Isn't this sort of reinventing USB on top of USB?
A quick look at the USB-A port spec, and pin locations on the similar-to-USB-but-proprietary DS charging port indicated it was a very simple construction.
Amazingly, this hack worked successfully and I was able to have my yearly Elite Beat Agents binge. The hardest part was actually not building the "cable" but balancing and bending it all just right so that the pins actually maintained contact.
Now, in the days of complex calculated power delivery negotiation, a hack like this would be impossible.
And for good reason. Devices are safer now, more compatible with each other's chargers, and can charge faster. And the things we can do with USB-C/USB-PD are fantastic. I discovered yesterday that if for some reason I really want to, I can charge my MacBook Pro from my Android phone.
But my little foil hack was fun at the time.
It’s hard not to be annoyed at them about this. Enough to not buy Apple again? No, not yet, but I’d be lying if it’s not a reason why I’ve delayed purchasing a new device. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and makes me grumpy. So I’ll wait to upgrade to the last moment.
On a similar note, it seems Nintendo with the switch has hobbled USB-C in some way that standard equipment won’t work with it, like charging over generic USB-C, is this accurate? Has Sony similarly hobbled the spec for PS4/5?
(No clue whether it's as effective as the included charger, but certainly works well enough.)
They just removed chargers from the iPhone box because 'everyone has one' - if they suddenly changed to USB-C on iPhone it would create a LOT of ewaste.
I still think they should switch, but I reckon it's because they'd get accused of hypocrisy if they deprecated it.
Or the apple way: an adapter.
I've been putting an Apple Watch SE through its initial paces over the past week and was mildly disappointed to find that only Series 6 ship with a Type C cable in the box - the SE uses Type A.
The same split is true for iPhone 12 Pro, so far as I can tell, even though (curiously) my 11 Pro from last year did include a 20W Type C Power Adapter in the box.
Or, if they want to get really wild: they can openly talk about the other usb-c devices that you might have.
Some chargers are tolerant of Nintendo's mistakes, others aren't.
There is zero possibility that third-party licensing income for the Lightning port standard is a consideration in any engineering decisions at Apple.
(Still looking for a decent replacement -- I unfortunately cannot use the kind that has those rubber seal plug things, I must have the hard plastic style like the non-pro Airpods)
On the flip side, cleaning out USB-C sockets from the same types of fluff is a pain because the data pins are in an island in the middle of the socket. Which gives you both less room (is requiring you to use a thinner implement) but also a greater risk of damaging the socket.
USB micro had the same problems as well.
I really with USB would address this because, with the best will in the world, devices sometimes get dirty.
A flattened wood toothpick works great for this. Take a regular round pointy toothpick and flatten the end 5mm or so by squeezing it in a pair of pliers or some such.
I was ready to replace my phone until I learned this trick. I had already tried cleaning the port out, but obviously not well enough.
Most USB-C sockets I can find are waterproof only with a matching cable plugged in.
Also accessories. Sure there's a sunk costs fallacy component to it, but still: it wasn't that long ago that apple users needed to replace all their ADC accessories with lightning ones.
I’m actually guessing that they have a long tail of hardware designs that all need to be changed, and that process takes a while. Even their new headphones are lightning based, though they were under development for 4 years... that’s as far as I’ll give them.
This left Apple in a weird spot. They could keep the iPhone on Lightning and users could continue using the same cables and peripherals they have been since 2012. Or, they could switch. This would require many users to buy new accessories, but they could be generics that work with any phone.
The switch from Lightning to USB-C is not as advantageous as the switch from the old 30-pin connector to Lightning was. To users already invested in the Apple/Lightning ecosystem, a switch to USB-C would not bring much benefit.
Ipad pro and the new ipad air have a type C connector. My phone and watch use cables that plug into the same Type C brick I use for my Mac.
But nitpicking examples aside I agree that they should ditch lightning. It's still entrenched for all the other devices.
On Switch, I did charge mine from a powerbank with a USB-A to USB-C cable, it did work but there clearly wasn't enough power. The battery kept draining but very slowly.
My work HP laptop has USB-C charging but won't charge at all without PD. I tried it with a USB-A - C cable and a fairly hefty adapter without PD.
I did the same thing for my 2DS XL, but instead modded the device with a non-PD USB-C breakout board. Works great with both USB-PD and regular USB-C chargers and cables. https://nullsum.net/posts/usbc-mod-new-2ds-xl/
Now, in the days of complex calculated power delivery negotiation, a hack like this would be impossible.
The only devices I've seen _require_ USB-PD are PC's. All the modern phones, headphones, and gaming handhelds I've seen with USB-C do not require USB-PD and charge just fine with a USB-A to USB-C cable.
Better yet, these devices all use a standard USB-C port instead of a proprietary one. The only gotcha is that some USB-C devices break spec and don't work with some USB-C to USB-C cables. Both the Pi 4 and RG351P suffer from this.
I should have realised this was obvious - new phones still charge just fine off any old USB-A charger just fine, provided you have a USB-A to C cable -- they'll just slow charge.
It's not on top of USB, it's a completely independent side-channel. And it cannot be on top of USB, since its second main use (besides negotiating the voltage and current in the main power pins) is to negotiate the alternate modes used for the pins which normally carry USB (not only the USB 3.x pins, but also the USB 2 pins in the VirtualLink alternate mode). You could think as USB-PD being below USB, except that it's also not true since you can use USB-C without USB-PD (using only the resistors in the CC pins to detect cable orientation and maximum current).
"There's your problem, you need 'USB 3.2 Gen 2 × 2.' You idiot!"
FEC isn't free(~2x overhead per bit recovery if I remember right) so if your error rates are infrequent then it's worse to use FEC over just resend/reread.