Apple greed over innovation?
The Apple October event has concluded and Apple have shown off the all-new MacBook Pros. Apple has clearly demonstrated how to use the past to push their products further into the future with the all too familiar design of MacBook Pro M1 Pro/Max. I want to focus on their most important product which are still stuck in the past, the iPhone 13.
The iPhone 13 was announced at the September 2021 event, supporting up to a 1TB of storage. A pro camera array able to record up to 4K HDR video, Apple is even marketing the camera to be capable of recording a cinematic film. This all sounds perfect to the “pro” user; unfortunately, the elephant in the room is Apple still insists on using the outdated Lightning port despite introducing USB-C on the 2015 MacBook. Lightning sports USB 2.0 speeds with a maximum transfer speed of 480Mbps, a very disappointing speed to transfer all that high quality 4k footage. So, why does Apple continue using the outdated Lightning port? Simple because money.
Let’s take a quick dive into the past, back in 2012. Apple changed from the 30-pin connector to the 8-pin lightning connector, which at the time was very innovative, sporting a symmetrical design allowing the cable to be inserted into a device in any direction. This is such a convenient design choice compared to other options at the time such as Micro-USB. Device makers widely adopted Micro-USB, this cable was not without its flaws. In a nutshell, Micro-USB was rubbish. The connector could only slot into a device one way, which made it slightly annoying to plug in and could even damage the connectors pins if the user forced the cable in the wrong way.
Fast-forward back to 2021 and device makers have adopted USB-C with open arms, except for Apple. I’ve been in the situation of needing to charge my device while being the only iPhone user in the group and being offered a USB-C cable, it’s frustrating to say the least. Apple themselves are making the situation awkward because they support USB-C on their iPad and MacBook lineup, further making their decision on keeping Lightning even more mind-boggling.
Now back to question of why Apple keeps ignoring criticism and continues to use Lightning on its products. Apple offers a licence for third-party companies to use the lightning connector on their products, and Apple earns revenue from device makers. I agree, a business has to make money, that goes without saying. What I don’t agree with is when a company’s decision is impacting the quality of their product, and Apple has continued to ignore the growing criticism from users over the lightning port over the last few years.
In the past, a number of argument in favour of Lightning has been stated such as “USB-C would make the thicker”, despite current iPhone’s getting thicker with the Lightning port. Even the iPad family uses USB-C, and those devices are thinner than the current iPhones. Thankfully, the defence of Lightning is starting to fizzle out, unfortunately Apple arrogance is holding strong.
Apple’s arrogance has got so bad that even the EU has stepped in proposing a connector standard for electronic device such as phones, headphones etc. Ultimately, forcing Apple to finally replace the outdated Lightning connector for USB-C. It’s a shame it has taken governments to step in to make Apple do what they should have done years ago. Apple has always touted as being the industry leader; unfortunately, I believe this is one example of their greed blinding them from giving their users what they want.
I don’t believe Apple will allow this licence revenue to just disappear especially with rumours of a port-less iPhone coming, Apple seems to want to avoid adopting USB-C on future iPhones and keep that sweet revenue passage coming. Apple will bank on MagSafe, which avoids the proposed piece of legislation, as it does not cover wireless charging. MagSafe is not the answer as wireless charging in it current state is still in its infancy, sporting slow charging and overall being inefficient.
You may read this with the opinion of me being bitter because I have to carry around an extra cable, but USB-C is the evolution of the Lightning connector. It’s time for Apple to put aside their stubbornness and embrace innovation again.
What do you think? Do you believe this is the correct move for the EU to make? Do you believe forcing device makers to a single standard will be a good thing in the long run?
