During its presentation, Apple estimated that there are 2 billion of its power adapters out in the world, and “billions” of third-party chargers.īut let’s put that into perspective. Longtime Apple blogger John Gruber has argued in the past that it’s a more elegant and slightly thinner port which… sure, maybe? But is that enough reason to maintain the status quo if Apple cares as much about the environment as it claims? You probably already have a USB-C chargerĪpple’s core argument for taking the charger out of the box is that it avoids piling on accessories that a lot of people already own. Not only is USB-C used almost everywhere, it’s also hard to name something that Lightning actually does better. USB-C batteries are becoming commonplace and chargers are getting tiny and extremely capable - with up to 100 watts, a powerful battery or a charger the size of a deck of playing cards can sometimes power a laptop, tablet, and phone all at once.
#CAN MACBOOK USB C CHARGE OPHONE SERIES#
It’s used by game consoles like the Nintendo Switch, and it’ll be used with both the PS5 and the Xbox Series X’s controllers when those consoles ship next month. It’s used by over-ear headphones, true wireless earbuds, VR headsets, tablets (including some of Apple’s), laptops (including all of Apple’s) and laptop accessories.
In 2020, USB-C is about as universal as wired connection standards come.
USB-C is the worst connection standard, apart from all the others To borrow a famous turn of phrase, USB-C is the worst connection standard. Its naming scheme has been a mess (the current USB standard is called USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 for chrissake), and there are so many bad USB-C cables in the wild that some people have made it their mission to root out the worst of them.
I’ll be the first to admit that USB-C isn’t a perfect standard. Image: Apple USB-C is already becoming the standard Apple argues no charging brick makes for smaller, more efficient, packaging. And as the lack of headphone jacks on 2020’s flagship smartphones shows, Apple’s decisions also have a huge influence on the rest of the industry. Chargers might make up a relatively small proportion of total e-waste, as Wired notes, but on a global basis, that’s still tens of thousands of metric tons annually. It’s a relatively small change for each person buying an iPhone, but it’s massive when you consider the fact that Apple shipped almost 200 million iPhones over the past year, according to IDC. Or better still, Apple could remove the cable entirely and just ship the phone by itself, eliminating even more duplicitous waste. Right away, that Lightning to USB-C cable would turn into a much more useful USB-C to USB-C cable that could charge basically all of your electronics. I think Apple’s approach is generally a good thing, but it should have gone further by switching away from its proprietary Lightning port entirely and fully embracing USB-C. So going forward, those boxes will just come with a phone and a Lightning to USB-C cable. Giving out fewer “free” accessories with every phone means using less materials, the company claims, and also makes for smaller boxes that can be shipped more efficiently. Apple says the reasons are environmental. If you buy an iPhone in the future, you’re not getting an included charging brick or earbuds.