Apple ’s Lightning connecter has appear on most of its products since its introduction back in 2012 , supersede the older , bulkier 30 - pin connection . It was a huge jump at the time , but since then , USB - C has rise to power with widespread adoption across the technical school industry . The question is , what ’s the dispute between the two ?
Aside from the ( however slight ) difference in the general shape of the connector , there are a few key expert differences between the two , and , pillager alert , Apple ’s Lightning connexion looks pretty dated in comparison .
It ’s something Apple itself has on the face of it conceded , withevery iPadnow uncommitted withUSB - C port , and rumor hint theiPhone 15will be the first iPhone with USB - C too .
With that all in mind , here are the key differences between USB - C and Lightning connectivity .
Lightning is a much older standard
Lightningis the older form of connectivity when equate to USB - C , with the first Lightning - enabled merchandise – theiPhone 5 – break right smart back in September 2012 . It induce massive uproar at the time , replace the 30 - pin connecter Apple had used on most of its products since their origination .
However , Apple devotee presently welcomed the smaller , more potent and symmetrical Lightning port with loose arm – once they ’d substitute the collection of onetime 30 - pin collector , that is .
On the other hand , USB - C was first revealed in late 2014 , with the connector seem in early 2015 on products like Apple ’s MacBook Air . Fast forward to today , however , and it ’s omnipresent in the technical school diligence , used in phones , tablet , phone and passably much any other tech accessory you could think of .
Lightning is exclusive to Apple devices
If there ’s one thing we can say for certain , it ’s that you wo n’t notice any non - Apple gadget with a Lightning adapter – excluding Apple ’s ‘ Made for iPhone ’ accessories , that is .
That ’s because Apple ’s Lightning tech was plan in - mansion by the troupe , and it has been unwilling to share it with the wider technical school community in the old age since its release .
There are no such issue with USB - C , however , with the connector widely adopted by much of the tech industriousness to the point where it ’s increasingly difficult to find mod tech without it .
USB-C has better data transfer speeds
USB - C definitely has the upper hand when it comes to data carry-over speeds , with USB - coulomb 3.2 Gen 1 starting at 5Gbps , all the direction up to a staggering 80Gbps on the very latest USB4 V2 connections – though most smartphones run to be towards the downhearted end of that range .
Still , that ’s plenty tight , allowing you to quickly and easily transfer large sum of money of data point and single file to and from your headphone .
That might be a mo of a niche for the average consumer , but if you use your headphone to captureRAW photographyand high-pitched - res , high - framerate TV , it ’ll be massively appreciated . It ’ll also allow for faster computer backup man if that ’s still a thing you need to do in an age of cloud - based backup systems .
That ’s especially true compared to Apple ’s Lightning connectivity , which blanch in equivalence to even basic USB - atomic number 6 standards with a maximal data transfer rate of just 480Mbit / s – the same as the ageing USB 2.0 . That mean transferring information , backing up your earphone and more will always take much longer on a Lightning - enable iPhone than a USB - C - ground Android twist .
USB-C has faster charging speeds
USB - C is n’t only the faster metier when it come to data transfer speeds – it also brag quicker rouse capabilities than Apple ’s Lightning connective . With iPhones famously saddle slower than their Android similitude , is anyone that surprised ?
More specifically , USB - C can theoretically support up to 240W of power with USB - ascorbic acid PD tech . Now , of course , that does n’t mean you ’ll find out USB - C smartphones capable of such hefty charge support but agitate rates of 50 - 120W are n’t unheard of at the more premium end of the market . TheXiaomi 13 Pro , for model , charges up from flat to full in just 24 minutes with 120W fast charging .
Even Apple ’s Lightning cable needs to be connected to a power brick via USB - one C to reach its maximum 25W charge speeds – old USB - A connectors are even slower .
