New iPhones To Stick With Lightning Over USB-C, Include Slow-Charging 5W USB-A Charger In Box (9to5mac.com)

For those hoping the next iPhone would ditch the Lightning port in favor of the more versatile USB-C port, you'll surely be disappointed by the latest rumor. "Japanese site Macotakara says that not only will the 2019 iPhone use Lightning, Apple will also continue to bundle the same 5W charger and USB-A to Lightning cable in the box," reports 9to5Mac. "This is seen as a cost saving measure. It seems that customers wanting faster iPhone charge times will still have to buy accessories, like the 12W iPad charger." From the report: The site explains that Lightning port is not going anywhere and Apple is resistant to changing the included accessories to maintain production costs. Apple can benefit from huge economies of scale by selling the same accessories for many generation. As such, Apple apparently will keep bundling Lightning EarPods, Lightning to USB-A cable, and the 5W USB power adaptor, with the 2019 iPhone lineup. This is disappointing as Apple began shipping an 18W USB-C charger with its iPad Pro line last fall, and many expected that accessory to become an iPhone standard too. Even if the iPhone keeps the Lightning port, Lightning can support fast-charging over the USB Type-C protocol. It's not clear if the cost savings of this decision would be passed on to consumers with lower cost 2019 iPhone pricing.

Comments

Rolling Eyes

[pudge]

Most customers want to keep the same connector, because they already have chargers and cables, and sometimes even accessories, for it.

USB-C is better in the long run, but that doesn't make it better now.

Re:Rolling Eyes

[_merlin]

I have a Galaxy S8 with USB type C. I'm underwhelmed. The connector is loose, and it can disconnect from USB if you pick it up from the desk to check something on the phone. I've accidentally not charged my phone overnight because I didn't have the connector in properly. And it's a total mess because you don't know by looking at the connector what it supports. Does it support Thunderbolt-style PCI-e and DisplayPort packets? Does it support analog audio? Does it support USB 2 mode, or only USB 3 mode? Does it support power in, out, or both? At what voltage/current? It's one connector, but it's really easy to end up with two completely incompatible devices.

Re: Rolling Eyes

[registrations_suck]

No, I donâ(TM)t think that he is. I doubt he would buy anything with an Apple logo on it, no matter what it was.

Re: bend over.

[Anonymous Coward]

For as long as a clueless pervert butt-fucking Tim Cocksucker leads it.

No no no no no

[Actually, I do RTFA]

No, he's a potential new customer, which actually makes him more valuable

Business schools teach a "potential new consumer" is worth about 10% of an existing consumer. Because he is likely to have many reasons not to switch. (You think a new cord is a bigger deal than his entire app library?) You want to keep your customers happy first.

The Ford example is very wrong because it's not a potential new customer. It's a new customer.

And frankly, I don't see anyone switching to an iPhone who is going to care about the cables. If you're willing to pay a premium for the hardware/OS/store, then you're willing to pay a premium for a new cable. Meanwhile, if you think getting rid of the headphone jack made people not want to upgrade, get rid of their new lightning headphones, and all their other accessories. Getting rid of the lightning port hurts their best customers the most.

Also, the lightning cable is better than USB-C. It's more solid (can support the weight of the phone), and it's more wear resistant and it's designed so the wear goes more on the cable, not the phone.