5 ms·

I've had my last four phones get issues due to usb-c. The standardization is worth it, but goddman I wish they had standardized on a better physical port.

by nmca 3y ago

bryanlarsen 3y ago
Did you try cleaning your USB-C port using compressed air and/or a plastic dental pick? I find I have to this every couple of years or so to clean out the pocket lint.
- whazor 3y ago
  This is the difference in my experience. USB-C ports need to be cleaned more because it has a connector in the middle. So the gap where stuff can get stuck is smaller, thus being worse. It is easy to clean with a tweezer though. Having a single cable for everything it still the best. Apple has some blame, as they played a big role in the USB-C standard. Also, they could have made lightning an open standard. But now even my electric toothbrush charges with USB-C.
Steltek 3y ago
This is unquestionably the best physical port. The port you want does not exist. Find me a connector that does everything USB-C can do. High speeds. High power charging. Alt modes. Mobile friendly size. Lightning is good for the meager feature set that iPhones support. It is absolutely awful for everyone else that is used to a vast, feature rich ecosystem.
- stouset 3y ago
  > This is unquestionably the best physical port. No, it is absolutely not. The lightning physical port is noticeably superior for many. > Find me a connector that does everything USB-C can do. High speeds. High power charging. Alt modes. Mobile friendly size. That is not a function of the connector, that is a function of USB 3.0 (or 4.0) and USB-PD. The connector is a USB Type-C connector, which is a related but wholly independent standard. You are mistaking the USB protocol and USB power delivery standards for the design of one particular connector which supports those standards.
  - memen 3y ago
    Do you know of another mobile-friendly connector that supports those standards? Lightning certainly does not. Even if USB2.0 was the highest supported standard on the USB-C, it is on par with lightning at least.
  - Steltek 3y ago
    Then can you share a device or cable that uses a Lightning connector and supports the USB 3.0 and USB-PD protocols? Who in their right minds would standardize on something that doesn't exist?
    - jasongill 3y ago
      Older iPad Pro's support USB 3.0 over their Lightning port but that's a very niche case obviously.
    - stouset 3y ago
      This is irrelevant. You said > This [USB-C] is unquestionably the best physical port. It is not. USB 3.0 is unquestionably better than the USB 2.0 supported by Lightning devices, and you’ll get no argument from me there. But that is completely independent of the design of the physical port.
- mwint 3y ago
  My iPhone 14 charges fast enough. Any file transfers go over airdrop, which is fast enough. The port is smaller than USB-C. I can clean it by rummaging around in it with a toothpick and not worrying about breaking stuff. USB-C is an unambiguous downgrade for me, and I wish they had just welded an adapter into the port for EU customers.
- fragmede 3y ago
  Why does it have to do simply everything? What's that saying? Jack of all trades, master of none? The "meager" support that lightning supports means it's better suited for things that go in pockets where lint lives, than usb-c ever could be. That it's not an open standard is a problem, but let's be honest that it does have advantages over usb-c.
  - ianburrell 3y ago
    Lightning only support USB2 data speeds. The iPad Pro or iPhone 15 Pro have USB3 data speeds because of USB-C (iPhone 15 only does USB2). People don't plug in their phones much, but it makes a big difference for the initial transfer. The Lightning AV adapter is limited speed to resolution it can support. The iPhone 15 supports 4K with USB-C. The advantage of USB-C that can use the same connector for your headphones, phone, to computer. You can use one charger and cables. The cables and adapters have multiple sources instead of just Apple.
    - fragmede 3y ago
      The iPhone 15 Pro supports USB3 speeds. The other ones didn't get the new SoC. I understand the advantage, thank you for mansplaining that it to me. I, too, will enjoy not having to have a mess of different cables to charge all my devices. I just wish that Apple wasn't such a bunch of proprietary dick heads about the lightning connector and their participation in defining the USB-C connector spec. We could have standardized on a receptacle that is easier to clean out, and harder to break with common household tools.
  - JellyBeanThief 3y ago
    The U in USB stands for Universal. Doing everything is explicit in the name itself. And compared to how we connected things 15 years ago it's certainly master of all.
    - fragmede 3y ago
      I have a cable. It's got USB-C plugs on both ends. What can it do? Power? How much? Data? How much? Alternate mode? How long is it? How flexible is it? Can I charge my car with it? Use it to connect my Cisco router to my Juniper router in my IPX? What does the cable itself report it is capable of, vs what is it actually capable of? Don't get me wrong, I'm super happy that we're standardizing on something. I, too, have that box of old chargers "just in case" I have something that matches. I'm so happy that most of the laptops around me can be charged over usb-c. But they fucked up parts of implementation of it; it's jack of all trades, master of none.
olyjohn 3y ago
Additional anecdata. I've never had a USB-C issue. I have like 20 USB-C devices, even some super cheap-ass shit and none of them have ever had problems. Some of my lightning shit has loose connection problems, and sometimes they don't charge when you plug in until you wiggle them just right. I had to buy a new iPhone once because I could only get it to charge when I held the cable in the port at the right angle. This has happened with my cheap iPhone cables and the OEM ones that come with it. If you want to blame the cheap cables, then fine, but no cheap cables have ruined my USB-C devices.

I've had my last four phones get issues due to usb-c. The standardization is worth it, but goddman I wish they had standardized on a better physical port.

by nmca 3y ago

I've had my last four phones get issues due to usb-c. The standardization is worth it, but goddman I wish they had standardized on a better physical port.

bryanlarsen 3y ago

Did you try cleaning your USB-C port using compressed air and/or a plastic dental pick? I find I have to this every couple of years or so to clean out the pocket lint.

whazor 3y ago
This is the difference in my experience. USB-C ports need to be cleaned more because it has a connector in the middle. So the gap where stuff can get stuck is smaller, thus being worse. It is easy to clean with a tweezer though. Having a single cable for everything it still the best. Apple has some blame, as they played a big role in the USB-C standard. Also, they could have made lightning an open standard. But now even my electric toothbrush charges with USB-C.

Steltek 3y ago

This is unquestionably the best physical port. The port you want does not exist. Find me a connector that does everything USB-C can do. High speeds. High power charging. Alt modes. Mobile friendly size. Lightning is good for the meager feature set that iPhones support. It is absolutely awful for everyone else that is used to a vast, feature rich ecosystem.

stouset 3y ago
> This is unquestionably the best physical port. No, it is absolutely not. The lightning physical port is noticeably superior for many. > Find me a connector that does everything USB-C can do. High speeds. High power charging. Alt modes. Mobile friendly size. That is not a function of the connector, that is a function of USB 3.0 (or 4.0) and USB-PD. The connector is a USB Type-C connector, which is a related but wholly independent standard. You are mistaking the USB protocol and USB power delivery standards for the design of one particular connector which supports those standards.
- memen 3y ago
  Do you know of another mobile-friendly connector that supports those standards? Lightning certainly does not. Even if USB2.0 was the highest supported standard on the USB-C, it is on par with lightning at least.
- Steltek 3y ago
  Then can you share a device or cable that uses a Lightning connector and supports the USB 3.0 and USB-PD protocols? Who in their right minds would standardize on something that doesn't exist?
  - jasongill 3y ago
    Older iPad Pro's support USB 3.0 over their Lightning port but that's a very niche case obviously.
  - stouset 3y ago
    This is irrelevant. You said > This [USB-C] is unquestionably the best physical port. It is not. USB 3.0 is unquestionably better than the USB 2.0 supported by Lightning devices, and you’ll get no argument from me there. But that is completely independent of the design of the physical port.
mwint 3y ago
My iPhone 14 charges fast enough. Any file transfers go over airdrop, which is fast enough. The port is smaller than USB-C. I can clean it by rummaging around in it with a toothpick and not worrying about breaking stuff. USB-C is an unambiguous downgrade for me, and I wish they had just welded an adapter into the port for EU customers.
fragmede 3y ago
Why does it have to do simply everything? What's that saying? Jack of all trades, master of none? The "meager" support that lightning supports means it's better suited for things that go in pockets where lint lives, than usb-c ever could be. That it's not an open standard is a problem, but let's be honest that it does have advantages over usb-c.
- ianburrell 3y ago
  Lightning only support USB2 data speeds. The iPad Pro or iPhone 15 Pro have USB3 data speeds because of USB-C (iPhone 15 only does USB2). People don't plug in their phones much, but it makes a big difference for the initial transfer. The Lightning AV adapter is limited speed to resolution it can support. The iPhone 15 supports 4K with USB-C. The advantage of USB-C that can use the same connector for your headphones, phone, to computer. You can use one charger and cables. The cables and adapters have multiple sources instead of just Apple.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    The iPhone 15 Pro supports USB3 speeds. The other ones didn't get the new SoC. I understand the advantage, thank you for mansplaining that it to me. I, too, will enjoy not having to have a mess of different cables to charge all my devices. I just wish that Apple wasn't such a bunch of proprietary dick heads about the lightning connector and their participation in defining the USB-C connector spec. We could have standardized on a receptacle that is easier to clean out, and harder to break with common household tools.
- JellyBeanThief 3y ago
  The U in USB stands for Universal. Doing everything is explicit in the name itself. And compared to how we connected things 15 years ago it's certainly master of all.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    I have a cable. It's got USB-C plugs on both ends. What can it do? Power? How much? Data? How much? Alternate mode? How long is it? How flexible is it? Can I charge my car with it? Use it to connect my Cisco router to my Juniper router in my IPX? What does the cable itself report it is capable of, vs what is it actually capable of? Don't get me wrong, I'm super happy that we're standardizing on something. I, too, have that box of old chargers "just in case" I have something that matches. I'm so happy that most of the laptops around me can be charged over usb-c. But they fucked up parts of implementation of it; it's jack of all trades, master of none.

olyjohn 3y ago

Additional anecdata. I've never had a USB-C issue. I have like 20 USB-C devices, even some super cheap-ass shit and none of them have ever had problems. Some of my lightning shit has loose connection problems, and sometimes they don't charge when you plug in until you wiggle them just right. I had to buy a new iPhone once because I could only get it to charge when I held the cable in the port at the right angle. This has happened with my cheap iPhone cables and the OEM ones that come with it. If you want to blame the cheap cables, then fine, but no cheap cables have ruined my USB-C devices.