GADGET obsessives can get wound up about anything – even cables.
Apple has ditched the Lightning connector from its new iPhone 15 this week and replaced it with something better.
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Critics will moan about the fact that you can’t use your old Lightning cables in the new USB-C port (without an adapter, anyway).
It’s a bit like complaining that your new smart TV won’t take DVDs. Right? The world is moving on.
I’m going to do my best to convince you that your old Lightning cables need to go the way of the dodo.
It’s time for a brighter USB-C future. Come join me on this journey to utopia.
What exactly is USB C?
If you’ve used any electronics in the last decade, you’ll know that USB is a type of connector.
USB-C, on the other hand, is a connector type, which has many advantages, including being smaller, more powerful, and faster.
USB-C was introduced in 2014, and it is widely used to charge gadgets and transfer data.
It is now common to see the port on cars, computers, and other consumer electronics.
There’s even one built into the wall of the hotel room where I’m writing this article.
Apple’s iPad and MacBook both support USB-C models Recent years have seen a rise in various types of cancer.
In fact, there’s every chance you have a few of these cables at home already.
Now Lightning ports – which first appeared in 2012 – have finally been scrapped from the iPhone too. It’s about time. USB-C is now available in place of them.
So why shouldn’t we be furious?
Do you remember that box of cables in your home?
Well that’s going to keep growing, only now it’s going to be full of the same beautiful cable: USB-C.
Isn’t that a Enjoy the best of both worlds with this thought? You’ll be able to plug all of your future gadgets into the same cable in the future?
Android and iPhone lovers can now enjoy a cable harmony like no other.
Your iPhone can run on the same cable that was just powering up your MacBook – and maybe even your PlayStation DualSense controller or beloved novelty desk fan.
The idea sounds absurd. I remember only yesterday when all the gadget manufacturers had their unique cables for each product.
I’ve still got cupboards full of strange cables whose origins escape me.
Naturally, I am afraid to throw them out in case I want to use a laptop that I haven’t used since 2008.
The cable-swamp life of the past will be soon a distant and strange memory, as all plugs are now USB-C to USB-C and vice versa.
Even if all this makes you angry, your anger shouldn’t go towards Apple. They didn’t really have a choice.
In the last year, EU legislators approved a bill that mandates gadget makers include USB-C as a standard on all new products.
Apple had already been required to change the date from 2024.
You will certainly create some eWaste in the very near future.
The EU is right to believe that it can reduce electronic waste over the long-term.
You’ll be able to tell your grandchildren about the selfless deed of buying an iPhone 15 and saving the planet. All heroes do not wear capes.
USB-C offers some advantages in terms of technical performance over Lightning.
USB-C can deliver higher data rates and power than Lightning. You can also transfer to another country. speeds.
It’s the ability to use one cable for everything that is really the biggest perk. That’s the dream, soon a reality.
So while we should rightly mourn the Lightning cable and the good times we had with it, it’s time to accept that it’s ultimately destined for the same fate as watching movies on VHS and using an abacus to count things.
I’ll USB-C you on the other side.