iPhone 15 may get USB-C, but the rest of the world isn’t ready for USB-C yet

[PROXCON]

This article is so bad, that it literally made me create an account so that I could ‘toss’ some stuff.

1. eWaste? That’s exactly what a lightning cable’s short life is. We have so many of them because we already know they are going to crap out!
2. Unless you plan on throwing out your old phone, maybe you should keep whatever lightning cables that are still usable.
3. COST! A USB-C cable costs a fraction of what a lightning cable costs.
4. QUALITY! It’s always questionable when buying a 3rd party lightning cable; compared to the idea of buying a simple USB-C cable.
5. TIME! Can I have 5 minutes of my life back?
6. Does this individual struggle packing a travel luggage?
7. Apple’s eWaste concerns should apply to their fully functioning appliances that they kill off when they render them useless without support. The greed to get you to buy another.

 

[DJVT585]

Just get a better cord/“adapter”, and also maybe have a good portable battery. Stupid article.

 

[San Pedro]

Ahahahaha. I haven't bothered to comment on an article here or on Tomshardware in a while, but this article is quite the thing. It's not like USB-C has just appeared or that there are not a plethora of USB-A to USB-C cables available. The convenience of using a USB A (or C) to Lighting cable is no different than using a USB to USB cable, except that one cable will work with all your devices and one is only for your phone.

 

[JohnnyB75]

I wish the author wrote about the real problem with USB-C; USB-C is a standard for the interface but doesn't specify the protocol. While I know my Pixel 6 Pro will charge USB-A to USB-C, it will not charge rapidly as Pixel 6 and higher require Power Direct protocol for quick/rapid charging which is not available on a USB-A interface. Qualcomm Quick Charge protocol used by a lot of other phone manufacturers and is compatible with USB-A to USB-C and USB-C to USB-C (on some third party charges). Some phone manufacturers support both PD and QC charging but unfortunately Google Pixel doesn't.

It becomes really tricky when you start talking about Apple because Apple is pushing the Thunderbolt protocol. Now MacBook USB-C ports are Thunderbolt compatible but standard USB-C to USB-C cables do not have to support Thunderbolt, even having a USB3.2 C-to-C cable that supports 100W doesn't guarantee that is support Thunderbolt. The big question is what protocol are Apple going to use for iPhone charging? Power Direct, Quick Charge or something else, as stated the EU requirement is for the USB-C interface not for the protocol that will be used. This might not reduce the amount of e-waste and just lead to more and more confusion as you'll be able to plug in but not charge or not charge rapidly.

BTW I like the USB-C standard and it's support for multiple protocols but the lack of labelling and certification is going to make all these USB-C plugs and cables a nightmare.

 

[Santoja]

I'm really confused about this article.
Almost all the phones that have usb-c, came with a usb-a, usb-c cable.. I don't even think that it's called adapter.

Almost all devices use usb-c now days: Nintendo switch, playstation 5, modern PCs, tablets (even ipad) uses usb-c and are most likely to come with one usb-c/usb-a cable.. I really didn't get what all that surprise came from

 

[Ivoee]

Had to make an account to comment after reading this... drivel. Whoever decided this was worthy of publication on a tech website deserves to get fired. Complete falsehoods peppered with idiotic choices that clearly demonstrate the "author's" complete lack of knowledge on anything tech. Tom's Guide lost any credibility it had left with this nonsense.

 

[Mvipe]

I also had to register just to comment. I have read here for years but now I'm done.

Note to the author, convert your plug, not the phone cord.... Google universal plug adapter. Nearly all modern phone charging blocks auto adapt from 120v to 240v....... An entire article to show the world that you can't do a simple Google search for the answer to a common problem. Not only for phones but laptops or any other gadget.

 

[Bobs_toys]

This is absolutely the dumbest article I've ever read on Tom's, as well as the most incorrect conclusion I've ever read on this site.

It was such a dumb article that I actually registered this account just to remark on how dumb it was.

Me too!

 

[MartyEF333]

What a dumb article - and that's putting it mildly. I sincerely hope this was meant as a joke, because, well, how can you take it seriously?
Just as others, I had to register just to say this. I used to think Toms Guide was respectable - but this is idiotic.

 

[GPaton]

Like other readers, I've been a long time reader of Tom's Guide, previously considering it an educated source for Tech information, but had to create this account so that I could leave a comment. Sanjana, your journalism sucks. You demonstrate a complete lack of general knowledge and present a misleading and self biased article. Any confidence I had in Tom's Guide being a reliable source is now defunct. Congrats.

 

[Flapface]

So glad to see the backlash on this article. I used to trust this site, I will now remove it from my feeds. Idiotic.

 

[bobbert29]

yes I agree with everyone else here Xiaomi charges at 120w with a, A to C cable , actually faster then using a C to C, who cares how long your phone take to charge when your stuck in a airplane seat, and that's the 5v x1 amp= 5watts or if they say fast charge 2.4amp max like 12watts, you should be bringing that to the attention of the world, just because your iPhone never charged faster then that it was never a problem, try charge a laptop on a aeroplane with a A to C my xioami 67watt a to C charges my laptop effortlessly,

 

[DrPlanarian]

Honestly? You went on an international trip without first obtaining the appropriate converters? Don't blame USB-C.

 

[gierso]

10 hours of continuous use is an underwhelming battery life?
Weird, itsbut definitively not underwhelming at all

 

[Ki osoo]

Wow had to register just to comment on this one. Usb c is great. We're finally hitting Cristal mass where usb c will start to be standard on planes cars everything. A airline is not going to retrofit it aircraft to usb c just so people don't need to use a usb b to c cable. (Of which I must have 12 of lying around... ) What is the complaint here that the pixel should be a micro usb untill every plug in the world is usb c then change...


come on

 

[Aasikki]

What in the world.... Thks article makes no sense and needs to be deleted as it's really really misleading. News flash: planes or travel adapters don't have lightning ports eather. Ever looked at the other end of a lightning cable? Yes, that indeed is usb A there. Why wouldn't you just buy a normal usb c to usb a cable?

 

[Burriteo]

At this point, I'm echoing many who already said it here. Have been a long time reader here and signed up just to say this has to be the worst (opionated?) and error-filled article here ever. How does a supposed tech writer never actually thought of buying a direct USB-C to USB-A cable which is easily available? That solves practically the whole issue brought up in article. That was such an awful strawman FUD statement.

And saying that USB-C is just 33% faster than Lightning is just wrong. USB-C is the connector type. What should have been referred here is USB protocol version that determines the transfer speed, which is either USB 2, 3 and 4 because the cable can still be USB 2 and Type-C in the same time. Even if the writer was thinking of USB 3, the (theoretical) transfer speed is almost 10 times that of Lightning and that increases to 45 times with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (urgh). So not sure where that 33% faster even came from.

Tom's should mandate that a lead editor to proofread and check to ensure inaccuracies like these never get published on the website.

 

[Stigmaru]

What kind of stupid is this? A USB C cable user will run into the same issues described as a lightning cable user in this article. Sure it's annoying if all you have is a USB C to USB C cable but most ppl have been using a USB A to USB C cable and/or USB C with a AC charger at airports/cafes etc. That USB A port on the Airplane touch screen is a non issue because you should have a USB A to USB C cable as a standard cable anyways. What you are asking for is a USB C to USB C or USB C to USB C PD aka fast charging. Good luck with anywhere having that or even Apple IQ. This infrastructure problem has largely been caused because we all had to baseline USB A as a standard universal port because Apple went ahead and created the lightening port to lock consumers into their ecosystem. Otherwise the world is would have moved from USB A to USB C everywhere a lot sooner.

You should really be traveling with a battery bank anyways. This writer should really learn more about technology.

 

[UseAnyName]

This editor also published an article a few days ago about traveling with AirTags to India during the recent holidays. So they are leaving out the part where they had a second phone with them, one which also needed to use these USB-A ports adapted to Lightning. Given that context this article appears to be deceptive, not just ill -informed.

 

[Caio Costa Cordeiro]

I purposely created an account here just to comment how dumb this article is. I started reading it and my first thought was "Why did the author bought a converter instead of an USB-C to USB-A cable?" And ended the reading thinking "but the other end of the Lighting cable that ships with the iPhones are USB-C too, from a couple generations already, so the problem will exist anyway".

On the charge speed side of the discussion, the speeds will be slow no matter the cable or the plug, cause this public USB ports in airports or planes or cafeterias will all be caped to deliver only 5W, 10W or 15W if you're lucky, but not above it. And they would still deliver this even if it is an USB-C port.

 

[N3rdalert]

I don’t usually comment on Tom‘s. In fact, I made an account just to do so for this article. I don’t understand how this happened. This is embarrassing and unprofessional in the extreme this “tech” editor on a what I would’ve considered formally a top tech website knows absolutely nothing about what they’re talking about. I hope that this article was not publisher checked because if it was you got two in one problems going on here. On a sidenote, I’m sorry the doodler of this article had trouble finding C charge ports, but I’ll be honest I can’t remember the last time I saw a lightning charge port.