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Apple Reportedly Planning to Limit iPhone 15's USB-C Port in the Same Way as Lightning
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Of course. That’s a rare scenario… But a scenario that Apple implicitly promotes in their advertising campaigns and keynotes nonetheless, all with those happy prosumer cinematographers shooting in ProRes and whatnot. Should they be promoting that usage, and upselling said users to MacBook Pros or even Mac Studios, while crippling the transfer rates on those very much premium phones (and yes, that includes the non-pro models, because, for crying out loud, they’re the second-best phones on the market at any given time and not that much cheaper)? It’s stupid and consumer-hostile beyond belief, especially when you consider that it penalizes precisely their most loyal users, who buy into the entire ecosystem. You know, those influencers, who then convince their friends to buy Apple products… The new “Mac Pro users”, if you will.
And guess what, some of them may be on a budget and decide to skimp on their phones instead of on their main work machines, and still rightfully expect to have access to a TEN-YEAR-OLD I/O standard on both devices. Incentivizing them to pay a premium only for better glass and sensors – you know, the real meat of any photographer’s arsenal – seems to be reasonable enough and less of a slap on the face than hindering them on something as basic as connectivity, but then again, what else could you expect from penny-pinchers who consistently consolidate NAND Flash chip configurations and cut their respective SSD’s effective transfer speeds in half willy-nilly between otherwise minor hardware refreshes (which kind of reminds me of the infamous 1999 PowerMac G4 speed downgrade, tsk tsk…)? 🤷♂️
What a far cry from the days when even their dumb iPods, mere receptacles of content, were first-class citizens in said ecosystem and, thus, graced with the fastest I/O available (back then, FireWire 400, and I, as the proud owner, at one point, of a 20GB 3G iPod, was also the happy beneficiary of those relatively insane transfer speeds; the same required for – oh, the irony – DV capture and external scratch disks
). And Apple, while indeed having been, along with Sony, one of the developers, proponents and champions of IEEE 1394/FW, didn’t actually control the entire technological stack back then… Now that they also came up with the damned USB-C port, are indeed also champions of Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 and can decide exactly what silicon an M-Series and an A-Series chip should include, what’s their excuse (other than greed and hubris) for not including a standard that’s even older than either of those but conveniently cross-compatible with both?
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*if* you've actually experienced this, then you need to quit buying cheap-azz $3 gas-station chargers which don't follow the USB-PD standard of starting at 5V (max 900mA) and only switching to a higher voltage after appropriate negotiation between device and charger.
(and strictly speaking, the charger can't "push" any particular current to a device without either the charger changing the voltage or the device reducing its resistance; if the former occurs without negotiation then the charger's not following the USB-PD spec. basic Ohm's law stuff here)
That's all well and good, except only the Pro model phones allow ProRes ... and the data speed limitation is just a rumor, which may or may not have any bearing on pro model phones.
Out of curiosity, what data rates have you experienced using AirDrop to send your prores files over to your macbook?
That should honestly concern you. Not every cable is rated at the same wattage & amperage. Which means you could be endangering your device and yourself by using a cheap cable. If the gauge of the wire is too thin, it'll overheat and could catch fire. If the resistance of the wire is wrong for your phone, it could cause the battery to overheat and catch fire. This is the problem with the USB-C protocol; it's all over the place and you as the customer are the only one responsible for what you purchase. So yeah, I'll keep purchasing my $29 Anker MFI certified cables for my devices. At least I know they'll work and correctly.
Let’s assume the fiction of the ‘average user’ that Apple advocates love to invoke when it comes to defending usability over compatibility.
They will already have USB-C cables for charging because it is literally in every device from the past couple of years save the iPhone.
They might plug it into one of those cables eventually because they will realise that it is the same connector (let’s say, after plugging in and unplugging the iPhone cable and charger several time).
It will give a warning that the cable they got from Amazon, Google, “other big name company” that they have been using in their household for years is deemed “incompatible”/“unsafe”/“unofficial” by a warning pop up on their iPhone.
Serious questions
: How will this scenario play out? Is Apple prepared for this? Do you think they have enough credibility to suggest that their cable that is otherwise similar in every way is and comes from another reputable company is inadequate for use with the iPhone?
As I begin to ponder this I think (and compare with much smaller cases concerning unofficial replacement parts) that Apple will not be able to do this without some serious backlash and subsequent adjustments… What do you think?
They will already have USB-C cables for charging because it is literally in every device from the past couple of years save the iPhone.
They might plug it into one of those cables eventually because they will realise that it is the same connector (let’s say, after plugging in and unplugging the iPhone cable and charger several time).
It will give a warning that the cable they got from Amazon, Google, “other big name company” that they have been using in their household for years is deemed “incompatible”/“unsafe”/“unofficial” by a warning pop up on their iPhone.
Serious questions
: How will this scenario play out? Is Apple prepared for this? Do you think they have enough credibility to suggest that their cable that is otherwise similar in every way is and comes from another reputable company is inadequate for use with the iPhone?
As I begin to ponder this I think (and compare with much smaller cases concerning unofficial replacement parts) that Apple will not be able to do this without some serious backlash and subsequent adjustments… What do you think?
Anti-trust? hardly. Apple can fully comply with any regulations and still add additional features to their devices, and decide which devices get which ones.
If Apple decides to add better transfer speeds to teh Pro models that is no different than then giving the Pros a better sensor to differentiate them and drive their purchase while giving someone who doesn't want teh better sensor a cheaper option. That's competition and choice, not anti-trust.
Apple would still fully comply with the EU directive and still add features. Nothing in teh directive prevents that, and te standard specifically allows it and has pins dedicated to doing that. Cables that meet the EU directive requirements will work up to the limits set by the requirements, if Apple choses to go beyond that and or incorporate high speed data they are free to implement it as they see fit. They can even forgo the port entirely with wireless and teh directive then does not apply. The Apple Watch would fall in that category.
It would have been a colossal fail for the EU to have said "You may only have charging of this type and this data limit;" since that would have frozen out any innovation, in the EU, until they changed the directive. I'm sure EU residents would be happy to see the rest of the world get better phones while they are limited by EU law to lesser ones.
There is standardization, but the way standardization works is you get a whole bunch of people together who finally agree on some lowest common denominator. As a result, two devices can have very different setups while both conform to the standard. See RS-232 for example...
Which has very little impact on most users and ho they use their machines. Heavy, large file transfers will be slower but most users don't do that. Of course, had Apple not changed the SSD configuration we'd have to find something else to whine about.
All the arguing over data transfer speeds reminds me of all the measurebation around stereo equipment back in the day.
Apple's public relations department will undoubtedly push way beyond the realm of plausibility and claim that the real reason they gimped the port at USB 2.0 speeds was for the environment. Because, you know, modern USB-C standards use more power, and power is icky, dirty, and it kills the planet. So, you see, Apple being bold and serious in their commitment to our planet. And the Apple legion of apologists need to get in line and let mob mentality handle the rest. Get to work, minions.
All Apple would have to say is "we are trying to protect our customers against the horrible wasteland that is the USB-C environment"
I could understand Thunderbolt 4 for the Pro vs USB 3 for the standard models, but this seems deliberately malicious. It's not like the iPhone 15 will be a budget model exactly, it's closer to the iPad Air than the iPad 10, and that gets 10Gbps speeds (USB 3.1).
Apple has been resisting USB-C so doggedly because they want to keep raking in a lot of money through the MFi program with regards to licensing the Lightning port. On something like an iPad Pro, they had to give in because USB-C is so crucial to connecting to a lot of professional gear, but on a phone it's not as important. All roads at Apple lead to the bank. It's curious why they would restrict USB-C so much to USB 2.0 speeds, but that is a rumor at this point.
Why not? They got the “universal port” they had to have.
Nothing in the USB-C spec prevents Apple from adding MiFi to a device; the spec is specifically designed to allow for proprietary interfaces.
My guess is Apple is simply rolling out USB-C in phases; possibly with a shortened timeline due to the EU directive.
I doubt MiFI is anything but rounding error. Apple purportedly charges up to $8 per cable for certification. With ~2 billion iPhones sold,, assuming 1 cable sold per device, that's $16Billion since its introduction. Considering Apple's revenue in 2022 was about $400 billion, MiFi has had minimal impact on revenue; especially since the $16 billion would be over 10 years, or about 1.6 billion/year (~.5%). Yes, I realize some of the 1.9 billion iPhones number I used includes pre-IP5 30 pin devices, but for a back of envelope calc it is acceptable.
Exactly. People are all riled up over an unsubstantiated rumor and drawing wild conclusions about what Apple will do, why and the EU's response. Welcome to the internet post Eternal September.
This is a horrible idea. It defeats the purpose of what the EU proposed. USB-C should be interchangeable. I should be able to ask a friend to have a charger from a different phone and plug it in and charge my phone. Not get an unsupported accessory message. I get why for security but leave this up to users to decide. And USB 2.0 speeds in 2023?? this is just idiotic. I hope this is a false rumor.
Hardly. The EU proposed a standard that allowed for proprietary
It still will be. A cable will be able to charge to its rated capacity within the PD spec even if it is not certified.
Who says you will get each a message? I use plenty of non-MiFi cables and do not get any message.
Safety as well. You don't want a substandard cable drawing to much current and melting or worse.
Either way it has resulted in almost 20 pages of responses; which is par for the course on rumors.
So Apple doesn’t care about security on pretty much anything but their “ leftover “, the iPhone?
Also, what is preventing us from using sub-standard 3rd party Lightning cables?
Unless it’s a full USB 4/TB port, I’m not upgrading.
Not for a need, just for the principle of it. USB 2.0 speeds now is laughable.
Not for a need, just for the principle of it. USB 2.0 speeds now is laughable.
Apparently, but normally cracking iPhones requires physical access so perhaps it is not a bulletproof as you think. Still I am glad Apple is addressing this on as many fronts as possible.
Not sure how that relates to safety.
Nothing. As I said, I use several non-MiFi certified cables.
Technically correct, but you'd need to go pretty small for the USB-PD max current of 5 amps to have that effect. Stick to name brand / well-reviewed cables and don't buy your cables at the corner gas station or dollar store. If still concerned, monitor initial usage to see if the cable gets warm.
Please explain in detail just how that works. I'm genuinely curious as to the cause/effect mechanism. Feel free to be as technical as needed.
Huh? USB Type C is a connector type, and USB-PD is a well defined charging protocol. Don't buy cheap no-name power supplies and cables from untrusted sources for your expensive devices.
USB 2.0 is a technology from the year 2000. This is insane. It’s like using in 2000 a technology from 1977.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro's USB-C port and accompanying charging cables will feature a Lightning-like authenticator chip, potentially limiting their functionality with Apple-unapproved accessories, a rumor shared on Weibo suggests.
The rumor declares that Apple has developed its own variant of USB-C for this year's iPhone 15 lineup and comes from a user who claims to be an integrated circuit expert with 25 years of experience working on Intel's Pentium processors.
Integrated circuit (IC) interfaces are semiconductor chips used to manage the sharing of information between devices. Since their introduction in 2012, first-party and MFi-certified Lightning ports and connectors contain a small IC that confirms the authenticity of the parts involved in the connection. Non-MFi-certified third-party charging cables, for example, do not feature this chip, often leading to "This accessory is not supported" warnings on connected Apple devices.
The authenticator chip allows Apple to encourage customers to buy genuine iPhone peripherals and receive a commission on MFi-certified accessories, but it also allows Apple to tackle counterfeit and potentially dangerous accessories.
The latest rumor seems to suggest that Apple has developed a similar custom IC for the USB-C ports on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, and presumably its charging cables. As well as the iPhone 15 lineup, the new IC is apparently destined for new MFi-certified peripherals.
It is worth noting that the USB-C interface currently used by Apple in the 10th-generation iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro, do not contain an IC chip for authentication, meaning that this would be a first for ports of this kind offered by the company.
It is unclear if this addition could have any major implications for the functionality of the new devices, but it is possible that Apple could limit features like fast charging and high-speed data transfer to Apple and MFi-certified cables.
According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the USB-C port on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will remain limited to USB 2.0 speeds – the same as Lightning. Only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models will apparently get faster transfer speeds. As a result, the only major difference between Lightning and USB-C on the standard iPhone 15 models could simply be the physical shape of the connector.
The report is particularly believable since this would effectively mirror the split between the entry-level iPad and the iPad Pro. While both iPad models feature a USB-C port, the 10th-generation iPad is limited to USB 2.0 speeds of up to 480 Mbps, while the iPad Pro offers fully fledged Thunderbolt speeds up to 40 Gbps.
Article Link: Apple Reportedly Planning to Limit iPhone 15's USB-C Port in the Same Way as Lightning
1) Nothing is completely bulletproof, all software and hardware have bugs.
2) This wouldn't be about data security, that's handled differently as I said. MFI *now* has nothing to do with that, it wouldnt on USBC either
3) I seriously doubt this is going to happen anyway, it would break compatibility with everything they already sell for iPads and MacBooks.
I thought their objective was to allow interoperability of cables and chargers between devices? If you can't use your S23 Ultra cable when you switch to iPhone, it violates that intent.