Dearly beloved , we are forgather here today to bid goodbye to a titan of technology , a revolutionary amongst rebels , a cognoscente of connections , taken from us too – well , perhaps nottoosoon . I utter , of course of study , of our friend and confrere , the Lightning cable .
There are those who will say that such a send - off is premature , but the writing is on the wall . When Apple unveil its up-to-the-minute iPhone next week , the expectation is that the venerable Lightning port will be replace by one of its eonian challenger , USB - C.
But let us not simply mourn what is being taken from us : let us instead remember and observe what Lightning did with its animation , the delight and happiness it institute to an intact ecosystem . Its front will not soon be bury .
iPhones started with a 30-pin connector (left), which was replaced by Lightning (middle), which will be replaced by USB-C (right).
A bolt from the blue
Lightning was born on September 12 , 2012 , ushered into this mankind by Apple senior frailty Chief Executive Phil Schiller . Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller touted the benefits it would bring over its predecessor , the 30 - pin dock connective that had originate on 2003 ’s third - generation iPod .
iPhones started with a 30 - pin connecter ( left ) , which was replaced by Lightning ( middle ) , which will be replace by USB - C ( rightfulness ) .
Foundry
iPhones started with a 30-pin connector (left), which was replaced by Lightning (middle), which will be replaced by USB-C (right).
“ A modern connection for the next decade ” was how Schiller cannily the new connecter . ( Had it been me , I perhaps would have blend in for “ a more elegant connector for a more civilized years ” , but I digress . )
Lightning boasted an all - digital design , improved durability , and an adaptative port that countenance it deal whatever occasion was involve : power , television , audio , data point , and so on . Most importantly for Apple , it was 80 percent little than the dock connexion , disembarrass up worthful space inside the iPhone . Most authoritative forusers , on the other manus , was belike the reversibility that meant there was no faulty style to join it to the iPhone . ( Well , mostly . )
All in all , Lightning gasconade an impressive resume with which to introduce itself to the world , and it cursorily took Apple ’s lineup by storm , spreading from the iPhone 5 to not only the iPod and iPad but the Mac and add-on as well . It seemed Lightning was well on its manner to world mastery .
Wireless technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have reduced the need for a cable.
Charging point
Of course , Lightning ’s early days were n’t all smooth sailing . Many consumers protested its sudden appearance on the vista , cleave tightly to their many bobtail - connecter cable and accoutrement . It would take some year for Lightning to come through them all over , and in many case , it was a war of contrition .
And yet , despite its eventual achiever , Lightning never quite rise to the same protuberance as its celebrated predecessor . Yes , there were third - company accessory with a establish - in connector — portable battery and speaker docks , no end of adaptor . But the creation into which Lightning was born was very different from that of the dock connector .
For one matter , the evolution of technology like Bluetooth and Wi - Fi had already begun to supplant a lot of the habit for which the cable had once been considered king . Apple propose features like the power to sync to one ’s Mac via Wi - Fi or charge audio via AirPlay , and the convenience of those features — not having to run up a cable when you needed one , or fiddle with connectors — was tough to beat out .
Moreover , the companies that had been so bullish to leap on the 30 - pin dock connection integration in the flower of the iPod and former days of the iPhone seemed to be rethink things in the Lightning era . After all , why project a product to only act upon with one company ’s gadget if you could alternatively habituate a wireless banner that would work withanymobile gimmick ?
Even Apple ’s relationship with Lightning was n’t totally monogamous , as in late years it ’s introduced multiple ways to power up one ’s iPhone without having to resort to a cable television that you plug in : first Qi radio charging , and then with its own advance on the standard , MagSafe .
Lightning might have been a solid standby , but it was barely the unchallenged champion .
Wireless engineering science like Wi - Fi and Bluetooth have cut the motive for a cable system .
A long, slow decline
And so we come to both praise Lightingandbury it . But for those who hold some fondness for the connector , never fear : its demise will not be sudden and fleet , but long and draw out . I amply expect to be see Lightning cables in my drawers for the next 10 .
The introduction of a USB - C iPhone is only one step in the end of Lightning ’s journeying – albeit a major one . The porthole has already been supervene upon across the iPad batting order and even on the Apple TV ’s Siri Remote , but it survives inMac accessories , the AirPods , and the first - gen Apple Pencil , at least for the fourth dimension being .
So let ’s raise our crank to Lighting and all it reach in the more than a X it was on the aspect . It did its job and it did it well , and now it break down to a well - deserve relaxation . In lieu of flowers , please commit dongles .
