5 ms·

MagSafe is really cool, but I'm incredibly disappointed they're sticking with lightning...

gkoberger 6y ago
Give it a year (or two)! They probably want to go straight to full MagSafe rather than USB-C. However, if they drop Lightning right now, nobody will be able to charge their phones. It'll take a year or two for magsafe/Qi/etc to be ubiquitous enough that they'll feel comfortable dropping lightning.
- ianmobbs 6y ago
  We'll see! There are so many problems with wireless charging that I don't see it becoming truly mainstream. Not being able to use your phone while charging is the most visible one (maybe 15W via magsafe will make it fast enough it doesn't matter). I also have trust issues with wireless charging in general - I got a free wireless charger from TripleByte once that overheated my phone and only got it to 60%. I'm still hoping for USB-C
  - texuf 6y ago
    Wait till they put a mag safe on the end of a long chord.
    - jaywalk 6y ago
      Uhhh... https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MHXH3/magsafe-charger https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MHXH3/magsafe-charger
  - baq 6y ago
    I’ve given up, ikea has cheap Qi chargers now, bought three and put them in strategic places of the house. Wasteful laziness but it’s oh so convenient.
    - toomuchtodo 6y ago
      If it makes your life easier and more convenient, it's not wasteful. "Laziness" is a slur used against the efficient.
  - jedberg 6y ago
    It seems like that MagSafe connector might be strong enough that you can use the phone while charging.
  - smiley1437 6y ago
    Since the new Magsafe charger is a slim puck on a long cord, I'm thinking you could still hold it and use the phone while charging, alleviating the 'can't charge while using it' issue which was one of my concerns too
  - fomine3 6y ago
    Qi makes phone really hot and it's bad for battery life. I don't think it worth for benefit compared to just plugging a cable.
- megablast 6y ago
  Maybe. Maybe not. They are now shipping usbc to lightning port cables with every phone, so they already expect most people to have usbc.
- gmadsen 6y ago
  would probably be a lot easier to go full water proof with no usb connector
  - dzhiurgis 6y ago
    Also without speakers, SIM card tray and buttons.
audunw 6y ago
There's no point switching from lightning to USB-C now. The MagSafe (should make it just as nice to charge while using the phone) and dropping earpods in the packaging kind of confirms a suspicion I've had that they really, really want to get rid of the port all-together on iPhones. They've switched to USB-C on iPad.. there it makes sense, they're making it more like a laptop. But phones will go all-wireless. Like, there's no other logical explanation now considering they're going all-in on USB-C on MacBooks and iPads. They don't want to do the switch now because they don't want to send the wrong signal to accessory makers. They want them to focus on Bluetooth and wireless charging. If they knew it'd take this long to get here, maybe they'd have switched to USB-C at an earlier stage. I know there were many blunders and delays with things like wireless charging and Bluetooth 5 audio. So the situation has become kind of awkward.
- dmix 6y ago
  Exactly charging by cable is basically out of date now. There's so many wireless charging options for nothing on Amazon, using a cable is the back up option. The only place I could see this not being the case is in older cars which require plug-in for some features like CarPlay. But eh, it's an expensive device. An extra cord (also for cheap on Amazon) isn't a big deal.
  - TylerE 6y ago
    The one area where cables still win is speed. My 11 can be charged by 50% in seemingly about 20-30 minutes from a high output (i.e. iPad) charger. On my wireless pad that much charge will take a couple hours. That's fine overnight, but sometimes you need a lot battery ASAP
    - bredren 6y ago
      This is a good point. Though the battery management seems to have gotten good enough that these speed charges are less necessary. Funny thing is the only time I run out of juice now is if I did not place my iPhone on the wireless charger straight enough. Apple spoke specifically to this pain so it must be widespread.

Give it a year (or two)! They probably want to go straight to full MagSafe rather than USB-C. However, if they drop Lightning right now, nobody will be able to charge their phones. It'll take a year or two for magsafe/Qi/etc to be ubiquitous enough that they'll feel comfortable dropping lightning.

ianmobbs 6y ago
We'll see! There are so many problems with wireless charging that I don't see it becoming truly mainstream. Not being able to use your phone while charging is the most visible one (maybe 15W via magsafe will make it fast enough it doesn't matter). I also have trust issues with wireless charging in general - I got a free wireless charger from TripleByte once that overheated my phone and only got it to 60%. I'm still hoping for USB-C
- texuf 6y ago
  Wait till they put a mag safe on the end of a long chord.
  - jaywalk 6y ago
    Uhhh... https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MHXH3/magsafe-charger https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MHXH3/magsafe-charger
- baq 6y ago
  I’ve given up, ikea has cheap Qi chargers now, bought three and put them in strategic places of the house. Wasteful laziness but it’s oh so convenient.
  - toomuchtodo 6y ago
    If it makes your life easier and more convenient, it's not wasteful. "Laziness" is a slur used against the efficient.
- jedberg 6y ago
  It seems like that MagSafe connector might be strong enough that you can use the phone while charging.
- smiley1437 6y ago
  Since the new Magsafe charger is a slim puck on a long cord, I'm thinking you could still hold it and use the phone while charging, alleviating the 'can't charge while using it' issue which was one of my concerns too
- fomine3 6y ago
  Qi makes phone really hot and it's bad for battery life. I don't think it worth for benefit compared to just plugging a cable.
megablast 6y ago
Maybe. Maybe not. They are now shipping usbc to lightning port cables with every phone, so they already expect most people to have usbc.
gmadsen 6y ago
would probably be a lot easier to go full water proof with no usb connector
- dzhiurgis 6y ago
  Also without speakers, SIM card tray and buttons.

audunw 6y ago

There's no point switching from lightning to USB-C now. The MagSafe (should make it just as nice to charge while using the phone) and dropping earpods in the packaging kind of confirms a suspicion I've had that they really, really want to get rid of the port all-together on iPhones. They've switched to USB-C on iPad.. there it makes sense, they're making it more like a laptop. But phones will go all-wireless. Like, there's no other logical explanation now considering they're going all-in on USB-C on MacBooks and iPads. They don't want to do the switch now because they don't want to send the wrong signal to accessory makers. They want them to focus on Bluetooth and wireless charging. If they knew it'd take this long to get here, maybe they'd have switched to USB-C at an earlier stage. I know there were many blunders and delays with things like wireless charging and Bluetooth 5 audio. So the situation has become kind of awkward.

dmix 6y ago
Exactly charging by cable is basically out of date now. There's so many wireless charging options for nothing on Amazon, using a cable is the back up option. The only place I could see this not being the case is in older cars which require plug-in for some features like CarPlay. But eh, it's an expensive device. An extra cord (also for cheap on Amazon) isn't a big deal.
- TylerE 6y ago
  The one area where cables still win is speed. My 11 can be charged by 50% in seemingly about 20-30 minutes from a high output (i.e. iPad) charger. On my wireless pad that much charge will take a couple hours. That's fine overnight, but sometimes you need a lot battery ASAP
  - bredren 6y ago
    This is a good point. Though the battery management seems to have gotten good enough that these speed charges are less necessary. Funny thing is the only time I run out of juice now is if I did not place my iPhone on the wireless charger straight enough. Apple spoke specifically to this pain so it must be widespread.