Other USB-C iPhone: The Ugly Truth

[stocklen]

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.

Sorry I dont mean to belittle what youve said at all...

But, in 2022 I wonder out loud how many average iPhone owners even use the physical port on their phone at all...

Does it really matter whether its Lightning or USB-C when most people use bluetooth headphones and wireless charging.
Personally... its been years since I plugged anything into an iPhone and of course I appreciate there are people out there who do have accessories etc but the port to me is mostly irrelevant now.

 

[Paddle1]

What a weird way to interpret that sentence.

Well I'm sorry to upset. I genuinely didn't know what you meant, but thanks for clarifying.

 

[PauloSera]

But, in 2022 I wonder out loud how many average iPhone owners even use the physical port on their phone at all...

Virtually all of them. For charging. Wireless charging is not nearly as popular as you may think it is outside of the tech bubble.

And the reverse is true for data. Virtually none of them are transferring files with the cable, outside the tech bubble.

 

[davedvdy]

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

I believe that is still subjective, as I see it as being inconsistent especially with large file transfers.
One person gave up entirely on Airdrop in the thread below.

A poster from these forums (not the OP brought that up):
"So in short, yes, Airdrop has its place, but I don't think concerns about slow transfer options are unreasonable. I'd love USB-C in the iPhone Pros to have a fast, reliable way of moving that data."

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-13pro-prores-file-transfer-w-airdrop.2315810/

Airdrop is still not an equal solution to USB 3.0 transfer speeds. 100 mb/s is what I believe it's capped at if you are even getting consistent results. I have a fast WiFi connection, and mine was all over the place with even smaller files.
You claim that it's reliable, but yet most of the claims I see are when someone tries to transfer very large files.

Consistently, I just see that as being USB 3.0 speeds or above as the best solution for that.


Austin Mann: "I’ve wasted 5+ hours just this week trying to get photos/videos off my iPhone using a combination of Apple Photos and Image Capture so I can back up, review, and share."

He has been very vocal about wanting a faster wire file transfer method. You said you haven't seen a significant use case before for a faster wired method, so there's at least 2 more specific use case examples, including any link I shared from credible sources. All are unanimous that a faster wired method IS the best solution.

https://www.austinmann.com/trek/iphone-14-pro-camera-review-scotland

 

[PauloSera]

I believe that is still subjective, as I see it as being inconsistent especially with large file transfers.
One person gave up entirely on Airdrop in the thread below.

A poster from these forums (not the OP brought that up):
"So in short, yes, Airdrop has its place, but I don't think concerns about slow transfer options are unreasonable. I'd love USB-C in the iPhone Pros to have a fast, reliable way of moving that data."

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-13pro-prores-file-transfer-w-airdrop.2315810/

Airdrop is still not an equal solution to USB 3.0 transfer speeds. 100 mb/s is what I believe it's capped at if you are even getting consistent results. I have a fast WiFi connection, and mine was all over the place with even smaller files.
You claim that it's reliable, but yet most of the claims I see are when someone tries to transfer very large files.

Consistently, I just see that as being USB 3.0 speeds or above as the best solution for that.


Austin Mann: "I’ve wasted 5+ hours just this week trying to get photos/videos off my iPhone using a combination of Apple Photos and Image Capture so I can back up, review, and share."

He has been very vocal about wanting a faster wire file transfer method. You said you haven't seen a significant use case before for a faster wired method, so there's at least 2 more specific use case examples, including any link I shared from credible sources. All are unanimous that a faster wired method IS the best solution.

https://www.austinmann.com/trek/iphone-14-pro-camera-review-scotland

Bugs are bugs. Users with anecdotal experiences are just that. As I said, I had experienced some issues with AirDrop in the past, mostly with Macs not appearing as targets. But it works fine today on the latest software, and wouldn't ever find myself needing anything else. And I'm not even using WiFi 6. It could be even faster if I needed it to be.

I should also note, I experienced tons of issues with wired data transfer from iPhone to Mac over the years. It isn't immune from issues just because there is a cord involved.

 

[davedvdy]

Bugs are bugs. Users with anecdotal experiences are just that. As I said, I had experienced some issues with AirDrop in the past, mostly with Macs not appearing as targets. But it works fine today on the latest software, and wouldn't ever find myself needing anything else. And I'm not even using WiFi 6. It could be even faster if I needed it to be.

I should also note, I experienced tons of issues with wired data transfer from iPhone to Mac over the years. It isn't immune from issues just because there is a cord involved.

When something is consistently... inconsistent--it's no longer anecdotal any longer over a broad base of users. I'd love to see real world data on the consistency of Airdrop. What's problematic, is even at it's finest, it's not anywhere near an equal solution to a fast wired transfer solution especially for large file transfer.

What's also not anecdotal are sources mainly being unanimous on this issue. USB 3.0+ file transfer is unequivocally the best solution. Not being immune from issues doesn't make it any less, the most superior method for large file transfer.

 

[fatTribble]

I’m in the I-just-use-it-to-charge crowd, but I applaud your well-written, fact-based post. Wow, I haven’t used that my hyphens in years 🤭

 

[stocklen]

Virtually all of them. For charging. Wireless charging is not nearly as popular as you may think it is outside of the tech bubble.

And the reverse is true for data. Virtually none of them are transferring files with the cable, outside the tech bubble.

and you know this how?

Certainly most people I know don't use the lightning port any more.

And data transfer? what data is being routinely transferred to the iPhone?

genuinely intrigued here.


The only use I can see for lighting is those with wired CarPlay - but of course that cable is easily changed for a USB C one when the time comes.

 

[okkibs]

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

Try syncing a couple dozen GB, it's painful and you'll never know if you have to start all over 20 minutes in. Small files are fine and Airdrop is nice to quickly share that easily but when you have a port for a wired connection right there, it's like removing the already existing kitchen stove because the takeout was great. Sure takeout will be fine most of the time, and yes if for some reason takeout doesn't work that day I can still prepare a snack. But why remove the stove (= USB 3.0 speeds for lightning and USB-C) when it was already there? Why cripple your kitchen/iPhone on purpose?

I'd understand (to some degree) removing the feature on cheaper iPhones, but when transferring fils even on the 14 Pro Max 1TB takes literally hours and then you come along and recommend using Airdrop for hundreds of GBs, you are missing the point.

I personally have WAY more lightning cables than USB C cables.

...and I have exactly on working lightning cable left -only ever had two, one from my iPad and one from the iPhone, since I always sell my older devices with the cable- and none of my Apple purchases in the last two years (two Macbooks, two Apple Watches...) came with a lightning cable. On the other hand I have about a dozen USB-C cables, for connecting USB-C monitors, from a few Pixels, for the Switch console, and so on. Every single device in my household is now USB-C except for my toothbrush charging case that has USB-A - and of course iPad and iPhone.

The issue really is that when you are not at home -where all your lightning cables are- but when you are on the go. I had a hospital stay recently where the hospital handed me a box of their donated chargers. It was all micro USB and thankfully there two usb-c chargers where the Huawei one ended up successfully charging the Pixel, allowing me to spend a day just watching youtube instead of having to conserve battery.

If I had asked for a lightning cable they might have eventually found one for me, but the point is that you might find yourself somewhere, with your phone but outside your home with your lightning cables stash.

[...] Different strokes for different folks.

But if you say yourself that some people might need this and others like you don't care and have other priorities, then why should Apple restrict the capability of even their high-end Pro Max devices? Why not give their flagship devices the capabilities and if you personally don't need that you don't have to use every feature? Then you'd be still happy with your device and some other users like me would be happy too.

USB 3.0 wired transfer is both 1) more reliable and 2) much faster than Airdrop.

Exactly. Additionally, airdrop and USB 3.0 aren't mutually exclusive. Apple could easily offer both and have offered both on the iPad Pro. They could leave it up to the user's preference. Even if airdrop was just as fast and reliable that still wouldn't excuse it. Also, airdrop is limited to Apple devices whereas a majority of iPhone users don't even own a Mac - iPhones are tenfold more popular.

 

[davedvdy]

Try syncing a couple dozen GB, it's painful and you'll never know if you have to start all over 20 minutes in. Small files are fine and Airdrop is nice to quickly share that easily but when you have a port for a wired connection right there, it's like removing the already existing kitchen stove because the takeout was great.

That's exactly what happened to me as well using Airdrop. I had to restart downloads, and these were multiple large virtual grand pianos. I have a reliable internet connection too.
In fact, even a smaller one called Art Vista Virtual Grand Piano 3 (2 GB) had to be redone. Thankfully, this isn't a regular practice for me, but I could see using Airdrop as being cumbersome for people with ProRes or other large files who transfer regularly. Once I transferred, the hassle went away as these types of files aren't done on a regular basis.

 

[sjperformance]

Try syncing a couple dozen GB, it's painful and you'll never know if you have to start all over 20 minutes in. Small files are fine and Airdrop is nice to quickly share that easily but when you have a port for a wired connection right there, it's like removing the already existing kitchen stove because the takeout was great. Sure takeout will be fine most of the time, and yes if for some reason takeout doesn't work that day I can still prepare a snack. But why remove the stove (= USB 3.0 speeds for lightning and USB-C) when it was already there? Why cripple your kitchen/iPhone on purpose?

I'd understand (to some degree) removing the feature on cheaper iPhones, but when transferring fils even on the 14 Pro Max 1TB takes literally hours and then you come along and recommend using Airdrop for hundreds of GBs, you are missing the point.


...and I have exactly on working lightning cable left -only ever had two, one from my iPad and one from the iPhone, since I always sell my older devices with the cable- and none of my Apple purchases in the last two years (two Macbooks, two Apple Watches...) came with a lightning cable. On the other hand I have about a dozen USB-C cables, for connecting USB-C monitors, from a few Pixels, for the Switch console, and so on. Every single device in my household is now USB-C except for my toothbrush charging case that has USB-A - and of course iPad and iPhone.

The issue really is that when you are not at home -where all your lightning cables are- but when you are on the go. I had a hospital stay recently where the hospital handed me a box of their donated chargers. It was all micro USB and thankfully there two usb-c chargers where the Huawei one ended up successfully charging the Pixel, allowing me to spend a day just watching youtube instead of having to conserve battery.

If I had asked for a lightning cable they might have eventually found one for me, but the point is that you might find yourself somewhere, with your phone but outside your home with your lightning cables stash.


But if you say yourself that some people might need this and others like you don't care and have other priorities, then why should Apple restrict the capability of even their high-end Pro Max devices? Why not give their flagship devices the capabilities and if you personally don't need that you don't have to use every feature? Then you'd be still happy with your device and some other users like me would be happy too.


Exactly. Additionally, airdrop and USB 3.0 aren't mutually exclusive. Apple could easily offer both and have offered both on the iPad Pro. They could leave it up to the user's preference. Even if airdrop was just as fast and reliable that still wouldn't excuse it. Also, airdrop is limited to Apple devices whereas a majority of iPhone users don't even own a Mac - iPhones are tenfold more popular.

Because at the end of the day Apple is a business. They are here to make money. Why give all the features on just 1 device? Then what else people gonna buy? Don't worry we will eventually get there.

 

[svenmany]

I do charge plugged in. I fact, sometimes I don't even bother charging my 12 with the new USB-C brick. So my house has a bunch of cables and I'm not looking forward to having them all go to waste when I upgrade my phone to a USB-C version.

 

[usagora]

Yep. USB-C is a type of connector, not a set speed. The whole point (to my understanding) of the EU's push to USB-C was standard connection type, not a speed increase. But either way, I still totally disagree with government agencies meddling in this sort of thing.

 

[JackRabbitJobs]

Even with everything you wrote becoming reality we'll still be better off than today.

 

[thelookingglass]

Sorry I dont mean to belittle what youve said at all...

But, in 2022 I wonder out loud how many average iPhone owners even use the physical port on their phone at all...

Does it really matter whether its Lightning or USB-C when most people use bluetooth headphones and wireless charging.
Personally... its been years since I plugged anything into an iPhone and of course I appreciate there are people out there who do have accessories etc but the port to me is mostly irrelevant now.

I use wireless charging most of the time, but I definitely do plug in via Lightning. Although the only thing I do with the port is to charge. So whether it's USB-C or Lightning, I really don't care.

 

[mpavilion]

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.

I have a few USB-C cables, but not by my bedside, in my car, etc. I don’t charge my MacBook those places!

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

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.

No, this is not true at all.
iPad Air 4 had USB 3.0 speeds and it had the A14.
Same with the latest iPad mini, faster USB transfer speeds, A15.
But the latest standard iPad, which also has the A14, only does 2.0 USB speeds.
It’s a deliberate Apple restriction

 

[antiprotest]

I prefer to see it as a beautiful lie.

In any case, for my usage, if the hole fits my USB C cable, that's all I care about.

 

[bushman4]

Most likely iPad min, air usb-c 2.0
iPad Pro USB-c 3.0
Don’t expect faster charging unless Apple flips the switch on fast charging

 

[laszlo182]

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.

compatibility -> ipad pro works with any ‘cheap’ usb c cable so iphone will as well

all i care about, just use one cable to charge everything

 

[okkibs]

Because at the end of the day Apple is a business. They are here to make money. Why give all the features on just 1 device? Then what else people gonna buy? Don't worry we will eventually get there.

Eventually? USB 3.0 has been around for over a decade. And aPPLe Is a bUSiNeSs doesn't even warrant a response.

So my house has a bunch of cables and I'm not looking forward to having them all go to waste when I upgrade my phone to a USB-C version.

The longer Apple keeps up selling devices with lightning, the more of these cables will be around that have no use whatsoever outside the Apple universe. It's a dead end, the sooner Apple buries lightning the better.

 

[janeauburn]

I thought USB-C was a fail as soon as it was released. The connector falls out too easily.

 

[EdT]

Lighting. USB C. Whatever it is. Are there many out there like me who doesn’t really care about this? I honestly don’t. I don’t transfer files from my iPhone. I charge my phone every night via MagSafe while I sleep. Ummmm yeah at this point I wouldn’t mind a port less iPhone like an Apple Watch.

For whatever reason-I forgot to bring my MagSafe, I have another device that really can benefit from a 30 watt power supply so I can’t use a MagSafe as I only have 1 high (for Apple) wattage power supply- I have needed to use the Lightning port to charge my phone or iPad. As I get sent to a lot of small rural towns getting any cable for any device can be a challenge if I forget to bring the cable or it gets lost or damaged. I would not like a port-less phone or iPad as MagSafe chargers are not everywhere.

 

[cyanite]

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.

This is true, but not without qualifications. The Lightning cables are simple, and only connect 8 pins (one side only), which wouldn't be enough. USB 3 speed needs 8 pins for data alone, so the cables would need to change. (USB-C has 24 pins and has some single-connected, some fully).

 

[usagora]

I thought USB-C was a fail as soon as it was released. The connector falls out too easily.

I haven't experienced this at all. They feel just the same as Lightning to me in terms of tightness.