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How many USB-C devices actually out there where you can interchange cables? Unless you live on the bleeding edge of tech, not much. Most phones other than Samsung and some flagships still use micro-USB. Most USB devices like USB drives are still on USB-A. Heck, Microsoft Surface Pros don't even have USB-C port.

Not many I agree but we all know it’s where the industry wants to go eventually. Movement in that direction is slow sure. The world doesn’t revolve around me so I do recognize that just because I wouldn’t mind the change does not mean that it won’t adversely affect others.
 
What's so good is that compared to lightning, usb-c can allow so much more. Lightning is gimped. It's a crying shame that the vast majority of iphone or ipad users have NEVER seen the videos they've taken in actual 4k. It's especially shameful that Apple doesn't make it simple stupid to do on their 4k apple tv.

There's no doubt Apple will lock it down meaning you won't be hooking up external storage, mice, and what not. But even this is a huge step up over lightning. I'll take external monitors and hopefully some Mac benefits such as wacom like features though.
 
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Overall I think the lightning design is superior to USB C, more robust, simpler and still slimmer. Unfortunately it’s proprietary nature puts limitations on the wider market for accessories. While this is good for Apple’s profitability, ultimately it holds back interoperability and choice of accessories.
 
How many USB-C devices actually out there where you can interchange cables? Unless you live on the bleeding edge of tech, not much. Most phones other than Samsung and some flagships still use micro-USB. Most USB devices like USB drives are still on USB-A. Heck, Microsoft Surface Pros don't even have USB-C port.

Actually MOST companies are NOT using micro USB anymore. Go to any store and try to buy a micro usb cable. Nobody locally is carrying them anymore. I live by several big cities. USB c is being used by a lot of companies...
 
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Overall I think the lightning design is superior to USB C, more robust, simpler and still slimmer. Unfortunately it’s proprietary nature puts limitations on the wider market for accessories. While this is good for Apple’s profitability, ultimately it holds back interoperability and choice of accessories.

I'd venture to guess that your view on this is based more upon the physical characteristic of the cable end than it is the capabilities of the connection itself. Which is fine . . but does not exemplify overall superiority, merely superiority in physical design. At the end of the day there's more bandwidth available on USB-C and the potential for Apple to support USB Power Delivery on USB-C for faster charging.
 
I'd venture to guess that your view on this is based more upon the physical characteristic of the cable end than it is the capabilities of the connection itself. Which is fine . . but does not exemplify overall superiority, merely superiority in physical design. At the end of the day there's more bandwidth available on USB-C and the potential for Apple to support USB Power Delivery on USB-C for faster charging.
Yes the physical design of the connector is superior. I believe lightning does support the USB 3.0 standard on iPad pros (the included cable only supports 2.0 for some reason though). I'm not sure what the power delivery limit is on lightning, or whether there is scope to increase it to match (or exceed) the 100W cap USB C has.
 
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Some things to note based on my usage:

1. Lightning's USB 3.0 speeds exist only when using the Lightning to USB 3.0 adapter, and even then for certain usages only. Unfortunately, direct transfers to/from a computer is not one of them; I can't even connect to a computer with that adapter directly. If using a Lightning to USB cable, I can hit up to only 30 MB/s when using iFunBox for transferring files to and from a computer.

2. Airplay has more or less been able to do a good job on handling 1080p 60FPS output. Only thing is you need to have a stable network connection (either WiFi or Ethernet). Even then, I am having some minor issues with occasional audio drop outs and even no audio at times (but I think this is more to do with Airplaying from an iPad Pro with iOS 11.4.1 to a tvOS 11.2.6 Apple TV?). Given these, I don't see how Airplay can scale to 4K output well

3. The Lightning to HDMI connector is actually powered by an A8 SoC, which may explain why you cannot do 4K with it. The color it gives out looks weird (somewhat more yellowish) compared to Airplay from Apple TV. Only good thing is that it is much cheaper and easier to setup.

4. The Lightning connector may prove to be more sturdy than any form of the USB connector since there is nothing inside to break, but conversely, dust has been known to enter these Lightning connectors and give connection issues due to this. Granted, it is slightly easier to clean than USB C but still, both ports are hard to clean in the first place. Hence, can't really say that one connector is better than the other for such reasons.

5. Similarly, I find the Lightning port's pins to feel vulerable too; in the long run (especially if you are planning to plug in one of the Lightning adapters for long term usage) it may become too loose to be useful. The USB C port's don't feel this vulnerable unless you somehow can break that part in the middle of the port.
 
I don’t see much benefit to USB-C. If they switch it means one more cable to carry. What about the Pencil? Will there be Lightning and USB-C versions? What a pain.

Apple owns the Lightning spec. If it needs more bandwidth they can easily change that.

When I travel on business I carry a four port Anker charger and a few Lightning cables.
 
Apple owns the Lightning spec. If it needs more bandwidth they can easily change that.

In theory yes but how much so I have to wonder. There is surely a limit to what can be pushed through what amounts to a narrower bus. USB-C has a different pinout configuration with additional data lane and charging pins. I wonder how that plays into maximum bandwidth and charging speeds vs. lightning.
 
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