[mgh2]

Why will Apple hide a connector like that then? Is it a more power efficient design/connector? Is there a patent?

[CharlesW]

Nobody knows, but my guess: Apple is hiding a test of advanced battery fault detection and monitoring technologies that will eventually show up throughout their battery-powered products. Final Boss Lightning was the simplest, least risky way to support the power delivery and communication needs in the AVP Mark I timeframe.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8986866B2/en?oq=8986866

[wtallis]

Battery fault detection needs to be implemented entirely within the battery pack in order to be worthwhile. USB is more than sufficient for communicating information from a battery pack to a host system.

There's no need to speculate about complicated technology based on ancient patents when there's a simple and far more plausible explanation available: Obviously what this connector provides that Type C lacks is a secure latching mechanism, which is critical because there's no battery in the headset itself.

[eternityforest]

Why not just put a tiny battery in the headset, sufficient for a few minutes of use, like an LTO battery that won't just wear out?

Or add latching to USB-C?

[wtallis]

Adding latching to USB-C would largely defeat the purpose of using a USB-C connector, because you'd be throwing away most of the compatibility that the USB-C connector could win. At that point, the USB-C connector would be there merely to check a box on the spec sheet, rather than because it's the right connector for this purpose.

As for a battery or supercap in the headset itself: by all accounts the headset without a battery is pushing the limits of what is a reasonable weight. There needs to be less stuff in the headset, not more.

[eternityforest]

There's other applications for latching USB-C, not many, because latching is often terrible, but a few.

Apple is probably big enough to convince the USB-IF to make it an official extension to the spec, if they wanted to.

But definitely not an expert, not planning on buying anything Apple or any VR anytime soon.

[calamari4065]

They don't want you to use a replacement battery they didn't sell you

[wkat4242]

Didn't work out so well with the original lightning. Knock-off cables appeared within a year.

[calamari4065]

As there was with the old 30 pin, the maglock and everything else. Apple either doesn't care or never learns.

[catchnear4321]

apple doesn’t care.

with this connector, no one will be accidentally plugging the headset straight into a usbc power adapter without the battery in the loop. at least not without some third party help.

[johnwalkr]

If I had to guess, one group came up with (reasonable) requirements for this connector to handle certain currents and voltages, be reliable, be nice-looking, and be proprietary for the purpose of not dealing with RMAs related to people connecting shitty usb-c batteries directly to the headset. And another group realized "hey, we have all kinds of documentation, test results and tooling, we can make a wider lightning cable with low risk and low cost. Sure, we are moving away from lightning but since this is internal to 2 apple products it doesn't matter."