How is USB-C working out as a connector, from the ruggedness standpoint? It has a huge number of pins (24) in a small space. How many insertion cycles can it survive in the real world? Is connector wearout going to limit phone life?
That's over 13 cycles/day for two years. Probably fine for most users.
Edit: The official spec is only available via a zipped folder of PDFs, here's the particulars to save readers the effort.
5.7.1.3
Durability or Insertion/Extraction Cycles (EIA 364-09)
The durability ratings listed in Table 5-16 are specified for the USB 3.1 connectors.
Table 5-16. Durability Ratings
Connector Standard Durability Class High Durability Class
USB 3.1 Standard-A connector 1500 cycles min 5000 cycles min
USB 3.1 Standard-B connector 1500 cycles min 5000 cycles min
USB 3.1 Micro connector family 10000 cycles min
The durability test shall be done at a maximum rate of 200 cycles per hour and no physical damage to any part of the connector or cable assembly shall occur.The original 30 pin Apple connector wasn't bad, but when I looked at the new lightning connector I thought it would be a clear improvement. But now I'm not sure.
Lightning pins are quite small. I find my devices don't always make good contact. I find black stuff (oxidation?) building up on both pins and sockets.
Compared to lightning, USB-C just "feels" like it will be much worse. I predict it will be a disappointment in the real world (as most connectors turn out to be).
I've not been surprised to see how slow the adoption of USB-C has been because I think it's obvious to insiders that the reliability issues are real. The shame is that when it works, it's great.
Whenever I leave my desk, I take the phone with me so that the Health app can record steps and distance. Thus the phone comes with me on bathroom breaks, so that's a couple more.
I'll go talk to coworkers down the hall a couple times a day, adding a couple more cycles.
Every 30 minutes I get up and take a stroll around the office to mitigate the effects of sitting too long [1]. That's another maybe 10 cycles.
That's 17 cycles/day on work days, assuming no more cycles at home after work.
If I manage to have 6 more cycles at home on weekends or after work on work days, that will be bring my average over the week to 13 cycles/day.