[perth]

I guess that's kind of subjective. Personally I'm anti USB-C from a durability standpoint. USB-C is designed to fail on the device-side, whereas lighting and microUSB are designed to fail on the cable side. So I see all devices using USB-C as throwaways because the port will fail.

If Apple gets rid of lightning they lose their durability advantage vs competitors by using a poorly designed connector.

[rock_artist]

Is there any actual data to makes this more valid?

Especially when currently Apple uses USB-C for their entire lineup with exception of iPhones and iPad 9th gen.

[perth]

This blog post describes a design choice that would make the USB-C port far more likely to fail than the lightning port:

https://www.appledystopia.com/reviews/usb-c-vs-lightning-pag...

"With Lightning, the connecting tabs are on the cable itself. USB-C has connecting tabs on the port."

This reddit comment thread describes a flaw where the USB-C device-end becomes clogged with dust, sometimes possible to clean out with a toothpick:

https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/9wdylm/usb_c_p...

This is a reddit post where people are complaining about lightning cables failing:

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/5cjvlf/durability_o...

If you were buying a device, would you rather the port on your device wear out, or the cable that connects to it?

[mikewhy]

And AirPods, mice, trackpads, keyboards, and Apple TV remotes. I don't want to defend lightning but this reply was missing a few products that also use it.

[ccouzens]

In this (sample size of 1!) experiment, microUSB failed at 8000 insertions device side. USB C lasted beyond 8000 insertions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqtNleXhTRE

This isn't the first time I've heard someone suggest Lightning is more durable than USB-C, but I've not seen evidence of it.

[rightbyte]

None of them are durable compared to a 'cylinder type' connector. I wish those were still the norm. I declared both my last two phones EOL when the USB connector began glitching during charging due to packed trouser dust and oxidation.

[dale_glass]

USB C survives a remarkable amount of abuse.

My device have a pretty hard life. I carry them around a lot, do a fair amount of travel, and am fairly clumsy, so pretty much everything ends up falling once in a while. Sometimes considerably more than that.

I'm typing this on a laptop I bought 3 years ago. The bottom cover is bent, the fans are making a grinding noise, and both upper corners of the screen have been dented to the point of damaging the LCD on both corners. It's just had a few too many awkard falls and is about at the point where I think fixing it isn't going to be worthwhile.

All USB C ports are still in perfect working order, though, despite a few falls from a desk with cables plugged in.

I've not had issues with any other USB C devices either. Yeah, I'm sure it can be broken if you try really hard, but it does seem to take a far amount of effort. The port seems very solidly built and I think damaging the cable is more likely.

[Nextgrid]

The USB-C port on my Macbook is worn out after a couple years; it works but just doesn't grip the cable at all and so literally falls out of the port unless I hold it. The same cables are held tightly in my other (newer) Macbook so I don't think it's a cable issue.

In contrast, I've got years-old Lightning devices and the cables still hold strongly in the connector.

[phatfish]

No USB-C port i have used has failed. Still working like new on a ~5 year old phone. Multiple laptops, one with a USB-C charging port are also fine.

This is a Hackernews meme until some solid real-world evidence is provided. Not edge cases.