Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Apple's Ultra Accessory Connector Dashes Any Hopes of a USB-C iPhone (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the boulevard-of-broken-dreams dept.

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.

19 of 153 comments (clear)

  1. Why bother hoping? by Stormwatch · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So what if Apple won't offer a sane, standardized solution? How about you just STOP BUYING APPLE CRAP!?

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
    1. Re:Why bother hoping? by geekmux · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So what if Apple won't offer a sane, standardized solution? How about you just STOP BUYING APPLE CRAP!?

      That will not work. It's too late. You assume that others will offer a "sane, standardized solution". You can kiss that shit goodbye thanks to Apple.

      There's a valid reason Apple is opting for yet even more proprietary bullshit and that's because "courage" is THE profit model to have.

      And every other vendor in the world is about to follow suit with their own unique flavor of courage.

    2. Re:Why bother hoping? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      We're already watching HTC, Motorola, and Samsung follow suit

      So when the very first half of your very first sentence is demonstrably wrong, I won't believe you me about any of the rest of what you said. In the mean time Samsung will remain on my to buy list complete with it's headphone jacks, and HTC ... well I'm sure I can avoid that one model that they trialed without it, I mean it's not like they have a myriad of other concurrent models to chose from if that one feature is a killer feature for you. Kind of like Motorola released a bunch of phones at the same time and a single model omitted the jack too. Oh noes!

  2. Perhaps it's time Apple finally went the whole hog by gweilo8888 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...and just renamed itself to "Dongle". They clearly have a love affair with making you carry 12 other boxes so that your phone can be 0.1mm slimmer. Shame you need a bag for all the dongles to achieve it.

  3. Re:True courage... by gweilo8888 · · Score: 2

    No, true courage would be recommending your customers just switch to Android. ;)

  4. Debunked yesterday by ErikTheRed · · Score: 5, Informative

    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
  5. One standard to rule them all by presidenteloco · · Score: 4, Informative

    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?
    1. Re:One standard to rule them all by mspohr · · Score: 2

      Don't know why phones need any connectors.
      My old Nexus 5 phone has wireless charging and four different ways to communicate wirelessly (WiFi, mobile data, NFC, Bluetooth).
      I never plug anything into the phone. I don't use any plugs or connectors.
      Why are people still fiddling with plugs?

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    2. Re:One standard to rule them all by BronsCon · · Score: 2

      Interesting, I have audio equipment dating back to the 40's and 50's with 1/4" plugs and as far back as the 60's with 3.5mm plugs and all of them work just fine. I do recall having to resolder one back in the mid 90's, on a late 80's portable CD player that had been dropped on concrete and landed on the headphone plug just right. This is a connector that was chosen by audio professionals as a standard specifically because it is so robust; we haven't had it for over a hundred years because we're afraid of change, we've had it for that long because nothing truly better has come about.

      We've had USB DACs for nearly 2 decades by now, and the idea of integrating one directly into headphones is also nothing new. If it were truly better, we'd have been using them. I have several, some high end, some low end, and I can tell you they are, at their best, on par with the 3.5mm jack; but, more typically, they're far worse. That's on top of the added cost, of course.

      --
      APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
    3. Re:One standard to rule them all by phayes · · Score: 2

      I see your personal anecdote and raise with the results of a company that has a thousand cell phones.

      We have boxes full of broken phones at work and 25-33% are there due to micro-USB issues. The female Micro-USB isn't supposed to wear out easily and it's the cable that is supposed to wear out and be replaced. It's not true. The female connectors can wear out in under a year and the fragile center post often gets snapped, both with of which render the phone useless. After 3 years, over half the phones have loose Micro-USB connecters and people cant't wait for a new phone just so they don't have to plug in the phone just so so so that it charges reliably.

      We haven't moved to USB-C phones yet and hope that they will be better but clearly micro-USB is a disappointment.

      --
      Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
  6. Sensationalist story... by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.
  7. Re:Jesus Fucking Christ by tlhIngan · · Score: 4, Informative

    Just pick a fucking connector and stick with it for a few years, you jackass fucktard shitbags.

    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.

  8. Well, wait a minute... by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 4, Funny

    Whose UID is low?

    --
    Bruce Perens.
    1. Re:Well, wait a minute... by Huge_UID · · Score: 2

      Not mine!

    2. Re:Well, wait a minute... by sphealey · · Score: 2

      Good question.

      sPh

    3. Re:Well, wait a minute... by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 2

      There used to be active users with three-digit UIDs.

      --
      Bruce Perens.
    4. Re:Well, wait a minute... by IAN · · Score: 2

      There are still some two-digit UID lurkers. I must admit I haven't seen a single-digit UID for a very long time.

  9. Re:Interesting Anti-Apple First Posts by Khyber · · Score: 3, Informative

    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.
  10. Nope, this is not a new port by stikves · · Score: 3, Informative

    "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.