Why the iPhone could lose its Lightning port

There are rumors circulating, because rumors are always circulating, that Apple is going to kill the Lightning port on the iPhone. Not to replace it with USB-C, no … just kill it to see all the cables die.

Now, it probably won’t be with any of the iPhone 12 models released this year. However, maybe as soon as the next iPhone next year. The entire industry is moving in that way, not just Apple.

Many people hate the idea. A couple likes it a little. I … I just want to explain it.

But why?

Almost four years ago, Apple removed the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7. HTC had plenty of phones without headphone jacks years before Apple, including the first Android phone, but when Apple does, because they handle a lot of product, it only gets a lot of headlines.

Apple’s argument was that the 3.5mm jack was an old, outdated uni-tasker and that anything its own Lightning port could do could do better. Except, you know, working with crossover headsets and allowing simultaneous charging and audio without a security device.

It also improved water resistance because although almost all ports are sealed these days, you are supposed to dry them before plugging in anything electrical, and many people just don’t. So you still have corrosion and occasionally shorts.

The same with the Start button that Apple replaced the same year. They removed the mechanical switch and replaced it with a proprioceptive lie, a Tactical response that only made him feel like he was clicking.

Because those mechanical switches wore out in a way that virtual feedback presumably wouldn’t. The same goes for other companies that replace the side buttons with grips and the like.

Now if Apple had used that moment in history, the moment they removed the headphone jack, to switch from Lightning to USB-C as well, to something that almost all devices would make standard, and would allow to connect almost any headphone to, although at the expense of the burden, perhaps the world would be very different right now.

But, for a variety of reasons I explained a few weeks ago, that simply did not happen. AirPods happened instead. And, the following year, inductive load.

So, we are left with the Lightning port. And now that could disappear and for the same reasons.

To simplify production and water resistance. To reduce complexity and mechanical failure. To prevent people from connecting cables that wear out in ports that get wet and dirty. And, of course, to prevent bad actors from connecting cables to try to extract private data.

To take another step into the wireless world … or if we are not ready yet, take a more irritating push.

What about the cargo?

So if Apple removes the Lightning port, we will obviously have to inductively charge. What some people call wirelessly. But since I still have to plug a charger cable into the wall, I’m still going to call it inductively.

The Palm Pre was launched on the market with inductive charging more than a decade ago. Several Android phones have had it for almost as long. Apple introduced its version with the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, and fortunately it stuck to the Qi standard.

Now, although Qi chargers are standard, they are not ubiquitous, they are not like old USB-A or new USB-C adapters.

They’re bigger, too, because instead of just a small USB-C or Lightning connector on the end, they have a big horn hockey puck to stick on top of your phone.

And, if you are trying to use your phone while charging it, Qi chargers also make it much more difficult.

They are also not as efficient as plug-in chargers. In other words, they don’t transfer power either, so you get all the heat without all the charge, and that’s not so good for long-term battery health.

But, most quick chargers aren’t great for battery health, either, and many people still get very excited about them anyway, because for many people convenience now outweighs longevity later on. So…

¯_ (ツ) _ / º¯

All this to say that although the inductive load is not perfect, this part at least is a solved problem.

What about data transfers?

Once upon a time, you used to have to connect your iPhone to your computer to transfer anything and everything. Your music doesn’t matter, even your contacts. Seriously. Ask your grandparents.

But then, starting with iOS 5, Apple brought the iPhone to iCloud, and most of our data started syncing. The same with the services of Google, Microsoft and many, many others. Eventually up to and including passwords, photos and videos, documents and more.

With iOS 8, we got continuity, so we were able to Air Drop files, positional transfer status in apps, connection without … a connection …

And the broadcast began to beat downloads and cable sync, from Spotify to Apple Music, Netflix to Apple TV, Kindle to Apple Books.

Cable connections are still much, much faster. But Apple never included the fastest, most modern wired connections on iPhones.

Wireless, on the other hand, is a completely different story. Apple has always been among the first to add better and faster wireless connections, including Wi-Fi 6 on the latest iPhones.

That means that even a couple of minutes of 4K video is not devious to transfer. But anything longer … and probably something 8K when that turns into something, it probably still will be.

So again, it’s not a perfect replacement for wiring. A significant utility is marketed for added convenience. But it is also a problem solved.

What about troubleshooting?

Where things start to get complicated is with both basic and DFU system restores. You know, when a software update or something else goes wrong and you have to connect to iTunes or the Finder and factory reset and recharge your iPhone. How would you plug in without a plug for …?

Apple Watch and Apple TV have hidden ports, but they are only intended for an AppleCare technician. And as frustrating as it is to have to bring or send your watch or TV for repair, it will be even more frustrating to have to do that with your phone.

And this is currently an unsolved problem. At least on the iPhone. Apple will introduce something pretty new and cool on Apple Silicon Macs later this year:

Basically a standalone, minimal macOS environment in a hidden container that allows you to reinstall macOS, including macOS Recovery if necessary.

Could it work for an iPhone with iOS and a form of on-board internet recovery and iOS recovery utility?

We’ll have to wait and see, but let me know your thoughts in the comments.

What about my% ^ $ and accessories?

Another problem is the existing accessories. When Apple switched from the 30-pin Dock connector to the Lightning port in 2012, people were crazy.

They had all kinds of cables and docks and sound systems and systems in the car with Dock connectors on them, and they didn’t really appreciate the one-way ticket to Dongle Town. Sorry, pedants, sorry. Adapter-ville. And that was after a decade of 30 pins.

That has also been one of the main arguments against the use of USB-C: all the main iPhone owners, who are only dedicated to their business, and if they change their ports, they will cut it.

Now imagine what they will do if you don’t just swap them, you remove them entirely.

People who use HDMI or other AV adapters, or camera kits, or connect microphones or god, CarPlay.

Apple can count on the time and new features that make some of that obsolete. But CarPlay? Even with the wireless version starting to come out, the wired OG version won’t go anywhere for a decade.

So what’s the answer there, an Apple to Lightning wireless adapter, sorry adapter such as the AirPods to a 3.5mm headphone jack that some of us were using on planes?

If you think there had better be good answers for all of this before we see any of that, leave a comment below.

How about security?

On the other hand, in addition to eliminating a potential point of mechanical failure, eliminating the Lightning port also eliminates a potential attack vector.

We have seen physical access translate into digital access numerous times over the years.

Compromised accessories, wicked domestic workers, and people trying to trick users into connecting to malicious charging terminals is the reason Apple added “Do you Trust” pop-ups to iOS a few years ago.

Similarly, companies that collect and sell iOS exploits also lease or sell boxes that try to get in over a hard cable.

Deleting that access suddenly won’t make iPhone intrusion-proof, but it will mitigate those kinds of intrusions.

And, if Apple receives an illegitimate search and seizure request that requires them to help get into a device, they can respond in the most favorite way: It’s not that we don’t, it’s that we can’t do it.