I was disappointed as well. But I get it.

After three years, Pixel users still have to refer to a guide [0] or track down a Google Engineer's Amazon reviews [1] to find a 3rd party USB-C cable on Amazon that doesn't have the potential to fry their device [2].

If I were Apple, I'd be hesitant to jump on to USB-C, when Amazon and gas stations around the world are selling $5 cables and chargers that are so out-of-spec that they introduce the very real possibility of damaging devices that will end up at the Genius Bar for an AppleCare+ repair/replacement.

[0] https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/wiki/officialguide/usbc... [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AFLICGQRF6BR... [2] https://www.engadget.com/2016/02/03/benson-leung-chromebook-...

USB-C has more dust problems in my experience. With lightning you can just blow out the dust (bigger space).

Yeah, the entire world is using superior USB-C and charge smartphones directly from laptop cable. Apple users still carry adapters...

Adapters to plugin in iPhones in to Mac Books... Its hilariously incompetent.

Does this cable not work to plug an iPhone into a macbook these days, or am I missing something?

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MQGJ2AM/A/usb-c-to-lightn...

Sure it does, but it doesn't ship in the box. In the box is a USB-A -> Lightning cable.

I get that there's arguably a "general principle of the matter" component here, but the cable that comes with the iPhone is more useful to me than a USB-C version would be. My use cases -- and I doubt I'm an outlier -- are "charge the phone," where it really doesn't matter what the end that plugs into the charger is, and "connect to CarPlay," where my (model year 2019) car has USB-A but not USB-C. If the iPhone shipped with USB-C to Lightning cable and charger, it would be marginally less useful to me -- I'd just have to go buy the USB-A to Lightning cable.

The number of times I've needed to physically connect my iPhone to any of my Macs is, as far as I can recall, zero, and it's been that way for years. Wireless everything has been much, much better for me. The only time I've really used a cable is to do backups before installing beta versions of iOS. (And that backs up to my Mac mini, which -- even in its current updated incarnation -- still has USB-A ports.)

Not every computer comes with USB C. Pretty much every computer though does come with USB A. And IIRC, male A to male C cables are not allowed per the spec

Male USB-A to male USB-C cables are allowed, what's not allowed is male or female USB-A or USB-B to female USB-C. That is, on a USB-C to legacy cable, the USB-C end is always male.

It sounds like the new iPhone 11 Pros will come with USB-C -> Lightning. Since it's supposed to come with a 18W charger, and iPhones use USB-PD, which does not work over USB-A.