Other USB-C iPhone: The Ugly Truth

[cupcakes2000]

Hint: AirDrop isn't a reliable method

Don’t know about that, other than baseless whining on here.

In my ‘real world’ as a professional photographer, I use airdrop multiple times daily between my iPad, iPhone and Mac; very large video files, folders containing multiple gb’s of images, all sorts of little/medium/large other stuff.

Whilst it’s certainly and obviously not the kind of speed I can achieve using my TB3 equipment, it’s fast enough and it’s extremely simple, fluid and above all - hassle free.

The iPhone having a very fast data port would change nothing for me in this respect, I wouldn’t use it! My iPad has one and I don’t use that already except for drives and peripherals, which I obviously don’t connect to my phone in any case.

Edit: I’m not suggesting they shouldn’t put fast ports on stuff.

 

[ThomasJL]

How is it an "agenda" to want fast and up to date transfer speeds?
Yes, they have an agenda to point out valid criticism of a product as well, not to just gaslight everything.

Exactly.

Apple introduced USB 2.0 on the 3rd generation iPod in April 2003. That was 19 years ago. That greedy MBA suit Tim Cook thinks it’s perfectly OK to release both a new iPad and a top-of-the-line extortionately expensive iPhone in 2022 with 19-year-old USB 2.0 technology. Cook is giving users data transfer speeds from 2003 in 2022.

 

[davedvdy]

Don’t know about that, other than baseless whining on here.

In my ‘real world’ as a professional photographer, I use airdrop multiple times daily between my iPad, iPhone and Mac; very large video files, folders containing multiple gb’s of images, all sorts of little/medium/large other stuff.

Whilst it’s certainly and obviously not the kind of speed I can achieve using my TB3 equipment, it’s fast enough and it’s extremely simple, fluid and above all - hassle free.

The iPhone having a very fast data port would change nothing for me in this respect, I wouldn’t use it!

My iPad has one and I don’t use that already except for drives and peripherals, which I obviously don’t connect to my phone in any case.

"Baseless whining" yet nearly every credible source is just pointing out valid criticism, including the video from a respectable YouTuber I posted.

Again this is a case of: "my anecdotal evidence proves every credible source wrong. They're all wrong, whining and nothing else matters in general. If they have any critique of Apple it should be dismissed because I don't have a problem in my use cases with anything at all".

 

[JapanApple]

I know everyone is riding on a high because top level Apple executives confirm that they have to comply with the new European law and switch the iPhone over to USB-C within the next two years, most likely in next year's iPhone 15 series.
But I’ve seen a lot of people make some assumptions about this change that I don't think are going to be quite accurate, and I think a lot of people are going to be in for a rude awakening when it happens.
SPEED
Let’s start by busting a myth, Lightning is not restricted to USB 2.0 speeds.
The iPhone is restricted to USB 2.0 speeds, Lightning is not.
The iPad Pro from 2017 had a Lightning port on it, and that Lightning port supported USB 3.0 speeds.
If Apple wanted the iPhone to have faster transfer speeds, they could’ve done it.
They could’ve done it in 2017 alongside the iPad, but they didn’t.
They could’ve did it when they introduced Pro-res and Raw support, but they didn’t.
They could’ve done it when they introduced 1TB iPhones, but they didn’t.
They could’ve done it when they introduced a 48 Megapixel camera, but they didn’t.

It’s not a restriction of the port, it’s a deliberate choice on Apple’s part to keep the iPhone at USB 2.0 transfer speeds.
In fact, this was proven just this week.
Apple introduced the tenth generation iPad.
It has a USB-C port.

And Wouldn’t you know it…
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/10/27/ipad-10-slower-usb-c-port/
That’s right, USB-C, but 2.0 transfer speeds.
And I absolutely expect the iPhone 15 to follow the trend.
Maybe, MAYBE the iPhone 15Pro and Pro Max, or just the Pro Max get slightly faster speeds.
But if you are expecting to get a new iPhone next year that goes from 2.0 speeds up to whatever the latest thunderbolt protocol is, I don't think that's going to happen.
Apple, for whatever dumb reason they have, thinks the transfer speed of the iPhone doesn’t need to go past 2.0.
I don’t agree, but I’m also not stupid.
I don’t think a forced port switch will change their minds.
Which brings us to another aspect…


CHARGING SPEEDS
The iPhone has slowly increased its charging speed, from 18W, to 20W, most recently to 27W.
I fully expect that to continue.
Anyone expecting the change to USB-C will force Apple to allow 35W, 45W, 60W+ charging I think will be very mistaken.
I fully expect them to keep the fast charging speed at 27W, or if there is an increase it will be very small.


COMPATIBILITY

Apple has this pop-up in iOS, it sounds a little something like this:

“This accessory cannot be verified.”

There’s more to it but you get the point.

I fully expect this pop-up to quickly become very common when people pick up their new iPhones, stick some $1.50 USB-C cable that came with some random gadget into their iPhone and it doesn’t like it.

I fully expect Apple to do everything in their power to make sure you are using their USB-C cables, and only their USB-C cables.


BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY WITH LIGHTNING PRODUCTS

I’ve already seen people predicting that Apple will ship a Lightning (male) to USB-C (female) adapter in the box of the iPhone 15.

THEY ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT!

They’ll be more than happy to sell you one for $10-20, but include one?

They didn’t do it when 30 pin became Lightning, they didn’t do it when the MacBooks switched from MagSafe 2 to USB-C, they didn’t do it with any of the iPads, they absolutely will not do it with the iPhone.

I wouldn’t even be surprised if by 2025 they just… don’t ship a cable at all.

The new Apple Siri Remote has USB-C, and guess what?

It does not come with a cable.


Other than all that, yeah it’s going to be a lot of fun. Can’t wait for the next three+ years of confusion.


Disclaimer

Although I disagree with governments getting involved in things like this, I do think Apple switching to USB-C on all of their devices is the right thing to do and will benefit everyone in the long run. I’ve just seen people runaway with theories about how great it will be, and wanted to give my perspective as a skeptic.

Many informative and thoughtful comments here. project and see if they come to fruition. the writing is fine!

 

[sam_dean]

Yes, I own the iPhone 14 Pro (and 14 Pro Max), and I am very happy with them. I also don't create content from an iPhone though, and know iPhone users that do that want the faster transfer speeds.
Sales data doesn't necessarily correlate with quality, which was my other point above.

Anecdotal evidence is what I'm referring to. Personal experiences. This part I bring up because other users say they don't need something personally. Therefore they conclude that it's irrelevant.

So if you aren't buying the goods you previously listed down as problematic then why complain about them?

So long as it is good enough to people who actually bought them then that is what matters.

A data point on quality are returns, repairs & RMAs tend to be Apple declaring a mass recall like those of the Apple butterfly keyboard.

 

[leman]

In conclusion, Apple kept Lighting USB 2.0 because they don’t want you to use it like you would an iPad Pro or Mac. You’re not supposed to have the contemporary transfer speeds and easily manipulate and move files as you would on a Mac or iPad(iPad still very limited despite contemporary files transfer speeds).

It’s an easy way to “force” you to get more Apple devices.

Or, a much simpler explanation that doesn't go into the conspiracy theory swamp: A-series chips don't have PCI-e lanes and are only equipped with a basic USB2.0 controller out of energy efficiency reasons. I agree that this is an awkward limitation given the focus on photo and video for these phones, and I hope that Apple will include a more advanced controller that allows them to get better transfer speeds without sacrificing battery.

 

[okkibs]

I don’t transfer files from my iPhone. I charge my phone every night via MagSafe while I sleep.

Every time I travel I have to make sure to bring the lightning cable - at home I do have a charging pad but that doesn't help me when I am not home. Don't you have your iPhone on you most of the time? I might have half an hour at my hotel in between meetings and I'll need to quickly charge the phone back up to 80 percent. Magsafe can't do that.

And while transferring files from the iPhone might not be an issue on many iPhones, Apple sells 512GB and 1TB versions, try shooting prores and what then - you let the iPhone sit for a couple of hours until the transfer is complete? If you had to transfer files and your quadruple digits price tag iPhone needed multiple hours every time to sync, wouldn't you get upset at Apple for deliberately restricting transfer speeds? Because again, Apple does have a faster lightning port, they decided to make the iPhone sync slow regardless.

Apple advertises these devices as capable of shooting a movie, but what they don't tell you is that once the first iPhone runs out of storage filming, you'll need to grab the next one from your bucket full with iPhones or you can stop filming for the day.

 

[cupcakes2000]

"Baseless whining" yet nearly every credible source is just pointing out valid criticism, including the video from a respectable YouTuber I posted.

Again this is a case of: "my anecdotal evidence proves every credible source wrong. They're all wrong, whining and nothing else matters in general. If they have any critique of Apple it should be dismissed because I don't have a problem in my use cases with anything at all".

Nope. My real world usage.

Anyway - I’m not denying your mileage may vary.

You, however, would rather just argue in the face of someone based around watching a YouTube video and reading some forum posts, even whilst that someone is saying, “hey though - I use the feature daily and it works extremely well. “

 

[Paddle1]

iPhone has nothing proprietary going on in wireless. It has WiFi 6. Where are the solutions?

Is that not what AirDrop is? A proprietary file transfer system.

 

[davedvdy]

Nope. My real world usage.

Anyway - I’m not denying your mileage may vary.

You, however, would rather just argue in the face of someone based around watching a YouTube video and reading some forum posts, even whilst that someone is saying, “hey though - I use the feature daily and it works extremely well. “

Not at all, I'm not even denying that your experience isn't great. I'm sure it is. My personal experience with the iPhone 14 Pro is pretty stellar as well. I don't create content from an iPhone though, but know people that do that want the faster speeds.

I'm trying to look at things from a broad perspective is all. Most of what I posted isn't one Youtuber. I posted links from other credible sources. In the end though, they all are opinions. A product can be great but still have opportunities and room to grow, is really the only thing there.

 

[rlhamil]

I know everyone is riding on a high because top level Apple executives confirm that they have to comply with the new European law and switch the iPhone over to USB-C within the next two years, most likely in next year's iPhone 15 series.
But I’ve seen a lot of people make some assumptions about this change that I don't think are going to be quite accurate, and I think a lot of people are going to be in for a rude awakening when it happens.
SPEED
Let’s start by busting a myth, Lightning is not restricted to USB 2.0 speeds.
The iPhone is restricted to USB 2.0 speeds, Lightning is not.
The iPad Pro from 2017 had a Lightning port on it, and that Lightning port supported USB 3.0 speeds.
If Apple wanted the iPhone to have faster transfer speeds, they could’ve done it.
They could’ve done it in 2017 alongside the iPad, but they didn’t.
They could’ve did it when they introduced Pro-res and Raw support, but they didn’t.
They could’ve done it when they introduced 1TB iPhones, but they didn’t.
They could’ve done it when they introduced a 48 Megapixel camera, but they didn’t.

It’s not a restriction of the port, it’s a deliberate choice on Apple’s part to keep the iPhone at USB 2.0 transfer speeds.
In fact, this was proven just this week.
Apple introduced the tenth generation iPad.
It has a USB-C port.

And Wouldn’t you know it…
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/10/27/ipad-10-slower-usb-c-port/
That’s right, USB-C, but 2.0 transfer speeds.
And I absolutely expect the iPhone 15 to follow the trend.
Maybe, MAYBE the iPhone 15Pro and Pro Max, or just the Pro Max get slightly faster speeds.
But if you are expecting to get a new iPhone next year that goes from 2.0 speeds up to whatever the latest thunderbolt protocol is, I don't think that's going to happen.
Apple, for whatever dumb reason they have, thinks the transfer speed of the iPhone doesn’t need to go past 2.0.
I don’t agree, but I’m also not stupid.
I don’t think a forced port switch will change their minds.
Which brings us to another aspect…


CHARGING SPEEDS
The iPhone has slowly increased its charging speed, from 18W, to 20W, most recently to 27W.
I fully expect that to continue.
Anyone expecting the change to USB-C will force Apple to allow 35W, 45W, 60W+ charging I think will be very mistaken.
I fully expect them to keep the fast charging speed at 27W, or if there is an increase it will be very small.


COMPATIBILITY

Apple has this pop-up in iOS, it sounds a little something like this:

“This accessory cannot be verified.”

There’s more to it but you get the point.

I fully expect this pop-up to quickly become very common when people pick up their new iPhones, stick some $1.50 USB-C cable that came with some random gadget into their iPhone and it doesn’t like it.

I fully expect Apple to do everything in their power to make sure you are using their USB-C cables, and only their USB-C cables.


BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY WITH LIGHTNING PRODUCTS

I’ve already seen people predicting that Apple will ship a Lightning (male) to USB-C (female) adapter in the box of the iPhone 15.

THEY ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT!

They’ll be more than happy to sell you one for $10-20, but include one?

They didn’t do it when 30 pin became Lightning, they didn’t do it when the MacBooks switched from MagSafe 2 to USB-C, they didn’t do it with any of the iPads, they absolutely will not do it with the iPhone.

I wouldn’t even be surprised if by 2025 they just… don’t ship a cable at all.

The new Apple Siri Remote has USB-C, and guess what?

It does not come with a cable.


Other than all that, yeah it’s going to be a lot of fun. Can’t wait for the next three+ years of confusion.


Disclaimer

Although I disagree with governments getting involved in things like this, I do think Apple switching to USB-C on all of their devices is the right thing to do and will benefit everyone in the long run. I’ve just seen people runaway with theories about how great it will be, and wanted to give my perspective as a skeptic.

There is already a standard for how USB devices, chargers, and cables can verify their authenticity, and there has been talk that Apple might eventually incorporate that, whether to favor their own or because cheap chargers do cause problems, or because hacked chargers can launch a digital attack on a device.

"USB Type-C Authentication empowers host systems to protect against non-compliant USB chargers and to mitigate risks from malicious firmware/hardware in USB devices attempting to exploit a USB connection. Using this protocol, host systems can confirm the authenticity of a USB device, USB cable or USB charger, including such product aspects as the capabilities and certification status. All of this happens right at the moment a connection is made – before inappropriate power or data can be transferred."
https://www.usb.org/sites/default/f...tion Program Press Release_FINAL_20181227.pdf

Not enough existing chargers support that for it to become widespread on devices YET, but it may happen eventually.

 

[naturalguy]

Non issue, such an over rated feature. The only real advantage is having one less different type of charging cable

 

[rlhamil]

Non issue, such an over rated feature. The only real advantage is having one less different type of charging cable

Not even that if you get a cable with a captive adaptor or multiple (USB-C, micro-USB, Lightning) heads.

 

[sam_dean]

Dave2D appears to have found a loophole that Apple could use.

According to him the EU allows smartphone brands to alternatively use wireless charging instead of USB-C.

I get others want wireless charging because it is less physical effort that wired charging but I personally prefer wired charging as it reduces energy loss.

 

[Bento.Box]

I have to say, even as a user who would rather see USB4 in the next iPhone, I'm rather unmoved by the suggestion that there is a substantial need for iPhone users to move huge amounts of data on a regular basis over a cable to Windows machines.

Haha. Am I really the only one who does backups?
Or who has ordered the biggest storage available so I can replace my ipod classic with my iphone?

I think you underestimate users, even though many don't care

 

[okkibs]

Or who has ordered the biggest storage available

People are ignoring how the iPhone has up to 1TB of storage and can generate huge files, as an example I already named prores. With copying music it's more of a one-time big sync, but as you said backups of a big 512GB/1TB iPhone will take quite long.

Even if you don't need any of this there is no denying that Apple sells the most expensive smartphone in the world with "pro" and "max" in the name and then the transfer speed is limited to what I had on my first 256MB (that's Megabytes) mp3 player around two decades ago - Apple sold devices with this capability from 2017 and simply withheld it in iPhones.

 

[sam_dean]

I hope iPhone with USB-C will result in macOS on the iPhone.

So imagine an $1.6k iPhone Pro Max 1TB with USB4 40Gbps that can boot up macOS Ventura.

It would have a 3nm Apple A17 Bionic chip that is comparable in raw performance to a M1 at a higher performance per watt. Attach an active heatsink fan to improve thermals further.

To make it boot up macOS it would need to be attached to a USB4 dongle or USB4 display with any of these I/Os

- USB4 40Gbps
- Ethernet
- USB PD 30W
- USB-A 10Gbps
- HDMI 2.1a
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- memory card reader

Hopefully this will eat into the sub-$1k PC market.

As the Apple A17 Bionic chip is = to M1 then it outperforms any Mac that isn't a Core i9 or Xeon.

For 99.9% of non-pros that is plenty of performance.

 

[sjperformance]

Every time I travel I have to make sure to bring the lightning cable - at home I do have a charging pad but that doesn't help me when I am not home. Don't you have your iPhone on you most of the time? I might have half an hour at my hotel in between meetings and I'll need to quickly charge the phone back up to 80 percent. Magsafe can't do that.

And while transferring files from the iPhone might not be an issue on many iPhones, Apple sells 512GB and 1TB versions, try shooting prores and what then - you let the iPhone sit for a couple of hours until the transfer is complete? If you had to transfer files and your quadruple digits price tag iPhone needed multiple hours every time to sync, wouldn't you get upset at Apple for deliberately restricting transfer speeds? Because again, Apple does have a faster lightning port, they decided to make the iPhone sync slow regardless.

Apple advertises these devices as capable of shooting a movie, but what they don't tell you is that once the first iPhone runs out of storage filming, you'll need to grab the next one from your bucket full with iPhones or you can stop filming for the day.

I charge my iPhone overnight while I sleep. I remove from charger at 6 am. Get home at 5 pm with 50% battery left. That's why I get these max size phones. Busy 40 year old father of 4. Run a family business from 2 warehouses. Kids play sports etc. I'm not a photographer nor film maker. So what doesn't work for you doesn't mean doesn't work for me. For my usage and what I need I could care less lighting or sub C or port less. Also yes my iPhone on me the entire day. Minus when I get home and I'm sleeping. Been using iPhone since 4S. I barely have much complaints about it. I care more about the SUV I drive. Why? Safety for my family and kids. Every 3 years that I lease a new SUV that's my focus. Too many crazy heads on the road. a USB-C with a high speed wont help much to avoid an accident. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[iSayuSay]

I’m in favor of the switch, but the e-waste happens when the switch happens. If anything, Apple has delayed it by not switching. I haven’t had to buy lightning cables in years, but I’ll have to buy new cables (and ditch the old ones) when I eventually buy a USB-C iPhone.

Don’t you own iPad, or Macbooks? You and most people already had some USB-C cables laying around, along with USB-C bricks. Why buy another cables?

The worst thing to happen is you had to ditch the old Lightning cables, or just store it someplace safe just in case you ever need one.

 

[sam_dean]

I have a

- 5W wall charger for when I sleep for 8 hours
- 30W car charger when I need 0-50% charging during a 30 min drive

When I need to fast charge indoors then I use my Macbook's charger

 

[russell_314]

Or, you know, recycle them? Also, it's not like lightning ports on existing devices will just stop working the day an iPhone with a modern port is released. The idea that as soon as the port changes everyone is going to rush out and throw their existing devices and cables in the trash is frankly one of the dumber things I see repeated on this site.

Well I have a few devices that use Lightning so while I'll probably toss the majority, I'll keep a few. I'll need to buy at least three new cables. I suspect most people just have an iPhone so why would they keep a Lightning cable if they don't have anything it works with? That person will either toss it out or put the old ones in a box of old cables, basically delayed e-waste.

In my area I'm not aware of any place that would recycle old charging cables. We have a scrap metal place that takes copper wire but they don't want super thin gauge wire like in a charging cable. Perhaps the Apple Store will accept it for recycling.

 

[sdwaltz]

I have never understood this forum's general obsession with switching their Apple products to USB C.

I personally have WAY more lightning cables than USB C cables. Apple's gradual switch to USB C on some of their stuff has been far more of a PITA for me than if they had just left all of it on lightning.

 

[PauloSera]

Haha. Am I really the only one who does backups?
Or who has ordered the biggest storage available so I can replace my ipod classic with my iphone?

I think you underestimate users, even though many don't care

Yeah. That's pretty unusual. In 2022 at least. Backups (device images) are automatic and off site, which is infinitely better. My Mac with lots of storage is set to store original copies of data, so there is always a local backup too, which is backed up by time machine, so there are multiple local and remote backups of important data.

And yea I stopped futzing with syncing music many years ago and just subscribed to Apple Music and haven't thought about syncing music since.

 

[PauloSera]

Is that not what AirDrop is? A proprietary file transfer system.

What a weird way to interpret that sentence. AirDrop is a solution. Not the technology. WiFi is the technology. Nothing proprietary about it, and nothing stopping Windows AirDrop from being developed if anyone cared to use it.

 

[PauloSera]

A significant use case has already been made. You have iPhone highlight features such as ProRes on the iPhone. A significant use case for that would be to quickly and reliably get the data off the iPhone and onto a computer for editing.

Which transfer method gives you a fast file transfer speed to transfer ProRes or other large files off an iPhone?
Which reliable method do you know of that you can use to quickly transfer? (Hint: AirDrop isn't a reliable method, a quick search can solve that for any pondering that or the video link below).


The Tech channel below explains the various methods in great detail.
(The YouTuber's comment in the conclusions (about his best method) "It's frustrating and limited to USB 2.0 speeds".

AirDrop works great. It's plenty fast, and reliable. It was certainly buggy at times in the past, but not today.