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Apple's Ultra Accessory Connector Dashes Any Hopes of a USB-C iPhone (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Among all the iPhone 8 concepts and daydreams, my favorite scenario has always been to see Apple replacing its proprietary Lightning connector with the USB-C one that's taken over the entire rest of the smartphone world. Apple is already a strong proponent of USB-C, having moved to it aggressively with the new MacBook Pros in October, but the company also maintains Lightning for its iPhones and iPads -- which creates a lot of headaches for people desiring universal accessories that work with everything inside the Cupertino ecosystem. Alas, after yesterday's revelation of a new Ultra Accessory Connector (UAC), which is intended to ameliorate some of the pain of having both USB-C and Lightning devices, it looks like the dream of a USB-C iPhone will forever remain just that. The UAC connector is going to be used as an intermediary in headphone wires, splitting them in half so that the top part can be universal, and the bottom can be either a Lightning, USB-C, USB-A, or a regular old 3.5mm analog plug. The intent is to restore some of the universality of wired headphones -- which, until not too long ago, all terminated in a 3.5mm connector (or 6.35mm on non-portable hi-fi models designed for at-home listening). With UAC, a headphone manufacturer can issue multiple cable terminations very cheaply, making both the headphones and any integrated electronics, like a digital-to-analog converter or built-in microphone, compatible across devices with different ports. Why this matters with regard to the iPhone's sole remaining port is simple: if Apple was planning to switch its mobile devices to USB-C, it wouldn't have bothered with creating a Made for iPhone standard for UAC. It would have just made the port change.
Geez, Slashdot is now so slow that they're posting rants that are already ancient news.
No, Apple is not putting out a new connector. They've had requests from industry groups to allow Apple-certified cables using this unusual somewhat connector, most likely for attaching professional cameras to IOS-based devices. Apple complied with these groups. End of story.
https://arstechnica.com/apple/...
Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
Obligatory https://xkcd.com/927/
Seriously though, is anyone else getting tired of these smaller and smaller fragile connectors that have about a one or two year lifespan before they become loose and wobbly and malfunction?
First requirement of a connector is it should reliably stay connected even with little pulls on the cable,
Second requirement is a decent lifespan, and non-self-destructive tendencies through normal use.
Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
No it's NOT new. it's a standard USB connection used on some devices already... NIKON uses it on cameras
http://www.nikonusa.com/en/nik...
And apple is using it simply because the companies making accessories are asking for it. It's going to be on the accessory end NOT the phone.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
How Apple haters love rewriting history.
FIrst, this UAC connector is not Apple's at all. In fact, accessory manufacturers asked Apple to create support for it. So Apple created the necessary cabling for Lightning (which is sticking around) to UAC. All Apple is doing is listening to accessory manufacturers who want to use this connector because it's popular and used elsewhere.
Second, Apple only used three connectors since 2001. First was FireWire, which was migrated to the 30 pin connector, and finally lightning. USB went through several as well - first was USB B (the big square connector), then mini-B, then micro-B, and now USB C. Ignoring the extra cabling you need if you want USB 3.0 versions of same since USB 3 requires a different set of cables.
Of course, I see the next Beats headphones coming with lightning to UAC (iPhone), micro USB to UAC (Android), USB-C to UAC (Android and PC), and USB-A to UAC (PC) adapters.
https://discussions.apple.com/...
Considering cheap regular 30-pin to USB cables have had this problem, I knew it'd take less than TWO SECONDS OF LOOKING to find one related to Lightning.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
"Apple’s “new” UAC port wasn’t made by Apple, and it isn’t new"
https://arstechnica.com/apple/...
This is a connector used in some digital cameras, and accessories. They are usually compatible with USB micro cables, but has additional pins for the original cable carrying video or other signals.
Apple is just allowing manufacturers to use this port on one end of their cables. i.e.: it will now be possible to connect your Sony camera to a lightning port directly.