“Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman… reports that Apple is currently testing iPhones with USB-C charging ports instead of Lightning ports,” Ben Sin writes for Forbes. “This isn’t too surprising for anyone who follows industry trends. USB-C is a charging and data transferring tech that’s been hailed by tech insiders as the “next big thing” years ago, and outside of the iPhone world, that has come true. Almost all new Android handsets charge via USB-C, as do premium laptops released in the last year or so.”
“There’s almost no good argument against using USB-C on mobile devices: it can deliver more power, more data, more efficiently than older USB or Lightning ports,” Sin reports. “In fact, even Apple made the switch to USB-C on its laptops and iPads in recent years.”
“I wrote in my iPad Pro 2018 review that Apple switching to USB-C for the tablet was writing on the wall that the Lightning port is on its way out. I thought it would take Apple a year or two to make the switch — not because the switch itself is that difficult to incorporate, but because the Lightning port, a proprietary Apple innovation, makes the company a lot of money,” Sin reports. “But much to my excitement, the switch may happen this fall with the release of the 2019 iPhones.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: For convenience sake alone, we’d like to have iPhone’s port match those on our our MacBooks and iPad Pros!
SEE ALSO:
Why Apple should replace the Lightning port on its iPhones with USB-C – January 17, 2019
Apple’s next-gen 2019 iPhone will feature 10MP selfie camera, keep Lightning port – January 16, 2019
Apple said to be developing new 7th gen. iPod touch, next-gen iPhones could switch to USB-C – January 15, 2019
The profit margin dongles must be incredible for Apple.
@they
You are absolutely correct.
Cook has made hundreds of billions on dongles alone in the past 8-years. It’s the reason he killed the 30-pin industry. He wanted to control the whole pie.
If he’s switching to USB-C, he already plans to initiate a new dongle revenue stream. He’ll put a special chip in the cable to make it so only official Apple cables will work and charge everyone else a licensing fee (just like he did with lightning).
Of course the dongle prices will be marked up several hundred percent.
Has he done that with iPad Pro? As has been discovered with HomeKit such restrictive practices become self defeating in the end and you make less money. Even Cook knows that particular game is up and after all Apple committed to USB-C before most others jumped on board and Lightning in its time was till USB-C the best connector out there and a decision to keep or change will inevitably generate plenty of user (and troll) abuse. For other companies it was a far easier decision. That said I think it should have happened last year and this year is a must I believe it offers much more potential for iPhone developments and interoperability with all Apple platforms and beyond which the company must fully exploit.
Cables and dongles business has always been a cash cow for Apple. It took the USB-C to have them give up that idea and conform to the customers’ convenience. No more proprietary connectors, please.
Wonder what else they’ll do to try and make us buy more iPhones. Seems like they are scraping the barrel.
Yes Cook has really squeezed it all to the extreme rather than have to be proactive and innovative as in days past when Jobs could sniff an opportunity to exploit. Cook needs to change a good bit in his own thinking or show faith in those around him who can make such decisions, or move aside for someone who can do at least one of those.
Yeah, lets make yet another connector change.
I don’t count my adapters any more. I just put them in a box and weigh them. I could count up the cost and mark that on a box, but heart attacks are not good for me, so……
Change is good; change is ALWAYS GOOD; keep repeating that to yourself: keep repeating that to yourself:keep repeating that to yourself. Change is always good; EXCEPT WHEN ITS NOT!
As I said either choice will bring criticism from users and here is the first example.
Don’t get me wrong, if USB-3 is the best, then change.
But…I don’t necessarily trust Apple’s ability to pick what is best in cases like this.
I literally do have 15 lbs of adapters and cables……of course if I counted as far as SCSI, then it would be many more. And I dont count the charging cable for ipad2 because I use the iPad maybe 2 hours a year. Macbook, iMac and Macbook Pro, with a Cheesegrater sitting in the closet, thats the desktop I wish were still useable with a modern OS.
Excellent. Having only one type of wired charger will be great. Saying that I always charge my phone on a wireless stand. Perfect for the bedside table. At least when traveling it will mean one less cable to need.
So $29.95 for a 1 meter Apple certified USB-C cable that costs $2.99 from Monoprice?
What’s Tim Cook Thinking!!??
Buy from Monoprice.
Well, I have the new iPad Pro with USB-C and am not impressed with it. It’s doesn’t really offer much in the way of charging or data speed. Just another way for Apple’s customers to have useless USB wires laying around.
Incredibly stupid idea. I have six Apple devices and multiple chargers around the house that use lightning connectors plus adapters for old earphones. I’m not upgrading them all to USB. I will hang on to the iPhones and iPads I have until they break. I predict that this will cost Apple a lot of upgrades.
You have chargers that have lightning on them? I’d love to see that. Every charger I have has a USB-A port on it and any usb cable plugs into it.
I hope Apple has a special event to unveil the new dongles.
Lightning preceded USB-C by a year or two. Once USB-C gains widespread adoption, it’ll be the standard physical connector for everything for decades. Moving to USB-C is a no-brainer for the long term.