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Comment by katbyte | Hacker News Reader

iPhones have an ecosystem around lighting, cables docks devices etc, to change that would cause users to be far more upset then having a different cable then other devices, see the outrage when they switched to lightning in the first place

There isn’t as much an ecosystem of lightning devices for macs as it was usb a. I assume iPads also had less. Dunno about AirPods thou

I assume they saw the writing on the wall and figured they would wait till the eu forced usb c so users will Blame them Not apple for the switch

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> see the outrage when they switched to lightning in the first place

Yeah, Apple have changed their preferred physical connector for phones and peripherals once in the last 16 years, from the 30 pin connector to Lightning. When they did that, there was outrage that they were obsoleting all the devices that used the 30 pin connector because of “planned obsolescence”.

Meanwhile, Android phones have gone from ExtUSB to mini-USB, to micro-USB, to USB-C in the same timeframe with all the accompanying adapter / cable / accessory churn. If Apple had changed to USB-C while Android vendors were still mostly using micro-USB, there would have been a repeat of the outrage about “planned obsolescence” again as evil Apple forced people to switch from using Lightning to USB-C.

No idea why you're being downvoted when it's true.

> Android phones have gone from ExtUSB to mini-USB, to micro-USB, to USB-C in the same timeframe

Except, so did all of the other devices that charge and connect to computers. Go-pros and gamepads and what-have-you required the same cables and went through the same churn, so buying a new cable wasn't another extra cable to carry around in addition to the ones you need for other things. Apple doesn't get to claim that. If I want to use my bluetooth headphones with my iphone on a trip I have to bring a USB-C cable and a lightning cable.

>users to be far more upset then having a different cable then other devices

I’m sure they already have a usbc charger for something else by now. Also we all know people would be cheering and praising Apple the day it happens.

Defending lightning in 2023 is ridiculous. USB-C is here and mature and used on their laptops and iPads. Even if you’re knee deep in Apples ecosystem your laptop or tablet already has a charger that would work.

I think you missed my point: users will be more upset bv the change to usb-c making their lightning devices/docks no longer work then they currently are having to have 2 types of cables. Its not as easy for apple as "just change it usb c and everyone get a new charging cable" as many people seem to think it is.

as i said the last time apple changed the connector type people were Very Upset.

> iPhones have an ecosystem around lighting, cables docks devices etc, to change that would cause users to be far more upset then having a different cable then other devices, see the outrage when they switched to lightning in the first place

Actually incredible to me that people can have this mindset. Have an adapter for your gaff proprietary cable with MFI chips to make sure third parties can't make long-lasting ones cheaply, not for the standardised USB-C one.

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