[arcticbull]

Apple hasn't changed the 'fast-changing' lightning connector since 2012, and USB-A lasted from 1996 to, well, present. USB-C came out in 2014 and is likely going to outlive us both. Connectors simply don't change that fast, and I'm not sure why people think they do.

I think even the EU can regulate on that kind of schedule.

[Moru]

The only reason connectors would change fast is to sell another cable and charger every time you buy a phone.

[jonwinstanley]

Or to make them slimmer, lighter, improve performance or improve the user experience.

[kelnos]

I think with the size of USB-C and Lightning, we are pretty close to the point (if not there already) where structural limitations are not going to let us go much (if any) smaller. No one wants a connector that will break after 10 uses.

USB-C, electrically, has enough headroom that performance should not be an issue for a very, very, very long time. Already you can push more data over a USB-C cable than a phone can meaningfully handle.

[rtkwe]

The only thing that really comes to mind is we could go to fiber core for crazy data speeds but those are so delicate I don't think the improvement would be worth the hassle unless we have a big improvement there.

[fennecfoxy]

I think C could easily adopt a fiber, there's the "tongue" bit in the middle of the socket, and empty space in the middle of the plug, could easily have a fiber run down the middle there.

[JAlexoid]

There are literally USB-C cables with fiber cores, right now... on the market.

A USB-C cable with fiber core is what Oculus Go suggested to connect to a PC.

[rtkwe]

The difficulty isn't in fitting the physical fiber, they're tiny, it's in the delicacy of highspeed fiber optics.

[int_19h]

Standardization also improves user experience. And it does so here and now, as opposed to some hypothetical future gains.

[pySSK]

iPhones don't even ship with a charger anymore and they definitely did not lower their prices when the decision to leave them out. It's a win-win for them – they can claim to be more environmentally conscious etc. while reducing their BOM cost.

Apple and other phone companies don't depend on selling cables and chargers. If they did, they would have been doing a much better job and they'd be more like Anker and Griffin.

[dmitriid]

> USB-A lasted from 1996 to, well, present. USB-C came out in 2014 and is likely going to outlive us both. Connectors simply don't change that fast

How convenient of you to forget Mini-USB and Micro-USB and regular USB-B

[jdeibele]

One end of the cable changed but I think the point was that the other end, the part that was built into your laptop, didn't.

I still have a stash of USB-B, mini-USB, and micro-USB cables with the USB-A because I've got a printer, a camera, and devices (Kindle, older battery) that use those ports. I have a USB-C -> USB-A hub. In 5-10 years from now, I might have gone all USB-C.

[fomine3]

and Dock?