I know we’ve been saying it for years now, but there is no way the iPhone 12 won’t ditch Lightning for Type C!
iPads have it, Macbooks have it…
2020 is going to be the year Anker starts treating Type C users like first-class-citizens by giving us a new Type C to Type C braided Powerline cable. For sure.
Is there anybody out there that doesn’t want Apple to ditch Lightning?
Tell me why.
I have collected so many Lightning cables over the years, I don’t want to have to replace them all! 
I bet you already have plenty of Type C cables though!
Long-time Apple device users went through this same scenario when Apple ditched the 30-pin Dock Connector used up until the iPhone 4. I had/still have at least 10 30-pin cables. When the iPhone 5 was released, it made the switch to Lightning. The only Lightning cable I now owned was the one that came with the iPhone 5. I think I purchased one 30-pin to Lightning adapter…which of course cost the same as a new Apple Lighting cable and just added unnecessary bulk to the cable.
My sister bought the iPad 3 RIGHT before Apple decided to, mid cycle, release it again with the then new lightning connector. She was PISSED.
But Apple was always on the committee developing Type C; they just rushed the gun and came out with their own version, long before Type C was finished. Among other reasons.
Type C is just better, though. Apple’s just pulling its feet switching the last product they sell which isn’t Type C.
I do own plenty of type C cables, but have been waiting years and years and years for a Type C to Type C, braided 3.0 cable from Anker.
I mean. I brought this up YEARS ago on the forums…
Asked Anker about it a long time ago…
Maybe there is hope with the iPhone 12.
The iPad 3 always had the 30-pin connector and was never changed mid-cycle to Lightning…it was always a 30-pin device but it was discontinued early and was replaced by the iPad 4.
The iPad 4 was the first iPad to have the Lightning connector and was a different device altogether from the iPad 3 with various hardware changes other than just the Lightning connector.
Even Apple wasn’t mean enough to make such a drastic hardware change mid-cycle.
I wouldn’t bet too much on USB-C for any particular model of the iPhone. I agree with everyone here it is long overdue. But there are other factors at play.
Apple’s profitability with the iPhone is down. People are starting to keep their phones for longer, and sales in China (their only big potential growth market) are weaker than they want. While having to walk a fine line many business do between Chinese policy and western values.
The Lightning port adds to the iPhones profitability. It is cheaper to use. But more importantly, Apple makes money from it. They own Lightning, and so charge a licensing fee to any third party accessory maker. Anker has to pay Apple to make their Lightning cables. Going to USB-C, an open standard, increases costs and removes a revenue stream at the same time. It’ll also force them to include their 18W USB-C power adapter with all new model iPhones. Currently only the iPhone 11 Pro includes a USB-C power adapter. The rest, including all those discounted iPhone 8 and XR units, have the cheaper 5W USB power adapter.
There isn’t a significant chunk of the market refusing to buy new iPhones due to lack of USB-C. I happen to be one, and I bet there are quite a few here. But the average consumer isn’t in these forums. And a lot of them don’t really know or understand USB-C. All they’ll know is they have to pay more for new cables and accessories.
The iPad and iPad mini don’t have USB-C. Only the latest generation of the iPad Pro gained USB-C. The Pro is the least selling among the three lines.
I too would love to see USB-C come to the next iPhone. And I agree every year it gets more likely. But keep in mind the other things that go into Apple’s decision making process. And that we don’t make up a fair sample size of the market.
have a huge collection of micro-USB, Lightning and now USB-C cables as well… plus with wireless charging, unless I need to test some cable - i only charge my smartphones over wireless charging…
I would say, Apple should simply ditch the port completely and go wireless route 
I’ll just say that I prefer using a cable as far as phone/device charging goes. 
Lol don’t hold your breath
Oh, they DID call the other one 4? I didn’t know that. My bad.
I’ll admit I don’t keep up to date on Apple news as much as I do other tech companies.
Not really a fanboy of any company other, than Anker; I generally like to keep my relationships with my electronics polyamerous… So I don’t own any Apple products, although I would love to buy an iPad Pro one day.
Yeah, 7 months between a numbered iPad change was pretty crazy. The 4 added more CPU and GPU cores (and I think a better camera or something), and that was literally it, alongside the switch to lightning vs 30pin.
Yeah, Shenoy, wireless charging is pretty handy; I used to use it a lot when I had a Nexus 6, but between the Nexus 6P and Pixel dropping support, I gave away all of my wireless chargers and have been waiting for Anker to release some dual+ coil chargers at a good price.
My Razer Phone 2 has weird coil placement so I really do need wider coverage to not have to place it just right.
And on type C, my Razer Phone 2 can output 4K video to my TV with my with my Anker 7 port USB C hub, while PD quick charging, and can connect to my 2TB Samsung portable SSD over type C at the same time.
It’s GLORIOUS.
I even have a portable touchscreen 1080p monitor, and, yep, I can ouput my phone to it AND the touchscreen works. I just hope I get Android 10 I can automate the DPI changing more easily and enable the new desktop mode.
Oh I am excited for the full on type c revolution. However, lightning will still linger on, like an old widow in a mansion on the hill, until at last it dies a silent death in the drawer of some long-forgotten holdout. As T.S Eliot wrote,
“This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but with a whimper.”
So don’t worry, people will still have lightning plugs for quite some time.
I just saw that Walmart is selling iPhone 6s for $100 over black friday…how many people you think jump on that? Then of course the refurbs for every model from 6-x are going to be all over the place. I expect people still buy lightning cables for years.