“While there’s no doubt that patent filings are interesting because they give you a glimpse into some of the things that secretive companies such as Apple are working on, you have to temper any enthusiasm with a healthy dose of suspicion because big companies file a lot of patents, and most of the time they have little or no intention of bringing that feature to market,” Adrian Kingsley-Hughes writes for ZDNet.
“Take the latest patent application spotted by Patently Apple for a new style of connector for the iPhone and iPad that’s waterproof and could replace the Lightning port,” Kingsley-Hughes writes. “Except it almost certainly won’t.”
“First off, as has been demonstrated with the current iPhone, the Lightning port is already waterproof,” Kingsley-Hughes writes. “Another reason is that Apple is already eyeing another port – the USB-C port. Not only can this be found on the new MacBooks, but it is also present on the new iPad Pro tablets.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, if Apple’s going to go through to upheaval of shifting iPhone to a new port, it’s likely to be USB-C.
For convenience sake alone, we’d like to have iPhone’s port match those on our our MacBooks and iPad Pros!
SEE ALSO:
Apple reportedly set to move from Lightning port to USB-C in new iPhones – January 31, 2019
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
Wish they would have kept magsafe though on the Macbooks. My USB-C keeps unplugged at the slightest tension. Drives me insane!
Cashxx, I have a client who doesn’t see well, plugging in USB-C is tough for him, so I bought a USB-C cable with a magnetic head, you keep the head in the computer and you disconnect it like MagSafe, pretty neat.
Yes, it happens to me at least once a day.
Josh, I sure hope so. I can’t wait to replace all my lighting cords and accessories! Jolly, jee!
If it hadn’t been the move to the current USB-C on the iPad Pros I would have suspected that this might have been some Apple modified USB-C type connector that matched Lightnings slightly smaller profile while retaining their ability to retain some of Lightning’s income stream through a propriety product but with the capabilities of USB-C. Or am I being too cynical.
What’s needed is a low-profile magnetic USB-C adapter that can be semi-permanently placed into the USB-C port on the device, with the mating half attached to the USB-C cable. This would give the equivalent of a “MagSafe USB-C,” but I have no idea what patents, if any, it would infringe.
There are some out there…Here is one: https://snapnator.com
Thanks for the link – look good and just ordered one!
This IS the full article here! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!!
No, it’s not.
Apple? you mean the adaptor company?
Apple will have np need for ports once all charging and data transfer can be done wirelessly. As that time is close, it doesn’t make sense to switch to a new connector.
While using RF signals to do 40 Gbps (TB3 [USB4] throughput) are available, the chips and power requirements are not even close to being something that can go into a mobile device. Besides, in a year or two TB4 (USB5 ?) will be up to 80 Gbps — long before the RF chips and power requirements get to where even the TB3 (USB4) throughputs are viable in a mobile device.
Wired is here to stay for several years to come.
Mark up on $40 dongles and connectors is huge.
Spend $1,000 on a computer, and another 10% on connectors.
That happens here every so often. Yes, it’s happening now. I’ve mentioned it several times before.
Bring back ports and MagSafe to the next MacBook Pro.
Betteridge’s law of headlines