[ComputerGuru]

Lightning ports are not more durable than USB-C. They are extremely prone to the device-side conductor corroding. USB mini made the mistake of making the device side contain a friction wear item, but USB micro fixed that but had other endurance issues due to its flimsiness. USB C doesn’t suffer from any of those drawbacks.

[stouset]

Every USB-C device I’ve ever owned—including my MacBook Pro—has suffered from cables failing to “click” into place and being held in noticeably more loosely than when they were brad new. This has happened from within a few weeks to a few months. And it’s not the simply the cables wearing out: new cables with old devices produces the same behavior. And when I remove my USB-C YubiKey, the port it uses produces the satisfying click (the port is effectively brand new, since the device is never removed in general use).

Every single Lightning device I’ve owned still connects as if brand new. The only people I ever seem to hear criticize Lightning are people who don’t even own Apple devices.

In my opinion, the form factor of USB-C was a massive mistake (even before considering the nightmare of competing cable incompatibilities) and they should have gone with the form factor of Lightning.

[ComputerGuru]

> The only people I ever seem to hear criticize Lightning are people who don’t even own Apple devices.

I've been exclusively iPhone since the 4S and its gorgeous retina display lured me away from my beloved Curve 8900. I am still not as proficient a typist nor as productive a person on the go as I was with my BlackBerry back in 2009.

(I did however ditch my rMBP years ago but I don't see how that could factor into a discussion about Lightning ports.)

[kalleboo]

I've had lots of trouble with lightning, mostly stemming from the power pin on cables corroding, which then causes arcing in any new device you use it in causing the problem to propagate

I've had my iPhone 11 Pro Max inside a Apple smart charging case since day 1, and for the past few months, the connection is really flakey, either one of the plugs is going bad. And its never left the case, the port looks very clean (no dust)

[stouset]

That's a really interesting counter-anecdote. Now that I think about it, my girlfriend has also had two Lightning cables die due to arcing (discovered black markings on the copper contacts) although I'm not sure it if it propagated the way you were saying.

[Retric]

Everyone I know that got a USB-C phone eventually complained about loose cables. I have been using the same 6 year old lighting cable without issue.

On it’s own that doesn’t mean much, but plenty of people dislike USB-C from personal experience.

[readams]

They tend to get dust packed into them that you can fix with a pin.

[Retric]

Good to know, but that would still be a major design issue.

Thinking about it, the best common data connector for interment use might be those credit card chip readers. They can handle more connections in a week than you need to recharge your phone in years. Sure they eventually ware out, but that’s in a business setting.