this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2023
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The switch to USB-C is good! Except for all the dongles you’ll need to get there.

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[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 59 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)
[–] Clent@lemmy.world 29 points 2 years ago

Can't stoke outrage with honesty.

[–] orca@orcas.enjoying.yachts 25 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I love a lot of Apple’s products, but their wires are easily the worst of the worst. They’re expensive and made to fall apart after like 6 months.

[–] coffeebiscuit@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I’m still using the cable that came with the 5s. What are you doing with the cables?

[–] vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The main predictor of cable wear is whether people are using the phone while the cable is attached.

If you just leave it to charge they will last for u years. If you continue to use them while they are charging, life span of the cable is measured in weeks.

[–] BornVolcano@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Is that specific to the lightning or also the usb-c?

[–] vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

It’s specific to cables, and matter in general. More motion is more strain is more wear.

[–] BornVolcano@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Fair enough!

[–] Astroturfed@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago

I've had several fall apart from usual wear and tear. If you roll them up, pack them, run them on things, pull them in and out of bags/pockets etc they wear down pretty quickly compared to even mid range aftermarket cables. I have some nice baided cables Ive had for 10+ years. I can't imagine and apple one lasting that. Unless it just sits plugged into an outlet all the time, any cable last forever like that.

[–] orca@orcas.enjoying.yachts 4 points 2 years ago

Connecting to my car’s head unit.

[–] theKalash@feddit.ch 20 points 2 years ago (3 children)

But if you want to really get all the juice in and out of your new iPhone, especially if you’re buying a 15 Pro or Pro Max, you’ll need the $69 Thunderbolt 4 Pro Cable

I mean, that is an outright lie. There is nothing a TB4 cable would add over a USB 3.2 cable here.

[–] lustrum@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 years ago

Hell it's talking about juice, a £5 amazon basic USB PD cable with 2.0 speeds will support up to 65w (25w on iphone due to their own limits)

[–] LifeInOregon@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

Yeah, the linked article is manufactured FUD.

[–] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one -3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The premise of the article is you buying an adapter from Apple to make your old stuff work with the new phone and highlighting how ridiculously priced they are. It's not a lie, as this is the actual price of the adapter. Sure, you can buy third-party stuff just like you can buy a phone from a different manufacturer and avoid the issue altogether, but that's obvious, no?

[–] theKalash@feddit.ch 8 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Not talking about an adapter, but a simple usb-c to usb-c cable with usb 3.2 standard, They are basically wothless. I have a about 30 of them sitting in a box at the office.

There is simply no reason why you would need an expensive thunderbolt 4 cable to charge a phone or transfere data at 10Gbps. Either these "journalists" are lying or they don't understand USB.

[–] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one -1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

A) you obviously glossed over (or intentionally omitted) the very next paragraph when you quoted the article in your original comment.

(I should remind you here that the beauty of USB-C is that Apple’s not the only company in charge of it. There are tons of cables out there, and for most people, there’s no reason you should need the mega-fast ones anyway. Just get the charger that matches your charging speed and your wall plug, and you’re golden.)

B) if this product had no use, Apple wouldn't have spent money manufacturing it.

C) if this cable is useless, what cheaper alternative does Apple offer that is capable of giving you both fast charging speed and fast data transfer speed?

[–] theKalash@feddit.ch 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

A. I'm not ommitting it. It still suggests that there would a benefit of using a TB4 cable. There isn't.

B. The product is very useful if you want to connect something with actual thunderbolt 4 capabilites. Like laptop to a docking station. It's just that in the case using the higher-standard cable doesn't add anything overusing a cheaper one.

C. If you just care about charging, you can get a offical apple cable for $20. They don't sell USB 3.2 cables from what I can see in their shop. So bascially if you want to use the new IPhones max transfer speed (which is just double what what you can do with the cheap one) they force you to buy a cable that is 10x more capable and costs 4x as much.

But you can could get a cable that can utilise the full capacity for around $10 bucks from Samsung or other major brands.

[–] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

It still suggests that there would a benefit of using a TB4 cable. There isn't.

They don't sell USB 3.2 cables from what I can see in their shop. So bascially if you want to use the new IPhones max transfer speed (which is just double what what you can do with the cheap one) they force you to buy a cable that is 10x more capable and costs 4x as much.

Please refer back to my original comment stating the premise of the article. You just described the exact reason why they included this cable in the article (including your phrasing of 'forced to buy'). It's because Apple doesn't offer you any alternative.

[–] theKalash@feddit.ch 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

So why not properly mention alternatives? What's your point here? Because this basically just confirms this is thinly veiled apple ad.

[–] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Strange ad considering they're mocking Apple's high prices and telling you there are cheaper alternatives out there but okay.

[–] theKalash@feddit.ch 1 points 2 years ago

Yeah "mockingly" suggesting you all the expensive apple products you don't actually need.

[–] Natanael@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This cable is for stuff like docking stations for laptops with multiple 4K displays

[–] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 1 points 2 years ago

That's true but Apple doesn't offer any alternative cable apart from "charging cables."

[–] comador@lemmy.world 20 points 2 years ago (3 children)

and yet people will still buy them.

[–] Rustmilian@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

Brand name obsession is one hell of a drug.

[–] doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 years ago

I mean, yeah. I use Android because I hate Apple's walled garden and smug attitude, but when I was shopping for a phone recently it kinda became clear how Apple has gotten their market share in North America.

Android manufacturers simply refuse to use sensible naming schemes and many of the best Android phones aren't available in the US at all. Not to mention a constant push to follow Apple up whatever blind alley they happen to be going in at the time. I'm still salty about headphones jacks.

[–] brihuang95@sopuli.xyz -1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Apple fanboys are the definition of sheep

[–] kitonthenet@kbin.social 14 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I don't need any of these, I already have the USB-C cables for my laptop, that was the whole point of switching to USB-C. Also in the cover photo is that a USB-C to USB-C dongle? What use is that??

[–] ram@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Nah it's a $29 USB-C to Lightning dongle

[–] kitonthenet@kbin.social 11 points 2 years ago (1 children)

That's kinda dumb but also incredibly niche, prob low volume

[–] ripcord@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago

I'm sure they're hoping people will buy them to connect to existing Lightning cables for charging, but the main use would be connecting to a handful of lightning-based peripherals.

Yes, niche use.

[–] KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 2 years ago

In other news: Water is wet

Though it should be pointed out, this article is a little wonky. No iPhone needs a thunderbolt 4 charging cable.

[–] SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I simply can not fathom the obsession people have with Apple products when they so egregiously price gouge their customers.

I'm not a fan of their MacOS based products, but I prefer iOS for the fact that I can rely on getting timely updates. For a good long while. That is not something that is generally true with Android. I'm fine with paying for that level of support.

Last time I looked, no Android vendors provided close to the same level of support.

That said, if I was a business and needed to field in house apps to mobile devices, everyone would be getting an Android device. Custom apps for iOS are a pain in the ass.

[–] IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)
[–] db2@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 years ago (3 children)

A physically smaller Minisforum UM480XT with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD is $249.

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[–] GigglyBobble@kbin.social 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

And yet, people buy iPhones instead of 3 Mac minis.

[–] IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

People buy expensive Android phones too. What’s your point?

[–] GigglyBobble@kbin.social 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

My point is that Apple is price gouging.

Neither one counter example nor whataboutism change the fact that Apple products are overpriced in general (and always have been). Or how do you explain their unparalleled profit margins?

[–] IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

What a ridiculous argument. They make as much money as the market will bear. Anything else would be a disservice to their shareholders.

[–] GigglyBobble@kbin.social 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yeah. Well, the whole point since the top level comment has been that people are willing to pay too much for their hardware...

I give up. Stay happy with your overpriced devices.

[–] IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago

I’m glad you give up. I’ll continue to pay for devices that provide me with an appropriate level of quality for their cost. Feel free to use whatever Android device you can afford.

[–] MeanEYE@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

All this arguing aside, good job EU. Good legislation at work right there. Whether people claim it's better or not everyone in the end wins. Single adapter used with all devices, single cable provided for charging and data transfers. Simplicity and eco friendly. Everybody wins, especially iPhone users since now they don't have to deal with shitty cables costing 40$ which fall apart 3 months after purchase.