Apple down to just three products with Lightning connector
With all of the news devices announced at the “It’s Glowtime” event, Apple has now transitioned all of its flagship products to USB-C. However, the proprietary Lightning connector does live one in three remaining products.
The Lightning connector was first announced in 2012 alongside the iPhone 5 as a replacement for yet another proprietary charger—the bulky and prone-to-failure 30-pin connector. Not only was Lightning much smaller, creating more space inside devices for other components (like bigger batteries), it also raised the standard for durability. Plus it was reversible, so whichever way you plugged it in, it would fit…
[T]he steady move to USB-C actually started on Apple’s own say-so, in 2018 with the iPad Pro. In 2020, the iPad Air followed suit, then the iPad Mini in 2021. Whether Apple would’ve eventually moved the iPhones over, too, we’ll never know, because in 2022 the European Union stepped in and passed a law that meant phones, cameras, and tablets sold in the region had to pack a USB-C port by the end of this year. Apple said it would comply, but it wasn’t happy about it, stating that such strict regulation “stifles innovation.”
Aside from older, legacy iPhones and the first-gen Apple Pencil that remain on sale, the only current-generation products being sold that boast a Lightning connection are the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad.
MacDailyNews Take: Expect the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad to transition to USB-C as soon as this year, perhaps during an Apple Mac-focused special event in October.
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