For the first time, an official representative of Apple confirmed the fact of the upcoming transition of iPhones to Type-C. Apple’s vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, happened at a WSJ Tech Live conference.
The question was asked by The Wall Street Journal contributor Joanna Stern. She asked Greg if Apple would abandon Lightning in favor of Type-C due to European legislation. To which I received this response:
Obviously, we will have to comply. We don’t have a choice.
Greg Joswiak
Apple VP of Global Marketing
The question concerned the European market. However, there was no answer to whether the transition will be made outside the EU.
But what has become known as the company’s attitude to the mentioned law? Mr. Joswiak hinted that he was preventing the company from developing as planned. An example was given to the requirement of legislators a decade ago to use micro USB. Apple then did not obey him, starting to use Lightning.
However, there is a small problem. Mr. Joswiak’s words would sound good if we lived in 2014. Now, Lightning is insanely outdated: data transfer speeds, charging speeds – all this does not correspond to the modern flagship thousand-dollar device that Apple asks for its iPhones. Lightning has only one advantage over USB Type-C – reliability. The truth is that the Type-C female connector comes with a plate with connectors in the middle. And replacing it in the service will be more expensive than just buying a new cable. Here is a schematic image of the connector in phones, tablets, and other equipment:
In fact, in 2012, Apple turned Type-C inside out, giving its most unreliable part to the cable, which immediately increased the reliability of the connector itself. But that’s just about other functions as if forgotten.
According to the law on a single connector, which was recently adopted, smartphones and tablets with a connector other than Type-C cannot be sold in the EU from the fall of 2024. Theoretically, this means that Apple will have time to introduce the iPhone 16 in 2024 with Lightning. However, according to rumors, the company will switch to this connector next year.
Probably, this innovation will only apply to Pro-versions of iPhones.