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Comment by eecc | Hacker News Reader

IMHO it’s a shame that Lightning didn’t become the standard connector for USBC. There’s a reason for that: socket fragility.

The socket is the most expensive part of the connection and when it breaks, it’s bad news. If you’re lucky and the bean counters didn’t overrule engineering over a microcent saving, the socket is on a daughter card otherwise you’re stuck with a one-port-down device, or an expensive motherboard replacement.

Instead, the Lightning connector is as stupid as it gets, worst issue is pocket lint you can easily remove with a toothpick

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I'd disagree with that one, with Lightning the pins are in the connector. I've broken my iPhone before trying to get lint out of the charging port and bending the pins by accident.

USB C on the other hand has all the pins cable-side so there isn't anything to worry about ramming whatever you fancy into your phone or laptop since it's just a PCB with pads on rather than anything you can bend.

> USB C on the other hand has all the pins cable-side so there isn't anything to worry about...

Instead all the lint collects around a hair-thin port insert which has all the pins on and can be just easily broken while trying to clean the lint.

I've removed tons of lint from my two iPhones for years, and both lightning ports work like they've worked as in day one.

I think he's suggesting it's easier to change a broken cable than a hard-wired port.

In my experience a sewing pin is just about the perfect thickness to get into an USB-C port. If you're even halfway careful you can dig out all the lint without damaging anything.

I do have to say that USB-C seems to be much more lint-prone than micro- or mini-USB. I have never needed to dig out any lint on my previous phones, but have had to do so a fair few times on my latest phone.

Thanks for sharing your anecdote. Mom & Dad didn't give me a call about your phones not charging yet, but knowing that it's doable is a relief.

I don't remember digging lint out of any previous USB generations either. Only a couple of USB-A connectors, which were integrated to some smaller MP3 players (yes, I remember them!).

How much lint are you producing lol? I don't think I've ever had to remove lint balls from my devices.

I'm not some furry animal :D

It's just I'm carrying my phone in a jeans pocket, and I use an iPhone for 7 years or so. :)

I’ve had two lightning ports go flaky due to use. I expect that to accelerate now that they’ve infuriatingly removed the 3.5mm Jack.

So you’re saying that PCB [1] and those pads are more solid than the low profile pins in Lightning?

I guess only a mechanical engineer can settle the argument. Anyone?

[1] https://www.mouser.sg/new/molex/molex-usb-type-c/

The receptacle housing generally prevents you from bending the connector tongue, and even if you manage to do it somehow, AFAIK it's almost never FR4 in the receptacle (although USB-C receptacles printed directly on 0.8mm PCBs work great!). It'll generally be some sort of injection molded thermoplastic that's fairly flexible, so even if you manage to bend it, it'll spring back.

As for pins vs pads, you can make pads almost arbitrarily more durable by increasing the gold plating thickness, whereas it's really hard to make pins not bend.

I disagree. In my experience the lightning port/connector is the main pain point of the iphone. Even if you clean it out with a toothpick, it stops charging well (you have to fiddle with it and even hold it in a specific position to get it to charge), the cord falls out easily, etc. I truly hate the lightning connector. I'm not sure if USB-C will be better, but it certainly can't be worse.

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