AirPods Libreated from Apple's Ecosystem

Re:AirPods Libreated from Apple's Ecosystem by formerly_proven on Sunday November 16, 2025 @07:38AM (#45944662)

> USB-C [Aug 2014] came out long after lightning [Sep 2012].

1 year 11 months :)

The old 30-pin connector before Lightning came from 2003.

Meanwhile it took until 2023 for iPhones to use USB-C.

    30-pin     2003 - 2012 (2014)
    Lighting   2012 - 2023 (2025)
    USB-C AAPL utter mess -
               iPhone 2023 -
    USB-C RoW  2014 -

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Re:AirPods Libreated from Apple's Ecosystem by raw_anon_1111 on Sunday November 16, 2025 @11:22AM (#45946237)

How was USB C on Apple a “mess” when it came out on the iPhone 14? It supported all of the standard USB protocols - video, networking, mass storage, audio etc.

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Re:AirPods Libreated from Apple's Ecosystem by formerly_proven on Sunday November 16, 2025 @12:01PM (#45946541)

The transition to USB-C was spread out across product lines over many years, hence "mess". The iPhone is on a separate line in the table.

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Re:AirPods Libreated from Apple's Ecosystem by monerozcash on Monday November 17, 2025 @04:11AM (#45952018)

Yeah, I don't think the connector criticism of Apple really stands up to any scrutiny. 30-pin was strictly better than USB-based solutions when it came out, as was Lightning. They supported both of those for a very long time and kept tons of iDevice accessories around the world functioning.

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