I can only say this: finally, a type-C port.
The USB-3 controller is in the A17 chip and not a separate component, considering the lead time for chip design and production it seems Apple had the transition in mind for quite a bit longer than the recent legislation changes in EU parliament.
As a timeline: the EU Parliament only proposed making USB-C mandatory in September 2021, and then only formally approved it in October 2022, prior to that it was just the EU's serving suggestion. Enforcement only begins on new product introductions from the latest October 2024, Apple release their Phones in September, meaning both the iPhone 15 and 16 could realistically still use lightning without infringement.
However now that Apple has introduced USB-C EU member states can safely fast track the law without affecting their economies (despite certain HN fantasies, forcing a major phone supplier out of the market for lolz is not good for a country.)
Also as the Pro's USB3 controller is in the A-series chip and not a separate component it stands that Apple had already planned the change over -before- the EU even tabled it as a mandatory requirement.
Sure you could say that they saw the writing on the wall, which is certainly a factor, but they could have just as easily switched the port without deeper integration into the device just to satisfy a legislative requirement. On the other hand one could equally say: Apple have been transitioning their entire lineup to the type C connector over several years and now would be an appropriate time to bring the phone into the fold.
The idea that Apple bent to the will of the EU is largely overblown, it was an obvious change and their hardware indicates that they've been planning this for a while.
I am not surprised that Apple have planned this for a while, because the EU have been pushing this for a while even before making USB-C mandatory. Previously it was only a recommendation for micro-USB, and Apple was practically the only manufacturer that didn't adopt it.
If it was such an obvious change, why did it take them 5+ years longer than other manufacturers?
Source: The European Parliament website.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220930IP...
> Do you have a source for "newly released"? Everything I can find talks about "new" only.
Respectfully the only place you need to be looking for this information is the EU parliament website.
> By the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port.
That's not what's happened though - the USB3.0 controller is part of the A17Pro chip.
It's trivially debunked that this change is in response to EU enforcement merely by observing the timeline of EU legislation and elementary understanding of chip design and lead time/mass production.
This isn't suggesting that they didn't see the writing on the wall, but it's patently evident that the decision was made even before the EU considered making type C the mandatory connection standard.
As I said already, it's just as likely this is part of their phased transition into the type C connector.
Also these MFi arguments for lightning are nonsense, not only are the fees minimal, but they persist with type C.
The EU forcing Apple to switch to the type C connector is largely a HN fantasy. It was happening regardless.
Once the EU signaled they were going to mandate this, there was no reason to do it any sooner. When Apple changed from 30-pin, there was an uproar. “Now my iPod Alarm Clock doesn’t work with my new iPhone!”
Now gets it both ways: more sales, no blame. “The EU made us do it…”
You aren’t wrong about being able to make money and claim the high moral ground while doing so…
Otherwise, AirPods are 100x better than wired.
The DAC in the dongle I got with my iPad pro is noticeably worse than my pixel 5a.
The audio quality of airpods is still subpar compared to $70 wired headphones.
I listen a lot to classical music and airpods 2 still makes becken (two cymbals smashed together. Don't know the English name) sound like someone throwing a rock into a pool.
I lose several pairs of headphones every year. Headphones being smaller is not a feature for me.
I have one pair of BT headphones. They have about 90ms latency, which is borderline intolerable (but better than every airpod). I use them for podcasts.
I plug my phone into speakers all the time (at work. I am a musician). A 3.5mm jack makes that a non-thinking operation.
The latency on bluetooth is killer. I guess most people don't notice, but I notice. There's a irritating delay between every action, and when watching video the sound is noticeably behind.
There is often interference when in frequency-heavy zones. Busy pedestrian intersections, trains, using the microwave.
I switch between devices with regularity. My computer, my phone, my corporate phone. Keeping one set of headphones paired between multiple devices is a nightmare.
I don't like keeping bluetooth on. Why do I need to place yet one more source of power drain on my devices, and why do I need to enable yet another broadcasting signal from them?
Dollar-for-dollar, lower cost wired headphones are higher quality than wireless ones.
I am prone to losing headphones, having them be miniaturized and untethered is not a bonus. Heaven forbid they're not even bound together and are instead individual unconnected earbuds. I can count in the double digits the number of people I've seen before my very eyes lose one half of their earbuds, to say nothing of the number of people I've encountered who are just dealing with losing one of them from some prior event.
Bluetooth headphones are a product with value, but not to me. Not having a headphone jack felt, and continues to feel, like a heavy handed bitch slap straight to my face every single day.
They are $10 each. They can be attached to the end of your headphones and forgotten about.
Even worse: cheap usb c headphones all have shit DACs and will perform worse than cheap 3.5mm headphones.