![]() ![]() Omdia puts laptop penetration for USB-C at 82 percent. It’s a similar story on laptops, where USB-C is getting much of the love these days, rather than the regular USB ports that have been on the machines for years. It is important to note that while a USB-C cable is backwards compatible with the other varieties of USB, the different connecting form factor means you will need a dongle or adapter to plug it into one of those ports. ![]() For now, smartphone penetration for USB-C is around 50 percent, according to the London global research firm Omdia. But the latest top-tier Android phones have mostly migrated to USB-C, though the same can't be said about lower-cost handsets, a situation that should change as the cost of USB-C falls. Many Android phones, even those just a few years old, have so-called mini-USB or micro-USB cables and ports, and while both are also smaller than regular USB, they are different from each other. This cord-connector conundrum afflicts Android, as well. Then again, on some recent tablets, Apple ditched Lightning for USB-C, meaning that one end of the cable goes into the USB-C port and the other into the USB-C power adapter, which is still supplied. If you have an iPad, it may have a Lightning port. USB-A is better known without the “A” suffix it’s just USB or regular USB to the average person. And USB-C is smaller and not to be confused with the familiar rectangular USB-A port that may be on your older power adapter, meaning the cord in the box won’t fit that adapter. The increasingly popular slim, oval-shaped USB Type-C connector is popping up on all kinds of devices. Apple supplies a Lightning-to-USB-C cable with the latest iPhones. If you have an iPhone, the answer could be yes, since the phones still employ Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector, which has been a staple on the company’s handsets since the iPhone 5 was released in 2012 (that’s when Apple replaced the 30-pin dock connector that had been on prior models).īut the answer can also be no. And of course, it would force millions of Lightning cables in landfills.The short answer is maybe, and it depends on the device. On the one hand, a standard charging solution would definitely be more convenient on the other, it all but eliminates the possibility that something better than USB-C could come along. There will be debate and pushback, and there are valid arguments to be made on both sides. For one, the proposal needs to go through the usual bureaucratic process, which involves debate by Parliament and national governments, then member states may suggest amendments to the proposal, which need to be individually considered and approved by the European Commission. And of course, iPhones have supported industry-standard Qi wireless charging for years.īut even if they didn’t, and even if the EU passes the proposal, it will still be years before Apple would theoretically be forced to comply. Last year, it introduced MagSafe, which is something of a proprietary wireless charging method. And Apple is already moving beyond Lightning for charging. ![]() Lightning crashesĪs 2022 rolls around, the number of Lightning devices is shrinking, Other than accessories and earbuds-Magic Mouse and Trackpad, and AirPods, which aren’t included in the proposal-only the iPhone and ninth-gen iPad have Lightning ports for charging. And it’ll stay that way regardless of what the EU does. Sometimes the rumors are that they’ll get USB-C, other times that it will rely solely on wireless charging, but with each new model, the tiny port remains. Ever since the iPad switched from Lightning to USB-C with the “all-screen” update in October 2018, there has been speculation that the iPhone will follow suit. ![]()
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