15 is that it will have a Thunderbolt port instead of a standard USB-C one, which uses the same shape but is a more expensive and more adaptable connector to different speeds and USB versions.
“Having to create another device you have to plug into the wall is actually, for most situations, more complicated,” he said in an interview with AllThingsD when he was asked why the iPhone 5 didn’t have NFC or wireless charging.
“Words can’t describe just how much nicer it is to just put it down and pick it up whenever you want to charge, without ever having to plug in a cable again.” He said you might have a wireless charger in your bedroom; he said your local cafe might have them embedded in every table.
Accessory makers, big and small, are beginning to sell pads, stands, and other gizmos that wirelessly charge multiple devices at a time.
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I wouldn’t say that USB-C is a “great” port/connector. The physical properties of Lightning are far superior if you ask me: it wears a lot less in my experience, the force needed to plug it in or out is way more consistent and it’s a little bit more compact.
The best part about USB-C is that its at least somewhat compatible across a huge range of devices (the physical port at least).
I also think its vastly overestimated how big of a change this is for >99% of users. They just use the cable included in the box to charge their phone, in most cases they don’t care what plug is on the end of the cable.
Is it reasonable to infer from this that only 1% of users own spare cables?
My biggest issue with lightning cables is how often people need to remove compacted fluff from inside the socket.
Probably not just 1%, but I think it’s reasonable to assume that not that many users buy extra cables unless the one that comes with the phone breaks.
But even if quite a few people have spare lightning cables, they probably won’t care much as long as a new cable is included with their new phone. Many people don’t know what USB-C or Lightning is, they ask for a “Samsung cable” or “iPhone cable” if they want to charge their phone at their friends house.
People who actually know what Lightning or USB-C and the likes is probably have a few USB-C cables from other devices already anyways.
I don’t like how “news” outlets make such a big deal out of a port change. It happened in the past, it’s happening now and it will happen in the future. No big deal.
Oh, I agree it’s likely inevitable. If only because future ports will need to carry higher wattage and data rates, assuming that port doesn’t go the same way at the 3.5mm jack.
I think you’re under estimating the cable issue. Most people do have one at home, often more than one. Plus one in the car, one at the office, one in the gym bag or that that they got for a festival to go with a portable charger.
I worked in the phone industry for twenty years, each major port change caused a barrage of moans for about three months as people gradually bought new leads to replace the ones they had scattered throughout their lives. Of course, I can only claim this as evidence for the behaviour of the English!
I can only speak for how it is in my “bubble”.
But even if people need multiple cables, it’s probably not as bad as previous port changes. With Apple’s 30-pin to Lightning transition for example, nobody had Lightning cables in the beginning because it was a brand new port. With USB-C, it’s already widely adopted and the iPhone is pretty much the only major tech device left that hasn’t adopted it so far. People might already have USB-C cables. If they have a PS5 they have one, iPads nowadays all use USB-C, many MacBook models do (even though current ones use MagSafe again), there are even flashlights that use USB-C to charge.
Another example: in spots where people use wireless charging to charge their devices, nothing changes.
I just don’t think it’s that big of a deal. But we’ll see.
