On the first day of the iPhone, as in previous years, there were still a large number of consumers lining up in different apple stores everywhere, and the store staff were busy setting up their brand-new iPhone 12 for these first customers.

New machines also have an old taste. When you import the old model data into a new mobile phone, you will find that the speed is still not fast whether it is full backup or wireless transmission. The network environment of Apple store is crowded and mixed, and it can not provide a good enough experience. In case of wechat data migration, the fastest way may be to open hot connection.

At this time, many people may think, if the iPhone supports the direct connection of two mobile phones by wire, would it be a better way?

The answer is no, because the iPhone's lightning interface is only USB 2.0 speed, it is difficult to meet the growing capacity consumption of iPhone users.

Why can't lightning interface be faster?

The question is, why can't lightning interface be faster?

The core reason is that the design of the lightning interface is too old today. The lightning interface was born in 2012 and was originally used on the iPod touch 5 and iPhone 5, which has been a design for quite some years.

Although the plug can be plugged in and out in reverse, there is only one side, that is, the eight pins can play a role. Moreover, if you look at the base of the mobile phone with a flashlight, you can see that there are only one side contacts inside.

In fact, only two pins are used for data transmission, and it is not a high-speed channel. As a result, the actual speed of lightning is only USB 2.0 level, with the highest 480mbps and the highest power is only 36W (data in doubt).

At present, usb-c plug, which has been widely used, has 12 pins on one side and 24 pins on the front and back sides. Both sides are available at the same time. Even if the four pins used for USB 2.0 compatibility are excluded, it is still far ahead of lightning.

USB 3.2 why 2

This can be achieved because usb-if constantly updates the USB 3. X standard in the form of usb-c interface, and the result of the joint efforts of all hardware and accessories manufacturers, the next generation of USB4 is still in the form of usb-c port. However, a high-speed channel composed of four pins can provide 20gbps bandwidth, and the dual channel can reach 40Gbps, which is the standard of thunderbolt 3.

The ability of usb-c interface has been greatly improved in recent years due to constant updating of standards. However, at the same time, there are also great confusion in online materials and function support, which will be discussed in the next article.

Lightning plug. Photo from AnandTech

In recent years, Apple has not updated the MFI certification with lightning interface as the core. In the current R32 support documents, there have been many changes in the power adapter, including the introduction of C to l cable, etc., but it has not redesigned the core lightning interface, which has led to the fact that its upper limit has not been raised.

However, not all lightning interfaces do not support USB 3.0. In fact, apple added USB 3.0 support for lightning for the first time on the 2015 model of iPad Pro 12.9 inch. However, this USB 3.0 interface can not cooperate with any lightning wire to realize high-speed transmission. Only one lightning to SD card adapter can reflect the speed of USB 3.0.

In addition to the built-in USB 3.0 controller, whether the interface has been modified is not known for the time being. Some people speculate that the USB 3.0 standard may be realized on the base, but the pins of lightning wire are not enough.

All in all, Apple seems to have tried to make the lightning interface support USB3.0, but in the end, it may be easier to connect to usb-c directly.

From lightning to usb-c, paving the way for professionalism

Even if the volume of usb-c port is larger than lightning, it is undoubtedly a better choice than lightning in terms of many protocols and specifications supported. In fact, apple didn't reject usb-c completely, and it took the lead in carrying usb-c on the 2018 iPad pro.

Why the iPad Pro instead of the iPhone, which sells better and has more users? In addition to the huge benefits behind MFI certified accessories, I think it is Apple's definition of product function that makes it have to "give up".

The iPad Pro 2018 is considered to be the most classic iPad pro in recent years. The simplest argument is that after the launch of iPad Pro 2020, this veteran nearly two years ago has not been eliminated. On the contrary, the popularity of the new iPad Pro has made the magic keyboard a part of the market. However, since the 2018 model also supports a smart keyboard, the need for a new iPad Pro becomes even less necessary.

It was almost at that time in 2018 that the iPad Pro was really defined as a "professional device" for professional users, and usb-c port was a necessary part of it. The speed of video transmission to users after 4K can't be tolerated.

However, it also makes me feel that Apple should replace the usb-c port for this year's iPhone, or at least the Pro Series. After strenuous efforts to update the publicity video system and support 4K HDR Dolby visual field format, the iPhone 12 series may be the only device that can complete the pre shooting, post editing, and sharing and forwarding. However, in the face of unstable wireless sharing, this kind of video with large capacity and complex data should be provided with a stable and high-speed cable transmission mode, because the iPhone pro Series is also "professional equipment".

At the same time, it can solve another pain point of iPhone users: insufficient charging power.

But for now, apple didn't plan to do that. Instead, it switched to a different path, adding MagSafe to this year's iPhone 12 series.

MagSafe is the next Apple accessories Empire

Since the iPhone 8 generation, it has been rumored every year that the next iPhone will replace the usb-c interface. I believe that among a large number of Apple's internal prototypes, there must be some designs that use usb-c interface, but they have not been replaced today, which mainly affects the two functions of data transmission and charging speed.

If airdrop can play well in Apple's eco devices in terms of data transmission, fast charging means that the interface itself needs to be redesigned at the physical level. But the biggest reason why Apple is still dragging and not replacing is probably the accessory ecology.

This year MagSafe magnetic suction charging may be the beginning of Apple's elimination of lightning interface. However, the peak speed of 15W is still quite "heart piercing". If we can achieve the commercial 50W already on the market, I think there will be many more people who support MagSafe magnetic charging to eliminate lightning interface.

As for why to force MagSafe instead of directly replacing usb-c, it is naturally very simple, because usb-c is also the standard of usb-if home, how can it have its own fragrance. What Apple needs is the next accessory empire that can be controlled by itself after the decline of lightning. Wireless charging represents the future, and the combination of MagSafe MagSafe's "Resurrection" and wireless charging is just following the trend.

In terms of practical experience, MagSafe magnetic charging experience is between wired charging and wireless charging board, which is more flexible than charging board, and does not need to "place play". Compared with wired charging board, MagSafe does not need to plug in or plug-in interface.

MagSafe magnetic suction charging. Image from hypebae

Of course, Apple has deliberately adopted this form of MagSafe charging in order to avoid breaking the existing charging habits of users. For example, some users like to play while charging, so as to cultivate more users' habit of wireless charging. The double gap between 7.5W and 15W, as well as the accessory price of 329 yuan, meet Apple's demand of making money and allowing users to choose MagSafe first.

As a commercial consideration, I have to say that this idea is actually very good, which almost maximizes the layout of Apple's accessories business in the present and future.

And beyond apple's expectation, may be domestic Android manufacturers in charge power "crazy ". With a peak of 25 W for rivals like Samsung alone, even if the 45 W, gap in individual models is still acceptable to most users, domestic Android directly drag wired charging power to more than 120 W and wireless charging power to 50 W. And next year, wired and wireless charging total power of 200 W I am afraid there will be no only one model.

For apple, this huge gap is a formidable enemy of the iPhone.

After the launch of the iPhone 12, the verge, a foreign technology media, wrote an article lamenting: "forget 5g, MagSafe is the reason for you to buy iPhone 12"

"Every mobile phone can make its camera and performance better and better. 5g will naturally become the standard configuration of every mobile phone. However, no mobile phone manufacturer can provide the accessory ecology like the iPhone 12. "

Can iPhone replace lightning with a better usb-c before taking out the interface? I guess not, because MagSafe is the next big business.

Source: lifewire